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Essay On Social Construction Of Gender

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Gender is defined as to a “multifaceted social construction that has been organised by human beings and has been used as a political tool to channel power into society”. (Hurd Clarke & Griffin, 2007). My experience of becoming gendered has made me more aware of the apparent of the social construction patriarchy that our society reinforces. Men are socialised not to attach personhood to individuals who identity as women and believe that they can exert influence into how female bodies can dress like which largely polices the female body. In this essay I will examine how gender constructs are defined in how woman dress through using personal anecdotes and I will reinforces how the social construction of gender has resorted women to dress more …show more content…

I have always identified and embraced being a woman who exudes vulnerability but also redefines her own standards feminine principles that she choices to live by. Being feminine has made me aware of the injustices women of colour are prone to and how class and race play a distinct role in the gendering process. My first experience of being gendered as a female became more apparent when I started developing in my adolescence suddenly I blossomed and began to exude beauty that had a tendency to attract the opposite sex. I grew increasingly ambivalent about my body as in the rural socioeconomic environment that I was akin to women were largely marginalized on the basis of dress code. In the rural settings of South Africa women are viewed through a patriarchal lens we are unable to flaunt of voluptuous curves and express our true style due to the fear that should we flaunt such it might lead to incitement of rape or sexual assault. In retrospect I’ve realised that I had tried to isolate the full expression of myself in an attempt to protect myself from the attracting male attention. I had told myself that women who dress relatively moderately are not akin to be harassed by men or attract the eyes of men which is especially problematic as we are restricted in our stylistic

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