Q‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‍‍uestion: In the set reading for Week 2, Holmes (2009) trace

Q‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‍‍uestion: In the set reading for Week 2, Holmes (2009) traces a number of social differences that structure and organize gendered and sexual identities. What do you understand by this term ‘social construction’ and how does it relate to gender? Give two examples to demonstrate the ways in which gender is a social construction, and the social structures that interplay with this. [NB: The reading by Connell (2009) ‘The Question of Gender (Links to an external site.)’ in Week 2 and many of the Further Readings will be very helpful sources that you can reference in this essay]. We are using this first assignment to get you thinking about the key concepts in this course—i.e. the social construction of gender—but you will also be learning how to write in an academic style and how to reference your work. Reference your work using the Harvard system and include a bibliography of works used at the end of your essay. For this assignment you must use and reference the set reading from Week 2 (Holmes (2009). There is no magic number for how many academic references you should have (a minimum of 3), but make sure you look at Week 2’s Further Readings and Weeks 1-4 if you wish. Also list any media articles, etc., that you have used. Your bibliography of works used at the end of your essay IS NOT included in the word count. Tips and Advice: Think about what the question is asking of you: This essay requires you to focus on gender as a social construction and how it operates as a social structure, unpacking it and providing examples to demonstrate that you understand and can independently apply this framework for understanding gender. Be sure that social construction and gender is the focus of your essay. Make sure all the information you include in your essay is connected and that you unpack the statement in full: what are they key concepts in Holmes’ understanding of gender as a social construction, what do they mean, and how do they relate to one another? What is meant by the social construction of gender? What do I mean by ‘examples’? Think of an example of a ‘gendered social structure’, ‘gender as a pattern in our social relationships’, or a ‘social arrangement’ that reinforces the gender binary. This can be almost anything you are able to observe in the social world: advertisements and media images, represented through film, television, music videos and song lyrics, are replete with messages on how to behave in a feminine or m‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‍‍asculine way (gender as a pattern). What about representations of masculinity by those storming the Capitol in Washington January 2020? Male or female-dominated activities and single-sex schooling also reinforce a host of gender norms that are not natural or inevitable, but instead culturally determined (gender as a social construction/arrangement). Make your examples concrete through reference to 1-2 cultural texts, media report, academic article or image: for instance a pamphlet that advertises a single-sex school through drawing on gender stereotypes, a news item or a piece of advertisement from a magazine or store catalogue. Tutorials are a great place to discuss your examples with your tutor and/ or fellow classmates, and you are encouraged to do so. Make specific rather than general claims It is always important to be as specific with your examples as possible. For example, a good example to use would be the gendered marketing of children’s toys or clothes. This example would be made more concrete if you can demonstrate it through a specific example (for example a Target catalogue). Yet, by using this one example, you are merely showing that Target has ‘boy’s and ‘girl’s’ clothes and toys. In order to link this specific example to broader trends, you need to find a peer-reviewed source that demonstrates that the gendering of clothes and toys is, indeed, a general phenomenon. Always back up your arguments with reference to academic work. Explain and unpack your claims fully Fully unpack your claims, making sure you have explained and substantiated the arguments and connections you are making. Also make sure each paragraph links clearly the essay question. For example, it is not enough to write that ‘performances of gender demonstrate the social construction of gender.’ – How do they do this? – Provide a specific example of a gender performance and how it shows the constructed nature of gender. Provide a reference for the example. – Link the idea of gender performance back to Holmes’ and Connell’s definition of gender, and provide a reference to the passage in their texts that you are referring to. The best essays would reference performativity to its source–Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble (1990). Referencing: Use the Harvard style (see MyUni Resources) and if you are not referring to the article as a whole (the main argument of the piece), provide a page number of the quote, point, or idea you are referenc‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‍‍ing. YOU MUST PROVIDE A PAGE NUMBER FOR DIRECT QUOTES.

The post Q‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‍‍uestion: In the set reading for Week 2, Holmes (2009) trace appeared first on homework handlers.