The Basis of Self and Other in Gender Constructed Identity

Student's Name

Julie L. Lemley, Minnesota State University, Mankato

1st Student's Major

English

1st Student's College

Arts and Humanities

Students' Professional Biography

Julie Lemley is a full-time student at Minnesota State University, Mankato, working part-time as a school paraprofessional since 2002 and is also a yearbook co-advisor at her current assignment. She is currently working toward her degree in Secondary Education to complete majors in English and Speech Communications and is an active researcher. She lives in Madison Lake, Minnesota with her fiancé, Jim. They have a blended family of six children, Jinny, J.C., Justin and Terri with only the two youngest, Robbi and Jaida still living at home, and two grandchildren, Max and Zach. Some of her favorite non - academic activities include reading, construction, refinishing, archery and various outdoor activities.

Mentor's Name

James Dimock

Mentor's Email Address

james.dimock@mnsu.edu

Mentor's Department

Communication Studies

Mentor's College

Arts and Humanities

Abstract

This paper is an extension of previous research projects wherein I applied theories of identity and labeling (Garfinkle), power (French and Raven) and gender (Pearson, West and Turner) to adolescent girls’ identity construction. Using methods of textual criticism, I argued then that the advertising targeting adolescent girls at the crucial transitional period between child identity and adult identity was dominated by patriarchal imagery, the implications of which are sexual violence, low-self esteem and self-objectification by young women. This paper applies the same methodology but to identity formation of adolescent boys, arguing on the basis of Hegel’s master-slave dialectic that adolescent girls’ construction of “self-as-object” does not reinforce the patriarchal norm unless there is a complementing identity construction among adolescent boys of “self-as-subject” in relation to “other-as-object.” As in the first study, this case looks at advertising that targets adolescents specifically.

Recommended Citation

Lemley, Julie L. (2006) "The Basis of Self and Other in Gender Constructed Identity," Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato: Vol. 6, Article 13.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.56816/2378-6949.1120
Available at: https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/jur/vol6/iss1/13

Creative Commons License

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