Foucault’s theory of power states that power is produced by an unequal relationship created with intentions in mind. I instantly thought about the unequal power relationship between men and women in society. Patriarchy, which implies that men rule and have privilege while women are subordinate, is what our society bases the ‘standard’ male or female. After taking a class that looked at gender from a sociological perspective, I learned about gender boxes and how patriarchy negatively effects both men and women. The gender box can be defined as characteristics or adjectives meant to describe males or females. If men and women do not abide by the rules of their appropriate box, they are seen as deviant and not normal to society. Society successfully polices individuals into maintaining their gender box.
Foucault claims sexuality is part of power because its standards are taught and reinforced in institutions such as the home, in schools, in hospital and so on. A good example of this is when babies are born, pink items are given to show the baby is a girl and blue items are displayed for boys. From birth, gender is reinforced subconsciously. Another example would be in grade school when lining up to go to the bathroom or any other place in school, educators and teachers always separate students into two lines: boys and girls. Making the differences known between the binary genders of society makes individuals soon learn how to act as male or female. And of course we have also been taught that there are only two genders, which is not the case.
In fact, I did not realize how gendered our society was until after taking that sociology class and reading Alan Johnson book Gender Outlaws. Johnson talks about patriarchy and the gender roles and boxes set in place by society for us to follow. We, ourselves, are good at policing others into their correct gender. Take for instance advertising of certain products. When watching television, pay attention to how they advertise products meant for females and products meant for males. There are major differences such as the language they use, the colors they use and also the emotion used varies. Men hold the power, in most relationships, over women and over some men, for example your boss. Usually men are the ones in positions of power also. Majority of men are in politics, are CEO’s or just the head of any business operation. If you are not any of these however, you are more than likely in an unequal power relationship. Patriarchy and gender boxes puts a strain on this relationship between males and females especially. An individual can experience harm if they do not their stereotype. Some solutions to this would be to take the path of greater resistance as Johnson explains it. This means not taking the same route as everyone else and taking a stand for what you believe in. For instance, if someone tells a sexist joke, but you do not think it is funny, do not laugh. Taking the path of lesser resistance would mean you only laugh because others laugh in order to look normal. This is harder than it sounds but over the years I can say that I take the path of lesser resistance. Just the other day I was watching Fashion Police with Joan Rivers and she makes a lot of racial jokes. In the past I may have laughed, but I no longer find these type of jokes funny so I did not laugh. In fact, I kept thinking to myself “That’s not funny…” to almost every joke she said. I contribute the knowledge I gained from being in college to this. Hopefully others will soon learn to not police individuals into certain gender boxes so we can work on breaking down Foucault’s idea of power.
MJ
Foucault claims sexuality is part of power because its standards are taught and reinforced in institutions such as the home, in schools, in hospital and so on. A good example of this is when babies are born, pink items are given to show the baby is a girl and blue items are displayed for boys. From birth, gender is reinforced subconsciously. Another example would be in grade school when lining up to go to the bathroom or any other place in school, educators and teachers always separate students into two lines: boys and girls. Making the differences known between the binary genders of society makes individuals soon learn how to act as male or female. And of course we have also been taught that there are only two genders, which is not the case.
In fact, I did not realize how gendered our society was until after taking that sociology class and reading Alan Johnson book Gender Outlaws. Johnson talks about patriarchy and the gender roles and boxes set in place by society for us to follow. We, ourselves, are good at policing others into their correct gender. Take for instance advertising of certain products. When watching television, pay attention to how they advertise products meant for females and products meant for males. There are major differences such as the language they use, the colors they use and also the emotion used varies. Men hold the power, in most relationships, over women and over some men, for example your boss. Usually men are the ones in positions of power also. Majority of men are in politics, are CEO’s or just the head of any business operation. If you are not any of these however, you are more than likely in an unequal power relationship. Patriarchy and gender boxes puts a strain on this relationship between males and females especially. An individual can experience harm if they do not their stereotype. Some solutions to this would be to take the path of greater resistance as Johnson explains it. This means not taking the same route as everyone else and taking a stand for what you believe in. For instance, if someone tells a sexist joke, but you do not think it is funny, do not laugh. Taking the path of lesser resistance would mean you only laugh because others laugh in order to look normal. This is harder than it sounds but over the years I can say that I take the path of lesser resistance. Just the other day I was watching Fashion Police with Joan Rivers and she makes a lot of racial jokes. In the past I may have laughed, but I no longer find these type of jokes funny so I did not laugh. In fact, I kept thinking to myself “That’s not funny…” to almost every joke she said. I contribute the knowledge I gained from being in college to this. Hopefully others will soon learn to not police individuals into certain gender boxes so we can work on breaking down Foucault’s idea of power.
MJ