Creating Gender in Linear and nonlinear texts

Victory Gardens


The construction of gender in texts can be either direct or indirect		   Gender is portrayed directly through the description of the characters and the description of their actions. The role of the narrator can also directly convey constructions of gender.
  Gender is conveyed indirectly through the language used, the structure and pace of the text, through the overall use of symbolism and the manner in which the themes incorporated in the text are treated.  
    An idea of gender can also be conveyed by what isn't there.
When, as in Victory Gardens action predominates over description, the tone of the text is predominantly masculine. There are female characters but they are not described. Their conversation is not significantly different from that of the male characters.  
  There are male characters who steal cars and otherwise engage in macho behaviour. There is little or no narration so there is no sense of a gendered narrator.

 

 

The whole tone of Victory Gardens is very masculine. The fast fragmented style; the prominence of technology; the speech styles; all are masculine. Violence, lawlessness and death are frequent occurrences

   Whilst there are several women in Victory Gardens they are not well developed as characters; they speak and write in much the same style as the male characters. It is conceivable that female soldiers might talk in a similar way to their male companions out of bravado. In Victory Gardens women exist as sex partners or 'support workers' for men. Women do not challenge the men. They are not competitors.
  The strong masculine tone of the text is the most significant aspect. Men dominate the text. They are macho men and authority figures. As well as the military, other male dominated professions figure significantly in the text: there are police, FBI agents, scientists and professors.

 

The way in which this hypertext is structured, the fragmentation, the disappearing story lines, the sense of loss of control engendered by the piece, give the reader the feeling of being dominated by the author.

 
 

 

The reader clicks the links but the author is in tight control of the possible paths through the text. This gives a sense of a very male kind of domination.