Gender Roles

• Disc I made as a child about gender roles -
• Disc ruby made about herself -
• Disc ruby made through making this film
• Disc I made through watching the film
• Disc society made about gender

Break Free- Speech AOS

From the moment we are born we are predisposed to a selected set of ideals and expectations constructed by the norms of gender.  After the doctor announced to my mum that “it’s a girl” I began to be celebrated into this world with dolls, pink dresses and the glittering truth of this is how you’re going to be and seen in our society. We learn from such a young age what role we play and are divided by colours and rules that define and refine us. With the coming of age there has been a major shift in the social understanding and awareness of gender. However before this speech if I was asked what gender fluid meant id stare at you blank faced and tell you I had no idea. And I have a feeling, not many people do. Gender fluid is best described as a dynamic mix of a boy and girl, someone who identifies as gender fluid may feel like a mix of the two traditional genders. It has nothing to do with the genitalia or their sexual orientation just the way in which they feel and present themselves. The piece I have chosen to write my speech about is the short film ‘Break Free- Ruby Rose’. Ruby at the beginning of the clip is perceived as a stereotypical female, applying makeup in the mirror with long hair, painted nails in a dress and heels. Her reflection at this point is symbolic of the self-image she has formed to fit the socially constructed values of femineity. The clip attacks the idea of gender perceptions and transforms ruby from the female image we can identify with to a short haired, masculine figure covered in tattoos and dressed in a button up shirt and blazer. She is the exact same person as the beginning of the film but is now seen completely different by simply adjusting her attire. The song “It Pulls Me Under Butterfly Butcher” builds in intensity as ruby pulls of all the layers of stereotypes and the music becomes more uplifting as she becomes more raw. This clip can be watched both forward and backwards and still show the journey of discovering your true self and the perception gender holds. This short film conveys the self-identification ruby discovers within the film as well as in her life. The catalyst for the production was the lack of knowledge people have about the variations of gender, ruby aimed for society to discover that people can be born as female, male or other and that each individual is different. Through watching this film I learnt that gender and sexuality are often lumped together however they’re two separate things, although they are related they’re independent concepts which do not always dictate the other.  Gender is something we are all taught about as kids, but what we are taught is a very limited amount on a topic that is truly unlimited. Gender is complex but can be broken down into three categories, gender identity, biological sex and gender expression. We as a society need to come to understand that gender is more complex than what we learn as children, while biological sex is a component of gender it is not a determinant, gender identity sometimes aligns with your biological sex and sometimes it doesn’t, gender expression is completely separate and it can match with your identity and biological sex and other times it won’t. The problem with gender is that it prescribes how we should be rather than recognizing who we are. Imagine how much happier we could be, how much freer, how much more true to ourselves we could be without the weight of gender expectations.