Blurring genders or deleting them: androgyny and performances of gender in a youth population of the netherlands

What is gender? Is it a noun or verb? Where does one 'get' it? How is it formed? These questions have been asked time and time again over years of study and societal changes. Conceptions of gender have been and continue to be created from a variety of different perspectives. Among these theories is biological determinism, equating sex to gender; social constructionism, placing behaviors and characteristics in culturally defined masculine and feminine binaries; and gender performativity, supporting the concept of gender as fluid, continually evolving performances. Much of the contemporary academic literature in the communication and gender field focuses on the performativity theory, exploring performances of genders and the societal constructions that influence such performances. Using this theory and the concept of androgynous gender performance as its base, this paper explores gender performances in the youth population (approx. 18-25 years of age) of the Netherlands. This is done through a combination of participant observation and rhetorical analysis of the performances observed. Observations suggest that while traditional aspects of gender performances occur in certain contexts, the Dutch youth population is predisposed to blended gender performances and thus exhibits a potential for androgynous gender performances. Analysis also suggests there appear to be cultural limits to androgyny, specifically in terms of context.

BLURRING GENDERS OR DELETING THEM: A N D R O G Y N Y A N D P E R F O R M A N C E S O F G E N D E R IN A Y O U T H POPULATION OF THE NETHERLANDS by Chantalle van Goor A Senior Honors Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Communications The University of Utah In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Honors Degree of Bachelor of Arts In Speech Communications Approved: Helene Shugart Supervisor A n n Darling Chair, Department of Communications Martha S. Bradley D e a n , Honors College Nickieann Fleener Department Honors Advisor May 2 0 1 0 ABSTRACT W h a t is gender? Is it a noun or verb? Where does one 'get' it? How is it formed? These questions have been asked time and time again over years of study and societal changes. Conceptions of gender have been and continue to be created from a variety of different perspectives. A m o n g these theories is biological determinism, equating sex to gender; social constructionism, placing behaviors and characteristics in culturally defined masculine and feminine binaries; and gender performativity, supporting the concept of gender as fluid, continually evolving performances. M u c h of the contemporary academic literature in the communication and gender field focuses on the performativity theory, exploring performances of genders and the societal constructions that influence such performances. Using this theory and the concept of androgynous gender performance as its base, this paper explores gender performances in the youth population (approx. 18-25 years of age) of the Netherlands. This is done through a combination of participant observation and rhetorical analysis of the performances observed. Observations suggest that while traditional aspects of gender performances occur in certain contexts, the Dutch youth population is predisposed to blended gender performances and thus exhibits a potential for androgynous gender performances. Analysis also suggests there appear to be cultural limits to androgyny, specifically in terms of context. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii INTRODUCTION 1 PERFORMANCE OF ANDROGYNY 3 DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE DUTCH 9 METHODOLOGY 1 1 PERFORMANCES OF MEN 13 KEEPING UP APPEARANCES 13 TOUCH AND BE TOUCHED 17 THE (IN)FORMAL M A N 20 DUTCH MAN 22 PERFORMANCES OF WOMEN 23 DRESS UP, DRESS DOWN, DRESS ACROSS 24 TOUCH NOW, D O N ' T TOUCH LATER 26 EYE CAN HEAR YOU 28 DUTCH WOMAN 32 REWORKING GENDERS 33 REFERENCES 39 iii 1 For centuries, society has asserted that men and women are inherently different. Specific roles and actions are prescribed to each sex and societal expectations have created distinct traits and spaces for femininity and masculinity. This societal mind-set does not enjoy much support from the contemporary scientific world; rather, in the gradual move over the decades from biological determinism to social constructionism to gender performativity, many studies have shifted from an either/or approach to a both/and mentality regarding gender. Today many discussions of gender communication focus on the understanding that gender is performed rather than prescribed: The understanding of performativity [cannot be] the act by which a subject brings into being what she/he names, but, rather, as that reiterative power of discourse to produce the phenomena that it regulates and constrains. Performativity is thus not a singular 'act' for it is always a reiteration of a norm or set of norms, and to the extent that it acquires an act-like status in the present, it conceals or dissimulates the conventions of which it is a repetition (Halberstam, 1999b, p . 236 & 241). Performances of gender in this realm of thought tend to flow in and out of the masculine and the feminine as individuals shape and re-shape themselves - both consciously and unconsciously - according to their own and their society's values and beliefs. In particular, the concept of androgyny - that of an individual performing both femininities and masculinities at the same time - is the focus of many studies of gender performance and serves as a defining theory for this paper. Despite the continually evolving theories in academia, much of the Western world supports an attitude of gender dualism: femininity and masculinity are contradictory to one another and thus incompatible with one another - hence the phrase 'the opposite 2 sex.' As cultures become more enlightened in regard to gender, there appears to be increased blurring and blending of gender traits among individuals, which may or may not illustrate gender androgyny. While much of Western society today often functions under the traditional gender binaries with the either/or mentality as the norm, this attitude does not take into account potential cultural differences. A superficial assessment of behavior in the Netherlands shows an alternative manifestation of gender performance and a melding of societal attitudes in line with the current academic theories regarding androgyny. A m o n g the youth population of Amsterdam, individuals appear to be assuming a performance of both/and in regard to the performance of genders. Because of this gender blending of young Dutch individuals, the Netherlands serves as an excellent venue in which to examine the performances of gender androgyny in accordance with gender performativity theory. A grey area has appeared in the Netherlands, wherein men and women function 1 not as feminine or masculine, but as het zelfde, meaning 'the s a m e or 'equal.' Of course, 1 there is a clash in this translation, for 'the s a m e ' and ' e q u a l are not necessarily on par with one another. However, in regard to gender performances of Dutch university students, wij zijn het Zelfde holds a lot of sway. On the one hand, the phrase suggests a legal equality between women and men; on the other hand, the phrase implies a societal 1 release from preconceived notions of what it means to be a ' m a n or a ' w o m a n , ' generating a new attitude toward gender performance. Dutch youth, in fact, appear to perform genders not in terms of masculine and feminine, but in a much more androgynous sense. The purpose of this paper is to explore performances of gender among young Dutch adults, with an eye toward assessing whether, and if so, how, 3 androgyny factors into those performances. Through observation and rhetorical analysis, this paper focuses specifically on performances surrounding appearance, kinesics, and paralanguage; through this research, the paper will investigate the apparent Dutch predilection for androgynous gender performances. Observations are limited to the formal site of the university and more casual locations of bars and cafes', thus constraining the understanding of gender performances detailed in this paper to specific arenas. My observations suggest that gendered performance of young Dutch adults often overlap one another, which justifies an evaluation of Dutch performances as relatively androgynous, although there appear to be cultural limits to androgyny, especially in terms of context. PERFORMANCE OF ANDROGYNY Colloquially, androgyny is understood in two different, if related, ways: as possessing an equal amount of feminine and masculine traits; or as a combination of the male and the female, essentially an individual who assumes an ambiguous nature. Essentially both these ideas hinge on the same concept: the existence of a third combined - gender category. The word " a n d r o g y n y " is Greek for " m a n " (andros) and " w o m a n " (gyne). In the classical sense, androgyny refers to an individual who exhibits both male and female traits: "both feminine and masculine characteristics should exist 'side by side' in every individual" (Treblicot, 1982, p.162). This concept has been dealt with in depth throughout the history of the feminist movement and is seen as an "escape from the prison of gender" (Warren, 1982, p.170), essentially a way to break down the 1 T h e u n i v e r s i t y a n d o t h e r v e n u e s a r e limited to t h e city of A m s t e r d a m , t h e Netherlands. 