“Doing Gender” and “Compulsive Heterosexuality: Masculinity and Dominance” are two literary texts that explore issues related to gender and sex. The two articles particularly focus on the implications of gender and sex on women. “Doing Gender” is authored by Candace West and Don. Zimmerman while “Compulsive Heterosexuality: Masculinity and Dominance” appears as the fourth chapter in the book “Dude, You’re a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School written by C.J Pascoe. Although the two texts explore issues related to sex and gender, their content and subject matter differ significantly.
The two texts or articles are guided by different research questions. West and Zimmerman’s text is guided by the question of whether the classic distinction of the terms gender and sex is indeed accurate. The two authors also aim to explain what gender constitutes and how it is different from sex.
In “Compulsive Heterosexuality: Masculinity and Dominance," Pascoe is led by the question of how heterosexuality especially among males is depicted among high school students.
West and Zimmerman central argument is that gender does not simply constitute the biological identity of a person but is rather more of a social construction. The authors argue that gender is what a person does in his interactions with others, therefore, making gender a product of this social interaction (West and Zimmerman, 29). This explanation is what the two authors use to bring a new concept which they call “doing gender." This means that gender is essentially a routine accomplishment that happens in everyday life (West and Zimmerman, 31).
According to West and Zimmerman, individuals “do gender” on a daily basis and, in fact, all the time. It can be viewed as an ongoing activity that is essentially unavoidable. The author’s primary argument derives its premise from explanations about gender that have existed for long. Generally, the traditional gender perceptions have tended to view a man and a woman as unequivocal and natural categories that are very distinct (West and Zimmerman, 30). Several principal differences between the sexes have been advanced in this traditional perception, and these differences have mainly been supported through the division of labor and they are also characterized by male and female behaviors (West and Zimmerman, 30).
It is against this backdrop that the authors present their central argument giving a definition of gender that is sociological in nature, and that is reliant on conventions and codes that form the foundation of daily activities. As explained earlier, this is what the authors use to bring forth their argument about “doing gender” which involve the performance of societal activities of interaction, micropolitics and perceptions which define certain pursuits and activities and either feminine or masculine. They argue that gender can neither be viewed as a set of traits or a societal role. It is rather something that is perfumed or done in both a continuing as well as a context related manner.
In “Compulsive Heterosexuality: Masculinity and Dominance," the author’s central argument is that boys in high school treat girls as resources which are to be mobilized for their own masculinity projects. The author tries to show that boys in high school only see girls as tools that are supposed to be solely used to reinforce their masculinity and heterosexuality (Pascoe, 107).
In regards to the girls, the author shows how girls often collude with boys’ practice of sexual heterosexuality and how they seem to submit to male dominance. For instance, she shows how girls when interaction with the boys emphasize on their physical weakness and sexual availability to gain and sustain the attention of the boys (Pascoe, 104). This is because, as the author shows, the girl’s status in school is mainly tied to the boys that she goes out with and getting and maintaining the attention of boys with a relatively “high status” is very beneficial to her social standing. Accordingly, the Pascoe quotes another researcher named Kandiyoti, who claimed that “grown women bargain with patriarchy by submitting to sexist social institutions and practices to gain other forms of social power” (pg. 105).
As shown, the central arguments of the two texts vary quite significantly. While the first text by West and Zimmerman mainly revolves around the explanation of the concept of gender and its differentiation from sex, the second text by Pasco focuses on one group of the society to show how gender is reinforced. This is in regards to the use of heterosexuality and dominance and mastery of female bodies.
However, one point of consensus that can be deducted from the two texts is that gender is indeed a social construct that occurs on a daily basis. For instance, in regards to the issue of high school boys, their basic identity is governed by their daily actions and routines particularly when it comes to their interactions with girls whose patterns is used as a defining element. A boy who is an expert in “getting girls” is considered to be fully masculine while a boy whose is seemingly shy and who does not engage in much interactions with girls is considered a “fag” or a homosexual for that matter.
Both authors use a very wide scope of discussion. They go to great lengths to discuss various aspects that support their argument. The period of their discussion is quite ambiguous, and the distinction in terms of time is not made any easier by the fact that they were written at different time periods.
In “Doing Gender," the author’s argument is not restricted to a particular group of women or members of the society. They argument adopts a general approach. The two authors appear to refute an explanation that has been advanced for a long period regarding gender.
It is in the second article that the argument is focused on a particular set of individuals, and these are high school boys and girls. The author primary focus is on this particular group of individuals, and the majority of the content regards this group of people. The author’s argument is based on research that she conducted herself. She spent a significant amount of time studying high school students before finally coming up with her central argument.
Although the content of the two articles differs significantly, the subject and indeed the message of the two argument is quite related. Both emphasize on the fact that gender is mainly a construction of the society and not a natural thing as people would suppose. West and Zimmerman go to great lengths to explain their “doing gender” concept and to show that gender is essentially something that is exhibited by the daily actions and activities of societal members and is this construction of gender through daily and routine activities.
The assertion by West and Zimmerman appear to be complemented by the argument of Pascoe regarding compulsive masculinity. She shows how this construction of gender through daily and routine activities plays itself out in a high school setting. She shows the activities and behaviors of boys in the high school setting that are synonymous with their gender and the retaliatory activities and behaviors of the girls. She brings out a picture of how these two balance each other.
If the two authors could interact and respond to one another, they would only have good things to say about one another because as it has been described above, their primary message is almost the same although the one by Pascoe goes deeper to show how women (in this case high school girls) are the victims of the gender system that is socially, and that is exhibited through daily activities and routines that the society might see as normal. Pascoe may possibly want Hans and Zimmerman to not just explain the concept of gender but actually show how members of one gender (which is inadvertently the women) are victimized based on the societal gender constructions.
I have to admit that the exploration of these two articles has been an eye opener for me. I have leant a lot from the arguments of the two authors regarding the issue of gender.
The first article by West and Zimmerman has particularly been very educational as I have understood the difference between sex and gender. Personally, I have never quite figured out or understood the differences between sex and gender. The article by the two authors has made a clear explanation of what gender is. It has also clearly explain is constructed through daily routines.
The second article on compulsive heterosexuality was also quite informative. In addition to being a sort of proof or complement to the argument by West and Zimmerman, it discussed in great detail how the social construction of gender in certain society settings take place. It is, for example, showed how high school boys use girls as tools for accentuating and reinforcing their heterosexuality. These boys view girls as simple tools to be used by them and nothing else. The article also showed how the girls have resigned to this patriarchal orientation that involves male sexual dominance.
The two articles have made me learn a lot about the science and dynamics of the society. It has shown me some of the dynamics that may appear natural are not actually natural but have actually been constructed through time. In addition, I have seen how members of certain genders are victimized by the societal dynamics in place.
Works Cited
Pascoe, C J. Dude, You're a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007. Print.
West, C., and D. H. Zimmerman. "Doing Gender." Gender & Society 1.2 (1987). Print.
