There is a temptation to see a concept as a static ‘thing’ somehow stored in mind. One might imagine, for instance, that our concept of the word ‘hammer’ consists of visual memory for a hammer or series of hammers (or a ‘prototype’ or ‘schema’ of a hammer, whatever that should be).  That we can think how this might be so, is not a good reason to adopt this idea.  Indeed, it would be far better if should we discard this notion altogether.  If we take language to be a skill, like tennis or painting, we see quickly how this idea breaks apart at the seams.  For one does not have a static ‘concept’ of how one paints a landscape, or a fixed ‘concept’ of how one approaches a serve; rather one learns, over time, the toss of the ball, the arc of the back, the gentle shiting of weight, the flex of the wrist; and in all of this, there is the demand of sustained practice and coordination, the reproof and rebuke of time, and as ever, a great number of processes – physiological and mental – that contribute to the execution of the act (which is, almost certainly, imprecise).  If a concept is a skill too, then it is a learned process; an active engagement; one of a suite of ways of representing the world.

On our confusion with words (and our idea that a word 'stands' for a thing), Wittgenstein said :

"This [confusion] is connected with the conception of naming as... an occult process.  Naming appears as a queer connection of a word with an object. --[But] you really [only] get such a queer connexion when the philosopher tries to bring out the relation between name and thing by staring at an object in front of him and repeating a name or even the word "this" innumerable times.  For philosophical problems arise when language goes on holiday.  ...We can [of course] say the word "this" to an object, or as it were, address the object as "this"--[but this] is a queer use of the word, which doubtless only occurs in doing philosophy."

"...for the present enshrines the past – and in the past all history has been made by men." --Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex

Last week, I wrote a short piece on my (stunning) failure to be socialized according to our culture's gender norms. As I pointed out, I spent much of my adolescence wearing my father's hand-me-downs and drinking cheap whiskey with the loud boys (the kind, you know, who wore cordovan wingtips and eyeliner to first period). We were a delightful lot of misfits. Anyhow, an old friend, reading this, sent me a link to a new collection by Dries Van Noten, as photographed by The Sartorialist, with the note "ahead of the times, eh?" But of course.

The Sartorialist writes : "The take away from this show? Steal your Dad's clothes, all your dad's clothes. His shirts, his jeans, his sportcoats are all fair game now."

Why, I wonder, did I ever learn to wear lipstick? And like it?

To be fair, menswear has long been a 'classic look' on women of my build (broad shoulders, long neck) and height (as tall as a man). In search of my style predecessors, I searched the Internets for some of my women-loves. I've posted a small gallery at the end of the post.

But before getting to that, I thought I would raise a number of questions on gender that still demand discussion :

On language
How does language shape our thoughts on gender? How do we use language - as a form of behavior and as an expression and extension of culture - to implicitly enforce gender norms?  And then -- secondarily -- If we think that language is shaping (or implicitly constraining) our thoughts and beliefs about gender, is it worthwhile to assess and try to change those values? Should we try to self-consciously change the way we speak?

On biology
In society, what role does biology play in propelling men (and not women) to the top? Are the traits of highly successful men (e.g., hyperfocus, ambition, hypomania) truly absent in women? In what way is the expression of these traits mediated by cultural norms and practice?

On sex
How does female sexuality play into all of this? What part does modern culture (pornography, fashion, etc) play in shaping our expectations of women? Must powerful, iconic women necessarily be de-sexualized, gay, or explicitly counter-culture?  What happens when women turn the tables and objectify men?  [Links are to the Martin Amis classic on pornography "Pussies are bullshit," the Dove ads scandal, and the Karen Owen sex-thesis (er, f*ck list), respectively.]

And finally, a provocative question from a conversation I was having this evening about Hemingway (who was often accused of misogyny) :

What does it mean to be a misogynist in an age (or society) where women are socialized to be powerless, subservient and inferior?  What does it mean to be a feminist?

In the days to come, I'll write a little on the research I've been doing on the differences in how we use gendered words (like "he" and "she" and "man" and "woman").  The differences are striking, and sometimes more than a little startling.  Here's a simple one you might not expect : when it comes to labeling people by their sexual orientation, we're far more interested in a man's preference than a woman's.  In fact, we label men by their orientation (gay, straight, bi) about ten times more often than we do women.  But that ratio nearly reverses when it comes to marital status.  We talk incessantly about whether women are "married," "single," or "divorced," but when it comes to the guys, we couldn't care less.  What does it all mean?  --I'll get to that bit shortly.

...according to suspect sources on the Interwebs, I'm a logomaniac who enjoys gratification, control and long walks on the work.  Gross!  (At least "models" and "cookie" made the list?)  If *I* had devised my own list of favorite hot-topics (and not some half-baked word-counting algorithm that knows none of the particulars of my rich internal life), it would have had a lot of this, and this, and also that.

Clearly what this blog needs is more talk of sex, drugs, and cupcakes.

(Thanks to @gameswithwords for the generator tip.)

The attitude of defiance of many American women proves that they are haunted by a sense of their femininity. In truth, to go for a walk with one’s eyes open is enough to demonstrate that humanity is divided into two classes of individuals whose clothes, faces, bodies, smiles, gaits, interests, and occupations are manifestly different. Perhaps these differences are superficial, perhaps they are destined to disappear. What is certain is that they do most obviously exist.  --Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex

As a scientist, I take seriously the idea that our expectations about the world shape not only our understanding and perception of it, but our engagement with it. Here, I muse on the implications this has both for how we perceive successful women in society, and how our expectations may shape the course and outcome of their achievement.

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