Construction Of Gender Identity Research Articles

Cognitive-Functional Approaches to Transgender Language: Understanding Gender through Mental Representations

This study employs cognitive-functional linguistic approaches to examine the mental representations of gender in contemporary transgender literature. By analysing a corpus of transgender narratives, we investigate how cognitive mechanisms such as conceptual metaphors, image schemas, and categorisation processes contribute to the linguistic construction and expression of gender identity. Our findings reveal prevalent conceptual metaphors like ‘gender as a journey’ and ‘identity as a construction,’ which provide insights into the cognitive framing of transgender experiences. Image schemas, particularly those related to containment and transformation, emerge as significant in describing gender transitions. The study also uncovers unique categorisation patterns and prototype effects in gender-related language, reflecting the complex and fluid nature of gender identities. These cognitive-functional patterns not only illuminate the mental representations underlying transgender language but also offer a deeper understanding of how language shapes and is shaped by gender experiences. The research contributes to both transgender studies and cognitive linguistics, demonstrating the potential of this interdisciplinary approach in exploring gender identity through language. Our findings have implications for fostering more inclusive language practices and enhancing communication about gender diversity.

LGBTQ+ themed public art: promoting an expanded view on genders and advancing gender education

This essay explores the transformative role of LGBTQ+ themed public art in promoting an expanded view of genders and advancing gender education. By engaging with Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity, I want to stress how public art both serves as a medium for aesthetic expression and also acts as a crucial participant in the performative act of gender identity construction. From the vibrant defiance of rainbow crosswalks to the poignant narratives of the AIDS Memorial Quilt and the impactful murals by Keith Haring, LGBTQ+ themed public art challenges traditional gender roles and identities, offering alternative visions that resist binary classifications. These public artworks create inclusive spaces that foster community engagement, historical commemoration, and activism, effectively enhancing public pedagogy in gender education. By embedding diverse and non-normative expressions of gender and sexuality in public consciousness, such art prompts a reevaluation of societal norms, thereby contributing to a broader understanding and acceptance of gender diversity. This essay emphasizes the potential of LGBTQ+ -themed public art to serve as a dynamic medium for communicative pedagogy, manifesting its significance in shaping social consciousness and advancing the cause of gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights.

Gender stereotypes in the physical education textbook

Gender stereotypes in media, including books, can play an important role in the process of gender identity construction. The purpose of this study is to analyze gender representation in Elementary School Physical Education, Sports and Health textbooks. The analysis was conducted by tabulating images and looking at the appearance of gender characters in the text in the elementary physical education books from grade one to grade six. Visibility and Firstness refer to the number of times a male or female character appears first in an exercise. Gender stereotypes (such as female characters doing rope games, male characters playing big ball games) were counted. Based on this data, it can be seen that in classes 1,2,4,5 and 6 there are more male images than female, only in class 3 there are more female images than male. Furthermore, the results of Gender Stereotyping data show that males are more dominant in Floor Gymnastics, Water Sports, Physical Fitness Activities, Invasion Games, Net Games, Maintenance of Reproductive Hygiene, Pencak Silat Martial Arts, and Athletics. In contrast gymnastics materials and Rhythmic Gymnastics Activities are dominated by women. Such stereotypes are considered as one of the ways in which gender identity is influenced and constructed. They can limit individuals' choices in relation to their roles, interests and aspirations, as individuals tend to conform to what is perceived as the gender norm in society.

Reconstituting the ‘good woman’: Gendered visual politics on social media during 2021 state election in West Bengal, India

This paper explores the visual politics of gender in electoral politics in West Bengal (WB). We examine how women political candidates visually construct their non-verbal political performance on social media, and how such visuals relate to social mores and societal expectations surrounding femininity. Drawing on theories of the social construction of gender and visual political communication, we conducted a content analysis of 1,033 visual artefacts from eight individual women candidates and 205 from the Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) pages of the four main political parties taking part in the January-April 2021 electoral campaign for state-level elections in WB. We analysed how these candidates construct gendered relationships with the electorate through different cues on the platforms, such as sartorial choices (traditional or Western attire), use of culture-specific religious symbols (sindoor or vermillion, bindi – forehead marking worn by married Hindu women), and gendered/non-gendered political actions like cooking or serving food, giving speeches or meeting constituents in political processions. Our findings about the visually performed politics show a combination of cultural, political, and gender signifiers, which are mediated and remain connected to societal expectations, and historical narratives. The candidates’ negotiation of these aspects, in turn, underscores a reproduction of colonial legacies and, in the present day, an ongoing production of societal differences. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on visual politics of gender, particularly in Asian contexts. It sheds light on the nuanced ways women politicians use social media to construct their visual identities, and how the deployment of body politics into the relatively ‘new’ online sphere reifies ‘old’ social, political, cultural symbolisms, and norms regarding gender. In this way, this article highlights the importance of considering pre-digital forms of gendered identity construction and visual representation when analysing the contested terrain of digital visibilities.

