Walk Like a Man,Talk Like a Woman

Abstract

The authors describe a pedagogical exercise that conveys the multilayered properties of gender to undergraduate students. They propose a simulation that demonstrates the social constructiveness of gender, maintaining that gender should be conceptualized and portrayed as a process, system of stratification, and social structure. The authors begin by detailing the theoretical premises that guide their conceptualization of gender. Next, they move to the simulation exercise they use to demonstrate their conceptualization, furnishing detailed instructions to successfully implement the exercise and providing suggestions to guide class discussions emerging thereof. The authors conclude by detailing the results of an assessment showing the learning gained through the exercise. This article addresses the lacunae in the sociology of gender, created in particular by the limited nature of scholarship on the teaching of gender as a social construction.