Gender In The Cissy

​​Gender is defined as whatever behaviors and attitudes a group considers proper for its males and females. Unlike sex, gender is something that we learn from the day we are born. “Young children begin to acquire gender role stereotypes at about the same time they develop gender identity and by the age of 3 or 4 most children” (Amanda Youmans). Peers, community, media, religion and our upbringing all play a role in the understanding of our culture and what is considered acceptable for males and females. When the sex of a child is revealed, they are automatically placed into a gender specific role with certain expectations. There are things in this world such as colors, toys, media depiction and taught behaviors that play into these gender roles.

South Park is a fictionalized animated account of a group of grade school friends who live in Colorado. The show is what’s known as an equal opportunity offender. It takes no prisoners when it comes to stereotypes of religion, sex, race and gender. An abundance of sociological concepts and social issues are present. Since its start in 1989 it has taken on social issues with unparalleled bravery, one of them gender. Many episodes pit the guys against the girls and the battle of the sexes and break-ups ensue. In the episode “Marjorine,” a male character named Butters infiltrates a girl’s sleepover to retrieve a device that tells the future (it’s really just a paper fortune teller) and hilarity and social high jinks ensue. He has to endure

They should have the right to dress as they choose, love who they choose, and be who they choose. It angers me that people believe differently considering they’ve never been in their shoes. In the “Paradoxes of Gender” Judith Lorber states, “We need to change biological sex in order to uphold the principle that biological sex determine one character”(41). Lorber's’ preconceived notion that one’s sex dictates their personality is flawed. It proves that society is unaccepting of people outside of the “norm”. Middle Sexes speaks to a wide variety of people but is mainly directed to transphobic people. However, the film isn’t very compelling because it doesn’t take the audience’s outlook into consideration. Through biological evidence and personal stories, the film strives to persuade transphobic people to be more accepting. Thomas attempts to persuade his target audience by referencing the science behind people who blur the lines between female and male. His unique approach is more convincing than an argument that stems from one’s opinions. However, his lack of counterarguments makes it difficult for the audience to relate.

How we learn gender is part of gender socialization. It begins the moment we are born and continues till the end of our life. We are exposed to many factors that may influence our gender identity. Some of the factors are, media, our experience in school and our parents. In Martin & Kazyak’s essay titled “Hetero-Romantic Love and Hetereosexiness”, he explains how the media plays a part in shaping a child’s gender identity. In Thorne’s essay titled “Girls and Boys together…” he explores how sex segregation occurs predominantly in elementary school. In the film “Tough Guise”, Katz explains that men aren’t naturally violent but are taught to be so. And lastly, in Cornell’s essay titled “Masculinities and Globalization” he says that there are

Gender norms surround every person in every culture, even though they have variety in each culture, they are still real and still impact individuals who stand out from the norms. Leslie Feinberg's book “Stone Butch Blues” shows how hard it is to challenge gender in the 1960’s when homosexuality and the transgender movement was something that was just starting up. Leslie shows the reader that just by existing in a transphobic environment ze is challenging what it means to be a man or a woman, and more importantly, what’s in between. Leslie shows that gender isn’t just black and white, it’s a spectrum of colours.

Homosexuality as an identity is bottled into an image that can be sold to the masses for profit. Instead of identity being viewed as an entire process, it is view as a product. This image is hip, sleek, “in” and the newest fad. This act is portrayed as “good” because it comes under the guise of acceptance of gay culture, but in reality, the multi-dimensional gay identity is being recreated into one dimensional stereotype that create an “in” crowd that, ironically, excludes actual gay people. In the eighth episode of the seventh season of South Park, “South Park Is Gay!”, the hip metro-sexual fashion craze, born from the appropriation and stereotyping of gay culture, is satirized. In the episode, the fad has recently exploded in the town of South Park and has reached both the boys and their families. Kyle’s family is one of the only families that have yet to be introduced to this fad, and because of that Kyle is ostracized for not being “gay enough”. Gerald, Kyle’s father, is at first incredibly repulsed by the “gay” identity that everyone has seemed to pick up and is appalled when his son attempts to join. Ironically, Gerald had just remarked that he was glad to see so many

Gender is defined as being male or female as defined by roles, social status, and attitude. The perception of oneself and what characterizes gender identity. Included in gender identity is hormone and behavior interaction, along with the examination of psychological, biological, and environmental influences on sexual separation.

