Doing Gender by West and Zimmerman - Essay Example

The authors have successfully articulated the difference between the two and how gender has been manipulated to suit the interests of the powerful.

            ‘Doing Difference’ by West and Fenstermaker is interesting in its concept and proposes that socially constructed differences in gender produce social inequity across society. It shows that race, class, and gender are intrinsically linked and together are responsible for social inequity across gender. I do agree that in the absence of race and class, the need for gender differences would have remained non-competitive. Race promotes culturally diverse roles of genders and class differences prompt gender inequity to dominate the other, resulting in the subjugation of women across all strata of society.

            Pascoe’s article ‘‘Dude, You’re a Fag’: Adolescent Masculinity and the Fag Discourse’ is highly relevant within the sociological conceptualization of gender inequity that focuses on the ‘fag’ identity of adolescent boys. The article raises the issue of the emergence of sexuality across genders, especially the relationship between homophobia and masculinity that tends to lower the impact of masculinity on boys. The penetrated boys or the ‘faggots’ tend to lose their masculinity and become gay. Thus, the homophobia of losing heterosexual prowess that is strongly embedded within adolescent boys becomes an important epithet for harassment which may cause long-term psychological problems for the boys in their adulthood.