Connell Reflection

The world is “gender polarized,” but it doesn’t have to be. So says R. W. Connell, who brilliantly brings attention to the multiple and constraining dichotomies that force us to concentrate on sharp distinctions between men and women, especially biological differences. Phrases like, “the opposite sex” encourage us to think that there are only two types of bodies, and therefore only two types of people. We are apt to think that because of our biological differences, men are stronger, women are weaker; men are aggressive, women are passive; men study science, women are intuitive, etc. Connell argues that physical differences between the sexes are more subtle than we think; but Western culture has done a damn good job amplifying these varying characteristics, which helped lead to the establishment of a patriarchical society, since male characteristics were deemed worthy of leadership apparently.
Even with the emergence of the word “gender”—which attempted to provide a new vocabulary to differentiate between male and female humans (biology) and masculinity and femininity (gender)—we are still encouraged to use our bodies to demonstrate our gender identity. We “present and decorate” ourselves through the way we dress and modify our bodies. For example, women shave their legs, men take steroids to beef up, women get breast implants and men get calf implants. I think it’s our responsibility to challenge these expectations, which takes a lot of guts. Our outside appearance—whether we like it or not; whether we are conscious of it or not—sends a message to the public about who we are. I am not suggesting that, in order to combat this required presentation of ourselves, we should completely stop dressing the way we do; that wouldn’t solve very much. You can’t tell girls to rid their wardrobes of dresses because they emphasize the female physique too much and feminize women more than necessary; but it would be nice if men could wear dresses too without being gawked at. After all, dresses are comfortable and fun to wear! If we could slowly integrate an androgynous attitude toward clothing into our society, or at least reduce the pressure to look a certain way, then maybe the emphasis on appearance as a prevailing indicator of gender would be less prominent and more focused on expression and comfort.