Gender
Gender can be defined as the difference in roles and responsibilities that differentiate men from women. It is also used as a basis for creating masculine and feminine roles. It is dependent on the society or community to assign different roles according to sex, social responsibilities and identity. Some communities have set aside some social roles in a manner that they can be considered as belonging to either males or females.
According to Coupland (109), “Social scientists define gender as a construction of the community, experts in gender studies try to figure out whether the difference in biological characteristics influence gender disparities in human beings.” From the perspective of art, paintings of 17th century reveal shows how women were perceived. The painting that showed the nude bodies implied their submission to men.
According to Butler, “Gender as an objective thing does not exist. Gender reality is performance which means that it is only real to the extent it is performed.” He further argues that gender does not in any way depend on physical characteristics of a person, but it is a social fabrication that is subject to change and can also be protested. Roles associated to gender do not practically express what gender is, and neither does it define the objectives that gender ought to attain.
This is due to the fact gender is not a fact, but performance of roles associated to it creates the notion of gender because without them, gender would not exist. Therefore, gender constitutes formation of attributes whose beginning has been hidden. The beginning is not based on reality but performance of duties, so that through this duties the physical our physical body becomes gender although these duties are subject to change or revision over time. I agree with this perspective that gender is based on creation and that it is not a reality.
Generational
Recent studies suggest that the biggest division in the society today is brought about by generational gap and not race or income entities. As we continue interacting in the society, we realize that the age difference between the older and the younger people steadily grows. For instance, the age of students range from four to eighteen years, while adults continue to grow older. In order for harmony to exist, the adults have to formulate ways of understanding students so that they can remain relevant.
One of the factors that bring about differences in generation is change. Age difference has the ability to bring about generational change in the sense that, each generation come up with its own unique characteristics. By virtue of their age, young people’s priorities differ from the once of the older generation. At their age, they have few financial responsibilities; hence, most of them spent their income randomly with a big portion of it going to entertainment.
Art plays a big role in shaping the behavior young people through music. Socio economic conditions contribute to generational change in the society. The conditions that the economy and the society offer have varied impacts on people of different ages. Experiences undergone in formative years of development help distinguish behaviors of different generations. This indicators help create a forum through which the world is perceived and decisions are made. For instance, baby boomers were made due to the influence from Television (Clurman, 750).
According to social science experts, the older generation of people is mostly influenced by the authority unlike the young people who are greatly influenced by their peers. Among their best selection of decisions in life is a selection of choices from experiences of their peers. When you compare the two groups, older people make decision basing on core values; while the young people live in a manner that they are persuaded to embrace social values. From the discussion, generational refers to changes in the society that are brought about as a result age difference. Therefore, advances in the field of art have a great influence in bringing generational change.
Works cited
Clurman, Walker. Rocking the Ages. Sydney: Yankelovich Partners, 1997.
Coupland, Douglas. Generation X: tales for an accelerated culture. Sydney: St Martin’s Press, 1991.