4 barriers between what is traditionally considered feminine and masculine. " G e n d e r is influenced by historical, social, and cultural factors, rather than anatomical factors, and is 1 not part of a person's essential, 'natural,' 'true' self, ' writes Clare Moynihan (1998) in her article, "Theories of Masculinity." In the early 1970s, Sandra Bern published a test she termed the Bern Sex Role Inventory (BSRI), in which she reconfigures the femininity-masculinity continuum. In previous years, masculinity and femininity were often seen as unidimensional, functioning as polar opposites of one another. With this view, the masculine and the feminine are black and white, yin and yang concepts. Bern, however, suggests that a twodimensional method is needed; she offers two continuums - one that measures femininity from low to high and one that measures masculinity from low to high (Bern, 1974). These continuums are to be used together in determining masculine and feminine attributes and tendencies of an individual: those who measure low on both scales are labeled undifferentiated; those who score high on both scales Bern calls androgynous: Over the years Bern's concept of androgyny has taken a beating for measuring not masculinities and femininities, but gender role stereotypes. However, her concept of androgyny b e c a m e the focus of a number of studies, particularly those involving gender (Brannon, 2 0 1 1 , p . 52). This restructuring of gender opens up the possibilities for individuals to hold a number of different gender traits. The possibility of androgyny challenges the either/or binary and suggests that individuals can indeed be a mix of different gender aspects. However, in categorizing traits according to neutrality, femininity, and masculinity, Bern 2 If an individual scores significantly higher on one scale than the other, s/he is determined to be masculine or feminine, according to higher score. 5 is at the same time reinforcing the concept of a gender binary. For example, of the 'masculine' traits listed in the B S R I , masculine is a key descriptor; feminine is similarly listed under 'feminine' traits. In later research, Bern (1981) addressed this issue: The concept of androgyny is insufficiently radical from a feminist perspective because it continues to presuppose that there is a masculine and a feminine within us all, that is, that the concepts of masculinity and femininity have an independent and palpable reality rather that being themselves cognitive constructs derived from gender-based schematic processing" (p. 363). Rather than allowing the individual to define for his/herself which traits are gendered and which are not, the original concept of androgyny instead categorizes and labels on a continuum, leaving little r o o m for personal interpretation. However, although Bern's concept of androgyny is heavily rooted in social construction theory regarding gender, her suggestion that a gender binary is much too constraining to individuals does highlight a shift in theoretical approaches to gender. By viewing gender as a mixture of different traits, gender becomes much more fluid and changable, a major aspect of gender performativity theory. Contemporary theorist Judith Halberstam suggests that to some extent our performances are subconscious: " W e live with difference even though we do not always have the conceptual tool to realize it," (1999b, p . 126) she writes in her essay on female masculinity. This process is key to much of the work regarding gender performativity: while some traits and actions may be seen as feminine or masculine and are therefore performed with such goals in mind, other performances may not be hinged specifically on our creation or concept of gender. Gender therefore is not only a conscious and unconscious act, but is to some extent 6 unidentifiable within the individual. Such thought processes are avoided in much of today's studies of gender. While theories of androgyny continue to affect the contemporary movement, there is a push to avoid labeling process and categorization of traits. Rather than accepting society as the only factor in the establishment of gender - otherwise known as social construction theory - theorists focus on individual performances of gender as well. Taking into account the fact that most individuals subscribe to many different aspects of gender (Spence, 1993, p. 634), the theory of gender performativity centers on the concept that societal expectations and values feed our performances of gender, but our performances of gender likewise affect societal expectations and values. Gender performances are not inherently driven by masculinity, femininity, or neutrality; performances are driven by reactions to culture, the individual's personal values, location, audiences, and many other factors. As such, gender performativity theory suggests that gender is variable and fluid, affected and changed by a number of different factors. Gender is therefore a creation of both individual behaviors and cultural expectations and conventions. Judith Butler (1990) pioneered this concept, agreeing that gender is something an individual does - one performs gender rather than simply having it: The presumption of a binary gender system implicitly retains the belief in a mimetic relation of gender to sex whereby gender mirrors sex or is otherwise restricted by it. When the constructed states of gender is theorized as radically independent of sex, gender itself becomes a free-floating artifice, with the consequence that man and masculine might just as easily signify a female body as 7 a male one, and woman and feminine a male body as easily as a female one. (p. 9, emphasis original) Combine Butler's view of gender performance with the concepts of androgyny and one suddenly has a very powerful concept - not only is it acceptable for an individual to possess femininities and masculinities at the same time, but it is a performance of these that creates the individual's genders - in this frame of thinking, one is not simply masculine or androgynous or feminine or undifferentiated, but has the potential to be all of the above. In fact, Butler (1999) touches on androgyny in her discussion of Foucault and his study of a hermaphrodite named Herculine. Herculine presents multiple genders, challenging the traditional take on a masculine man and a feminine woman: "Herculine deploys and redistributes the terms of a binary system, but that very redistribution disrupts and proliferates those terms outside the binary itself. Herculine is not 1 categorizable within the gender binary as it stands ' (p. 32). From Foucault's conclusions of Herculine, Butler discerns that if it is possible for one individual to exhibit multiple gendered aspects, then it is also possible for an individual to exhibit 'opposite' gender attributes while "still (to) maintainlingj the integrity of the gender" (p. 33). This idea is key to Butler's take on gender - She sees traditional gender as a performance of attributes and thus calls for individuals to make "gender trouble 11 in a masculinized world by utilizing traditional genders in non-traditional ways. Halberstam (1999b) also touches on this topic as she explores the social concept of sexed bodies. Although this work focuses particularly on subversive acts of individuals, Halberstam work centers of performativity theory, specifically in relation to 8 the fluidity of gender performances in combination with the social construction of 'acceptable' genders: " W e are all cross-dressers but where are we crossing from and to what? There is no 'other' side, no 'opposite' sex, no natural divide to be spanned by surgery, by disguise, by passing. W e all pass or we d o n ' t , we all wear our drag, and we all derive a different degree of pleasure - sexual or otherwise - from our costumes (p. 127)". In this, Halberstam suggests that every person is both male and female, both feminine and masculine; our personal performances work in tandem with societal expectations to form gender. Judith Lorber (1994) proposes that gender is not something an individual is but something an