Campos1

Leslie Campos

Professor Corri Ditch

English 115

6 November 2017

Gender Socialization and Gender Roles

When an individual performs their gender to the standards set by societal norms this is

called gender performance which often involves gestures,language,and speech to form an

identity.Gender norms affect everyday behavior without even realizing it.For example in the

epistolary novel The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Annie Barrows and Mary

Ann Shaffer which takes place in London during the second world war encountering many

characters that tell their stories of that time through a collection of letters. In specific two

characters Juliet and Dawsey, Juliet is a very known female writer and Dawsey a member of the

Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society.Through the lense of gender we are able to dissect

many of the notable radical gender performances that both characters demonstrate throughout the

novel.Juliet demonstrates a lack of composure considered appropriate for women in Western

European Society.Similarly to,Dawsey by participating in female affiliated expectations which

exhibits a radical behavior to his assigned male gender performance.

Juliets character is radical in her gender performance as a woman because she does not

remain tranquil.In other words the social expectation of women in current society is to have this

gender abide by the rules of composure and silence which is an act Juliet did not conform to

making her radical.This can be seen in the novel when Gilly, a very jealous reporter of Juliets
with a subversive character begs her to have tea with him, throughout this scene he mentions

Juliets almost husband and blames her for his death in the war which pushes Juliet to the edge

and causes her to lose her calm and throw the teapot at him.In society women are supposed to be

submissive,passive, and collected at all times no matter the given circumstances.It is almost a

unwritten rule that women are expected to follow.Further support can be illustrated in Aaron

Devors Becoming Members of Society:The Social Meanings of Gender when he speaks about

the appropriate behavior each gender group should demonstate.In specific he mentions,Such

an alternative conception of gender roles captures the hierarchical and competitive masculine

thirst for power,which can,but need not, lead to aggression, and the feminine quest for harmony

and communal well-being,which can,but need not,result in passivity and dependency. By Juliet

not performing her assigned female gender performance which according to Devor includes the

woman always in search for a quest in harmony and the communal well-being but instead loses

her quest in harmony and her passivity by throwing a teapot at Gilly which is a sign of

aggression often attributed with males then it can be inferred that Juliet is radical in her gender

performance as a woman.Moreover, in Rhetoric for Radicals by Jason Del Gandio he also makes

a similar point to Aaron Devor by saying ,Our patterns of interaction eventually become social

norms.The pattern then gets repeated so often that it becomes second nature to us.By Devor

describing how gender roles capture the hierarchical and competitive masculine thirst for power

then you can conclude that because a hierarchy is a dynamic system that is usually set up many

years prior that this is a system similar in that aspect of gender roles considering they both take

time to establish.Moreover by the time they are embedded in its intended audience they both

seen to play a reference point to the overall population.Furthermore,an article published by the

USC Dornsife College of letters, arts, and sciences titled Gender Differences in Social Behavior
speaks about how given that women perform more child care than men in most industrialized

societies women are believed to be especially nurturant and caring which reinforces once again

the expected behavior for women but on the other hand also supports why Juliets gender

performance is radical since she didn't follow the dicatted guidelines of calm and caring.

Therefore because this pattern is seen to be correct with regards to Gender roles and its

performances individuals become entrapped in these expectations and soon consider it to be

second nature as seen with Juliet and how surprising and taken off guard most people were that

Juliet a woman was taken out of her expected behavior characteristic of composed and sweet.

In addition Juliets character is radical in her gender performance as a woman because

she demonstrates assertiveness and dominance.In other words because these characteristics are

often applied to men and not women by Juliet expressing them in public she is being completely

radical i her gender performance as a woman.This can be seen in the text when Juliets husband

to be Rob is moving in and puts Juliet's precious books in boxes to be sent away to the basement

while he puts up all his awards and trophies, while books being one of the few things that Juliet

treasures she is furious that Rob has done this to her and causes her to snap at Rob and stand her

ground showing the male performance.There seems to be an expectation that once in a

relationship the woman must always serve the man as well as the social notion that is now

normalized of the woman always having to be the one to sacrifice and give up what they love for

their partners.By Juliet stating,How dare you! What have you DONE?!Put my books

back!Well, thats how matters started.Eventually,I said something to the effect that I could

never marry a man whose idea of bliss was to strike out at little balls and birds.Then this shows

the complete opposite of the specific behavioral standards that classify women in our

society.This classification includes women to always hold their tongues,be lady like and never
come off as rude or raise your voice especially not in the presence of a man.This point is

furthermore, supported by Aaron Devors Becoming Members of Society:The Social Meanings of

