The

naturalization
of gendered
bodies and linguistic
performance

Gender is everywhere

Sex and Gender

Is there a dierence?

Is there a dierence between

sex and gender?

No, Sex and gender are the same.

Yes, sex is based on your actual anatomy, gender is
the expression of masculinity or femininity.

Sex is the way gender becomes

salient for culture
Total number of people whose bodies dier
from standard male or female is one in 100
births
Culture trumps biology as it turns to
biology to explain itself.
Total number of people receiving surgery to
normalize genital appearance is one or
two in 1,000 births

How often does intersex

happen?
Not XX and not XY



Klinefelter (XXY)



Androgen insensitivity syndrome

Partial androgen insensitivity syndrome
Classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia
Late onset adrenal hyperplasia

Vaginal agenesis



Ovotestesone

1 in 1,666 births
1 in 1,000 births
1 in 13,000 births
1 in 130,000 births
1 in 13,000 births
1 in 66 individuals
1 in 6,000 births
1 in 110,000 births

Dreger, Alice Domurat. 1998. Ambiguous Sexor Ambivalent Medicine? Ethical Issues in the Treatment of Intersexuality. Hastings Center
Report, 28, 3: 24-35.Blackless, Melanie, Anthony Charuvastra, Amanda Derryck, Anne Fausto-Sterling, Karl Lauzanne, and Ellen Lee. 2000.
How sexually dimorphic are we? Review and synthesis. American Journal of Human Biology 12:151-166.

Changes in US Criteria for Assignment

Since the late 1960s, the US Criteria for Assignment in
these cases have evolved as our understanding of
Biological factors and diagnostic tests have improved
Surgical techniques have changed
Potential complications have become clearer
Outcomes of adults who have grown up with various
intersex conditions become apparent

US Criteria for Assignment:

Recommendations since the 2000s
Raise nearly all XX infants with functional ovaries as
female.
Raise most ambiguous XY infants with testes as male
unless the external genitalia are more female than male,
marked androgen insensitivity is present, and testes are
absent or defective.
-Raise as male any XY infant with unambiguous

micropenis.
-Raise as male any XY infant with functional testes and normal
androgen sensitivity but malformed or absent penis.

US Criteria for Assignment:

Recommendations since the 2000s
Raise infants with mixed gonadal tissue, true hermaphroditism, or
other chromosomal abnormalities as the sex most consistent
with external genitalia, since gonads are usually nonfunctional.

Gender identity is set by 12 years of age and reassignment after
that age should not be attempted unless requested by the
patient.

Still, the Western world does not

separate sex from gender.

Gender colors our relationships

Identity-making is a social enterprise

even before birth

Sexual (re)Assignment Issues

Couple sues over sexual reassignment
(@1:30)

-http://www.salon.com/2013/05/15/
couple_sues_over_childs_sexual_reassignm
ent_surgery_in_groundbreaking_case/
(05/15/2013)

The Making of Assigned Sex - Ep 1: Ring

the Alarm
- http://youtube/l2z9zRJDxBU (8:22;00)

Gender Dysphoria
(Gender Identity Disorder)
A conict between a person's physical sex and the gender he or she
identies as.
For example, a person identied as a boy may actually feel and act
like a girl. The person is very uncomfortable with the gender they
were born into.
What Is Gender Identity Disorder?
June 27, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=3074520

More Children Struggle With Gender Identity Disorder

February 21, 2012

http://www.npr.org/2012/02/21/147180163/pediatricians-more-patients-want-to-change-their-gender
(3:56;50)

Naturalizing Sex as Gender

By conating sex and gender, masculine and the feminine

ways of being and doing congeals and appears natural rather
than what it is:
Gender(ing) is cultural practice, socialization through and through
It colors our relationships and informs how we act in the world
within those relationships
It shapes how we connect and how we explain, interpret, justify,
and judge one anothers language and embodiment

Learning to be gendered
Learning to speak a language is to be a member of a
community
And in learning that language, one comes to know whats
right, whats wrong, whos in, whos out
Learning to embody a certain gender is to be an accepted
member of a community
In learning those norms, one comes to know whats right,
whats wrong, whos in, whos out

Gender Ideology
Shared, tacit perceptions and feelings people
have for explaining, interpreting, justifying, and
judging the way people are and act in
relationship to their perceived gender.

Language Ideology
Shared, tacit perceptions and feelings people have for
explaining, interpreting, justifying, and judging language
and language users.

Ideology and Practice

Ideologies shape practice

But practice reproduces ideologies.

Interviews with Kids on

Gender Roles

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VqsbvG40Ww

Categories of Identity:
Asset or Liability?
If identity is a social enterprise, then gender categories
help arm understanding and acceptance by a
community.

If identity is a social enterprise, then these categories

also help arm misunderstanding and lack acceptance by

a community.

