Gender Issues

This week we will be extending our discussion of Social Problems through an examination and discussion of C.J. Pascoe's "Dude, You're a Fag." Excerpted from her book by the same title, Pascoe's essay explores the way the term "fag" has been used by adolescents as a tool for reinforcing gender expectations. Arguing that the term is not limited to being an expression of homophobia, Pascoe uses samples from her interviews with several teenagers, to examine the way the term is used to disparage "unmanly" behaviors such as weakness or incompetence--characteristics associated with the feminine.

Pascoe's academic approach may at first seem daunting, but she makes some very poignant observations about the way language is gendered--and the way language is used to reinforce gender expectations. Consider the following terms and how they emerge from their social context:

• Lady
• Gentleman

What gender expectations are usually assigned to the above terms? What characteristics do we associate with being a "lady," or a "gentleman." To what extent is our very language gendered? Consider Cody Cottier's article, "From Mouth to Mind: How Language Governs Our Perceptions of Gender." The author opens the essay with a challenge: try to tell a story without referring to gender. Difficult, isn't it? Why might that be? Think about how language is structured--and how it reinforces notions of gender.