Deconstructing Gender: Essentialism vs. Social Constructionism

  

An important starting point in my studies of masculinity began with the deconstruction of gender - differentiating between essentialism and social constructionism as they relate to masculinity. In so many words, I have come up with a comparison between the two schools of thought. See below. 

Theory

Essentialism

-Life is full of underlying true essences, or realities

-Phenomena are natural, inevitable, and biologically determined

-Usually associated with Darwin and evolutionary theory

-Gender is a trait of the individual

Social Constructionism 

-Reality is socially constructed and experiences are socially influenced

-Language is emphasized as the major means by which we interpret our experiences

-Habitualization makes behaviors of others predictable 

-Gender is a performance of a social role

--

How it Applies

A. Essentialism (which is rooted in heterosexuality):

I. Sexual selection = Usually involves two processes. 1) members of one gender compete (males) with others (males) for mating access to members of opposite gender (females) and 2) members of one gender (females) have preferential choice by members of the opposite gender (males)

II. Attraction = Process of strategy and elimination designed to maximize reproductive success

Men prefer fertile (young) mates as youth signifies reproductive value

Men prefer mates who are physically attractive

Physical attractiveness is assessed via eyes, hair and skin

Unattractive mates are most likely assumed to be infertile

B. Social Constructionism

I. Sexual selection = created by culture and varies by culture; people learn definitions of sexual behavior by other members of their society and sex is therefore, socially constructed but serves reproductive needs

II. Attraction = The result of cultural influences telling people what is attractive and what is unattractive; there is no universal standard for "attractive" and what is attractive to mates will vary based on culture

What it Means

There are a variety of reasons why men (and women) behave the way they do. There are a plethora of ways to influence what men (and women) believe about attraction both of themselves and of their potential mates. I will try to apply these theories when I explore masculinity in advertising and the use of women as objects in advertising to to influence men. 

Reference: DeLamater J.D. and Hyde, J.S. (1998) Essentialism vs. social constructionism in the study of human sexuality. The Journal of Sex Research (35):1. 10-18.