Back to Gender Dysphoria

To know sex is to determine gender and both inform how
we understand sexuality in the U.S.
When someone has a conict between a person's physical
gender and the gender he or she identies as,
Then those ideologies kick in:
Shared, tacit perceptions and feelings people have for
explaining, interpreting, justifying, and judging
other peoples ways of being and doing.

Just Beat the gay out of em?

North Carolina Pastor Suggests Parents Beat The Gay Out of Their Kids (5/2/2012)
"So your little son starts to act a little girlish when he is four years old and instead of squashing that
like a cockroach and saying, Man up, son, get that dress o you and get outside and dig a ditch,
because that is what boys do, you get out the camera and you start taking pictures of Johnny acting
like a female and then you upload it to YouTube and everybody laughs about it and the next thing you
know, this dude, this kid is acting out childhood fantasies that should have been squashed. Can I make
it any clearer? Dads, the second you see your son dropping the limp wrist, you walk over there and
crack that wrist. Man up. Give him a good punch. Ok? You are not going to act like that. You were
made by God to be a male and you are going to be a male. And when your daughter starts acting to
Butch you reign her in. And you say, Oh, no, sweetheart. You can play sports. Play them to the glory
of God. But sometimes you are going to act like a girl and walk like a girl and talk like a girl and smell
like a girl and that means you are going to be beautiful. You are going to be attractive. You are going
to dress yourself up.
You say, Can I take charge like that as a parent?
Yeah, you can. You are authorized. I just gave you a special dispensation this morning to do that.

http://sst.com/2012/05/02/north_carolina_pastor_tells_parents.php

Gender is everywhere
from sex to get gender
Treat gender, then as a natural social category
Gender is not a thing, but a technique for classifying, and therefore,
controlling others.
Gender is not bad. Its what speakers do with it as a naturalized
category to explain what ought to be (ideologies/worldview) that can
be neutral, positive, but also often negative
This process of dierentiation can come from socialization but its not
based on sex-to-gender; rather,
Socialization to the script, to the discourse of gender that explains
and aords dierence, neutrally, positively, and quite often as an
apparatus of power

Gender is everywhere

Theories of gender identity dierences

How has scholarship reckoned with gender dierence?
-Female decit model
-Dual culture model
-Dominance model

And this just insocio-biology model

Female Decit Model

Womens behavior is measured in terms of how it
deviates from the norm, which is mens behavior
It is the non-standard understood through the
standard
This goes for styles of communication and
embodiment

Markedness
All men are created equally.
The student should read all work he has been assigned
v. she has been assigned
NBA versus the WNBA
First astronaut in space v. First woman into space
(Linda Waugh )

OMG, The FIRST WOMAN!!!!

Harriet's greatest inspiration was her mother, who taught her the dierence between
right and wrong, and instilled in Harriet the conviction that she could do anything she
set her mind to. Inspired by that condence, Harriet became a pioneer in the eld of
law, breaking down barriers to women that remained even after a generation --
remained a generation after President Reagan appointed Justice O'Connor to the
Supreme Court.
Harriet was the rst woman to be hired at one of Dallas's top law rms, the rst woman
to become President of that rm, the rst woman to lead a large law rm in the state
of Texas. Harriet also became the rst woman president of the Dallas Bar Association,
and the rst woman elected president of the State Bar of Texas. In recognition of her
achievements paving the way for women lawyers, Harriet's colleagues in Texas have
honored her with numerous awards, most recently the Sandra Day O'Connor award
for professional excellence.
President Bush, Feb. 2005 Announcement of Meirs nomination.

Dual cultural model

Interactional variation and worldview dier among men
and women.
This comes from men and women being socialized
dierently.
Based from studies by Daniel Maltz and Ruth Borker and
their 1982 paper A Cultural Approach to Male-Female
Miscommunication


How are we socialized dierently?

Studies show that we see kids dierently according to their sex:

Boy newborns are spoken to as bigger and tougher.

Girl newborns are talked about more ne-featured and gentle.

People handle female babies gently but rough-house play more playful with male
babies.

We create this distinction pretty early on, even in language:

-We teach a boy not to say,OMG, thats soo cute. I love it! when he
gets a new bike or comments on clothing, his sisters dolls.

-Adults speak with diminutives (kitty, doggy), and more inner state words
(happy, sad) with girls; with more prohibitives (dont do that!) even though studies show
boys do not act badly more than girls.

(Rubin, Provenzano, Luria 1974)

Gendered parenting

Gendered parenting
Book Description
THERE'S SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A DADDY
AND HIS LITTLE GIRL. But it's not always easy to know how to nurture that
relationship or what everyday things matter most to your daughter. How to
Be Your Daughter's Daddy oers 365 simple and creative ideas to help you
make your daughter feel special and valuable.

Review. New Fathers, November 4, 2000
I never knew having a daughter would be so much fun. This book oers a slew
of activities that all father\daughter relationships will benet. From simple
little games to gift ideas. After all our daughters deserve there childhood.