The Arab Novel Beyond Borders: Gender Identity Construction and Diaspora in Najat El Hachmi’s The Last Patriarch

Enough scholarly interest has been invested in studying diasporic literatures and discourses. However, given linguistic constraints, Moroccan diasporic texts have received little attention. Through the lens of gender theory, this paper attempts to offer some critical reflections on Najat El Hachmi’s The Last Patriarch. It specifically looks at the ways in which gender identities are constructed and transformed within a conservative patriarchal family residing in diaspora far-flung from the homeland. It also examines how binary static identities are reshuffled, making the protagonist engage in a quest for independence and self-assertion. The complexities of immigrant identities, incorporating binary elements such as languages (Amazigh and Catalan), modernity, and tradition, allowed the protagonist to go beyond shame, taboos, and stereotypes to deconstruct the patriarchal figure. As a migrant, El Hachmi’s protagonist presents a critical vision of both realities, thus taking her destiny into her “own” hands and toppling down ‘the last patriarch.’

Beyond Stereotypes: The Polysemous and Polymorphous Representation of Women in Moroccan Cinema through Adam (2019)

This paper critically examines the portrayal of women in Moroccan cinema, with a specific focus on Meriem Touzani's film Adam (2019). The film is a substantial case study, challenging traditional gender roles, particularly in cinematically representing the two female protagonists' bodies and voices. By critically re-evaluating the poetics and politics of representing women in Moroccan cinema, this paper features the importance of adopting an intersectional perspective and engaging with feminist film theory. The study employs qualitative methods, including close textual and thematic analysis, to investigate how bodily expressions and vocalizations contribute to constructing gender identity. Within the film, the findings are situated in the broader scholarly discourse on gender representation, drawing on theoretical frameworks from scholars such as Laura Mulvey and Kimberlé Crenshaw. This research is interested in tapping into the present debate on transcending hegemonic patriarchal structures in the Moroccan cinematic apparatus, advocating for more unbiased and empowering narratives that reflect the diverse experiences of women. As active media consumers, the audience plays a crucial role in this advocacy. Eventually, this paper contributes to ongoing discussions about gender representation, cultural identity, and social change in Moroccan cinema, offering new insights into the dynamics of advancing a new image of women on screen.

Educational television in school and Flemish preadolescents’ gender attitudes and beliefs: An experimental study

ABSTRACT Scholars have recently begun to explore the potential of educational media featuring counter-stereotypes in changing gender attitudes and beliefs, but so far experimental studies simulating interventions are lacking and preadolescents are understudied as target group. Further exploration of this research field is highly needed. In this mixed-design experimental study among 271 preadolescents (M age = 10.34, SD = .77), we therefore examine the impact of watching and discussing an educational television program containing diverse and counter-stereotypical gender images in a classroom setting on preadolescents’ gender attitudes and beliefs. Findings indicated that exposure to the program affects gender essentialism and acceptance of and willingness to affiliate with gender-nonconforming peers. However, after-exposure discussions in a classroom setting did not yield stronger results, nor did gender identity constructs moderate the effect. This study emphasizes the effectiveness of educational television in influencing components of gender attitudes and beliefs, but also suggests that a classroom setting may not be the most effective context for discussing such content with the goal of altering gender attitudes and beliefs.

