Page 53 - Cultural Studies A Practical Introduction

Gender and Sexuality 37

Student Exercise

One of the most interesting ideas regarding gender to emerge in
Cultural Studies contends that our gender identities are perform-
ances, like theatrical performances on stage. We act out ideals of
gender identity such as “ femininity ” and “ masculinity ” that would
not appear normally or naturally in the absence of strong cultural
and social pressures on us to perform or act in certain ways. For this
exercise, watch the fi lm Paris Is Burning , a documentary about gay
males who like to dress up in costumes and compete with each other

in “ balls ” in New York City. The film at points suggests that “ straight ”
culture is itself based on costume wearing. Straight heterosexuals
perform gender roles that give them identity; they do not express a
natural gender identity in their clothes.
Is this true? To what extent is gender rule - bound?
In the movie Mean Girls , Cady Heron is an American teenager
living in the US for the first time, who learns that “ Having lunch

with The Plastics was like leaving the actual world and entering ‘ Girl
World ’ . And Girl World had a lot of rules. ” You might read The
Rules: Time - Tested Secrets for Capturing the Heart of Mr. Right by
Ellen Fein and Sherrie Schneider, which was a self - help dating
manual released in 1995. It was a word - of - mouth bestseller that
started an entire franchise. The book advocated a return to more
“ old - fashioned ” dating practices, such as the following: “ No more
than casual kissing on the first date ” and “ Don ’ t accept a Saturday

night date after Wednesday. ” The Rules instruct women to not talk
too much, to never tell a man what to do, to always end phone calls
fi rst, and to not rush into sex. Are women really like what the Rules
portray women as needing to be in order to “ get ” a man? Why do
women have to worry and think about “ getting ” a man? To what
extent are such gender roles learned, and to what extent natural?
Sex and the City , the movie based on the popular TV show, begins
with Carrie Bradshaw, the main character and sex columnist, saying,
“ Year after year, 20 - something women come to New York City in
search of the two L ’ s: Labels and love. Twenty years ago, I was one
of them. Having gotten the knack for labels early, I concentrated on
my search for love. Turns out, a knockoff is not as easy to spot when
it comes to love. ” The movie ends with her saying,