How do we learn to “do gender”?

Pick one of the questions posed in the exploration themes from throughout the semester.

How do we learn to “do gender”?

1. In a 5-page paper, provide an answer for the question posed in the exploration theme (thesis/argument).

2. Use material from at least 2 of the films and3 course readings to support your thesis statement and illustrate the key concepts you learned about that exploration theme.

3. You should provide an answer to the question posed in the exploration theme in a clear, cohesive, well-organized paper that is also enjoyable (yes, enjoyable) to read.

4. Films will be Out in the Night and Vamanos

When writing this paper, it is easy to get lost in the details of the film and/or readings and lose sight of your primary argument. Therefore, DO NOT write a summary of the films. Instead, you can provide a brief summary of the scene(s) you have chosen to highlight, but make the connection to the theme and readings clear. 

Here is a general list of the various components that should be included in any research paper. If you feel like you are getting lost in the details, remind yourself of the following components to get yourself back on track.

Title

• Your title is your first chance to make a good impression.

  • Make it count. It should offer a succinct summary of your paper topic.

Introduction: Thesis statement and “roadmap”

• A clear, concise, and well-defined thesis statement sets the tone for your entire paper. So…Be direct.

• Try completing one of these sentences: “In this paper, I argue…”  --OR -- "The purpose of this paper is . . ."

• State the answer to the question posed by the exploration theme you have chosen (thesis/argument)

• Briefly state which films you will use to support your thesis/argument (answer)

• Provide a “roadmap” to direct the reader through your paper.

  • NOTE: Be sure to provide clear and logical transitions between the introduction, body, and conclusion

Body: Theme exploration, Film Analysis, and Discussion

• Each paragraph should be limited to a clear description and explanation of one general idea per paragraph

• Present evidence from the films and the readings as evidence to support your thesis statement

• Each paragraph should demonstrate a logical connection to the thesis statement in your introduction

• Valid sources are cited to support your thesis

Conclusions and Recommendations

• Systematically restate your thesis and how the evidence you have provided (from the films and readings) support your thesis

  • However, a strong conclusion does not simply restate the thesis, instead it readdresses the thesis in light of the evidence provided

• Don’t skimp on this portion; it is very important, after all, because it is here that you will finally and aggressively drive home your argument

End with 1 or 2 recommendations for addressing inequalities related to your exploration theme

This could include:

• Future research

• Educational policies and procedures

• Program revisions, other warranted situations

V. Works Cited

• Follow APA guidelines to list your works cited on a stand-alone page (this does not count towards the 5-page guideline); the citation style should be that for a chapter found in an edited volume or anthology

• You do not need to include other APA-citation style guidelines other than those required for a bibliography/works cited page (e.g. running header, abstract, etc.)

• You must cite at least 4 sources from our required readings.

• You do not have to cite the films for this paper

Format Guidelines

Your paper should adhere to the following format:

• Submit your paper via the Titanium course site no later than May 10, 2019 at 11:55pm

• 5 double-spaced, typewritten pages

• 12-point, Times New Roman font

• 1-inch margins all around (top, bottom, and both sides)

• Page numbered

• Late assignments are not accepted

• PROOFREAD your work (grammar and spelling errors detract from the strength of the ideas you are presenting in your paper)

Sample Answer

Performing Gender: Learning, Enacting, and Resisting Norms

Introduction

In this paper, I argue that we learn to “do gender” not as an innate trait but as a continuous social performance shaped by institutions, cultural expectations, and everyday interactions. Gender is not something we simply are; it is something we do. This perspective, grounded in West and Zimmerman’s (1987) theory of “doing gender,” emphasises the active construction and reinforcement of gender identities through behaviour, language, and social roles. Drawing on the films Out in the Night (Blair Dorosh-Walther, 2014) and Vámonos (Marvin Lemus, 2016), alongside selected course readings, I will explore how gender is both policed and resisted within social life. Both films highlight moments where gendered expectations collide with lived experience, offering crucial insights into how individuals negotiate identity within structures of power. By examining these representations alongside academic scholarship, I will argue that we “learn” gender through three interrelated processes: institutional enforcement, cultural narratives, and personal resistance.

Gender as a Social Performance

West and Zimmerman (1987) argue that gender is “an ongoing activity embedded in everyday interaction,” a framework that disrupts essentialist understandings of male and female as fixed categories. Instead, individuals are held accountable to normative expectations of masculinity and femininity. Judith Butler’s (1990) concept of gender performativity further deepens this argument, suggesting that gender is constructed through repeated acts which naturalise particular roles and appearances. From this perspective, learning to “do gender” is less about internalising a stable identity and more about navigating a set of cultural scripts.

In Out in the Night, the young Black lesbian women at the centre of the story are criminalised not merely for defending themselves, but because their gender expression and sexuality did not conform to heteronormative ideals of femininity. Their defiance of submissive “womanhood” was perceived as aggression, reflecting Butler’s (1990) claim that deviations from normative gender are socially sanctioned. Similarly, in Vámonos, the tensions between a family’s expectations of a “feminine” funeral and the deceased’s masculine gender expression illustrate how gender norms are enforced even in death. These narratives underscore that learning to “do gender” is inseparable from the disciplinary mechanisms that penalise those who step outside its boundaries.

Continued...