Gendered Psyche: A Psychoanalytical Reading of Jacob Tobia’s Sissy: A Coming-of-Gender Story

This literary research paper employs psychoanalytic literary theory to delve into the complex interplay between identity formation and transgender experiences in Jacob Tobia’s memoir titled Sissy: A Coming-of-Gender Story. Through the lens of psychoanalysis, the study aims to unravel the intricate layers of self-discovery, acceptance, and resistance present in the text. By closely examining the text, the paper explores how psychoanalytic concepts like the unconscious, symbolism, and repression contribute to an enriched understanding of transgender characters' psychological landscapes.The analysis focuses on the representation of transgender characters in literature, examining how their narratives echo and diverge from psychoanalytic frameworks such as those proposed by Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan. The paper argues that psychoanalytic approaches can shed light on the internal conflicts and external societal pressures that shape transgender identities within the literary realm. Through carefully examining character motivations, symbolism, and narrative structures, the study elucidates how these works engage with psychoanalytic concepts to offer nuanced and empathetic portrayals of transgender experiences.Furthermore, this research explores the broader implications of employing psychoanalytic perspectives in the analysis of transgender literature, contending that such an approach can deepen our understanding of the complex and often subconscious dynamics at play in the construction of gender identity. Drawing connections between psychoanalytic theory and literary representation, this paper contributes to ongoing discussions surrounding the psychological dimensions of transgender experiences in literature, offering insights into the intricate relationship between identity formation and psychoanalytic frameworks within transgender narratives.

Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Construction as a Joint Youth-Parent Project

This study investigated how sexual and gender minority youth and their parents construct goals and strategies relevant to the youth’s sexual orientation and/or gender identity (SOGI). Six youth-parent dyads were studied over 10 months using the qualitative action-project method, which is grounded in contextual action theory. The data consisted of participant conversations, video recall of internal processes, and telephone monitoring. Data analysis resulted in the identification of a youth-parent relationship project for each dyad. Embedded within the broader relationship project were joint actions specific to the youth’s SOGI construction process, such as supporting one another with challenges related to identity disclosures, revisiting the past, and cultivating hope and gratitude. Findings demonstrate a SOGI construction process that is relational, ongoing, dynamic, and infused with goal-directed action. These findings provide insight into youth-parent relationship processes that facilitate the youth’s SOGI construction process.

Translanguaging for Doing Gender in English-Medium Classrooms in Hong Kong: Towards Critical CLIL in Plurilingual Settings

ABSTRACT Critical content and language-integrated learning (CLIL) has been advocated to attest raciolingusitic ideologies in plurilingual educational settings. However, little is known about how to help students in contesting inequalities about other structures of domination in bilingual education programs. This study aims to address this gap by examining the construction of gender identities in Secondary 4 (Grade 11) English-medium Liberal Studies lessons, which aimed to enhance awareness of gender equality and subject-specific English skills about the topic. The study shows that gender was constructed and reconstructed by conflicting multilingual and multimodal gendered discourses, including the formal curriculum, school lesson materials, and classroom interaction. The paper reveals that teachers and students jointly constructed masculinities of “real men,” “good men” and “gay men” in CLIL classrooms imbedded in curriculum contexts infused with gender dualism and alternative gender values began to emerge after the CLIL lessons. The results suggest that CLIL teachers can facilitate development of critical literacies about gender by enabling encounters of different voices in translanguaging and trans-registering spaces created by students’ familiar L1 everyday discourses and multimodal practices. Pedagogical implications were also discussed.

Hanfu catwalk shows: A performance of Chinese femininities

This article analyses the complex relationship between the construction of gender identities among young Chinese females and the practice of dressing up in Hanfu attire. The study employs the perspectives of dress as a situated embodied practice, the performativity of gender and the catwalk as a form of performance art. By drawing on an ethnography of self-defined Hanfu fans in Beijing, China, the authors investigate how the female participants construct femininities through performing on Hanfu catwalks. The ethnographic findings are that, first, the Hanfu catwalk mediates the intricate interplay of Chinese aesthetic norms and gender expression between performers and the audience. Second, wearing Hanfu is an embodied practice unifying the Hanfu costume style, gender construction and corporeal acts, situated in China’s sociopolitical context. Third, Chinese femininity is complex, with both flexibility and internal conflicts, reflecting China’s paradoxical modernization.

The material of the body: Corporeal gender identities and sexual orientation in Darling in the Franxx

This article explores the construction of gender identities and sexual orientations displayed in the 2018 anime series Darling in the Franxx by focusing on the series’ emphasis of its characters’ bodies. Karen Barad’s account of Agential Realism functions as a critical framework. The theory offers an understanding of matter as a dynamic process that provides a tool to think about bodies beyond the binary framework of female and male. The anime exhibits notions of gender fluidity, homosexuality and transsexuality. This analysis, therefore, aims to disclose how the sexed body is employed in the series’ conceptualization of gender identities and sexual orientation deviating from heteronormativity. Simultaneously, it discusses how Darling in the Franxx bears the risk of reaffirming the binary structure, as Barad’s theory does not necessarily follow an opening of binary structures.

