Gender Codes

3 Pages 632 Words

“A gender code is a culturally constructed belief system that dictates the appropriate roles and behavior for men and women in society. Though often justified on the basis of appeals to the ‘natural’ differences between the two sexes, gender codes usually reflect cultural values rather than natural facts.” (Sonia Maasik, Jack Solomon)
In many ways, people identify themselves, or are identified by their gender. “I am a man” or “I am a woman.” Gender is undeniably the most defining characteristic of all creatures. Since the dawn of time, women and men have played distinctly different roles in society, simply because they have a different anatomy. Although gender codes have come a long way since the full skirt wearing days of the 1950’s, we have a ways to go.
The movie Far From Heaven shows several blatant examples of gender coding. When Mrs. Whitaker comes home with the groceries, her daughter is not allowed to help while her son is ordered to. I don’t remember my brother ever offering to bring in the groceries, and he sure wasn’t ordered. Even though unloading the groceries isn’t exactly strenuous labor, the boy is told to do it to prepare for his later role as the “hunter and gatherer.” The dialect in this movie seemed almost fake, I can’t remember the last time I heard a boy call his mother “Ma’am” or a husband call his wife “Darling.” Kids and adults were much more respectful of each other in the 1950’s.
I can’t think of a more obvious gender code than the Christmas morning scene. The boy gets a train and the girl gets pink ballet slippers. I think this has been reversed in the past few decades. I got a toy truck for my 6th birthday because my Dad thought I needed to toughen up. Our generation’s parents who were once the children of Kathy Whitaker’s era have made a conscious decision to treat their children equal. Christmas brings G.I. Joes for the little girls instead of...