Gender

1. Gender Roles
 Sociologists use:
– Sex: biological differences between males and females,
and
– Gender: social expectations (roles) related to the physical
differences – differences in behaviour, attitude and
activities
 Certain behaviour considered appropriate for one gender is
inappropriate for another, e.g.
– Women: are gentle and emotional; wear skirts and
dresses; enjoy makeup, cooking and dressmaking
– Men: less emotional, tough and physical; clothes and
appearances are less important; have mechanical and
decorating abilities
 Above differences in behaviour are termed as gender roles
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 Gender
1. Gender Roles
 Both sexes are physically capable of learning how to cook –
however, this role is assigned to women
 Similarly both are capable of learning to weld and fly
airplanes, yet this role is assigned mainly to men
 Involve socialisation into norms regarding masculinity and
femininity
 Boys are socialised to think that they should be invulnerable
fearless, decisive and even emotionless in some situations –
those who do not conform are termed as sissies and chickens
– those who do conformmay grow up to be inexpressive men
who cant share their feelings with others
 Study showed that only 5-10% men came close to the ideal
definition

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 Gender
 Gender Identity
 The self concept of a person as being male or female –
one of the first and far reaching identities that a human
being learns
 A child learns that she is a girl or he is a boy between
the ages of 18 months and 3 years

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 Gender
 Men feel that women are inferior because of these
differences
 Gender roles:
– Are learned – they are so common and obvious that
we take them as natural - these roles reflect biological
differences and consequently are impossible to
change
– E.g. men are stronger and women have nurturing
instincts
 Sociologists disagree:
– These roles are a consequence of socialisation into a
culture that artificially stresses these differences

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 Gender

 Sociologists disagree:
– No reason why men should do all the manual work
– In the past in Africa and even now in Pakistan ,
women did and do hard labour same as men
– Also, if mothering instinct is natural, then should be
true for women in all societies, yet no clear pattern of
this: in Britain women might be gentle and caring, but
in the Ik tribe of Northern Uganda, they are hard and
uncaring – this is debatable as the piece of work
that explores this tribe is accused of being
ethnocentric

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 Gender – The Functionalist View
 Maintain that gender differentiation has contributed to
overall social stability – view it as a need to establish
division of labour
 Women take an expressive (concern for maintainance
of harmony and internal family affairs), emotional and
supportive role and men the instrumental (emphasis on
tasks and concern for external relationships beyond
family) practical role
 Women’s interest in expressive goals, frees men for
instrumental tasks and vice versa
 Pason and Bales dont explicitly endorse these roles but
imply that they are functional for the family unit

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 Critque – The Functionalist View
 It would lead us to expect that girls and women with no
interest in children to become baby-sitters and mothers
and males who love children to be programmed into
business careers
 Can have harmful consequences for individual who does
not fit into prescribed roles
 Even if it was beneficial for one partner to play the
instrumental role and the other to play the expessive
role, the functionalist view does not clearly explain why
men should always play the instrumental role

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 The Conflict Response
 Believe that the realtionship between males and females
has been one of unequal power – men in the dominant
position
 Men may have originally become powerful in
preindustrial times because of their size, strength and
freedom from childbearing duties
 In contemporary societies, such considerations are not
so important – but cultural beliefs about the sexes have
already been established – these support social
structure that places the male in a controlling position
 Two crucial messages of gender stereotypes are:
– Boys are better
– Girls are meant to be mothers

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 The Conflict Response
 View gender differences as a subjugation of one group
by another
 Engels argued that this subjugation coincided with the
rise of private property during induatrialisation
 View women’s subordination as part of the overall
exploitation and injustice, evident in capitalist societies
 Conflict theorists, however, emphasise that male
dominance in the US goes far beyond the economic
sphere – subordinate position is intensified by activities
such as: rape, secual harassment, street harassment
and wife battering
 Even if women achieve equal economic or political
status, equality cannot be established as long as the
above remain a reality