Gender when he says,A heterosexual orientation requires women to dress,move,speak, and act

in ways that me will find atractive.As patriarchy has reserved active expressions of power as a

masculine attribute, femininity must be expressed through modes of ress,movement,speech, and

action which communicate weakness,dependency,ineffectualness,availability for sexual or

emotional service, and sensitivity to the needs of others.(Devor 41).Because Juliet did not speak

to Rob in a way that is considered attractive according to Devor then Juliet here shows a clear

definition of a radical performance using speech.Similarly to Devor Del Gandio also mentions,

The idea of an absolute social norm as the absolutely correct way to live,act and think is a myth

that needs to be challenged,There is no single,absolue norm that we all can follow.(DEL Gandio

21).Considering that society is often regulating the behavior of both men and women and always

dictating how

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one should live contrary to the other just comes to show how deeply radical Juliets performance

of speaking her mind to Rob is, since a woman according to the status quo shouldn't do any of

the sort.

Furthermore,Dawsys character is radical in his gender performance as a man because he

participates and demonstrates feminine behavioral characteristics.This can be seen in the novel in

a letter to Juliet explaining to her his love for the author of Charles Lamb as well as how he plans

to reading his books over break while drinking tea.He specifically writes,Your book came

yesterday!! You are a nice lady and I thank you with all my heart.I have a job at St.Peter Port

Harbor-unloading ships, so I can read during tea breaks,It is a blessing to have real tea and bread
with butter , and now your book. Societys expectation of men is for them to not engage in

activities often attributed to women for example in this case drinking tea and reading books these

are activities that are more soft and gentle in nature which correlates to the expectation of women

to be soft and gentle as well .So because Dawsey is a man he is expected to engage in more

athletic and aggressive activities such as sports or drinking alcohol. Similarly, an article

published by Emily Reyes on the LA TIMES titled Men are stuck in gender roles mentions the

stigma for boys who act feminine in this quote, If a girl calls themselves tomboys,its with a

sense of pride.But boys make fun of other boys if they step just a little outside the ridgid

masculine stereotype(Reyes 6).The fact that a girl can express a sense of pride and affiliate

something positive with the term tomboy and a boy express rejection and disappointment

when caught drifting from a masculine to feminine performance just shows the inequalities

among the two in addition to providing further support to the overarching claim that Dawseys

character is radical by performing a feminine performance by showing emotions and

participating in drinking teas and reading books.Additional support can come from Claire

Renzetti and Daniel Currans For Women,Men, and Society when they mention,Parents use a

greater number and variety of emotions words when talking with daughters than sons.They also

talk more about sadness with daughters,whereas they talk more about anger with sons.One

outcome of this differential interaction is that by the age of six, girls use a greater number of and

more specialized words than boys. (Renzetti and Curran 79).This comes to show how men are

taught even from an early age to not have as many feelings are not express feelings as much as

girls and so because of this the result is that men are less emotionally available and aware than

women.By Dawsey participating in activities such as tea drinking and reading he is being radical

by engaging in what would be considered appropriate only for women to do.

 Above all, Gender roles create a strong influence on individuals in our society, it can

affect the choices made in everyday life.For example the people you associate with or the way a

persons demeanor.Throughout the novel The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society with

the two characters of Juliet and Dawsey you could see their radical performances, how they

refused conform to their assigned statuses and how they broke free from these ties and really

engaged in what they felt not what was expected of them because of a categorize gender label.In

a society where men are supposed to be superior to women, and a society where women are

expected to only do domestic household work we must come together to help change these

regulations for future generations.

Works Cited

Shaffer, Mary Ann, and Annie Barrows. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie

Society. The Trust Estate of Mary Ann Shaffer Annie Barrows, 2008.

Del Gandio, Jason. Rhetoric for Radicals. Jason Del Gandio, 2008.
 Devor, Aaron. Becoming Members of Society:The Social meanings of Gender.

Composing Gender,2014.

Renzetti, Claire, and Daniel Curran. From Women,Men,and Society. Composing

Gender, 2014.

Reyes, Emily Alpert. Men are stuck in Gender Roles. LA Times.

Dornsife, Dana. Gender Differences in Social Behavior. USC Dornsife.