Studying Gender - An Overview

7/30/2019 Studying Gender - An Overview

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Ch. 1 – Studying Gender: An

Overview

Robert Wonser



Sex and Gender

• Not the same thing!

• Sex (i.e. maleness or femaleness) is a

biological given, physical distinctions used

as the basis for constructing a social

category called,

• Gender (i.e. masculinity or femininity) – a

social construct, expected behavior

because one is male or female



Gender Stereotypes

• Stereotypes are oversimplified summarydescription of a group of people

• Gender Stereotypes are simplistic

descriptions of supposedly ‗masculinemale‘ or ‗feminine female‘

• Most people view them as bipolar,

either/or. That is, a masculine male lacksany feminine traits and a feminine femalelacks any masculine traits

• Does this apply to you? Is this realistic?



Gender System

• Sex/gender system

• The institutionalized patterns of sex/gender differentiation

• These prescriptions are embedded in theinstitutions of society—in the economy,political system, educational system,

religions, family forms and so on• The consequences of this system are the

focus of this class



• Sex/gender systems vary historically andcross-culturally on these three interrelated

components:1) the social construction of gender categories on the basis of biological sex;

2) a sexual division of labor in whichspecific tasks are allocated on the basis of sex;

3) the social regulation of sexuality, in

which particular forms of sexualexpression are positively or negativelysanctioned



Social Stratification

• Men and women and the traits associated with

are unequally valued in a society.

• We live in a patriarchal society.

• Patriarchy is a sex/gender system in which mendominate women, and what is considered

masculine is more highly valued than what is

considered feminine.

• Not universal and does not benefit all groups of

men equally, just as it disadvantages some

women more than others



Sociological Perspectives on

Gender

• Sociology – the scientific study of humansocieties and cultures and of social behavior.

• Not all sociologists view issues the same way and

gender is no exception• Scientists, including sociologists, conduct their

research within the framework of a particular paradigm

• A paradigm is a school of thought that guides thescientist in the choosing the problems to bestudied, in selecting the methods for studyingthem, and in explaining what is found

• sociology is a multi-paradigm science



Sociological Perspectives on

Gender • Structural Functionalism was dominant in sociology and the

study of gender from the 1940s – 1960s

• Structural functionalist paradigm depicts society as astable, orderly system in which the majority of members

share a common set of values, beliefs, and behavioralexpectations that may be referred to collectively as societal consensus.

• The social system itself is composed of interrelated partsthat operate together to keep the society balanced, in

equilibrium.

• Each element in society functions to maintain social order

• Change comes about very slowly, in an evolutionary way.

• Rapid change - dysfunction



Functionalists

• Men and women are physically different

– Men – bigger and stronger

– Women – bear and nurse children

• These biological differences lead togender roles

• Gender roles – not unlike a theatrical role,

includes a set of behavioral requirementsexpected of the person occupying the rolebecause of their sex



• The work women do in the home isfunctional; it serves a purpose for society

• Women reproduce society

– Giving birth to new members

– Teaching/socializing them to accept the

culture‘s agreed upon values and norms – Providing men and children with affection and

physical sustenance

• Some functionalists devalue traditionalwomen‘s work; referred to as a ―duty‖ anddesignating men as instrumental leadersin their families



Evaluating Functionalism

• Major Theme: gender differences asnatural phenomena deriving from humanbiology

• The problem is that this confuses sex andgender and suggests immutability

• Gender is in fact variable; it changes

throughout time and culture• Gender is a social creation, a reification,

not a biological given




• Another consequence of depicting gender

differences as natural is that this has often been

used to justify inequality and discrimination on

the basis of sex.• Even if biology is responsible for many of the

personality and behavior differences between

men and women, but that does not mean one

sex or gender is better than the other or thatmembers of one sex deserve a disproportionate

share of society‘s resources




• Major theme: the conception of gender in terms of roles – ―The notion of ―role‖ focuses more attention on individuals than on

social structure, and implies that ―the female role‖ and ―the male role‖are complementary (i.e. separate or different, but equal). The termsare depoliticizing; they strip experience from its historical andpolitical context and neglect questions of power and conflict. It issignificant that sociologists do not speak of ―class roles‖ or ―raceroles.‖‖ Stacy and Thorne (1985; 307)

• Power is the ability to impose one‘s will upon others despiteresistance.