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 The Interactionist Approach
 While conflict theorists take a macro view of gender
roles, interactionist view it at a micro level
 Look at everyday behaviour
 Study – 96% of interruptions in a cross sex conversation
are initiated by men
 Men more likely to change topics, ignore topics chosen
by members of the opposite sex and to validate their
own contributions
 Serious implications, when one considers the power
dynamics underlying cross sex interactions
– Employer and job seeker
– College professor and student
– Husband and wife

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 Gender
A. Gender Socialisation
 By family, school, media, and reinforced by culture of
society
a. Family
 Most important institution - Teaches values and
expectations of society, and gender roles
 Gender roles constructed in many ways:
– Toys: dolls versus cars
– Language used: “Stop crying. You’re behaving like a
girl.”
– Activities: girls help mother, boys father
– Clothes: girls more carefully dressed
– Extent of Freedom: boys given more
– Education: more important for boys
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 Objectification

The process of treating people as if they were objects or

things, not human beings.
We objectify people when we judge them on the basis of
their physical appearance rather than on the basis of their
individual qualities or actions.

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 General Aspects Of Objectification Based On
Objectification Preoccupation With “Looks”

Women are responded to

Women are often seen as the
primarily as “females,”
objects of sexual attraction, not
personal accomplishments
full human.
are less important.

Women are seen by some as

Women are seen as “all
depersonalized body parts.
alike.”
Example: “a piece of ass.”

Depersonalized female sexuality

Women are seen as passive,
is used for economic purposes.
so things can easily be “done
In the media, advertising, fashion
to a woman”. (discrimination,
and cosmetics industries, and
harassment, and violence.
pornography.
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 How Much Do You Know
About Body Image and Gender?

True or False?
 Physical attractiveness is a more central part of self-
concept for women than for men.

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 Gender
A. Gender Socialisation
a. School
 Hidden curriculum – influences teachers’ attitudes,
and behaviour towards boys and girls – teachers
encourage some behaviour and discourage others
 Girls rewarded for silence, neatness and
conformity and boys for rebellious nature
b. Media
 Through portraying specific images for men and
women
 Women images stress sexuality or caring qualities

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 Gender
A. Gender Socialisation
b. Media
i. Magazines also devoted to explaining how women
can make themselves more attractive
 Therefore, women see themselves as desirable or
not depending upon their attractiveness to men
ii. Other main role stressed for women is that of good
mother or wife
 Magazines print cooking recipes, knitting patterns,
childcare and other domestic tips
 Romance stories published stress the importance of
finding husband/true love

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 Mass Media and Gender Socialization

On television:
Male characters typically are more aggressive,
constructive, and direct.
Females are deferential toward others or use manipulation
to get their way.

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 Gender
A. Gender Socialisation
c. The Wider Culture
 Gender roles are strengthened by culture in a society
 Islam, Hinduism and Christianity stress role of
women as mother and wife
 Girls are complimented on good looks and
encouraged to seek men’s approval

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 Gender
B. Social Control
a. The Family
 Parents are stricter with daughters
b. Peer Group
 Girls constrain girls as much as males and parents

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 Gender
B. Social Control
c. Public Sphere
 Girls are controlled in public by a fear of harassment,
even violence if visit pubs or walk on the streets at
night alone
 Girls inhibited by fear of sexual assault or violence
 To overcome this fear ask for male company
 This increases dependency on men who are the
cause of this fear in the first place
d. Employment
 Less responsible positions have female managers,
they are paid less and more likely to be controlled by
men in employment and in life

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 Gender
C. Homework and Caring
 Most people assume that women working is paid
employment in shops, offices and factories
 But housework is also work – main characteristics
are:
i. Unpaid
ii. Low status work: - men don’t regard it as work – feel
it involves playing with children, cooking and watching
TV
iii. Monotonous – more boring and repetitive than
assembly line work
iv. Isolated - Housewives are cut off from people other
than children – trapped at home
v. Long work hours – average is 77 hours per week
vi. Is mainly regarded as exclusively female work
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Sexism toward Women

Three components:
 Negative attitudes toward women.

 Stereotypical beliefs that reinforce, complement, or

justify the prejudice.

