Post #4- Beyond Masculine & Feminine Roles

Link to article: Boy Meets Girl

Boy Meets Girl
By: Rani Sheen

For this post I’d like to first mention how I stumbled upon the subject I will be discussing. I am not one to read magazines religiously, but the other day I was stuck in a waiting room without my BlackBerry, and the only other form of literature were pamphlets about various illnesses. It was there that I grabbed the only magazine available in the room. It was Toronto’s February 2012 issue of Fashion Magazine. It is also where I stumbled upon this…

What do you think of when you see this model? Do the words beautiful, graceful or perhaps, feminine come up? That’s what came to mind for me. But wait, you may want to hear the whole story.

I skimmed through the articles, advertisements and photographs until I saw another image that caught me off guard...

I flicked back to the cover, then back to this image, and still went back and forth about four more times before I realized they were the same person. I proceeded to read the article that followed. “He’s no lady. Boy wonder Andrej Pejic brings his dry wit and supermodel moves to the top Canadian designs for spring." It was true; this beautiful, yet feminine, women's wear model on the cover was in fact a man. It made me reconsider what sexuality meant within our society.

Today in my Communicating Diversity class we discussed once again how gender is socially constructed. However, this time we also discussed how in today’s society it is a possibility that even sex can be socially constructed. We discussed inventions of new languages and terms used to describe sexualities, and we discussed how developments such as sex changes, and sexual enhancements are socially constructed and reconstructed. In a lecture on February 10, 2012, to a COMM 372OU class, Dr. Pierce said that we “cannot look at it like that anymore because it has changed overtime.”

It’s true. Sexuality is a complex and controversial topic. Brenda Allen described sexuality as “the social expression of social relations to and social reference to bodily desire or desires, real or imagined, by or for others or for oneself, together with the related bodily states and experiences… Others can be of the same or opposite sex, or even occasionally of indeterminate gender” (p. 118). Not only does she point out that it achieves to capture the complexities of sexuality, but it describes sexuality as social.

According to Allen, “sexuality is a primary, primal aspect of human identity,” (p. 135). She claimed that throughout history, “constructions of sexuality reflect changing attitudes related to reproduction, pleasure, and hetero- versus homosexuality. Currently, ideologies of heteronormativity infuse dominant institutions of society, as glbt (gay lesbian bisexual and transgender) groups and their advocates seek equality,” (p. 135). For as long as I could remember, Fashion Magazine had always presented females on their cover. The fact that now a man had been presented in this way made me feel that society’s construction of sex may be beginning to reflect a changing attitude towards a new view of the term.

I believe Pejic plays an important role in our society right now. This is because he wasn’t considered to fit “neatly into their menswear or womenswear divisions,” (Sheen, 2012). It was this misplacement that continues to increases public awareness on differences in sexuality. It makes it possible to bridge these divides and help us to understand as well as continue to encourage parents to “encourage their children to contradict gender stereotypes,” (Sheen, 2012). It is a fact that society today is rich in diversity, and Pejic is in a position where these diverse individuals who also do not neatly fit into certain divisions can relate to. His flourishing career and confidence can provide as inspiration to others who do not neatly fit, the way he does.

Why discuss sexuality? Well, according to Allen, “sexuality matters because it is an important aspect of everyone’s identity and experiences” (p.120). As I read the article, it was clear Pejic was fed up with questions regarding his sexuality; however, he said if he’s asked, he’ll answer.

Here are some more gorgeous photos of model Andrej Pejic

References

Allen, B. J, (2004) Difference matters: communicating social identity. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.

Sheen, R. (2012, January 3). Boy Meets Girl. Fashion Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.fashionmagazine.com/blogs/fashion/2012/01/03/andrej-pejic/

(T. Pierce, COMM 372OU, February 10, 2012).