individual does, and it is not simply we ourselves who affect our gender. From our first breath, we are placed in a sex category, a category that alters how the world treats us: boys wear blue, Alice is a girl's n a m e . W e support these gender categories through our own actions - career choice, speech, clothing styles - and thus our gender(s) and our resulting performances are a combination of individual and societal constructions. Lorber suggests that transsexuals and transvestites, for instance, challenge normative gender practices by both denying their socially constructed gender role and by assuming aspects of other genders; I suggest that those w h o perform androgyny embody the same challenge to societal constructions of gender: "Genders, therefore, are not attached to a biological substratum. Gender boundaries are breachable.. .these odd or deviant or third genders show us what we ordinarily take for granted - that people have to learn to be women and m e n " (p. 18). Much of the early work that was done on androgyny focuses on an individual being completely androgynous; that is, the concept that an individual may express or 9 retain an equal amount of feminine and masculine traits at all times. However, such thought processes maintain a rigid view of gender; gender performativity theory in contrast supports the concept of gender as fluid and continuously changing. As such, this paper uses practical settings to examine the contents and limits of androgyny and, by extension, the contents and limits of gender fluidity. With this in mind, I will analyze the performances of gender by young adults in the Netherlands. I will focus my analysis specifically on my observations of nonverbal gender performances, resulting in a wider understanding of gender performativity and androgyny within specific social contexts. My observations suggest that there is a significant blending in gendered performances of Dutch w o m e n and m e n , which justifies an assessment of performances as relatively androgynous, although there also seem to be cultural limits to androgyny, specifically regarding context. The following chapters specifically assess performances of men and w o m e n , respectively, and focus on the areas of dress, kinesics, and paralinguistic speech. These two analysis chapters are be followed by further discussion of androgynous gender performances and their effect on and importance in Dutch youth culture. DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE DUTCH Since its establishment as a sovereign nation in the early 1600s, the Netherlands has developed a culture of egalitarianism and tolerance. For hundreds of years the country has been seen as a haven for individuals seeking freedom from persecution. Although at times political culture has shifted from one side to the other, the Netherlands has exhibited a tendency to assume a ' d o n ' t ask, d o n ' t tell' policy in regard to many societal aspects, including religion and sexuality. Homosexual activity was 10 decriminalized in 1911, and in 1996, homosexual relationships were recognized as legitimate by the Dutch government, thereby legalizing adoption by homosexual couples and opening the doors for the gay marriage legislation, which was adopted in 2000 (Robinson, 2001). Because of this cultural acceptance and governmental support, the Netherlands has over the years b e c o m e h o m e to a large Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender community. The acceptance and legalization of alternative life styles demonstrates cultural values of tolerance and equality regarding gender and sexuality issues in the Netherlands. As relevant more directly to gender, also of note, are Dutch policies regarding health care and the workplace. In regard to health care policies, abortion has been legal since the early 1980s and is covered by the government health insurance, as are varying methods of birth control. Such governmental health care policies suggest that Dutch society supports w o m e n having control over their own bodies. As relevant to the workplace, the Dutch appear committed to ensuring gender equality: non-governmental organizations under the leadership of C E D A W (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against W o m e n ) send ' s h a d o w s ' into Dutch companies, individuals who observe company policies and practices specifically regarding the treatment of w o m e n , and subsequent reports are filed with the UN every four years. Although reports are not always uniformly positive, this does suggest a push by the Netherlands to improve the standing of its citizens and a drive to create an egalitarian society. This general support of various life styles and the g o v e r n m e n t ' s commitment to the care of all citizens has over the years created a country of tolerance and egalitarianism. The drive for individual equality and person freedom make the country an 11 interesting location for a study regarding gender performances. As the country strives to reduce differences between individuals while simultaneously maintaining the concept of the individuality, performances of gender come into play. The theory of androgyny in itself is arguably a materialization of gender equality and thus provides an interesting venue to study the performative practices in Dutch youth culture. METHODOLOGY In Fall 2 0 1 0 , 1 attended Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam, one of two universities located in the Dutch capital. For four months, I took courses within the university; my colleagues were both Dutch and international students. In addition to my academics, I conducted an observational study of my Dutch peers, particularly focusing on the performances of genders. The individuals I observed were approximately eighteen 1 to twenty-five years old and represented a variety of ethnic b a c k g r o u n d s . Because lower and secondary education is compulsory and government subsidies are given to many Dutch university students, receiving an upper-level education is more than possible for many individuals due in part to the relative economic privilege and equality among the Dutch. As such, I did not focus on a particular income group or class level During my stay in the Netherlands, my observations centered on nonverbal performances of Dutch youth rather than verbal performances: although my Dutch is passable, I am by no means fluent and thus am unable to catch many subtleties of verbal conversation. As such, my observations of the verbal do not focus on the content of what was said, but how the verbal action influences other aspects of performance. I also paid a 3 Given that Dutch culture is relatively ethnically diverse and because the focus of my study addressed performances of gender in general, any attempt to control ethnicity among those I observed would have been counterproductive to my study. 12 great deal of attention to the behavior and use of the body in Dutch culture. Of course, appearance and adornment also informed my study of Dutch gender performance. I am aware that my own cultural background inevitably influences my interpretations in this study; I have done my utmost to be self-reflexive and avoid potential cultural and value projections by focusing on direct observations and justifying my evaluations through this data. While the VU served as the primary location of my study, local cafes, p u b s , and 4 bars frequented by the students were also a main focus. Other scenes such as university 5 housing, transportation, and student borrels also informed my study, though these locations were not considered primary areas of observation. In observing university students, I was confronted with not only the performances of individuals, but performances of groups as well. For the purpose of this study, I have split my findings into defined sex categories - men and women - and thus have compared behaviors and performances within each category. By splitting my findings into such categories, I am not seeking to replicate gender binary in regard to sex, but am instead using sex to illuminate gender performances and androgyny more broadly, given that sex is still considered a conventional benchmark. Through my observations, I found that, in general, theories of gender performativity were supported, especially in terms of androgyny and fluidity. However, my observations of Dutch performances of gender also imply that there are limits to both fluidity and androgyny within the gender performativity paradigm. 5 the Netherlands has a very large coffee culture. Dutch for "drink," used to refer to a gathering of people. 