For my cultural artifact I am picking something that is so common and overlooked that it doesn't even come to mind when thinking about gender in society and the indifference.
I am talking about basic lipstick. A common beauty product that in recent days has not only been associated with binary women but everyone on the gender spectrum that wants to make their appearance more "feminine". This artifact says that you are feminine in some way, shape or form. A definition created by society. It does not attempt to challenge gender stereotypes or social norms at all. In fact it is one of the staples that holds up these outdated and misinforming norms together. This greatly impacts the way people think about gender identity and expression yet no one thinks of it very deep. They just see a person who is wearing lip stick and go "that person is feminine" subconsciously. It is so rooted in being a piece of the "gender norms" our society has created. It makes me think to myself that items like these cause gender stereotypes to be considered norms with out any push back what so ever! You might think its only lipstick, but subconsciously making assumptions and moving on without any regard to deep thinking is where things can get ugly. Using Wendy Griswolds cultural diamond you can clearly see the cultural object as the lipstick, and the social world it lives in being general society. The creators of the lipstick rang from fashion designers to Chinese sweat shop companies. All with the goal to make money and sell to anyone on the gender spectrum feeling "feminine". The problem with this of course being for the aforementioned reasons.
It's crazy to think that a simple object such as lipstick, literally shapes how we view a person and how it affects their masculinity or femininity. I never thought much about it honestly till you pointed it out. When we see a male wearing lipstick we classify them as feminine but what if they just like the color and wanted to wear it? We truly are so socially constructed in defining gender.
ReplyDeleteI really love how you used lipstick for your artifact. I think that way we assume gender expression and the think of the words, feminine and masculine. Someone wearing makeup against the gender norms, usually is going against the gender binary. I find that expressing yourself to others outside the gender binary should be seen as acceptable. I find myself when seeing people wearing lipstick as feminine, as society has taught me. I dot wear lipstick and am not a fan of makeup which made me question if I am feminine enough or even womanly enough. I think relearning the gender binary and what it means to be feminine and masculine is very important.
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting that you chose lipstick and explained its role on the gender binary being bound to the feminine category because it is completely true. I personally like to wear makeup as it makes me feel more in tune with my femininity and the same would go for a man wearing makeup, they would be considered more in tune to a feminine alignment on the binary scale. Lipstick is not a very dynamic product in terms of its representative connotation. I'd say nail polish is transitioning into a product that isn't strictly for women only. I wonder if stuff like lipstick and obvious makeup products (when on the face like eyeliner, mascara, eyeshadow) will start a transition into both genders like nail polish has.
ReplyDeleteIt's really interesting that a single product can determine the difference between masculinity and femininity. In the general perspective of things, lipstick is just color to your lips. I believe history kinda enforced gender roles as women were the first of the sexes to start wearing makeup. Today, those gender roles are being broken and men and women can express themselves in any way, such as through lipstick. It definitely breaks the gender binary seeing a male wear lipstick and may be seen as rather odd...but in an age of expression, I feel like we're getting to the point of understanding that men can do what girls can as much as girls can do what men can.
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