Femininity and Masculinity describe gender identities. The terms refer to the traits or characteristics typically associated with being male or female, respectively. Traditionally, masculinity and femininity have been conceptualized as the opposite dimensions in a single binary, with masculinity at one side and femininity at the other. In other words, people can be classified as either masculine or feminine. Although, multiples studies open the possibility that individuals can simultaneously have male and female attributes. Also, femininity and masculinity describe socio-cultural categories in everyday language.
- In everyday language, femininities and masculinities do not map onto biological sex. In any one culture, certain behaviors or practices may be widely recognized as “feminine” or “masculine,” irrespective of whether they are adopted by women or by men. Femininities and masculinities are not descriptors of sexual orientation.
- Femininities and masculinities are plural—there are many forms of femininity and many forms of masculinity. What gets defined as feminine or masculine differs by region, religion, class, national culture, and other social factors. How femininities and masculinities are valued differs culturally.
- Any one person—woman or man—engages in many forms of femininity and masculinity, which she or he adopts (consciously or unconsciously) depending on context, the expectations of others, the life stage, and so forth. A man can engage in what are often stereotyped as “feminine” activities, such as caring for a sick parent.
- Cultural notions of “feminine” and “masculine” behavior are shaped in part by observations about what women and men do. This kind of “gender marking” tends to discourage women or men from entering “gender-inauthentic” occupations (Faulkner, 2009).
- Femininities and masculinities are learned. Messages about “feminine” and “masculine” behaviors are embedded in advertising, media, news, educational materials, and so forth. These messages are present in a range of environments, from the home to the workplace to public spaces.
Representation of women and men in media
Representation of Men-Masculinity is a concept that is made up of more rigid stereotypes than femininity. Representations of men across all media tend to focus on the following:
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Representation of Men: Male characters are often represented as isolated, as not needing to rely on others (the lone hero). If they submit to being part of a family, it is often part of the resolution of a narrative, rather than an integral factor in the initial balance. It is interesting to note that the male physique is becoming more important a part of representations of masculinity. Representation of Women: Women are often represented as being part of a context (family, friends, colleagues) and working/thinking as part of a team. In drama, they tend to take the role of helper (Propp) or object, passive rather than active. Often their passivity extends to victimhood. Men are still represented as TV drama characters up to three times more frequently than women, and tend to be the predominant focus of news stories. |
Resources
Representation of gender.
This resource shows how the media represent women and men and how these views have been changing throughout time. It also explains how there are still many stereotypes towards women and men. This article provides some images that make the text easier to understand. USE: This resource can be used for the teacher to show the learners that despite the fact that the representation of women and men are changing, we still keep many stereotypes toward gender dynamics. The teacher can first ask the student to think how they visualise a women and and a men in terms of job, butty, and behaviors. Then, the teacher can show them the pictures that are in the top and ask the students to come up with ideas from them. After that, the teacher can give the students the text so that they can understand better. The teacher can also ask the students to remember and tell everyone some masculine and feminine dynamics they see in the school, in their homes and in the streets. In this way they can see the realia in the topic they are talking about. |
Femininity and Masculinity.
This article has a wide explanation about how the media has been portraying femininity and masculinity. It talks specifically about Hollywood films for children and adolescents; it presents a critique against the films we are accustomed to see and that we take as the truth. USE: This resource can be used as way of raising awareness in students, The professor can used it as a proof while using the images that are in in top. Some examples of applications can be:
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Masculinity and femininity:
Interpretation in terms of the gender theory. This article describes mainly masculinity as attitudes, roles, norms of behavior, hierarchy of values typical of the male and female sex in each specific society. Here the reader can also find a broad explanation about the different types of masculinity founded by some important sociologists and researchers on this topic. USE: This resource can be used as a tool for teaching adolescents about the different types of masculinity in order to help them to understand that there is not a right behavior or a wrong one. The teacher can take out some new vocabulary and explain them to the students, because the text is a little bit complex. Then the teacher can give the learners the text. Also, the teacher can use the video that is in the top in order to explain students that masculinity is not something inherent in men and the common myths of masculinity, so that they can understand that masculinity is a social construction based on some of the psychologists and an educator explanations. |
Representation of Gender and Stereotypes
This resource is basically an activity to help students understand what is gender, what is femininity, what is masculinity, and representations of them. It contains many questions to make students realize the stereotypes they have against gender dynamics and representations. USE: This resource is very clear and easy for a teacher to use. The teacher can start by asking the first questions that are in the slides, then present the topic to students by following the slides. This resource also offers some links that the teacher can use when using the slides. There is an explanation about stereotypes and countertypes, so the teacher can encourage students to break down stereotypes and start thinking differenty by identifying countertypes. Here, students can also differentiate stereotypes from countertypes. |
Gender Representation
This website offers a wide variety of resources that are focus basically on 4 main categories: Men and Masculinity, Women and Girl,R esources for Parents - Gender Representation, and Resources for Teachers - Gender Representation. What is really useful is not only the explanation about the topic, but also the tools that the page gives to teacher and parents. USE: Teachers can use all these material such as workshops, PDF, sheets, videos, and activities, in order to approach gender representation in many different ways and contexts. The page gives the opportunity to parents to approach this topic to children at home and be part of this learning space in family context. |
Gender Roles in Media
This resource shows how the way of selling things to the population are also influenced by feminine and masculine dynamics. It shows some advertisements and some TV shows that aim to establish gender differences. USE: A teacher can use this resource as a way of raising learners' awareness about what they see in television and in street advertisements. So, the learners can read the text and then analyze some advertisements and tv shows they normally see. The teacher can ask them to critically analyze some advertisements they haveseen. The teacher can also use the images that are in the top of this text. The teacher can ask students if they are against or in favor of accepting gender roles, then create a discussion about it so that the students have the opportunity to share their point of view. |
References and Bibliography
Compiled by: Jaqueline Graciano Tangarife and Andres Felipe Montes Zapata
References
For more information, click the following links: |