HE is also a SHE

Some of you may have recently noticed the hype around Emma Watson's UN speech addressing gender and equality. Her speech gained not only my attention, but the attention of many around the world. Her overall message was simple; the cultural dichotomy of men and women needs to stop. Her speech resonated with me, not only because I identify as a feminist but because I believe that if this dichotomy was irradiated that there would be little need for a feminist movement at all. 

As depicted in popular broadcasting, and confirmed by studies, the media portrays men and women as opposites. For instance, Janna L. Kim offers narratives that reconfirm the idea that men and women are portrayed as binaries within the media. Some of these opposing narratives are that “Men are sexual initiators” and “Women set sexual limits”, and “Men want/need independence” and “Women want/need relationships (Kim, 2007, p. 151-153). Adrienne Holz Ivory and her colleges recognize the prominent gendered relationship in which ““maleness signals authority, status, competence, social power, and influence, and femaleness signals lack of authority, low status, incompetence, and little power and influence’’ (Holz et al., 2009, p. 172). Both of these studies confirm that currently mediated gender roles create a dichotomy in regards to the psychological traits, occupational, family, and political roles assigned to members of each sex. 

This pattern is problematic in that it creates limited representations of men and women within the media, which due to modeling and cultivation theory, may limit the narratives and restrict the behaviors of men and women within society. 

The solution to this problem is addressed by Watson when stating that “It is time that we all see gender as a spectrum instead of two sets of opposing ideals.” Creating binaries between men and women creates inequality. If society was able to view gender on a continuum, it is likely that career, political, and family roles for both men and women would be expanded, criticism regarding sexuality would be reduced, and the feminist movement would be unnecessary because opportunities would not be divided based on your masculinity or femininity, but would be determined based on the combination of the two that each individual simultaneously possess.

Humans are complex. The opinions, behaviors and preferences we possess should be freely embodied, regardless of our biological sex. No individual's personality is made up of only masculine or feminine qualities, so it is time that we stop defining ourselves as one or the other. 

References

Holz Ivory, A., Gibson, R., & Ivory, J. D. (2009). Gendered relationships on television: Portrayals of same-sex and heterosexual couples. Mass Communication and Society, 12(2), 170-192.

Kim, J. L., Lynn Sorsoli, C., Collins, K., Zylbergold, B. A., Schooler, D., & Tolman, D. L. (2007). From sex to sexuality: Exposing the heterosexual script on primetime network television. Journal of Sex Research, 44(2), 145-157.