In her essay “Gender” Myra Jehlen analyzes the concept of gender in relation to literature. Explores the notion of sexual identity, particularly conceptions of masculinity and femininity. First of all, it expresses two different ways of thinking about the nature of gender: as natural or as cultural. After introducing readers to these two main perspectives, Jehlen discusses the relationship between gender and sex. Ultimately, through his examination of gender ideology, Jehlen represents gender as a performance, which he emphasizes and rationalizes through his reading of Huck Finn. In introducing readers to the nature/nurture debate of the genre, Jehlen argues for the Culture side. He explains that the dominant view of gender is that it is natural (264). This essentialist view holds that gender is “rooted in biology,” that it is intrinsic (264). In contrast, there is an alternative perspective (i.e. culture) that is gaining popularity. This view holds that gender is not based in biology, but rather is a cultural construct that is learned socially (264). In other words, gender is a category and the characteristics attributed to this social category are culturally/socially defined. Speaking in the context of literature, Jehlen states that “the characters conventionally assigned to men and women in novels reflect history and culture rather than nature. . . [they] are neither timeless nor transcendent” (264). In other words, conceptualizations of gender in literature are situated in a cultural and historical context; the context from which a literary work emerges shapes the interpretation of genre in that work. Since literature is a form of symbolic culture, it has culture within it as much as ... middle of paper ... ...think more critically about genre when reading literary texts, so that they too come to find new and non-obvious definitions/conceptualizations of gender. Jehlen doesn't just question conceptualizations of gender. It offers a new perspective on the concept, arguing that gender is a cultural performance. Her close reading of this scene from Huck Finn, examining a series of gendered dichotomies (culture/nature, culture/nature, man/woman, masculine/feminine, etc.) and Huck's ever-changing identity demonstrate the his argument. His argument about genre as performance offers a new conceptualization of the term/concept and also helps demonstrate that the concept is indeed relevant to texts that do not directly comment on genre (such as Huck Finn). Overall, MyraJehlen's representation of gender adds a new layer to the conversation about gender.