Priya Gala: Week 1

Comments on The Night to His Day by Judith Lorber and The Egg and The Sperm by Emily Martin

In her book, The Second Sex, Beauvoir says, “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman”. This quote to a large extent, summarizes Lorber’s article. Lorber looks at gender as a social construction, where society determines the roles of individuals by looking at their sex. Based on a discussion in the classroom, we can take examples of how gender construction begins right in the childhood of individuals and is reinforced throughout their lifetime. As pointed out by some males, they weren’t allowed to play with a Barbie or wear pastel clothes. Neither were they allowed to cry since it was considered “feminine”. On the other hand, females, too, were complimented on wearing a beautiful dress particularly because they followed their gender roles. Thus, by discouraging or encouraging, feminine or masculine, behavior at a very young age the gender of individuals is imposed on them in accordance with their sex. This is further legitimized by culture, society, human interactions, religion, law et cetera. While legitimization of gender constructions takes place through the above-mentioned institutions was something that I had thought about earlier the idea that even biological facts could be constructed in cultural terms was something that never crossed my mind. Thanks to Emily Martin for her piece on The Egg and The Sperm which explains how the dichotomy of masculine and feminine also works in relevance to gametes such as the sperm and the egg.