• How does the notion of power relate to social change?• It implies that the solution to gender inequality is simplyteaching people new roles when in fact far reaching andeffective social change requires a fundamental restructuringof society‘s basic resources.

• A major weakness: is its defense of the status quo



A Paradigm Revolution

• When paradigms can no longer explain

social conditions or problems without

being revised in some fundamental way a

paradigm revolution is likely.

• One paradigm is better suited than

another for explaining current conditions

• Functionalism was eclipsed by another

paradigm, feminist paradigm.



A Feminist Sociology of Gender

• There is no one feminism but rather a ―plurality of feminisms‖

• The feminist paradigm acknowledges the importance of both nature and learning in the acquisition of gender. Itis impossible to separate the precise influence of biologyas the learning process begins immediately after birth.Genes code for a specific range of forms that take shapeunder various environmental conditions.

• Basic assumption: gender is essentially socially created,rather than innately determined.

• It is learned behavior through the process of sociallearning with what we actually learn being a socialproduct that is generated within the context of aparticular political and economic structure.



Sexism

• Sexism is the differential valuing of one sex, usuallymen, over the other.

• Sexism is sociology

• 1) most sociological studies were conducted by men,

using male subjects, although the findings weregeneralized to all people.

• 2) Gender was considered an important category of analysis only in a limited number of sociologicalsubfields, such as marriage and family, whereas in allothers, it was ignored

• 3) When women were studied, their behavior andattitudes were analyzed in terms of a male standard of normalcy or rightness.



• ―Most of what we have known as the study of society was the studyof male society.‖

• Gender is a fundamental consideration for feminists; it influencessocial relations

• Goal is to create a holistic view of how women and men because of different locations within the social structure, encounter differentopportunities and constraints.

• Social arrangements lead to different experiences and life chancesfor men and women

• Feminist- reject the traditional model of science ―As establishingmastery over subjects, and demanding the absence f feeling, and asenforcing separateness of the knower from the known, all under theguise of ‗objectivity.‘‖

• Instead they adopt an empathetic stance toward their researchsubjects.



Feminism and Social Movements

• Does feminism only apply to ―women‘s issues‖?

• Traditional focus has been on women‘s issues – why?

• Does not ignore masculinities

• although virtually all men benefit from the institutionalized patriarchal privilege notall men actually have power in our society.

• The consequences of feminism are also not the same for everyone. Who benefitsand how?

• Feminist sociologists are advocates of social change seek to develop effectivemeans to eradicate gender inequality and to change those aspects of our socialconstructions of gender that are harmful or destructive.

• How to affect change? create a group consciousness people must begin to seethat their problems are not personal ones, but rather are shared by others like them.

• Group consciousness collective action

• Social movement – a group that has organized to promote a particular cause

through collective action• The collective work of feminists and feminist research has spurred many to work for

social change, these collective efforts known as the feminist movement or thewomen’s movement



Feminism in Historical Perspective

• The First Wave (1830-1920)

• Early Feminists included: Elizabeth Blackwell, Charlotte PerkinsGilman, Margaret Sanger, Maria W. Stewart, Sojourner Truth,Frances Willard, and Victoria Clafflin Woodhull

• Feminism was mostly associated with the suffragists in the contextof the 19th century because of the struggle for the right to vote for women.

• But, early feminism, like contemporary feminism, was far morediverse than has been depicted in traditional historical accounts.

• Early resistance to gender inequality can be traced back to theMiddle Ages, but since women‘s accounts were not included inofficial history most didn‘t know others felt the same way and thus amovement was inhibited.

• Seneca Falls convention in New York in 1848.



The 2nd Wave

• 1963 Betty Friedan‘s book The Feminine Mystique voiced the unhappiness andboredom of White, middle-class, educated housewives. – Suburban homes – ―comfortable concentration camps‖ stunted personal growth

– After subordinating their own needs to those of their children and husbands they were leftprofoundly empty rather than fulfilled ―The problem that has no name‖

– This book illustrated that it is not a personal problem but a social problem

• Sexual politics – the examination of gender inequality as rooted not only in the

public sphere, but also ―in the ‗privacy‘ of our kitchens and bedrooms,‖ in the intimaterelationships between women and men.

