Summary Blog

Bret Zingula

COMM 380

Sara Baker

Gender Identity Project

Summary Blog

            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).  In my previous blog I chose to present this writing from the text to illustrate the subjectivity of the genesis of social influence.  How does one assume to understand and interpret the interactions he or she shares with another?  The purpose of my project and it’s related research was to investigate the reaction, identification, and influence of social institutions regarding gender with specific respect to the LGBTQ identity within native African cultures.

            Given the nature of the concept I chose to apply to my project, I’ve arranged my conclusive data into three categories with relative symmetry to the text, which states, “In addition to understanding the internal dynamics that define institutions, one also should be aware of three external characteristics” (DeFrancisco & Palczewski, 2007, pg. 143).

            “First, like identities, institutions are complex and intersecting” (DeFrancisco & Palczewski, 2007, pg. 143).  As discussed in my previous blogs, personal identity is defined through the interpretive lens we construct in reaction to social and hegemonic influence.  Although we ourselves embody a completely unique intersecting and complex history, our actions and thoughts are defined through a social context.  Accepting the perspective that gender is an institution, and therefore subject to the weathering intersectionality of other institutions was a useful approach when constructing my interview protocol.  One interviewee’s statement that highlighted the complex nature of gender identity was in response to the question, “In what ways do you feel your identity has been liberated or able to change since you’ve lived in the U.S.?”  Ms. Dada Madaki, recently relocated from Mali, Africa, was able to provide a wonderfully intuitive answer stating, “I feel every day here, that same way I did being back home; different (she says with a smile). The only difference is that here the protection to choose my social experiences exists” (Dada Madaki, personal communication, April 18, 2012).  I felt that Ms. Madaki was demonstrating how the experiences and constructs of hegemonic influence are not bound by geographical location.

            “Second, all institutions influence and are influenced by the institution of gender” (DeFrancisco & Palczewski, 2007, pg. 143).  No doubt institutional power works to construct our personal identities.  But what about the ways in which collective gender identities work to influence other external institutions?  For my research I chose to engage in a social atmosphere with of one of my interviewees, Olumide (Ole) Alakija.  Ole, was celebrating his birthday in Omaha, NE Friday the 20^th and, after I had casually explained how I needed field observations, asked if I and a friend would like to meet up with him in the old market.  Extremely grateful, I agreed.  I came to find Ole was incredibly similar to most of my other friends while socializing in a bar scene (excluding endless advances on the opposite sex).  He kept an aggressively generous energy when conversing with friends and strangers alike, and made an effort to make sure my friend and I weren’t getting lost or overwhelmed.  One question I did ask, “How comfortable or honest do you feel interacting with others on a social level here?” was meant to evaluate Ole about the conflict he might or might not have felt between his personal identity and any present social norms he perceived.  Ole replied, “I know not everybody will accept what and who I am at this point in my life, but I also know that people here are as diverse as I am.  So the awareness is made public, and the potential for acceptance is there” (Olumide Alakija, personal communication, April 20, 2012).  Ole went on to explain how he believed differences in social institutions (mainly religious media and education) between the states and Africa influence how people conceptualize what is wrong or right (Bret Zingula, personal observation, April 20, 2012).

            Lastly, “institutions are often intertwined with the state” (Martin, 2004, pg. 1258).  Understandably, as social tension, pubic unrest, and legislative support for the discrimination against such social minorities grew in Africa, both Dada and Olumide came to America in an attempt to escape the social injustice.  The need to reevaluate these “patterns of behavior” that construct our definitions arises when faced with the gap in perspective between members of society and heads of state.  Ole illustrated the hegemonic connection between governing powers in Africa and public perspective stating in the closing of our interview “The crisis occurring in Africa is one of public acceptance and ignorance … so many people will not think for themselves” (Olumide Alakija, personal communication, April 20, 2012).

            Institutions are influenced by and influence gender.  This statement explains how experiences through social media shape our identities, thus extending control over how we perceive our own interaction.  However, while these processes are gendered through social institutions, we as individuals still hold the power of perspective with respect to interpretation.

References:

Anderson, Margaret L. (2006). Thinking about women: Sociological Perspective on sex and gender (7^th Ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Allyn & Bacon.

DeFrancisco & Palczewski. (2007). Communicating Gender and Diversity. 

Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Martin, Patricia Yancey. (2004, June). Gender as a Social Institution. Social Forces, 82(4), 1249-1273.