13 PERFORMANCES OF MEN "Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society." ~ Mark Twain "Silence is a source of great strength." ~ Lao Tzu T o discuss the performance of genders by Dutch men first invites a consideration of performances of conventional masculinity, which can serve as a useful benchmark for understanding alternative performances. Although time has brought about the evolution of gender performances in numerous ways, it is clear that some conventional performances of gender are still prevalent in modern society, regardless of location. Sandra Bern lists various attributes of human performances, attributes that she categorizes as masculine, feminine, and neutral. Of the conventionally masculine traits offered by Bern (1974), independence and assertiveness stand out as key traits for the scope of this discussion (p. 156). These traits appear to be privileged Dutch m e n ' s performances of dress, kinesics, and paralanguage. In some w a y s , the performances of assertiveness and independence appear to be a reflection of conventional masculinity among Dutch men, although performative changes due to context also suggest a fluidity of these traits and a removal from traditionally ' m a s c u l i n e ' performances. K E E P I N G UP A P P E A R A N C E S A m o n g young Dutch m e n , the appearance of independence - in particular aloofness - is of note, which is consistent with conventional performances of masculinity, but also has roots in the performances of " D u t c h n e s s " as well. 14 Of all the observed performances exhibited by the young Dutch m e n , the most obvious is the use of appearance. Dress style and adornment naturally play a significant role in the performance of gender: The baby was wearing a white crocheted cap and white clothes. You couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl. The child in the stroller was wearing a dark blue T-shirt and dark print pants. As they started to leave the train, the father put a Yankee baseball cap on the child's head. Ah, a boy, I thought. Then I noticed the gleam of tiny earrings in the child's ears, and as they got off, I saw the little flowered sneakers and lace-trimmed socks. Not a boy after all. Gender done. (Lorber, 1994,p.13) As noted in the methodology section of this paper, I am aware of that our own cultural perceptions of gender have a tendency to change our understanding of other cultures. To avoid projecting any of my own personal or cultural values upon Dutch society, I have assessed dress and appearance of Dutch men for the values they communicate, which are inseparable from gender due to their recurrence across Dutch men in particular. A Dutch student walks up to the main building ofVU University. and a grey blazer with a grey scarf, a black t-shirt underneath. back with gel, showing off the diamond-stud earrings He wears His hair is slicked he wears. He sports boots and carries a brown leather duffle bag. He sees a friend smoking banister and approaches, The friend dressed extending his hand for a handshake. in blue jeans, a violet sweater, His backpack matches his shoes. jeans and lime green and purple retro leather by the is sneakers. 15 I use this excerpt of my field notes to highlight two very different styles of dress exhibited by the m e n , not only at Vrije University, but in social settings as well. Over the months I spent in the Netherlands, I noticed a particularly high value of a polished and clean appearance. Attending class, going to the store, sipping a coffee at the cafe, meeting friends at a borrel - in each area, there is a societal expectation for individuals to look "put together" and presentable. Ripped jeans are virtually non-existent; sweatpants garner looks of disgust; hats are taken off while indoors, thus necessitating styled hair at all times. While the university does not have a particular dress code, it is c o m m o n for men to attend class in button-down shirts and ties, blazers, and slacks. For those who do not wish to dress in semi-formal clothing, jeans and t-shirts were seen as acceptable as well, as the above excerpt details. While clothing choices are very much within the bounds of traditionally ' m a s c u l i n e ' performance, my observations of dress styles and the adverse 6 reactions to ' s l o p p y ' styles show a strong societal push for a more refined, clean-cut, and orderly image: / was sitting on the subway this morning most paradoxical outfit. He had on his 'Nike Kicks,' retro, a brown leather biker's jacket, a big black 'Adidas' unlaced and looking shoes! i.e. ripped and dirty clothing, unkempt hair, very His hair was spiked and he but for the pants he was wearing. seen those in months! And to combine the a maroon scarf around his neck, and he had sports bag over his shoulder. looked quite put-together, scarf, new and a young man got on wearing Sweatpants. a pair of lounge pants with a nice I haven't jacket, 16 / was sitting on the tram this afternoon crowded. coming back from town and it was quite A man got on at the Roerlofhartplein crowds of people stop and it was as if he parted in the train. He was wearing a hoodie, stained and frayed the at the ends, ripped blue jeans and his shoes had holes. And though he himself didn 7 look dirty, no one seemed to want to be near him. This performance of appearance plays into and feeds the performance of order and attention to detail by Dutch men. Overly relaxed clothing styles are frowned upon and thus are generally not worn in social settings. Rather, appearance is expected to retain a (semi)formality at all times in all venues. Young Dutch men are particularly attentive to appearance, maintaining a wellgroomed appearance at all times. Hairstyle is of particular note in this regard. While short hair on men appears to be the most c o m m o n style, many young men choose to grow their hair just above shoulder level. As mentioned earlier, hats are not typically worn indoors and it is expected of an individual to appear clean and tidy; thus men are compelled to style their long hair rather than pull it back into a ponytale or hide it under a cap. It is c o m m o n to see excessively gelled or slicked-back hair on young Dutch men. The c o m m o n usage of a headband by Dutch men, which is also c o m m o n among Dutch w o m e n , seems to further this idea of control and order. Other aspects of appearance confirm the valuation of the qualities of practicality and order. Of particular note in this venue is the use of personal bags. In the Netherlands, one sees sports bags, leather duffels, small over-the-shoulder bags, and more on a daily basis in the Netherlands, all carried by men as they go about their business. In fact, many of the bags carried by women are similar in style and purpose. I suggest that this specific 17 adornment underscores the notion that Dutch men are expected to be prepared at all times, whether it be with schoolbooks, and umbrella, or extra shopping bags. Appearance and accessories commonly exhibited by young Dutch men suggest a privileging of practicality, order, control, and simplicity. Driven by the cultural value of preparedness and the support of clean appearance, dress codes among men are hinged on practical clothing styles and adornments: headbands and gel keep hair back and out of the way; personal bags are a sign of preparedness; semiformal clothing creates a polished and professional look in an individual. This appearance of practicality in the realm of dress also influences the individual's ability to function on o n e ' s o w n . Individuality though dress in the Netherlands then, is not established by standing out in a crowd, but by making autonomy possible. T O U C H A N D BE T O U C H E D Of the many aspects to nonverbal communication, kinesics in particular plays in interesting role in gender performances in Dutch culture. Touch has, over the years, been considered one of the most important types of communication, although the meanings and purposes of touch have been shown to change according to context (Major, Schmidlin, & Williams, 1990). In particular: Early researchers viewed touch primarily as an expression of intimacy and interpreted its message in terms of warmth and nurturance or sexual interest. In contrast to this perspective, Nancy Henley.. .argued that touch, as well as other nonverbal behaviors, also communicates a different m e s s a g e — o n e of power and status (p. 634). 