Semiotics

Semiotics (or semiology) is the study of signs. Although people use semiotics to interpret and understand symbolic meanings every day, the semiotic tradition was founded on the work of several important scholars. Beginning in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was not until the second half of the 20th century that semiotics became influential in the study of culture and media. It was adopted by scholars and critics as a way to examine relationships of power, cultural meanings, and values. Based on the idea that all meanings are socially constructed, semiotic analysis provides cultural critics a way to deconstruct how meaning is made and how ideology is created and circulated. The semiotic tradition has been important to gender studies because it is a tool used to address how ideas about gender are created and circulated through various media texts.

Although semiotics uses a specific set of terms, or vocabulary, most people are already experts at understanding signs. In this way, semiotics can be seen as a process of interpreting the symbols that people come across in their everyday lives. For instance, people interpret traffic signs to navigate intersections. People also infer information about others based on signs related to personal appearance, such as clothing and hairstyle. Each is a sign sending a message to be interpreted or analyzed by others. For example, the way a person wears his or her hair sends a message about that person's identity. A mohawk may signify youth or rebellion, whereas a chignon may signify modesty or decorum. These meanings are, of course, socially constructed, culturally specific, and thoroughly gendered. For instance, if a man chooses not to shave, it sends one kind of message about gender conformity and his identity. If a woman chooses not to shave, it sends a very different message about gender conformity and her identity. Fundamentally, people understand each of these meanings because they are actively interpreting signs. While semiotics is widespread in its use, most people do not stop to think about the process of creating and interpreting signs. Semiotics, on the other hand, is devoted to explaining this process.