Gendered parenting

Gendered parenting
Book Description
MOST YOUNG BOYS LOOK UP TO THEIR FATHER AS THE MOST IMPORTANT MAN IN
THEIR LIFE AND LONG FOR A DEEP AND LOVING RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM. But
even if you sincerely desire a special connection with your son, that kind of
closeness can be hard to build.
How to Be Your Little Man's Dad oers 365 simple and creative father-son activities
that will foster the kind of relationship you both want. Written by Dan Bolin, the
author of How to Be Your Daughter's Daddy, and Ken Suttereld, who fathers two
sons, this book will encourage you to be the dad your little man needs most.
Review.
I was hoping for a book like "How to Dad" which has pictures and instructions on
how to do cool stu, like skip rocks and teach how to ride a bike. This is more like
those inspirational books like life's instruction book. Great read, some wonderful
ideas, but not the sort of hands on activity book I thought it was going to be. I
guess I was thinking of the 365 ways to cook chicken books.

Dual cultural model

Interactional variation and worldview dier among men
and women.
This comes from men and women being socialized
dierently.


Based from studies by Daniel Maltz and Ruth Borker and their 1982 paper A Cultural Approach to Male-Female
Miscommunication


Children are socialized
to play, dress, value things,
and to speak dierently
Judgments about
condence can be inferred
only from the way people
present themselves, and
much of that presentation
is in the form of talk
(Tannen 1995:139)

Men are from Mars,

Women are from Venus
Six contrasts in male and female language patterns:
Status vs. support
Independence vs. intimacy
Advice vs. understanding
Information vs. feelings
Orders vs. proposals
Conict vs. compromise
Tannen, Deborah (1990). You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in
Conversation

Language and Interactional Style

Robin Lakos womens language
Womens interactional styles:
Tag questions (right?)
Up-talking (declarative lilt = interrogative)
Hedges/Fillers (like, um, I mean)
Empty qualiers (Oh, totally; that is sooo cute)
Vocal Fry
Gossip
Equal turn-taking and cooperative talk

Uptalking


Vocal Fry/ Creaky Voice
Characterized by bubbles of air (rather then even ow of air)
coming from lungs; sounds like popcorn popping
Since 1965 American girls tend toward lowering their vocal
register
This can be read through pulses of low frequency; wave forms in
spectrograph analyses
This is thought of as attempt to match male counterparts (Yuasa
2000)
Shifting vocal registers is an example of a way of marking social
roles and social relationships
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbkETbHpyF4

Language and Interactional Style

Mens interactional styles:
Men use aggressive speech to show o their strength and prove
themselves; therefore,
Almost no tag questions (right?)
Direct declaratives; No Up-talking (declarative lilt = interrogative)
Less Hedges/Fillers (like, um, I mean)
No Empty qualiers (Oh, totally; that is sooo cute)
No Vocal Fry
Gossip is frowned upon

Language and Gender Dierentiation

(The script of Stereotyping)
Is this dierentiation because we have actually witnessed
these scenarios in real life?
Or,
Is it because we can so readily supply the cultural script
that makes them meaningful and typical?

The Script

The behavior of men and women, whatever it
may be in whatever context, is invariably read
through a more general discourse on
dierence itself

The Script of Gender Discourse

Men and women are from dierent planets
Oh, he burned the toast?! Thats because men cant
cook.
Oh, she wrecked the Hemi?! Thats why you dont let a
woman drive a mans car.
In speech, the go-to Men talk this way, women talk this
way mantra
(ie.,) -Men use aggressive speech to show o

their strength and prove themselves
- Women use quieter speech patterns to bond
with each other

Gender and Language Ideologies

Gender treated as a real social category itself is part of the script
To classify something requires dierentiation
To label is to control, to bound and to be able to index its practice
as a normal characteristic of the category (socially, this is
stereotyping)
But, ideologies of gender and language dierence are not
necessarily always bad. Ideologies can be positive, neutral, or
negative

Gender and Language Ideologies

But, ideologies of gender and language dierence are not necessarily always
bad. Ideologies can be positive, neutral, or negative
Ex. (neutral) These shoes are a mans size 8 or a womans size 6.5
(neutral) Latina, Latino; Mr. Mrs.
(positive) Male tenors voices are just beautiful
(negative) How are you supposed to keep a job if you talk like that and your
hair is that short?
Gender categories are deployed to explain anity and collaboration, and to
justify dierence and dierential treatment and opportunity

The script doesnt match up with

what is really happening

Ex. Homosociality among heterosexual
males
College men gossip about another
males body, clothing, and talk as being
gay in order to maintain solidarity in
their performance of manliness against
this antithesis of men.
Their own speech as gossip is, according
to the dual-cultural model, the antithesis
of men.
Camerons case (Language and Sexuality)