codes of gender...

Life is a little bit different after seeing the film “The Gender Code.”  If you haven’t seen it, I recommend doing so.  You will begin to see things according to the ideas that advertising codes for gender.  It is quite funny how we bend and break to these standards that we can never achieve.

I noticed a lot of these “cues” while meandering through people’s Facebook pages.  If women want to be “alluring” they must bend themselves into a “wispy” and in need of assistance.  And who is there to assist them?  A man.

I also noticed that when someone has a picture with their significant other, they both follow the gender code.  The man is usually seen enveloping the woman.  If he is not, the woman is lustfully leaning into them, being supported by the man.

Another thing that is common is the “infantilization” of women through holding hands and fingers near their mouth.  This is quite common among profile pictures of women on Facebook.  This is awful confusing for me.  I see children as void of any sexuality until a certain age.  I know this isn’t the best way of thinking, but it is how I see things.  I really don’t understand the “sexiness” of connecting being a woman with being a child.

Now, I understand that Facebook is obviously not the greatest place to do a small bit of “research.”  However, the profile pictures that people choose are what they want the outside world to view them.  The idea that these codes of gender have trickled down in to our social networking sites is interesting to say the least.

If these “codes” have already buried themselves this far into our psyche, how much longer will we let them guide our view of society?