Honors 231

Gender Non-Conformity Exercise

There are certain things in today's society that are associated with a certain gender. Having your nails painted, crossing your legs, and wearing short shorts are all associated with women. Play sports, being interested in cars, and wearing baggy clothes are all associated with men. We can especially see this in children’s toys, with certain toys being geared towards a certain gender. Boys will typically play with cars or action figures and girls will play with Barbie and dolls. If a boy plays with Barbie or a girl plays with Hot Wheels, they can feel different because other kids their age don’t

As people grow up, they become accustomed to conforming to what society thinks of how they should act based on their gender. If someone seems to act or dress like the opposite sex, people will think of them differently and assume things about that person. Typically, people will perceive others sexuality based on how they dress and act, “gender nonconforming people are often assumed to also be lesbian, gay, or bisexual, while gender conforming people are assumed to be heterosexual” (Kinsey Confidential, para. 3). When someone follows their gender’s norm, that is called gender conformity. This essential means that they are conforming to what society wants them to act or dress. 

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In this paper, I will be discussing my experiment where I don’t conform to how my gender is suppose to be like. I will have my fingernails painted, something that is feminine, and observed how people reacted. How would they treat me differently as opposed to not if my nails weren’t painted? And why, in today’s society, is it so important to have certain gender behaviors? 

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My Experiment

I decided to play out my experiment at my job, American Eagle. With it being back to school season, there is a high volume of customers coming through the store looking for clothes. That day, I was a greeter so would engage with everyone that walked into AE, seeing anywhere from 25 to 75 customers in an hour. This meant I would welcome in all the customers that walked into the store, try and find out what they are looking for, and let them know about what deals are going on. This can be a short, 30 second connection and since I did something small like painting my nails, I would have to make it obvious if I wanted to get a reaction. I would have to talk using my hands and keep my hand always in the line of eyesight. 

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How people reacted to my nail painted was very mixed. The female customers really did not react much to my painted nails, some even complimented them. But don’t get me wrong, there were a few female customers that would give me weird looks; however for the most part, the female customers were fine with my nails painted. It was from the male customers that I actually got a reaction from. Normally, male customers would be pretty open to getting help. But the day that I wore nail polish, they were a lot more reserved and not very interested in my help. Some would even go to the other associates, no matter their gender, to get their help over mine. It was astounding how something as small as painted nails can make people feel so uncomfortable. 

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The next morning, I happily rubbed off the nail polish. Both my roommate and I had woken up late so we decided to get lunch from one of the dining halls on campus. I wasn’t expecting to notice anything gendered but as I was getting my food, one of the workers asked if my roommate and I wanted a salad. We both said yes. Right after us, two girls were getting their food and the dining hall worker asked the same question to them. The two girls both said no and went on their way. As the worker was making my roommate and I’s salad, I overheard him talking with his co-worker about how it was weird since it was normally the opposite, the girls would be getting a salad and the boys wouldn’t. Apparently the act of getting a salad is gendered with girls? So since I’m a boy, I can’t order a salad? Both my roommate and I haven’t been eating that healthy so of course we wanted to opt for the salad to help balance our diet. This shouldn’t be gendered

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Conclusion

Coming into this class, I knew how you present yourself to others will play a role in how they perceive you. After doing this exercise, I found that this still rang true in today’s society. The expression “Don’t read a book by it’s cover” isn’t something people follow before they get to know you. We, as a society, will use how someone act or dress to figure out who they are. Small things like painting your nails to even ordering a salad can lead to people making assumptions about you. Gender nonconforming means not conforming to what society thinks you should act or dressed because your a boy or because your a girl. 

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Based on my experience with my nails painted, I saw that gender conformity is not essential to our society, however it is used by a majority of the population. We would be better off without gender norm, therefore people would not feel bad about themselves and can lead a life that makes them happy. As a society, we need to step away gender conformity.