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Austin Maloco
Professor Rodrick
Queer Studies 115
8 December, 2016
The Dictatorship of Gender Roles

For many years Gender is a topic that has been viewed as a two way street. The symbols
above is what people used to define gender for a long period time. Someone was either viewed as
male or female. People who viewed themselves as another gender or wished to have romantic
relationships with someone of the same gender were often harassed and outcasted. As time
progressed into the modern era, various new gender identities were recognised. The ways people
define themselves started to develope and grow. These genders can range in between the
established male or female or can range outside the previously known categories. Eventually
many people in society started to accept these genders. Unfortunately the past only repeats itself
as society began to treat people who identify themselves outside of the gender norm as social
aliens. The concept of male and female is deeply rooted in society, this is a result of

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reinforcement of ideals at a young age. Although some people can go against the ideals set forth,
they are met with resistance supported by fear. This fear serves as a deterrent factor feeding into
people's false judgments supporting negative stereotyping.
The concept of what is male and what is female is deeply instilled in the rationalization
of society. This process of defining gender is presented to children at a very young age. Daniel
Curran and Claire Renzetti, both sociologists whose works focus primarily on gender related
issues, writes in the article From Women Men and Society, how children are taught by their
parents about gender roles at a young age and how this influences a child's development in
gender identification. The authors go into detail of how the children were treated by their parents
based on gender. This treatment the children were introduced to contained factors such as
behavior, clothing, and the toys the children were given. The authors claim that these attributes
are gender specific. Primarily, Clothing, . plays, a significant role in gender socialization in
two ways. First, , certain types of clothing or discourage particular behaviors or activities
[such as rough play for boys and activities for girls that are careful and eloquent.] [and]
Second, by informing others about the sex of the child. (77). This example shows the basis of
gender role. According to this role both genders must refrain from doing certain activities of the
other gender. Females must be the model of manners and eloquence while males must be the
opposite, aggressive and rough. The polarization of gender roles feeds into the idea that males
and females should be distinct from one another to the point of simplicity. This idea then forces
children to fall into a role that has been prefabricated for them. Since the parents influences the
train of thought of children it is only reinforced that they must follow this set role. Ultimately
this limits the childs ideas on gender, and a social barrier or rule that is strongly reinforced by
social expectations and negative social consequences is created.

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Society is constructed of social ideals and norms that the general population of a society
accepts as fact, but people do make mistakes and are not perfect. As such, the norms and ideals
that are made by people, have the possibility of being wrong. If ideals are forced upon any
person even if they do not want to follow those rules it would be then considered tyranny. Petra
Doan, a professor of urban regional planning whose work focuses primarily on gendered spaces,
argues in her work, The Tyranny of Gendered Spaces: Reflections from Beyond the Gender
Dichotomy, that public spaces are ruled by gendered norms and that individuals who would go
against that norm would be alienated and harassed, Professor Doan herself being a transgendered
person faces the scrutiny and harassment for breaking this norm. At a young age when Professor
Doan was still questioning her gender she then seeked counseling with a therapist. The therapist
then gave her some advice, that in 1959 gender variance was seen as severe form of mental
illness and if [he] had told [his] parents [he] wanted to be a girl, [he] might of received electroshock and aversion therapy as a cure(Doan 54). Professor Doans experience serves as an
example that if a person acts out of line in terms of the set of rules set by society, then they are
subject to the social stigma or correction by use of force. Dictators use fear as a means of control,
similarities aside fear could be a factor of control in society. Fear would discourage a person
from acting in certain way because the person would be discouraged since they think that anyone
could assault them physically or vocally. This preserves the order that has been made to conserve
set standards. Many people have different reasons for wanting to keep the status quo, for some it
is the sake of simplicity and for others the conservation of their own beliefs. In the end forcing
ideas on a group of still can bring harm to them.
Fear seems to be a driving force that maintains the social order of defined gender.
Harassment and fear are a big deterrent for people to take action or to even speak about their

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gender. This is what Morgana Bailey, a human resource activist, did for most of her life.
Morgana Bailey through her Ted Talk presentation discusses how she has hidden the fact that she
has been lesbian for several years. She says how she used to a very different and energetic person
until she started to conform in college, she then told the audience that she was lesbian she said
that she never came out before because, [she] didnt wanted to be defined by them [and that
she] just didnt want to be known as Morgana, uniquely Morgana, but not my lesbian friend
Morgana, or my gay coworker Morgana. Just Morgana (2:47-3:47The Danger of Hiding
Who You Are). Morgana Bailey was deterred from telling anyone about her homosexuality
because of fear of being labeled as homosexual and stereotypes that come with the label. When
most people think of gay, they would most likely think of the flamboyant gay stereotype. A
flashy, extrovert, who acts to overly feminine. Stereotypes are a grossly simplified versions of
what to expect from a person of a certain group. The word grossly simplified used because of
idea of stereotyping. A set personality for a group of individuals. People are unique and the idea
that a person must fit into a certain character just because of who they are or who they identify
as is just wrong. This only shows that stereotyping forces people to play their given role in a play
they do not want to be part of.
In conclusion, the ideals of gender defined at a young age strengthens a social construct
that socially will harm anyone who would go against its rules by use of fear tactics and crude
stereotyping ideologies. Tyranny is the best way to describe this current situation. There are still
some places in the world where if you were to act differently and identify as something other
than what you are told you are by other people you would be ridiculed, arrested, or even killed.
Some may say that the situation has improved as society has come to accept difference, like the
in the beginning of this essay, but saying that there is improvement only supports the reasoning
that their is still an apparent problem that needs to be solved. Changing the social ideologies
takes time, it does not just include patience but also a careful and thoughtful form of judgment
aimed at solving the issue rather than bettering it to a point were minor incidents go unnoticed.

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Works Cited
Blue 3D male Symbol. Digital image. Clipartbest.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
<http://www.clipartbest.com/clipart-xigrgxjiA>.
The Danger of Hiding Who You Are. Perf. Morgana Bailey. Ted.com. Ted, Nov. 2014. Web. 19
Oct. 2016.
<http://www.ted.com/talks/morgana_bailey_the_danger_of_hiding_who_you_are>.
Doan, Petra. "The Tyranny of Gendered Spaces: Reflections from Beyond the Gender
Dichotomy." Composing Gender. By Rachael Groner and John F. O'Hara. Boston:
Bedford/St.Martin's, 2013. 53-64. Print.
A pink 3D female symbol. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
<http://vgc.wikia.com/wiki/File:Venus-female-symbol-pseudo-3D-pink.svg>.
Renzetti, Claire, and Daniel Curran. Composing Gender. By Rachael Groner and John F. O'Hara.
Boston: Bedford/St.Martin's, 2013. 77-84. Print.