Can We Choose Not To Do Gender Analysis

Can We Choose Not to Do Gender? West and Zimmerman claim that we cannot choose to not do gender. They indicate that “Doing Gender” is interactional. It is “engaging in behavior that is at risk of gender assessment”. We engage, and the world assesses. Doing gender still happens whether we’re playing the game or not, and all behavior can be assessed as either masculine or feminine. These assessments are based on what is thought of as ‘essential’ differences between men and women and society uses this assessment to determine where we fit in the world. This placement is taken very seriously. The strength ‘doing gender’ has is that it is not entirely in our hands. We can’t control how other assess us. The institution of gender does, however, have cracks in its foundation. Assessment of
So much so that we often feel the need to specify a person’s gender when referring to a person doing a job that is not thought of as typical for their gender. Male nurse, Female CEO, Male hairdresser, Female Engineer; these all describe people who are under gender threat every day of their professional lives. These examples (or lack of examples) surely indicate a correlation between the differences in genders and what jobs are suited to them. I would instead suggest that the relationship is causal due to gendered stereotypes. Because there is a discrepancy in the number of males and females doing a particular job, it becomes more difficult for young people to have role models and picture themselves doing that job, and thus, a cycle is born. It is critical that we push for equal representation at all levels, in all industries and support initiatives aimed at leveling the playing field. It is also critical that if our dream job is to do something not typically associated with our gender… That we let nothing stop us from doing it! This is something easier said than done, but if being a trailblazer was easy, then everyone would do