Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Personal and Institutional Contexts of American Gender Identity

University Of Chicago, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

University of Chicago doctoral student, J. Ckristafer Baker, supervised by Dr. Judith Farquhar, will undertake research on the relationship between personal and institutional constructions of culturally accepted ideas of male gender in the United States. Previous research on gender-identification reveals a tension between personal and mainstream (institutionalized) understandings, raising the question of where cultural norms originate. The research is designed to contribute to answering that question. The research will be carried out in northern California. Research methodologies will include participation in the social and political life of differently identified men, ethnographic interviews, archival research into medical and legal management, and monitoring news and popular media. The overarching goal of this project is to investigate the microprocesses by which gender categories are constructed and maintained, and how they connect to legal, medical, psychotherapeutic, social-service, and educational practices. The research will make important theoretical contributions to understanding the sources of cultural norms, which has significance for developing appropriate cultural policy and regulation, as well. Funding this research also supports the education of a social scientist.