Ever since 1997, South Park has revolutionized the cable TV scene as a profane and obscene program that isn’t afraid to mock religious, political, and cultural topics and not get away with at least offending somebody. Throughout its twelve seasons, some of the most prominent events in pop culture have suffered the wrath of ridicule from the show’s creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, and succeeded in making millions of Americans laugh until they cry. The creative genius behind these cultural and controversial statements has exalted the series to iconic status in our entertainment industry for its satirical voice in each episode. Throughout its ten years on air, South Park has broken multiple political,

South Park turns important political ideologies regarding race, gender and sexuality into a spectacle, desensitizing its viewers to the social injustices the show raises, marginalizing and trivializing minorities and ultimately, contributing to outrage culture. But before the viewer has time to process the political incorrectness of the show, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the writers of South Park have made a mockery of the scene dousing the potential outrage and placating the viewer’s opposition. Yet although a handful of viewers observe South Park intellectually the remaining majority does not. In theory South Park is a cleverly planned out show meant to raise awareness to the ignorance of people through satire. However, South Park deconstructs satire, and in turn employs the use of pseudo-satire. Further

In this book, the author Brian Cogan discusses the most controversial television shows in history, South Park. He discusses how South Park even though seems simple it is a very thoughtful program on television that discusses many social issues. The creators of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone created a social and political commentary that has been the most successful in television history. Cogan discusses how South Park is a commentary on American culture that is focused around controversial issues. The sitcom allows for the creators to become involved in discussions regarding issues such as religion and sexuality. Cogan inserts that the creators of South Park use every episode to promote their freedom of speech on these

The television show South Park is a very controversial show which has been attacked by the media, politicians, parents, the school system, and just about every other social group imaginable. Why is the show so controversial? The reason it is attacked so thoroughly is because of its crude humor and vulgar displays by its characters, as well as the fact that it attacks the thoughts and beliefs of every religion in the world. This vulgarity and intolerance is most notable in the character Cartman, who is extremely offensive in his thoughts, ideas, and actions. The show does, however, provide a balance to Cartman’s antics through his co-stars Stan and Kyle. Stan, and Kyle almost always stand up to Cartman and ridicule his intolerance,

Gender Matters is a collection of various essays on feminist linguistic texts analysis, by Sara Mills. Mills develops methods of analyzing literary and non-literary texts, in addition to conversational analysis based on a feminist approach. The author draws on data from her collection of essays gathered over the last two decades on feminism during the 1990s. The essays focus on gender issues, the representation of gender in reading, writing, and in public speaking. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of feminists’ analysis of sexism in literature and the relation between gender and politeness. The article is informative for my research paper, as my

West and Zimmerman claim that gender is not something we are but something we do.

There is nothing new under the sun. People of non-binary genders, transgender, and gender non-conforming people have existed since the beginning of mankind. Homosexuality is just as “new” as heterosexuality, and queer people have been queer since before the word itself existed. However, historians all over the world have found a way to erase transness, as well as non-conforming and non-binary genders, from a vast majority of historical sources, usually on purpose although sometimes mistakenly. The reasons why transness was kept from being normalized throughout humankind and history pertain to the issues of European colonialism, language control and barriers, and the othering of non-binary folks as exclusively divine beings.

The depiction of transgender women characters in mainstream television has been offensive, insulting and derogatory. An article from GLADD called “Victims or Villains: Examining Ten Years of Transgender Images on Television”, examines 102 episodes and storylines on mainstream television that contained transgender characters since 2002. Of these, more than half were characterized as containing negative representations of transgender. In 2007 only 1% of television series had a recurring transgender character, which has slowly increased to 4% in 2013.