18 Such studies regarding touch are quite informative when applied to my observations. Dutch men do not use touch on a widespread basis. Friends and family rarely hug or 7 exhibit affection in public. One will occasionally see a romantic couple holding hands, but other forms of physicality between men and other individuals are few and far between: Today I'm sitting in Coffee Company with my usual Americano home), doing my usual people watching. romantically whispering. together, involved) (I must A couple (a man and a woman, I assume is sitting at the other end of the cafe, heads They aren't touching, miss but they are leaning. together, Their heads are almost but not quite. There are others in the cafe - a young woman sitting a few tables away from me, quietly reading her book; a gaggle of girls chattering window; by the a group of women (they look to be in their late 20s or early 30s) on the couches; a father with his young daughter cookies in hot chocolate by the entrance sit across from me - it is quite busy today. I am distracted of another customer, grouped dunking from my survey who orders his coffee and looks around for a free table. Seeing none, he turns around and asks the young woman with the book if he can sit at her table - a normal action when there aren 't free seats. She and he sits; within minutes they are talking. In my head, I think 'attempt intimacy' appears. but I am surprised when a friend (or family member?) continues 7 her reading. this includes homosexual and heterosexual couples. at of the young Kissing each other once on each cheek, the young man stands, the woman for the seat, and joins his friend at a now-empty smiles table. The man thanks woman 19 Physicality exhibited by men is very minimal. As in many European countries, greeting kisses on the cheek are a c o m m o n occurrence. In the Netherlands, individuals use kisses to signify their relationship to one another: two kisses signify close friendship; three 8 kisses signify love and familial relations . These greeting styles are normalized within Dutch culture and thus reflect formal, ritualized kinesic performances. Such performances appear most often in formal arenas, such as university classes. In groups, men appear to perform physical detachment and containment. Dutch men seem to avoid touch, keeping group circles wide and maintaining several inches of space between group m e m b e r s . Upon meeting their male friends, men often opt for handshakes as greetings; greeting kisses are often exchanged between women and men. Physicality then, becomes a materialization of privacy and reserve for Dutch men. A paradox, however, occurs in highly social areas - particularly the borreh and in the pubs and bars. Although Amsterdam is a very diverse city and many tourists take advantage of the evening social scene, there are several private clubs that cater 9 specifically to locals. These venues are highly selective of their clientele: if you speak Dutch or are with a Dutch speaker, you are admitted; if you do not meet one of these criteria, you are refused entry to the club. Inside these establishments, a new physicality rule takes over: Although volume levels and alcohol consumption no doubt play a part, in entering these establishments Dutch men suddenly use touch as a main form of communication. In the setting of a borrel, pub, or bar, Dutch men b e c o m e overly 8 This phenomenon was explained to me by a Dutch friend when I expressed to her my confusion between the greeting styles. 1 use these exclusively Dutch clubs as a basis for my observations. Dutch men exhibit similar tendencies in non-exclusive settings, however, so as to limit my observations to the Dutch, I focus in particular on popular Dutch venues. 9 20 physical, j u m p i n g on one another and throwing their arms around their friends' shoulders. W o m e n and men engage in an easy manner - physicality ranges from the touching the arms and hands to embraces and public displays of affection - and in many cases these encounters end in overtly sexual performances. This shift in kinesics is dramatic and a complete reversal of the performances exhibited by men in formalized settings. These alternating performances are not simply disparate but directly contradictory. This complete 180° switch in performance styles may seem strange at first, but looking deeper, one can see that both styles support an interpretation that independence and autonomy are privileged. Performances in formal areas manifest as detachment and passivity, ultimately protecting the individual's privacy; performances in more casual settings focus on assertiveness and individual distinction. THE (IN)FORMAL MAN E-diplomat.com (2011), a nonprofit organization developed by and for diplomats across the world, offers a dash of insight into Dutch culture. The site claims the Dutch are a very private, reserved people, generally avoidant of physical contact in social situations. It is rare to hear the calling of names or even a raised voice in the Netherlands. People are often expected to care for their own needs. In restaurants and cafes, retail establishments, and even on university grounds, help is rarely offered to an individual. Instead, one is expected to ask for guidance, to seek out assistance when needed. As such, this national cultural value of independence becomes quite obvious in the performance of gender. Indeed, the use of paralanguage in the Netherlands is of major importance in the performance of independence by men. "For most m e n , talk is primarily a means to preserve independence and negotiate and maintain status in a hierarchical social order," 21 writes Deborah Tannen (1999) in her discussion of differing speech styles between men and women (p. 111). Dutch men are often quiet, only offering information if asked directly. Class discussions were often dominated by women and international students as the Dutch men sat back in silence. This occurs not only in the academic scene, but in other social contexts as well. I often witnessed men and women together in cafes, the woman speaking and the man listening silently. In single-sex groups, men took turns speaking rather than competing for 'top-dog' position in the group. These behaviors suggest values of reserve and respect among Dutch men. However, in the social, less formal arenas of the bar or cafe, paralinguistic speech performances appear to undergo a similar change to that of kinesics. Volume levels are quite high in the social arenas of the bars and borreh; many of these establishments are used as areas for speech. At times, the volume level of groups is controlled; other times boisterous laugher and shouting reigns. This is a sharp change from the removed behavior of men in formal settings, where paralingusitics are carefully controlled. As volume levels increase, the speech levels of men do as well, complete with interruptions and animated discussion. In such casual locations, silence disappears in favor of verbalization. Such mixed and uninhibited performances of vocality in many ways parallel performances of kinesics by Dutch men, throwing into sharp contrast the highly private and reserved performances of the formal sphere of the university with the uninhibited performances of informal locations. In the case of speech and social interaction, the key to Dutch m e n ' s performance of genders appears in the divide between the public and the personal, particularly in terms of independence and autonomy. In one instance, 22 independence is created through aloofness and silence; in another instance, independence becomes good-natured one-upmanship and outtalking. DUTCH MAN Of the three performance areas discussed, dress appears to be the least affected by location. Appearance styles and adornment use remain consistent regardless of the changes in vocalization or kinesics, continually centering on practicality and outward appearances. Dutch m e n ' s performances of appearance suggest a privileging of the values of practicality and formality; performances of paralanguage and touch point to values of reserve and aloofness in public contexts, and even in more casual settings, an emphasis on independence is supported via more assertive and direct m e a n s . All of these qualities seem to coalesce around independence, autonomy, and order. 23 PERFORMANCE OF WOMEN "Manly men and womanly women are still here but feeling nervous." ~ Mason Cooley "Speech is human, silence is divine, yet also brutish and dead: therefore we must learn both arts." ~ T h o m a s Carlyle In a similar vein to the previous discussion regarding performances of Dutch m e n , an assessment of any performance of femininity calls for a consideration of conventional femininities, which can serve as a useful benchmark for assessment. Bern's BSRI (1974) lists several qualities, including shy, gullible, and does not use harsh language as a few of the traits associated with the 'feminine' (p. 156). Such traits provide the venue for discussion of gender values, as do other conventionally feminine traits such as passivity and nurturing. Historically, femininity has been - and often continues to be - defined relationally, in particular opposiationally, against masculinity. Gender performativity, however, views such 'traits' as residues of larger performances, which are not inherently masculine or feminine. Given this, I will analyze c o m m o n traits that appear within the performances of Dutch women. Such traits are not necessarily directly correlated with concepts of conventional femininity and as such my analysis will instead focus on c o m m o n behaviors across the Dutch female population. Analysis will follow a similar structure as the previous chapter, focusing on trends in appearance, the use of kinesics, and the performances associated with paralinguistic speech. 