Maritime Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Tarac and Gender Roles Reflected in It

The maritime pilgrimage of Our Lady of Tarac in the Kornati islands, Dalmatia, Croatia, is held on the first Sunday in July. The culture of these island communities is based on a patriarchal system that implies gender inequality. This cultural order has an impact on the construction of gender and religious identities in children and adults when they participate in pilgrimages. The basic methodological approach of the paper is autoethnography. The author concludes that the model of cryptomatriarchy along with the dominant patriarchy well explains well the role of women/mothers and grandmothers in the context of the pilgrimage. The pilgrimage also serves as a framework for transferring gender roles to children.

La neurociencia como base para la mejora de las TIC educativas

The construction of gender identity in childhood is a topic of great importance, since it influences the personal and social development of boys and girls. Several investigations have shown that gender stereotypes present in society have a great influence on the construction of children's gender identity. In this sense, different aspects that can influence the formation of stereotypes have been analyzed, such as classic stories, children's advertising, television consumption, gender roles in play, toys and cartoons. In addition, social factors such as family and school have been identified that can influence the modification of gender stereotypes. Different strategies and classroom projects have been proposed to promote gender equality, foster education in values and avoid the transmission of gender stereotypes in children's education. Children's and young people's literature has also been analyzed as a means for theconstruction of gender identity in children, and educational proposals have been proposed to work on the elimination of gender stereotypes in children's and young people's literature. In general, it can be concluded that it is necessary to continue working on the elimination of gender stereotypes in education and society in general, in order to promote a more egalitarian and respectful education of gender differences.

The Influence of Information Media on People's Gender Identity

Media and gender identity construction are interdependent. Media reinforce people's gender identity by perpetuating stereotypes, while also reflecting the public's demand for gender identity. This paper explores the impact of information media on people's gender cognition and the changes in gender perception under media influence. It also examines the differences between media in the past and contemporary periods, and their respective effects. For instance, before the popularization of paper information, oral language was the main medium for people. At that time, information was subject to the media, with slow transmission speed and a small influence range. In this condition, due to the superiority of the male physiological structure, there is a male-biased patriarchal gender relationship, which was first established in social production relations. The low social productivity makes the social status of men with innate physiological advantages above that of women. This fact proves that the influence of information media on people's gender cognition is huge, and society reinforces people's gender identity by emphasizing men's physical advantages. The ultimate goal of this study is to showcase the huge stereotypes created by the media in the past and the current 'improvement' situation.

Becoming ‘farazat’: Re-examining feminisation from a Tunis used clothes sorting factory

In over 40 factories in Tunisia, female sorting workers transform container loads of imported Western used clothing into comparable value categories that are packaged for re-export or sale on the local market. The dominance of women on these factory shopfloors indicates the feminisation of sorting work, typically implying a process of devaluation of labour power. However, this article shows how feminisation has situated outcomes and meanings that are specific to a given labour process. Through an ethnographic account of a Tunis sorting factory, it argues firstly that feminisation cannot be understood separately from the particular production process of used clothes sorting, in which the heterogeneity of used commodities requires female sorters to engage in highly contingent practices of value creation. Situated knowledge is necessary to separate the valuable from the valueless, and to assemble new product categories. Second, the article holds that these hierarches of skill in the factory result in processes of gendered identity construction associated with the vernacular profession ‘farazat’ (pl. sorters). Derived from the activity of sorting, and used exclusively in its feminine form, the identity is collectively asserted to convey a sense of professional pride and authority. Despite the lack of formal recognition, this professional designation is then used to mobilise a language of ‘respect’ that positions the farazat as both ‘workers’ and ‘women’. Far from devaluation, the feminisation of sorting here opens possibilities for women to assert their indispensability to the production process and to challenge the formal bounds of factory work.