 Discrimination - acts that exclude, distance, or keep

women separate.

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Sexism

Sexism is interwoven with patriarchy—a hierarchical

system of social organization in which cultural, political,
and economic structures are controlled by men.
Matriarchy is a hierarchical system of social organization
in which cultural, political, and economic structures are
controlled by women.

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Question

Do you agree or disagree:

 It is much better for everyone involved if the man is the

achiever outside the home and the woman takes care

of the home and family.

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Gender Stereotypes

Men
 strong, rational, dominant, independent, less

concerned with appearance

Women
 weak, emotional, nurturing, dependent, anxious about

appearance

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Question

Do you approve or disapprove of a married woman

earning money in business or industry if she has a
husband capable of supporting her?
a. Approve
b. Disapprove
c. No opinion

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Hunting and Gathering Society

Hunting game, gathering roots

Economic Characteristics
and berries

Control of Surplus None

Inheritance None

Control over Procreation None

Women’s Status Relative Equality

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Horticultural and Pastoral

Economic Planting crops, domestication of

Characteristics animals for food

Control of Surplus Men begin to control societies

Inheritance Shared—patrilineal and matrilineal

Control over
Increasingly by men
Procreation

Women’s Status Decreasing

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Agrarian

Economic
Labor-intensive farming
Characteristics

Control of Surplus Men who own land or herds

Inheritance Patrilineal

Control over Men—to ensure legitimacy

Procreation of heirs

Women’s Status Low

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Industrial

Economic
Mechanized production of goods
Characteristics

Control of Surplus Men who own means of production

Inheritance Both

Control over
Men—but less so in later stages
Procreation

Women’s Status Low

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Postindustrial

Economic
Information and service economy
Characteristics

Corporate shareholders and high-

Control of Surplus
tech entrepreneurs

Inheritance Both

Control over
Mixed
Procreation

Women’s Status Varies by class, race, and age

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Feminism

The belief that women and men are equal and should be
valued equally and have equal rights.
In liberal feminism, gender equality equated with equality
of opportunity.
According to radical feminists, male domination causes
all forms of human oppression, including racism and
classism.

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Feminism

Socialist feminists suggest that women’s oppression

results from their dual roles as paid and unpaid workers in
a capitalist economy. - exploited
Multicultural feminists - suggest that equality will occur
only when all women, regardless of race/ethnicity, class,
age, religion, sexual orientation, or ability (or disability),
are treated more equitably.

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Question

Homosexual sexual relations should be taught as

acceptable and normal.
a. Strongly agree
b. Agree somewhat
c. Unsure
d. Disagree somewhat
e. Strongly disagree

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 Gender
A. The Social Construction of Sexuality
 Belief that gender roles are socially constructed
 Also include expectations regarding what is normal
sexuality, therefore, our perceptions of homosexuality
that it is unnatural
– Homosexuality: traditionally considered abnormal
and deviant
– Wellings in 1994 studied and suggested that 6%
males and 4% females have at least one homosexual
experience – therefore sociologists argue that sexual
identities are not as clear cut as believed
– Believe that there is a case for arguing the normality
of bisexuality

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 Gender
A. The Social Construction of Sexuality
– Homosexuality:
– Weeks argues that only hetrosexuality considered
normal until the 19th century – other forms regarded
as deviant - The term homosexuality was coined in
1830, therefore reflecting a desire to and also
helping to construct a clear cut sexual identity
– Foucault in History of Sexuality, argued that in the
early 19th century, new ways of thinking and
discussing sexuality developed. Divided sexuality
into 4 types:
i. Children’s sexuality: removed from sexuality altogether
ii. Women’s sexuality: not supposed to have same
sexual drive as men
iii. Married sex: regarded as normal, though net necessarily
pleasurable
iv. Homosexuality: a form of deviant activity engaged in by
perverts 36
 Gender
A. The Social Construction of Sexuality
– Foucault argues that ability to impose this way of
viewing sexuality reflects power between social
groups – hetrosexual power is reflected in this
grouping

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