Gendered reading gendered readers : responding to drama from a gendered perspective
From the ancient to contemporary times, drama has communicated and conveyed the messages as well as representations of gender and sexuality through the elements such as dialogue and characters. It has constantly (re)defined and (re)constructed the representations of gender and sexuality which has...
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| Format: | Conference or Workshop Item |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Proceedings of the Science and Art of Language in Teaching (SALT) International Conference, Penang, Malaysia.
2006
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| Online Access: | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/1139/1/Gendered%20reading%20gendered%20readers%20%28abstract%29.pdf http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/1139/ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236867444_GENDERED_READING_GENDERED_READERS_RESPONDING_TO_DRAMA_FROM_A_GENDERED_PERSPECTIVE |
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| Summary: | From the ancient to contemporary times, drama has communicated and conveyed the messages
as well as representations of gender and sexuality through the elements such as dialogue and
characters. It has constantly (re)defined and (re)constructed the representations of gender and
sexuality which has affected readers’/audience’s awareness and understanding of their own
gender and sexuality. Thus, this study explores readers’ views on the representation of gender in
drama, and how this representation reflects and affects their awareness and understanding of
gender. This takes into account reading drama as a gendered act that engages readers to read
from their gendered perspectives. In view of this, the study examines a) readers’ views on the
representation of characters as gendered beings in selected dramatic texts, b) the effects that
this representation has on their awareness and understanding of their own gender, and c) the
extent to which reading from a gendered perspective helps them better understand the
characters as gendered beings. Questionnaires were distributed to 72 Unimas TESL and ESL
undergraduates, followed by a series of interviews to elicit their views on the aspects that the
study seeks to examine. The findings show that both male and female respondents invariably
responded to the representation of gendered characters which subsequently influenced their
understanding of gender in general and their own gender in particular. The findings also reveal
the contrasts in their construction of gender identity which was influenced by the stereotyped and
non-stereotyped beliefs about gender. Additionally, reading the dramatic texts from a gendered
perspective had influenced their views on the characters’ as gendered beings. It is hoped that the
study will shed more insights into the effects that gender portrayals in literary texts have on adult
readers’ understanding of gender which takes into account reading literary texts from a gendered
perspective. Hence the importance to instigate gender awareness and gender equity in the
literature classroom. |
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