So what does Hegemony actually mean? It is the explanation for why people consent to and are complicit in their own subordination. So why do people consent? It is because the dominant system of oppression or customs in our culture are perceived and viewed as "the standard" or as "normal", natural, unchangeable. These gender roles have been present ever since we were born and are pressed into our minds since day one. Gender roles are something like boundaries or walls that put us in certain categories and upon those categories we receive massages through which we understand they way we are supposed to view the world and relate to the people around us.
No matter what culture you are born into you are shaped into an individual depending on what customs are associated with the sex you are born with. It is however challenging for me to call it normal or natural. In my terms natural is something that is shaped and present inside your DNA and that even without the cultural influence you would "practice" it. Since gender is so deeply rooted in the way we perceive our surroundings as well as what we are influence by what we are told, gender is somewhat of a question when it comes down to natural instincts.
This video will be helpful to clarify my statements: Interviews with Kids (Gender Roles)
To get to the main point I decided to write about my early experience with gender roles. Ever since I was a little girl I have never played with Barbies or dolls in general. The same goes for my sister. She was more of an "extreme" as she loved to play with cars and instead of dolls she would get cars for presents. It was our grandma that would always remind us that the neighborhood girls do what girls are supposed to. Play with barbies, be quiet, sit still and most importantly don't get dirty or get in trouble. Of course it was me and my sister that would run around the whole day with our dog, yelling and hiking in the woods nearby. Although it would not be enough. What would really get my grandma talking about our gender roles would be the climbing on trees. She would always say that we are not boys to be doing such things.
Looking back at this I can say that she had the idea of gender roles deeply rooted in and had an idea of what girls are supposed to do. My sister and I were not meeting the criteria and we were reminded of that. Not only that but I was aware of our behavior. I knew that we are not acting like girls. I knew the gender criteria and the behavior criteria. The problem was that it was boring for us to play "like girls". So the gender stereotype was already present in my head it was however our choice to not act upon it. So we were aware of the "normal" behavior we were supposed to portray in relation to hegemony.
Overall the gender, race and class in the media are interactive and send certain types of messages to the viewers. On the other hand the viewers understand the message depending on their gender, race and class that they were or are exposed to. The world around us is ultimately shaped by our gender, sex, race, class and many other factors.
Resources:
Dines, G. & Humes, J. (Eds.) (2003) Gender, Race, Class and Media (Second Edition) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
GoldenHSCsac (2008). Gender Roles-Interviews with Kids [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWc1e3Nbc2g
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