24 DRESS UP, DRESS DOWN, DRESS ACROSS If someone were to ask me to describe the appearance of a young Dutch w o m a n , I am unsure how I would respond. How does a Dutch woman dress? What kind of bag does she carry? What is her choice of shoe? H o w long is her hair? All these questions and many more plague my response, for over my four-month stay in the Netherlands, it became painfully clear that such questions cannot be answered. Many of the women I observed displayed a good deal of mixture in terms of appearance. Rather than a c o m m o n dress style - classic, preppy, sporty, bohemian, for example - I witnessed an amalgamation of many different styles. This is not simply that women dressed in unique or eclectic ways; it seemed to me that the appearance of many women could not to be delimited to a particular range of clothing. An ordered, yet flexible individuality through dress seemed to emerge at the forefront of Dutch w o m e n ' s performances of appearance. This observation came about in my weekly trips to the university and my constant association with the same students. For example, one Dutch classmate of mine would arrive to class on Monday in skinny blue j e a n s , a white t-shirt, a baggy red sweater, and high top sneakers; her hair was short and unstyled; she wore no jewelry or m a k e u p . On Thursday, this same young woman would come into class in heeled leather boots, leggings, and a long purple blouse; her hair carefully combed and pinned away from her face; she was wearing eyeliner. Although I offer this w o m a n and her performance of dress over two days as an example, her drastic switch of appearance occurred more than once; further, she was not the only young woman to perform appearance in such a way. I often observed young women - who on normal days had styled hair and wore makeup arriving to class wearing clean clothes, wet hair, and no cosmetics. Indeed, combined 25 with the understanding that 'sloppy' styles are frowned upon in public, cleanliness and order appear to be tantamount in Dutch w o m e n ' s performances of appearance rather than a creation of physical beauty through adornments. As is c o m m o n in many Western societies, performances of appearance in the Netherlands range from conservative to liberal, simple to ornate. In general, however, Dutch women tend to gravitate toward a more reserved appearance, avoiding excessive display of skin (tank tops, shorts, miniskirts, etc.) and extremely bright colors in formal settings. Hair is worn across a range of lengths, sometimes styled, sometimes not. W o m e n wear varying levels of makeup, many times appearing to skip makeup all together. It is normal to see highly tanned women in the Netherlands, although pale skin seems to be just as acceptable. Some women have rings on every finger, some have manicured nails; others skip jewelry and styled nails all together. As such, w o m e n ' s performances of dress seem to display a range of style: at times, women appear to value the conventionally 'feminine' performances of dresses, heels, and jewelry; other times somewhat untraditional and sometimes even significantly alternative appearances are adopted, complete with tennis shoes, baggy jeans, and a lack of m a k e u p . Many times the alternative and the conventional are mixed and thus make it difficult to explain particular appearance trends among Dutch women in direct relation with gender. Outside of the university, only a small portion of the dress styles change in terms of formality. I use this terminology because while I witnessed women on a number of occasions - particularly when out with other women - wearing highly feminized clothing and adornments (such as heeled shoes, more revealing clothing, and heavier amounts of makeup than normal), such change of dress style seems to be quite u n c o m m o n . While 26 1 one may assume it would be a normal action to 'dress u p and go out with friends, such performances are not the case in the Netherlands. Rather, it is quite c o m m o n for a young woman to attend a borrel or sit in the cafe wearing the same clothing in which she went to university. Social venues neither retain the formality of the university, nor do they serve as a venue in which appearance is more valued than in other social spheres. Given these observations, it appears that w o m e n ' s appearance is not affected by location, but rather is centered on the values of cleanliness and order. Performances of appearance are focused on a refined look for an individual; such an image appears through conventionally feminine, masculine, and ambiguous performances. Dutch women are neither always 'dressed to kill,' nor do they appear to be unconcerned with their appearance. Rather, Dutch w o m e n ' s performances of dress seem to focus on the refinement of appearance and the establishment of individuality. TOUCH N O W , D O N ' T TOUCH LATER In considering the performance of touch among young Dutch w o m e n , I noticed a significant value placed on privacy and autonomy. In fact, the occurrence of physicality in women is often directly affected by the context in which the physicality occurs. In particular, w o m e n ' s performances of physicality hinge on their close relationships with others - intimacy and physicality seemed to exist in relative harmony while physicality is avoided in areas dominated by formality and privacy. Physicality, as such, is a key factor in w o m e n ' s performances of autonomy and affection. Much like the performances of Dutch men, Dutch women do not often engage in physical contact irrespective of context. In greeting friends, both male and female, women exchange kisses rather than handshakes or hugs. Unlike their male counterparts, 27 who increase the use of touch in informal settings, this formal greeting practice of women does not appear to be influenced by setting - the greeting kiss is standard across time and space. One will, as is observed with men, see women engage in handholding, between both heterosexual and homosexual romantic couples. In addition, hand holding is not always a sign of romantic attachment but will occasionally be seen among groups of female friends as well. Handholding does not often occur in settings where other people are involved: handholding appears when individuals are sitting on the subway or riding bikes, but rarely appears in the bar or in the halls of the university. However, although direct physicality tends to be rare, one can see a less direct form of haptics occur between women on a regular basis: grooming. Upon entering the cafe, the bar, and even the classroom, female friends will kiss hello and proceed to groom one another, fixing flyaway hairs and commenting on wardrobe choices. This only occurs between women who clearly know each other well: There is a group of three girls in my "narrative politics" classes who seem to he attached watch, coming into class in the morning, hair, straightening each others' analysis" and "organizational at the hip. They are so fascinating kissing hello, playing with each clothes, but no hugs, no back rubbing, touching. They come to the next class together, maintain distance from one laughing and chatting, to others' no direct but still another. The use of grooming appears to be a form of affection and intimacy; an interesting occurrence, as the avoidance of touch also seems to place value on an individual's privacy. My observations suggest that these approaches to touch are directly correlated with the relationship of the individuals. The value of individual privacy is key here: the 28 occurrence or avoidance of touch suggests a strong boundary between the personal and public spheres. Through these varying performances of touch by w o m e n , qualities denoting privacy, reserve, and caretaking are conveyed is a notable amount. Interestingly, performances of touch appear to be determined in a great degree by social context, exhibiting an overall rigidity of performance in many cases. In many ways, touch and the performances of physicality by Dutch women are paradoxical to one another because of these contextual limitations and the value placed on personal privacy. E Y E C A N H E A R YOU Paralinguistic speech in the Netherlands is a significant aspect of w o m e n ' s performances. W o m e n are often seen speaking in both formal and casual arenas, although the styles and approaches to paralinguistic speech seem to be deeply affected by the location. Rather than playing into conventional gender traits surrounding paralinguistic speech, Dutch youth culture in general seems to have embraced speech as a mode of assertiveness and