Students Question My Answer
Question:
Examine how gendered identities are reinforced in visual research?
Each and every society have a different pattern of social identities. We have two kinds of the identity one is biological and another is social. These social identities have two kinds of identity, first ascribed and second achieved. The difference between these two is very simple. Whatever identity we are getting as a member of a particular family and society is called ascribed status and another one depends on your achievement. For example the status of princes and professional achievement. One can be a prince because she got birth in a particular family or society, however for being a professional s/he has to achieve it through education, training and hard work.
However, each and every society have the notion of gender identity. The notion of gender and sex is often overlapping and confuses with each other.
Let’s first clarify these concepts. Sex is a biological classification. Gender includes the social attributes associated with being a man or women in a particular society. The Feminine and Masculine terms applied to the qualities of particular societies with women and men.
Gender and Sex Positions, from a medical point of view:
Taken as a noun, sex is a biological determinant, while gender carries psychological and sociological implications. Hence in biological sciences, sex differences are innate, chromosomally determined characteristics that distinguish between male and females, while in psychological and sociological sciences gender differences refer to male or female traits result from learning and social roles.
Understanding Gender and Sex: Simone de Beauvoir: cf. ‘Gender Voices’
The opening words of Simone de Beauvoir’s historic book The Second Sex capture the essential characteristic of gender” ‘One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.’ Gender is s socially rather than a biologically constructed attribute -- people are not born with but rather learn the behaviours and attributes appropriate to their sex.
During the last decade of research, it has become clear that gender is a very complex category. Theories are still being developed which try to grapple with the complexity but they share the idea that gender, unlike sex, is a continuous variable. A person can be more or less ‘feminine’ and more or less ‘masculine.’ Furthermore, a man can display ‘feminine’ character jus a woman may demonstrate ‘masculine’ ones.
Apart from the biological and social, gender identity is also determined by the self-categorisation. Althuser (1971) call it interpellation, which is a process whereby people recognise themselves in a particular identity and think ‘that’s me’. Interpellation links the personal to the social. It may work consciously or unconsciously. We see people as members of social categories. We also see ourselves as members of social categories. We take on identities appropriate to the social categories with which we identify.
Identity is shaped by the multiple experiences a person has in the world. Davies (1989) suggests that “our subjectivities are experienced as if they were entirely our own because we take on the discursive practices and story-lines as if they were our own and make sense of them in terms of our own particular experiences” (230). In other words, our individual perceptions and feelings (subjectivities) of the world come from shared discourses and interpretations of texts. Of course, we must also respect that the “reader” of discourses brings past experiences, values, and beliefs that influence her understanding of the new discourses and interpretations. DeBlase (2003) suggests that “Transactions with literacy engage individuals not as passive recipients of text and culture but as coproducers of culture” (625) so that gender, class, and racial identities are being created and maintained in complex ways.
Now come to the main question that how gendered identities are reinforcing in visual research?
Earlier the all links of research including visual research were done from the male perspectives. Male were use to research even if the research topic was about women. The social life, culture, joy, sorry, pain, culture, the social position of the women in the social structure used to study and analyses from the male perspective. Because women were not in the academic field and also they were in the position to make policies.
Not only these but by studying society, we use to mean the study of male society. Therefore, it was not only male hegemonic and centric study but by society, we sue to mean a male society. Even this is still existing. Hence the study of society means the study of the male in society.
By the above reasons we can find that all old visual research was done by a male, on male from male perspectives. In the visual, the male was a portrait in the lead role or in the centre position. The women used to appear very less. And in general, they use to appear as a supporting male character, and the position was subjugated.
However, now all societies including Indian society are being democratised and moving towards a just society. Hence, we can find that these days many women are coming in public life and playing a vital role in society. Girl/ women are moving to participate and contribute equally to society.
All these factors reinforce the visual research towards gender equality, neutrality and bias-free research. Because now the gendered identity moving from ascribed and biological identity to the achieved identity. As we know that gender is different from the biological identity and gender is more about the social notion, perspective and social treatment than the biological. Hence again we can say the because society is changing, therefore these new gendered identities are reinforcing the visual research.
But the question is that what they are reinforcing?
The new gendered identity is reinforcing the visual research to include the women in their research and give them equal weight to both gendered. The new research ethics not permitting to be gendered bias. Thus the new gendered identities are forcing visual research to give equal weight to all gender identities, even including the LGBTQ. We can also say that social pressure is forcing gender justice in visual research.
Examine how gendered identities are reinforced in visual research?
Completed on 22/11/2019
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This question was asked in November, 2019 by one of my students.
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Anil Kumar, PhD | Student of Life World | Stay Social ~ Stay Connected
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