Recently, I started taking a class for my American Studies requirement on interdisciplinary approaches to sex, gender, and sexuality. One of the first questions my professor asked us at the start of class was "Is gender a social construct?"
That question was a reoccurring theme throughout the entire class that day. It has since stuck with me.
This morning, I was looking through the news app on my phone, and the question popped up in an article. So I decided to do a little bit more digging to find out whether or not gender is a social construct.
Everyone knows that the concept of gender refers to identity questions (i.e. what a woman and a man is, or what it means to be born in a woman's or a man's body), as well as issues related to power (i.e. who has the power to define what a woman or a man is?)
More than 60% of the population say that gender is not a social construct. Before delving into this, let's answer the question of what it means to be a social construct.
Ask yourself the question, "Am I *insert gender here* or is that what I've been told?"
About 35% of the population believe that gender is an idea based on what we socially believe. Basically, they are saying that they are X gender because, as children, they were told to play with certain toys.
However, if you ask me, that's complete B.S.
I am a woman, and I know I am a woman. The fact that I am a female is in no way based off of what toys I played with as a child, nor is it based off of what sports I played or what TV shows I watched.
One study I read about suggests that "girly toys" preferences are not a reflection of gendered social pressures. Children are too young to understand if it is "socially acceptable" for a girl to play with a GI Joe or a boy to play with Barbie dolls.
In a way, it angers me when I see people telling their children they can't play with certain toys, or when they say that a boy playing with dolls will turn out gay when he gets older.
This brings me back to the question of gender being a social construct. In my opinion, it is not.
Yes, we are told that you can be X gender or Y gender and that is all. We are told that you cannot "switch" your genders.
That is what makes people believe that gender is a social construct. But I believe you have every right to "switch" genders if that's what makes you happy.
If someone is born male but inside is a female, then why make them stay "trapped" inside the body of someone they are not? Whatever gender you choose to be should be based off of what you feel is right, not what society tells you is right.