individuality, while individuals simultaneously perform paralinguistics in ways that develop interpersonal relationships as well. In educational settings, it is more often the women who can be found debating topics and expressing opinions as their male colleagues sit back in relative silence: Dutch w o m e n dominate in formal settings, which suggests assertiveness and confidence. Also of note in this trend is the type of paralinguistic speech that women use. Topics are approached in highly analytical terms; speech is clear and focused, which suggests a valuation of order, avoidance of superficiality, and directness. This form of speech, dubbed "report talk" by Deborah Tannen (1990), is characterized by focused, substantive, 29 argument-based topics. Such speech styles are very c o m m o n among Dutch women and furthermore are uniform expectations in public settings. If one moves to a highly social venue such as the cafe or bar, one may see a change in speech performances by w o m e n . In formal settings, speech is highly public; women show signs of directness and self-assurance as they become the primary speakers in formal settings. Change the location, however, and speech for women shifts from public assertiveness to individual connection: Today is a 'Bagels and Beans' trying to warm upfront even found day and I'm huddled in a corner with my coffee, my bike ride over. It's busy today and I'm surprised a table. I shouldn't be surprised very hard today AND it's lunchtime. though - it's not raining or I blowing Of course it's busy. It also seems to be group day.. .there is a group of women about my age at the big table near the front, I can 7 tell if they're they are students another here for a book club meeting deep in discussion. in an armchair. (they are all holding books) or if One is perched on the back of the A couple others are lounging on the couch...! couch, can't hear what any of them are saying, though they are clearly talking quite a bit - it's surprisingly quiet in here, despite the time and amount of people. being said, it's obviously interesting or important.. length brown hair is talking and her friends and so do they. But her friends and they are reacting. ..the woman with the are fixated keep interjecting Whatever is shoulder- on her face. She leans in - it looks like she's telling a story 30 Paralinguistic speech seems to function in these contexts as a means of establishing relationships and is a highly collaborative enterprise. It is c o m m o n to see several w o m e n in a group talking at once, interrupting one another and changing speakers often. W o m e n will also often lean into others when speaking: A couple (a man and a woman, I assume romantically other end of the cafe, heads almost together, hut they are involved) whispering. is sitting at the They aren't touching, leaning. Speech in these informal venues becomes collaborative and geared toward the development of relationships. Interestingly and perhaps paradoxically, although overlaps in conversation and the continual change in speakers is c o m m o n , women rarely raise their voices above the other patrons in these venues - if volume is increased, it is often checked quite quickly. Speech in informal settings does appear to be a means of establishing connection with others, but my observations also seem to suggest that loud and boisterous vocalizations by women in other words, paralinguistic acts that draw public attention to a particular individual are avoided. Paralinguistic speech acts by women occur within groups, and though these vocalizations may occur in public settings, it appears that speech is expected to remain private. In addition, while Dutch women use touch to convey interest or connection and avoid touch to maintain the autonomy of the individual, I also observed a different nonphysical - form of kinesics that is performed in a significant amount. Direct eye contact in the Netherlands is used quite frequently, especially in the women of the country. E-diplomat (2011) states, "The Dutch expect eye contact while speaking with 31 someone," which suggests a value of directness among Dutch culture. Indeed, my first conversation with a Dutch female peer was disconcertingly frank and strangely intimate. She locked eyes with me as we introduced ourselves and her gaze didn't seem to break until we had said our goodbyes. "During social interaction, people look each other in the eye, repeatedly but for short periods. People look most while they are listening, and use glances of about 3-10 seconds in length. When glances are longer than this, anxiety is aroused" ( 1 9 6 5 , p . 289) write Argyle and Dean in their study of eye contact. Although dated, their claims still have much validity in that eye contact tends to be an off-and-on performances; prolonged eye contact is often disconcerting for an individual. While this understanding of eye contact may be culturally specific to both the authors and to myself, the performances of steady eye contact among Dutch women nonetheless signal a high value of directness. Dutch w o m e n , however, do not appear to be affected by this discomfort, instead using steady and constant eye contact when speaking. Not only does the performance of eye contact point to directness among w o m e n , but eye contact also suggests a value on focus and intent. Even in large groups, eye contact is often used between two individuals at a time rather than a wide-sweeping use of eye contact. University professors will often lock eyes with a student and answer her/his questions directly rather than addressing the student body, just as the student maintains eye contact with the professor when asking and answering questions. The performance of this kinesic performance is particularly of note among Dutch women as this direct approach to eye contact appears to be largely focused on the individual. Through observances of eye contact and paralinguistic speech styles, there appear to be trends regarding directness and assertiveness in the performances of Dutch w o m e n . 32 Not only are verbal styles straightforward and focused, but they also appear to value the individual, both in terms of the speaker and in terms of relational implications. Eye contact too, singles out the individual and becomes an exhibition of assertiveness and self-confidence. However, the change in w o m e n ' s performances according to location and context suggest that said values are not necessarily all-encompassing; rather, in public cases individuality is tantamount, while in personal contexts, performances of women suggest connection and collaboration are more highly valued. DUTCH WOMAN Looking at the various nonverbal cues addressed in regard to performances of women in Dutch society, one can see a general lean in the direction of actions that typify refinement, assertiveness, and directness. While conventional aspects of femininity are addressed in varying levels, many nonconventional performances take place as well. Location and audience in many cases appear to significantly determine w o m e n ' s performances: appearance does not appear to be affected by context, although paralinguistic speech styles and use of physicality are both notably influenced by the setting and by the individuals involved in the interactions. Performances of Dutch women appear to be an amalgamation of several different traits, all of which revolve around the maintenance of order, privacy, and individuality. 33 REWORKING OF GENDERS "Is sex to gender as feminine is to masculine?" ~ Judith Halberstam "Androgyny is not trying to manage the relationship between the opposites; it is simply flowing between them." ~ June Singer To discuss the implications of gender performances in the Netherlands, it is first necessary to collectively consider the traits expressed in respective performances by Dutch men and women highlighted in the previous chapters. Although one could claim that the traits and, more broadly, the evinced performances are cultural rather than gendered, this assertion is not particularly enlightening, as culture and gender are always interdependent and intertwined. This study is of course limited in terms of its focus on young Dutch adults in a particular location in the Netherlands (again, a suburb of A m s t e r d a m ) , as well by the exclusive assessment of nonverbal performance. Despite these limitations, however, those observations suggest a privileging by both sexes of independence, privacy, autonomy, and order. In terms of appearance, both men and women tend to affect clean-cut appearances. Men tend to be more conventionally masculine in their clothing styles, though at times conventionally feminine performances e m e r g e , specifically in terms of hairstyle and personal bags. These aspects appear to be a manifestation of order and practicality. W o m e n ' s appearances tend to be more