"The handbag that makes that woman." Yup.
This is my paper I had to write for my Sociology of Gender Class, before you read it, heres a little something extra;
Big news in the handbag world. Chanel has announced the newest limited edition and highly coveted handbag. With only 13 available worldwide, this handbag sits upon the accessory throne as one of the most expensive luxury handbags in the world. The Chanel Diamond Forever Classic Bag will debut in December adorned with 3.56 carats made up of 334 diamonds, 18 carat white gold hardware, and white alligator skin. Five of these ostentatious handbags will be available in the states. The price tag on this number is a staggering $261,000. Yes the price is sky high, but these bags are masterpieces, works of art. With only 13 being made, owning one would be similar to an art collector owning a Picasso. Yeah i love purses. Its my addiction you could say. And yeah next to the Chanel, the most expensive bag, the Berkin bag is quite famous, and yeah, I'm not going to lie, they are quite sexy. But I know better.......and who really knew how much damage it was doin go figure huh?......
Violating Gender Norm
The gender norm that was violated for this project was a male carrying a pink purse. Walter was to carry the purse on his shoulder around the Webb Center, specifically in the North Cafeteria. The observations made as Walter walked around the North part of the Webb Center, were that many of the people did notice him and gazed at him momentarily. Apart from the stares, there were a few smiles from individuals, and other than these stares and smiles, no one actually made a comment or approached Walter about the situation. The only person that we did approach, quoted, “to each is own.” When Walter was asked what his reaction was to the overall experience, his first response was that he did feel to some degree, a sense of humiliation. However, he also stated that after some time of wearing the purse, he felt at ease and comfortable with the idea of carrying purse. Even so, he did say that he would not do this at any other given moment, because he is a little too self conscious. Walter went on to saying that, had someone approached him about the situation, he would have informed the person that it for was for a class project, especially if it was girl that he would have liked to flirt with. In all, he says that carrying a purse is a practical idea whether a woman or man carries it. My reaction to the gender violation was not a negative one because if I had been part of the audience, instead of taking down notes, I would not have paid much attention to a man carrying a purse. Perhaps I would have paid more attention if the purse that was a fashionable purse that I would be interested in buying. So with this being said, I do not think there’s a form of social control with me with this particular example. For the most part, the reactions received for the violation of this gender norm did reinforce the gender system. Though the perplexed expressions and amused reactions of other’s weren’t extreme, this gender norm violation was indeed acknowledged.
This particular norm in question serves a lot of purposes, some for reasons that can’t aren’t always visibly recognizable or questioned. For example, on the surface, this purse is only interpreted as no more than a fashion statement, an extension to the outfit that is worn at that the time as an accessory to enhance and compliment that outfit. Also, when looked at from another perspective, its simple purpose is that of a practical one to carry all you personal belongings in. However, this innocent fashion accessory is really doing more harm than it thinks. It slowly sets up a gender norm that affects both genders in a negative way. It creates a generalization that all women then carry purses, furthermore that purses are then only for women.
The magnitude in the influence of this accessory is apparent by the monetary value of the purse that is placed upon. Women will pay up to thousands of dollars for such purses, and even if you can’t afford them, women can always get the knock off brand. This then, marginalizes men from this fashion sphere because after all, purses are a women thing and a man carrying a purse will not always be welcomed. However, this is a complicated issue because it is contradictory in so many ways. The very same men who aren’t allowed to wear such purses are yet the very same men designing these purses for women. So while we can make the assumption that this benefits women, in reality the only one that benefits from this fashion statement is the fashion industry, the companies, the media and its marketing. For that reason the issue of consumerism becomes heavy subject and is then more correlated with women then men. It then places a heavy emphasis on women’s appearance and their success.
What we see on the other end of the spectrum is how the media takes on a large role of influence, and although it won’t always impact everyone, it serves as an instrument of socialization. The purse is then associated with the issue of significant social characteristics. A certain purse will often be a categorized and identified with certain race or class. After all, a women of lower class, does not see it practical to spend her month’s earnings on purse. However, this won’t stop her from wanting such a purse. The purse is then yet another agent to enforce limitations and put the predominant social group in continuous power, becoming an underlying method of social control.
In all, the purse is more than just something fashionable as it has slowly created another norm in the gender system. The attempt to define what is gender appropriate is something as either black or white. This has been clearly socially constructed, because after all, don’t we all need some form of bag to carry our belongings? Because when a man carries purse, they have deviated from something that is not gender appropriate and so then issue of homosexuality is then deliberated. In conclusion this pink purse has become a vehicle to identify what type of behavior should be labeled as feminine or masculine, a belief and value that we as a society come to learn and construct
