Sociology

SOCL202

Instructor: Dr. Mariam Al Hasbani

Fall Semester
2023-2024
 Chapter 10: Gender Inequality
CHAPTER OUTLINE:
• Differentiating between Sex and Gender
• Understanding Behavioral Differences between Sexes
o The “Nature” Perspective - Biological Essentialism
o Gender Role Socialization & Doing Gender
• A Third Gender or “Third Sex”
• Gender Inequality & Related Key Terms
• Sociological Theories of Gender Inequalities
o Functionalist Approaches
o Feminist Theories
 Differentiating between Sex & Gender
Sex Gender
• Refers to the biological • Refers to social and cultural
and physical differences -Not physical- differences,
between males and females or social expectations about
• Biological attributes that behavior regarded as
distinguish females from appropriate for the members
males such as: of each sex.
chromosomes, hormones, • Socially-formed traits of
and anatomical apparatus
masculinity and femininity.
• Sex is something we are • Gender is something that we
born with. It is a biological
creation or construction, both learn & do. It is a
and is usually fixed social construction, and is
throughout life. fluid or always changing.
 Understanding Behavioral Differences
between Sexes

• Are the differences in the behavior of females and

males the result of sex- biological differences - or
gender- social/cultural expectations?
 The “Nature” Perspective - Biological
Essentialism
• Biological factors -including genetics, hormones, and brain
physiology- determine human behavior patterns.
• Innate behavioral differences between the sexes
• Critics of Biological Essentialism:
o Unconvincing & theoretically dangerous perspective -
Rationalizes and legitimizes gender differences (Sandra
Bem, 1993)
o Social/cultural influences are neglected or underestimated
o Theories are often grounded in data on animal behavior.
• Although studies document that biological differences are
associated with some social behaviors, human behavior is
shaped by social and cultural- not only biological factors.
 Gender Role Socialization & Doing Gender
❖Gender role socialization is the process through which we
learn about male- and female-typed roles and practices from
socializing agents (family, peers, school, the media…)
• Children Internalize the social norms and expectations that
correspond with their biological sex, guided by sanctions.
• According to this perspective: Gender differences are culturally
produced - Learned & transmitted across generations.
• Critics of Gender role socialization perspective :
o Accepting a biological basis for some gender differences:
Biological distinction between the sexes is the starting point for
differences that become culturally elaborated and amplified in
society.
o Ignoring individuals’ active role: Humans are not passive objects
unquestioning the social expectations surrounding sex roles, but
they actively create and modify their roles. People Do gender!
❖ Social construction of gender -‘Doing gender’ approach:
• Views gender as socially constructed- produced through
interaction, rather than culturally learned/produced.
• Reject all biological bases for gender differences, & argue
that gender is more than learning to act like a girl or boy;
rather, it is something that we continually “do” in our daily
interactions with others (West and Zimmerman, 1987).
• Men and women reinforce/ reproduce gender roles by
doing gender, and can reject or modify socially expected
gender roles by undoing gender.
• Gender is fluid - not fixed construct: Gender roles,
expectations, behaviors vary from culture/society to
another, vary within one culture/society at different points
in time, and vary among different groups within a
particular culture at a given point in time.
 A Third Gender or Third Sex
• Cisgender: refers to a person whose gender identity matches his
or her biological sex. Statistically, this is the most common
gender. It would include persons born female who identify as
female and persons born male who identify as male.
• “Non-cis” or Transgender: refers to a person whose gender
identity does not align with the sex the person was assigned at
birth.
• It is about how you express your gender identity- how you see
yourself within the social constructs of gender that surround you.
• Intersex, refers to a person Born with a reproductive or sexual
anatomy that doesn’t seem to fit the typical definitions of female
or male. It includes those possessing both male and female
genitalia or those with ambiguous genitalia at birth. Statistically,
this is a rare subpopulation.
• The term Intersex (refers to biological sex) is not a synonym for
transgender (refers to social gender).
Gender Inequality & Related Key Terms
• Gender inequality: The inequality between men and
women in terms of treatment, opportunities, status & power
(political, economic, and social).
• Several forms of gender inequality persist in societies:
Gendered inequalities in the family sphere, ex. unequal
division of household labor, and in the public sphere -
involvement in politics and inequalities in the Workplace…
• Glass ceiling: A promotion barrier that prevents a woman’s
upward mobility within an organization.
• Occupational sex segregation: the concentration of men
and women in different occupations.
Sociological Theories of Gender Inequalities
❖ Functionalist Approaches
• Gender differences, and, specifically, men’s and women’s
specialization in different tasks, contribute to social stability and
integration.
• George Murdock- anthropologist (1949)- saw the sexual division of
labor (women holding domestic and family responsibilities& men
working outside the home) as practical and convenient; present in all
cultures; not the result of biological distinction, yet the most logical
and efficient basis for the organization of society.
• Talcott Parsons- sociologist (1955)- saw the sexual division of labor
in the family (women perform expressive roles/care emotional support
to children & men, while men perform an instrumental role/the
breadwinner) as the result of biological distinction, and ensures the
solidarity, stability & efficient operation of the family.
• John Bowlby- psychologist (1953)- argued that child’s well-being
requires a close relationship with the mother or female substitute.
Based on that, some argued that working mothers are neglectful of their
children.
❖ Feminist Theories
• Many feminist perspectives/ theories - all attempt to explain
gender inequalities in society and overcome them.
1. Liberal feminism:
o Gender inequality is produced by unequal access to civil rights
and certain social resources, such as education and employment,
based on sex.
o Seek solutions -equal opportunities/rights for women- through
changes in legislation.
2. Radical feminism:
o Gender inequality is the result of male domination in all aspects
of social and economic life.
o Patriarchy - the systematic domination of females by males - is
a universal phenomenon.
o Gender equality can be attained only by overthrowing the
patriarchal order, NOT by legislative reforms.
3. Socialist feminism:
o Combining two themes- Oppressive capitalist society (from
Marxist theory) & oppressive patriarchal society (from
radical feminism)- it focuses on the ways that gender and
social class intersect.
o Gender equality can be attained by dismantling the
capitalist hierarchical system and patriarchy
o Women should work with men to fight class oppression.
4. Black feminism:
o Highlights the multiple disadvantages of gender, class, and
race that shape the experiences of nonwhite women.
o Challenges facing women of color are often distinct from
those facing white (especially white middle class) women.
o Reject the idea of a single, unified gender oppression that is
experienced evenly by all women.
5. Transnational feminism:
o Highlights the way that global processes -including
colonialism, racism, and imperialism - shape gender
relations and hierarchies.
o Focuses on the situation of women originating from the
third world (the South)- suffer from compound oppression.
o Emphasizes intersections among nationhood, race, gender,
and class in the context of global capitalism
o Like black feminism, reject the idea of a single, unified
gender oppression. Women’s oppression differ globally.
6. Postmodern feminism:
o Challenges the idea that all women share a single basis of
oppression and identity.
o Reject the claim that there is a grand theory that can
explain the position of women in society or that there is
any universal category of “woman.”