mixed than m e n ' s , varying in terms of style and aspects of conventional femininity and masculinity, although still functioning chiefly in terms of practicality and neatness. Indeed, performances of appearance are 34 quite blended between women and men, thus suggesting a mutual privileging of order, practicality, and neatness. The flexibility expressed through performances of appearance does not appear to transfer to performances of touch. Rather, touch, by and large, appears to be much more rigid in its performance: It is used in specific circumstances, but otherwise appears to be avoided by both Dutch women and men. However, the key to understanding the performances of touch is the consideration of context: in the public sphere, forms of touch (other than formalized greetings) are avoided, while personal spheres are dominated by more affectionate, although subtle, forms of touch, namely grooming among women and good-natured roughhousing among men. The performances of both men and women around touch suggest a privileging of containment, reserve, and privacy, the exception being among friends and romantic interests, in which touch becomes a means of affection and intimacy. Paralinguistic speech performances, too, appear to be highly dependent on and determined by context. These performances of men and women in many ways appear to work in tandem with one another as values and speech qualities alternate to complement the performances of others. In formal settings such as the university, men assume silence, while women act as the primary public speakers; in effect, men and women perform reserve and assertiveness, respectively. In such locations, focused and direct speech is the norm, as is a heavy use of eye contact by w o m e n . In contrast, paralinguistic speech performances in casual settings change as women regulate their volume and their performance style switches from public and autonomous to private and collective; m e n , on the other hand, become the primary vocalizers in a casual venue, switching from quiet 35 and aloof to boisterous and vocally competitive. Interestingly, although the performances of speech among women and men appear superficially to be direct opposites of each other, the performances in both settings place value on the individual, both in terms of autonomy and assertiveness. If one is to compare the similarities between the performances of dress, kinesics, and paralanguage among Dutch women and men, one sees a general push toward the preservation of independence and directness, with high value placed on order and privacy as well. Although altered according to time and space, men and w o m e n ' s performances exhibit fluidity and flexibility, constantly changing according to location, formalities, and audience. In many cases, the performances overlap one another, blending rather than separating. While these values and traits are not necessarily performed simultaneously, the combined performances create a highly self-sufficient and reserved culture. As such, there appears to be an overarching approval of androgynous gender performance for women and men in the Netherlands. A m o n g young Dutch adults, individuals themselves do not appear to experience a conflict in their gender mixtures, thus a blending of traits throughout many performances. The flexibility of Dutch performances points to a rejection of the gender binary model and a shift toward androgyny. If compared to the benchmarks of conventional gender traits, performances of Dutch youth tend to suggest masculine leanings, as is suggested in the valuation of independence and autonomy. In many ways, this trend is considered valuable to the individual: Numerous researchers have suggested that the psychological advantages experienced by people who score high in androgyny may be due more to the 36 presence of masculine traits rather than a balance between male and female characteristics. If you think about it, this makes sense. Clearly, many traditional feminine traits, such as dependent, self-critical, overly emotional are seen by society as undesirable. So it stands to reason that people who possess more masculine than feminine characteristics will receive more favorable treatment by others which, in turn creates greater levels of self-confidence and self-esteem in the individual (Hock, 2 0 0 8 , p . 204). M u c h of this thinking is due to the high value placed on masculine traits, while many feminine traits are devalued in many Western cultures. However, to make the claim that an individual will be more successful due to his/her masculine qualities inherently places a value on gender, a trend that adheres implicitly to the gender binary model. Furthermore, the performances and values exhibited in one culture may not necessarily be in line with the performances of another culture: such claims suggest gender traits are universal, which not only projects cultural values onto others, but also forces gender back into a binary system in which individuals have gender rather that do gender. In the case of the young adult population of the Netherlands today, it seems that the conventionally masculine traits of assertiveness, independence, and reserve are not necessarily (consciously) viewed as masculine within the Dutch society; the use of feminine dress and the performances of silence (i.e. passive or soft spoken performances) among both men and women likewise suggests conventional femininities are not performed as gendered qualities in the Netherlands. The overlap of performances by women and men in these areas further suggests a societal push toward sameness rather than differentiation. In this vein, performances and values b e c o m e blended and gender 37 boundaries between men and women are blurred, thus suggesting the Dutch have a predilection for androgynous gender performances. Androgyny, in this frame, is not conceived in terms of equal parts of femininity and masculinity, but instead as a blending of gender. As gender performativity theory suggests, there are times when an individual's performance appears to lean toward conventional genders, which implies that androgyny is not a constant state of being. Rather, androgyny, like femininity and masculinity, is performed. It is fluid and flexible, and is therefore apparent in some contexts while less visible in others. However, context must be understood as a defining aspect of gender performances in general and the event of androgynous gender performances. Observations of men and women strongly suggest that many of the performance qualities are determined, or at the very least affected by, the context in which the performance occurs. This study suggests that while conceptions of gender are thoroughly performative, they are not thoroughly fluid. As such, my observations of Dutch gender performances of suggest there are limits to gender fluidity and accordingly androgyny within the paradigm of the gender performativity theory. Kate Bornstein (1994) asserts, "Gender fluidity recognizes no borders or rules of gender" (p. 52). By this, she suggests that gender itself is something of a floating signifier, iterated in and through performance. However, such an assertion runs the risk of denying the significance of cultural and political context. While it is the case that gender is something we d o , not something that we have or are or find (Lorber, 1994; West and Z i m m e r m a n , 1987), culture and context inevitably inform the "doing" of gender. This study of relatively androgynous gender performances - arguably illustrative of gender 38 fluidity - suggests that said fluidity is somewhat qualified. gender are inevitably affected Because performances of by cultural values, contextual limitations, individual choices, and many other factors, I suggest that the term "fluid" may not be the most appropriate metaphor, at least as relevant to androgynous performance. W e should instead be using the term "viscous" when discussing gender performances. This shift in term has to do with agency: "fluid" suggests that performances are infinitely variable and available, when in fact, those performances are necessarily informed if not constrained by cultural, political, and material considerations; "Viscous," on the other hand, perhaps more effectively accounts for the interplay between context and agency. Viscosity not only gives agency to the individual, but to the culture as well, stressing the fact that gender performances simultaneously influence and are created through performance. With this view of gender performativity theory, performances are not only given space to be conventional, ambiguous, or androgynous, but space is literally given to performances through which gender is actively, dynamically negotiated. 39 REFERENCES Afifi, W . (2007). Nonverbal Communication. In B.B. Whaley & W. 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