Gender Norms : Male Dominant Body Language

Gender can be a hot topic within cultures; a male or female does not want to be told that they can or cannot do something based on their gender. Every culture views gender roles differently, and some cultures are more serious about gender than others. Many times, male and female actions are determined by what a person has been taught is right; furthermore, gender roles are a set of societal norms that are the behaviors that a sex is generally known to do and what is considered accepted of a person based on their sex; gender roles can also known as stereotypes (“Gender”). Many times men are associated with masculine and logical ways in the United States, whereas women are associated with nurturing and passive ways.

Norms in society are the expectations of actions in specific situations. Social norms keep human social relations and behavior stable. Norms are “rules” that have developed within a particular society taking into account its values, culture and way of living. Sometimes, it is even the case that individuals do not have a choice and rarely recognize that fact that social norms have arbitrary origins because they have experienced this during the ongoing process of living (Clinard and Meyer 2011:10). Thus, gender norms are sometimes seen as limiting, disenfranchising and oppressive. People who are in less-favored or less-accepted norms are sometimes pushed to “deviate” from the norm in order to achieve some form of “liberation” from their

Body language plays a substantial role in the ways females and males differentiate from each other. One’s identity lies in the way in which one holds themself. McCloskey claims, “It’s hard to pass,” acknowledging that the body language one naturally acquires does not necessarily represent the character on the inside. McCloskey and Walker both address hip positioning when standing and walking. McCloskey claims that “Men walk from their shoulders and women

Being raised female – and more specifically a female in the mid-west, where being polite and unobtrusive are paramount features of social etiquette – I was taught to never take up too much space physically, vocally, or emotionally. In my younger years I was often chided for things like being too loud or being un-composed, i.e., not keeping my legs crossed. While, over the years I have shaken off certain oppressive doctrines about femininity, I have never managed to let myself take up more space than the bare minimum required, a physical indicator of submission in Western culture that equates size with dominance. Thus, on June 18, 2015 I violated my gender role by enacting stereotypical male body language throughout the day. Internet articles such as “4 Alpha Male Body Hacks That Instantly Boost Your Attractiveness” and “Alpha Male Body Language” explained to me how one should stand, sit, walk, and stare to be an “alpha male.” This gender role violation experiment was both an emotional and physical challenge for me throughout the day.

This norm is based on the idea that males and females are different in terms of anatomy,

In Amy Cuddy's editorial, "Your iPhone is Ruining Your Posture - and Your Mood", she explains how slouching can effect your appearance and how you look towards other people. She explains that we have both a dominant pose (posture) and a weak pose (posture) and we express our perspectives and our identities by our posture. Amy describes that most males have a more dominant posture because of their levels of testosterone are very high and their stress hormone is very low but it can also be the opposite where as their testosterone level is very low and their stress hormone is high making them look like a weak man. Also females tend to give a weak pose when around a male because males tend to be more tough then females.

“Doing Gender” is a phrase popularized by West and Zimmerman. It illustrates the theory that men and women perform actions that are in accordance with the gender norm. In some cases, people do act against the gender norm but it does not diminish the theory of “doing gender.” Our society has formed a rigid understanding of characteristics that are ascribed to the gender binary, which are masculinity and femininity. This social construct of gender dictates the behavior of the individual.

Rigid societal gender roles have always played a part in human existence. These predetermined ideals for what either man or woman should be like have constantly created both small and large scale conflict in literature as well as real life. When these roles are at their most extreme, men are supposed to hold all of the power, while women are docile and in charge of taking care of the home only. The masculine ideal, though it may change through times and cultures, has such a grip on society that it has created a set of unspoken rules that must be followed in order for one to be considered a “real man”, and this pressure to be a “real man” has created a constant need for self-assertion of dominance. This self-assertion of dominance often displays

In literature, the male is often known as the person with the majority of control and dominance. However, many learn to abuse this traditional responsibility and use their physical strength in

From my personal interaction with females, most women are not concerned with male dominance. In most of the world from my understanding, the majority of females grew up taught that the men are the head of the household or more dominant. Why oppose the dominincy of a male? In the picture below, the male is exibiting his dominance in a sensual manner that is normalized. The female in the image is not showing any sort of discomfort though it would be different if the male was expressing violence. That is why I feel there is nothing wrong with the way the image is portrayed. Moreover, males have biological factors that occur naturally that can please women, such as aggressiveness or muscles, and etc. As a woman, I feel

In both essays, “Yes, Ma’am” by Deirdre N. McCloskey and “Men, Women, Sex and Darwin” written by Natalie Angier the idea of which factor has more influence on behavior and characteristic of men and women are discussed: genetics or culture. It means are the gestures and characteristics constructed naturally or were hammered out long ago as evolutionary psychologists declare. McCloskey’s experience of cross gendering shows that much of behavior is acquisitive. She claims, although, it is really hard not to be read by others, but by watching and learning it can be achievable because much of the behavior is culturally specific and variable from person to person. In this masculine world, the strong anxiety comes after a male to female due to the

Norms are defined as beliefs and practices that are followed by society and are culturally approved (Wade and Ferre, 165). Gender norms have always existed but changed through time. In order to determine how drastic the change has been and how it affected how individuals, interviews must be conducted. Four individuals were interviewed on how gender norms have changed during their lifetime. The interviewees consisted of a 50-year-old woman, a 19-year-old woman, a 55-year-old man and a 20-year-old man.

This process involves acting out what we believe to be society’s perception of what it means to be masculine or feminine (West and Zimmerman, 1987). The initiation before a man and woman begin dancing together is perhaps the clearest example of individuals ‘doing gender’. In this space, men are almost exclusively responsible for initiating conversation or some sort of physical interaction. The idea that men must be aggressive and women must be passive only reaffirms our gender stereotypes. This relationship is even more evident in fraternities, as there seems to bee an even wider range in terms of what is deemed to be appropriate behavior (Boswell and Spade, 1996).

What would you expect if there were no social norms dictating the roles that are ideal for people based on their gender? In the current world, social norms are so entrenched in our society that we cannot ignore them. The society has differentiated individual roles to either male or female roles, an indication that though an individual has a unique body and personality, one can never be fully autonomous but will be trapped in the role assigned to him or her by the society. Since I feel comfortable about my life, there is nothing in her arguments implied on my personal life. However, it implies that this is the case for the society around me. Judith Butler states in her essay “Beside Oneself; On the Limits of Sexual Autonomy” that “...when we speak about my sexuality or my gender, as we do (and as we must) we mean something complicated by it. Neither of these is precisely a possession, but both are to be understood as modes of being dispossessed...” (Butler 115), showing that my social location is mainly constructed along gender performance and physical vulnerability by the media, family and the community.

Miscommunication has been a problem when dealing with these differences such as relationships. Romantic relationships often end due to miscommunication between the man and woman (Renwall.2010). It’s not because either of the two didn’t have good intentions, it’s because they didn’t communicate well enough to