Bret Zingula
COMM 380
Sara Baker
Gender Identity Project
Concept Application Blog
“Institutions, like individuals,
communicate gender and are gendered through communication” (DeFrancisco &
Palczewski, 2007, pg. 141). What is it
that gives social institutions such a pervasive quality? Through studying our text Communicating Gender Diversity, we have
come to understand the infinite contexts in which the hegemonic control of
social institutions influences our lives and identities. Institutions, such as Religion, Family,
Education, etc., practice influences, both constructing and constraining, on a
constant basis. I feel the most enabling
characteristic of this control is its intersectionality.
The text declares that, “…like
identities, institutions are complex and intersecting” (DeFrancisco and
Palczewski, 2007, pg. 143). During one
of the media illustrations in class, the facilitator asked, “Do institutions
construct norms, or does society influence what institutions perpetuate?” I feel like the answer could be both. Sociologist Margaret Andersen defines
institutions as “established patterns of behavior with a particular and
recognized purpose; institutions include specific participants who share
expectations and act in specific role, with rights and duties attached to them”
(Anderson, 2006, pg. 30). We choose to
consume information from specific media, and perform actions deemed
normal. Similarly, institutions by
necessity should follow patterns expressed by people. However, contradictions occur.
Until recently, I have not had much
luck acquiring leads for descriptive cultural data collection. However, I believe I’ve found a woman willing
to conduct an interview with me about her experiences being raised in the
African country of Mali. Interpreting
the emails we’ve shared thus far, the exact date we plan on conducting the
interview is tentative, but as I understand it will take place the second week
in April. In meeting with this woman, I
have confidence more opportunities for individuals to interview will present
themselves. I have a slightly more
coordinated plan regarding my collection of observational data. Through communication with a personal friend
and member of the foreign student affairs committee, I’ve been introduced to a
small LGBT social network, and plan to spend an evening observing and communicating
with specific individuals in a social atmosphere.
References:
Anderson,
Margaret L. (2006). Thinking about women:
Sociological Perspective on sex and gender (7th Ed.). Boston:
Pearson Education, Allyn & Bacon.
DeFrancisco
& Palczewski. (2007). Communicating Gender and Diversity. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications.
For summary blog, think about how you can tie your descriptive cultural data to your topic of interest – gender in social institutions. How can your project inform our knowledge in regards to this content area?
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to reading the results of your data collection process in next blog. To process that information you will want to gather up all of your data (interview transcripts, observations, field notes, journal, etc) one large pile of written data. Read through all of the information from start to finish once. Then go back and start to highlight statements that you think are intriguing. Try to group likeminded things together. You will do this several times. What you want to do is start to develop categories related to your concept.
You’ve picked gender in social institutions so you might want to start by organizing things by using the characteristics of gendered social institutions. Then you’ll think about how you can connect these categories to bigger picture themes. What does a discussion of gender in social institutions regarding LGBT identity in African cultures tell us about communication as a process for creating messages regarding gender? Try to develop 3 major take aways from your project that can inform us regarding your gender identity of interest.