• 1966 – National Organization for Women (NOW) – Founded by Betty Friedan and 27 others who were representing state women‘s commissions

at a national assembly in Washington.

• Also more radical women‘s groups were emerging at this time

• Origins in the political left and centered on college campuses.

• Struck by the glaring contradiction between radical men in the movement and theprofessed equality but sexist treatment towards women within the movement.

• This movement also crystallized lesbian movements while simultaneously causing arift in the feminist movement because of the lesbian focus critical of heterosexualrelations.

• Again, the 2nd wave was far from homogenous



Men and Liberation

• Traditional masculinity is harmful to men also.

– Ex: higher rates of heart disease are linked with traditional notions of masculinity.

• The social category ―man‖ is as diverse as ―woman‖ is.

• Although all men benefit to some degree from the ―patriarchal dividend‖ the distributionof societal resources varies among men according to their race and ethnicity, socialclass, age, physical ability, and sexual orientation.

• ―Men‘s liberation‖ has divided into two camps:

• Male-identified and female-identified

• Male-identified branch of the men‘s rights movement is composed of men‘s rights groupswho view male privilege as an illusion and it is women who ultimately are privileged.Men are victims of women‘s abuse; men are seduced by women then falsely accused of rape, men are routinely denied custody of their children following a divorce. Men areexpected to be providers and protectors while women are exempted from military draftand do not have to pay for drinks or meals when on dates.

• This branch is clearly anti-feminist• The female-identified branch of the men‘s movement is explicitly pro-feminist

– Argue that traditional masculinity is harmful, especially for working-class men andmen of color.

– Sexism is a system of male domination it‘s not enough to give women what menhave.

– Instead it‘s necessary to reconstruct gender and gender relations in our society.

• To do this, men must engage in antisexist behavior.



Contemporary Feminisms

• According to Judith Lorber, 3 types: gender-reform,gender-resistance and gender-rebellion

• gender-reform feminisms emphasize the similaritiesrather than the differences between women and men. – Goal: women to have the same opportunities as men to fully

participate in all aspects of social life, reflecting personalchoices, not society‘s sexist dictates.

– Liberal – same legal rights as men enjoy for women

– Marxist – women‘s oppression is caused by economicdependence

– Socialist – and increasing employment opportunities for women

– Development – focuses on women in economically developingcountries, improving women‘s educational and economicopportunities, operating within constraints of traditional cultures.



Contemporary Feminisms

• Gender-resistance Feminisms argue that formal legal rights alonecannot end gender inequality because male dominance is tooingrained into everyday social relations including heterosexualsexual relations.

• Encourage women to form women only organizations andcommunities

• ‗resistant‘ because separateness resists the gendered social order but does nothing to change it.

• Includes: – Radical and lesbian feminisms which focus on the sexual exploitation of

women by men (esp. men‘s violence against women)

– Psychoanalytic feminism uses the ideas of Sigmund Freud to explain

gender inequality in terms of the sex differences in personalitydevelopment

– Standpoint feminism attempts to examine all aspects of life from awoman‘s unique standpoint.



Contemporary Feminism

• Gender-rebellion feminism (also called third wavebecause of their departure from traditional feminism) thatfocus on the interrelationships among the inequalities of gender, race and ethnicity, social class and sexualorientation, and analyze gender inequality as one piece of

a complex system of social stratification.• Includes:

– Multiracial feminism and Men’s feminism both highlight how one‘svarious social locations within the stratification hierarchy privilegeor disadvantage groups of women or men in different ways.

– Social construction feminism examines the ways people constructidentities and labels through their everyday interactions with oneanother.

– Postmodern feminism and Queer theory conceptualize sex andgender as social scripts and then rewrite the parts and alter theprops as they see fit for specific situations; gender is fluid.



The Future of Feminism: Young

Women and Women of Color

• Media reports indicate feminism is dead,

why?

• Feminist and feminism have become dirty

words, why?

• Although young women today believe that

women‘s plights have improved over the

last 25 years they are reluctant to label

themselves feminists, why?



The Perspective of this Text

• Feminist

• Also important: Symbolic Interactionist

perspective and the ‗doing gender‘ take

Documents

Studying Gender - An Overview