T​‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌​ake a moment to think about the clothes you are wearing a

T​‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌​ake a moment to think about the clothes you are wearing and the ways you dress
yourself. Why do you choose to wear the clothes that you do? Where did your choices come
from? Were you influenced by your peers, by culture, by biology?
Now consider Judith Lorber’s and Deborah Blum’s essays about gender. Lorber argues that
gender is a social construct, while Blum contends that gender is natural. What do you think?
Which argument is more persuasive? Write a 3-3.5-page essay in which you argue for one or the
other. Or perhaps you think gender is a social construct and natural. Either way, be sure to
articulate your position clearly in the form of a thesis statement, which should appear at the end
of your introduction. As a means of entering a conversation about this topic and as a springboard
to your thesis, introduce Lorber and Blum in your introduction: their full names, title of their
work, and their main arguments. Imagine that your readers have never read these pieces before.
In the body of your paper, you want to support your thesis by providing support from Lorber’s
and Blum’s essays and from your own experiences and observations (provide plenty of
examples). When you​‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌​ reference the essays in the body of the paper, be sure to follow MLA
guidelines for in-text citations. You will also need to create a works cited page for the essays.
Outside research is not required; however, you may include one additional source, no more than
one, please. This is not a research paper.
While I do not require that you see a tutor with a draft of this paper, I encourage you to utilize
the TMCC Tutoring and Learning Center or send a draft of your paper to Smarthinking (see links
to both services in the white navigation column on our course page) for feedback and revision
suggestions. These services are free to TMCC students.
So we are clear, I evaluate my students’ work based on the rubrics presented at the end of the
assignments and the ones in Canvas (the one in Canvas is more detailed). When I read your
papers, I offer comments that will help you improve your writing skills, so please read my
comments. If you ever have any questions regarding any of my comments, contact me.
For any paper you write in this class, be sure to follow MLA guidelines (in your handbook)
for formatting a paper and documenting sources. Include in-text citations and a works
cited page (pp​‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌​. 150-200).