Pernikahan Anak Usia Dini dan Konstruksi Identitas Gender: Analisis Teori Peter L. Berger (Studi di Desa Pandansari Poncokusumo Kabupaten Malang)

Early marriage often becomes a prevalent culture in rural areas. This is primarily attributed to a lack of knowledge and the inability to meet the family's livelihood needs. The underlying basis for early marriages is how the community supports their underage children to engage in matrimony. An exploration of the meaning of early marriage and the family's role in early marriages is a novel aspect to present. This research aims to describe how early marriages are interpreted on both a national and international scale. Unlike other studies that tend to focus on external aspects of marriage, this research views marriage within the context of gender identity construction. The data collection method employed in this research is the interpretative understanding constructivist approach with a phenomenological framework. It adopts an approach of interpretative understanding analysis. The results indicate three key factors related to early marriages in rural areas: (1) Arranged marriages are a supportive factor for early marriages, (2) Social support, particularly the role of the family head, plays a crucial role in early marriages due to the prevailing tradition of arranged marriages within the community, and (3) The education levels within the community and among adolescents remain insufficient in terms of understanding the consequences of early marriages. The conclusion drawn from this research is that the socio-cultural norms present in the community can be used as one of the approaches to reduce the prevalence of early marriages. Formal education emerges as a primary area that has been overlooked by both adolescents and parents, thus aiding in reducing early marriages in rural areas.

Barriers to the Full Participation of Girls in Robotics: A Case Study of a South African Community of Practice

The lack of participation of girls in programming robotics is well documented in the international literature on the subject. The Inspired Towards Science, Engineering and Technology (I-SET) is a community engagement project that promotes science engagement in predominantly disadvantaged communities. In this paper, we present the findings of an action research project. The primary objective of this research project is to monitor and improve this community of practice. This research paper aims to explore whether girls encounter barriers to full participation in robotics competition teams. While educational parity has been reached in STEMI-related subjects at the school level, young women are far less likely to select STEMI fields at the tertiary level compared to young men. The I-SET community of practice is well-situated to promote STEMI fields to girls from an early age. Barriers to their full participation in the I-SET community of practice included male dominance in the everyday activities and speech acts of the teams; a lack of technohabitus; and alienation. Broader constructions of gender identity in schools and the communities that they serve presented a major challenge to coaches keen to actively include girls. These challenges were further compounded by gendered divisions of labour that left little time for girls (particularly those from poorer backgrounds) to practice.

My stunning angel: endearment terms as strategies of gender identity construction in Facebook picture uploads in Nigeria

ABSTRACT This study investigates the language features deployed in the production and reproduction of gendered identities on social media with a particular focus on Facebook picture uploads. The data comprised one hundred purposively selected endearment terms on the Facebook platform. Drawing analytical insights from social constructionism, this study examines social media commentaries that accompany Facebook picture uploads by young women between the ages of 15 and 25. The study focused on the discursive and social significations that are embedded in the linguistic choices and comments people post about their friends’ Facebook picture uploads. These linguistic expressions use strategies such as neologisms, code-switching and language mixing, and draw their resources from the Nigerian linguistic ecology including comedy skits, hip-hop music and popular slang. The results indicate that endearment terms have positive and negative connotations: they may be used to construct gender identities and express politeness or “impoliteness” by being out-rightly patronising. In this way, endearment terms are sites for the enactment of emotive relationship that enables social media users to bond socially and adapt flexibly in their social networking spaces.

Digital literary readings for the promotion of gender and affective-sexual diversity: Predictors of its didactic recommendation in secondary education

This study analyses the frequencies of inclusion of digital literary-educational proposals on the diversification of sex/gender/sexuality expectations by in-service Spanish teachers of secondary education (<i>n</i>=436), and the predictors that determine this inclusion. Based on the application of the instrument <i>Digital Literary Education and the Construction of Gender Identities</i> (DLECGI), the study is developed in non-experimental designs of a cross-sectional nature, and at the relational, explanatory and predictive levels of research, insofar as it seeks to reveal the socio-demographic, formative and didactic causes of the phenomenon or event of interest, and its degree of occurrence. The results obtained indicate the existence of a profile of teachers who promote the recommendation of this type of digital reading based on their belonging to non-binary gender groups with previous training in co-education and equality, and with explicit didactic stances on controversial issues. Likewise, the relationship between socio-demographic variables and the didactic positioning of teachers on the recommendation of digital readings on affective-sexual diversity shows that initial and/or ongoing specific training in co-education and equality is a key predictor of this relationship. These findings attest to the fact that the visibility and recognition of identity plurality in literary education necessarily involves the proposal of counter-hegemonic models regarding gender and affective-sexual identity. In this regard, teacher training must continue to progress towards the adoption of inclusive didactic approaches within the framework of educational principles for democratic citizenship, regardless of the gender or personal and social identity that defines these teachers.