Male or female, it doesn’t matter right? Well, in our society it hinders the growth of an individual. I am Dr *enter name* a Professor in Gender studies at Sydney Uni and I was brought here to TED to explain gender issues. Would you like to be downtrodden just because of your gender? I think not. And society nowadays has created barriers which restrict growth. Gender can adapt according to cultural aspects and also through societies clear expectations. The film “Bend it like Beckham”, expresses these issues and the director Gurinder Chadha, challenges these gender and cultural expectations faced in our society. Also, “Princess Smartypants breaks the rules” by Babette Cole is a picture book that challenges gender and its restriction to growth.
Let’s bend gender like Beckham. Gender roles are reinforced through cultural restrictions, which define the roles of males and females in society. At the University, I studied the film “bend it like Beckham”. Gurinder Chadha evidently depicts the protagonists Jess who loves football. Jess’ growth is restricted because of cultural boundaries which is seen as “morally wrong” for a girl to play football. Imagine if this was you, if had a passion. Well, in the scene where Jess is playing football there is a high angle shot of Jess’s mum looking down on her. This gives the effect that in the mother shows her disapproval due to her cultural values. Furthermore, Jess keeps playing football even with the obstacles she repeatedly faces. But her mother wants Jess to be maternal and nurturing. These qualities were valued by Jess’ mother who tried to impose it onto Jess. She tried to make it clear she didn’t want these qualities, however through negotiation with her mother; they come to an equal agreement. This ties in with how negotiation between societies can shape roles in which define a male or female.
How do you feel when you get rejected? Hmm.. .well.. Women who do not conform to their cultural gender expectations are REJECTED by their cultural group. This is seen through the scene ‘wedding cancellations’ where Jessminders future brother in-laws family accidently thinks Jess is kissing an English boy. They cancel the wedding, thus, Jess was rejected for trying to break the cultural barriers. The tracking shot of the other Punjabi family rejecting Jess shows dominance. However, Jessminder confronts the issue and does not accept the rejection. This proves how females don’t see a boundary as the fine line. The medium shot of her whole family standing together and Jess being isolated shows that there is a sense of rejection by her own family members. The females opposed this in the same way and denied to be rejected and this shows how gender can challenge the restrictiveness to the growth of individuals.

My colleagues studied an individual’s growth in regards to gender; they chose the picture book “Princess Smarty pants- breaks the rules” by Berbette Cole. This could relate to you. Females who challenge their gender