...Review Chapter 7; Chapter 8; Chapter 9 I. Gender roles A. Gender roles are sets of behavioral norms assumed to accompany one’s status as a male or female. However, there is much evidence showing that gender roles have more to do with social status then biology II. The Women Question A. What is the root of patriarchy? III. Patriarchy A. A nearly universal system involving the subordination of femininity to masculinity B. A wide range of theories and approaches have been applied to the study of gender, including structural functionalism, psychoanalytic theory, conflict theory C. Each perspective has contributed to our understanding of gender differences, gender roles, and this complex and fundamental social institution IV. Structural functionalism A. Theoretical tradition claiming that every society has certain structures(the family, the division of labor, or gender) which exist in order to fulfill some set of functions(Reproduction of the species, production of goods, etc). B. A structural functionalist approach to studying gender assumes that gender differences exist to fulfill necessary functions in society V. Sex role theory A. Talcott Parson’s theory that men and women perform their sex roles as breadwinners and wives/mothers, respectively, because the nuclear family is the ideal arrangement in modern societies, fulfilling the function of reproducing workers VI. Limitation A. Their theory doesn’t allow for the possibility...
Words: 1375 - Pages: 6
...to convince the reader that gender is a social construct and is socially determined. This will be done by analysing evidence, both biological and social and showing how social research is much stronger and what we can learn from it. The ways in which society determines gender will be brought to light and then the main points which biologist thinkers tend to ignore will be explained. it will then be shown why and how this can effect not just women but men as well. By doing this the reader will understand relevant research, identify the key points of how gender is socially constructed and then finally be able to realise how this is effecting individuals lives and how it would be beneficial to some...
Words: 1753 - Pages: 8
...contrast, feminists examine society from the viewpoint of women, they see their work as part of the struggle against women’s subordination. However, although all feminists oppose women’s subordination, there are disagreements among feminist’s theories about its causes and how to overcome them. Liberal feminist are concerned with the human and civil rights and freedoms of the individual, they believe that all human beings should have equal rights. In liberal feminism, the concept of society changing itself to adapt to women does not occur. Liberal feminists insist that all that is needed to change the status of women is to change existing laws that are unfavourable for women and that will open up more opportunities for women to prove themselves as equal to the opposite sex. Oakley (1972) distinguishes between sex and gender. She claims sex differences are seen as fixed and gender differences vary between cultures and over time. Therefore what is considered a proper role for women in one society or at one time may be disapproved of or forbidden in another. Sexist attitudes and stereotypical beliefs about gender are culturally constructed and transmitted through socialisation, meaning in order to achieve gender equality, liberal feminists must change society’s socialisation patterns. Liberal feminism is an optimistic theory, very much in keeping with the Enlightenment project and its faith in progress. They believe that political action to introduce anti-discriminatory laws and...
Words: 1483 - Pages: 6
...women to vote. Even though all feminists oppose women’s subordination, there are disagreements on its causes and how to overcome it. Liberal or reformist feminists believe that traditional prejudices and stereotypes about gender differences are a barrier to equality. They believe all human beings should have equal rights. Since both men and women are human beings, both should have the same opportunities. Liberal Feminists argue that laws and policies against sex discrimination in employment and education can secure equal opportunities for women. Campaigning for changes in law can bring about change and we can bring about change through a cultural shift within society. They reject the idea that biological differences make women less competent or rational than men or that men are biologically less emotional or nurturing than women. To bring about change we must shift society’s socialisation patterns. For example society must seek to promote appropriate role models in education and the family by doing this we will benefit from a cultural shift and gender equality will become the norm. Liberal Feminists believe that changes in socialisation and culture are gradually leading to more rational attitudes to gender and overcoming ignorance and prejudice. Also, political action to introduce anti-discriminatory laws and policies is progressing to a fairer society where ones gender will no longer be significant. The contribution of Liberal Feminism to our understanding of society has been beneficial...
Words: 1744 - Pages: 7
...Feminism is a body of thought and a social movement (Freedman, 2001). It is impossible to represent all women’s viewpoints with one single theoretical perspective therefore, there are various concepts that represent the values and perspectives, three of the best known feminist theories are Marxist, radical, and liberal feminism (Freedman, 2001). The general theme throughout is that men oppress and exclude women because society supports patriarchy. As such our social system reinforces patriarchal dominance as ‘natural’, girls are socialised to think their responsibility is within the home and for the family. They also argue that education systems shape the careers that boys and girls are encouraged to pursue (Rothschild, 1989). Liberal feminists believe in equal rights of the sexes and that gender equality must be achieved through the existing legal structures within our society. Although in So’s journal she directs readers that although women are now venturing out into the workplace, men are still expecting them to take primary responsibility for the running of the family...
Words: 951 - Pages: 4
...division between normalcy and reproducing “deviant” groups. For the most part, normalcy includes privileging the norm, which is judged from a very conservative perspective. Meanwhile, those who pertain to different racial backgrounds and have multiple intersectional identities such as people of color who identify under LGBTQ are attributed out-group labels. They are also pushed further away from having any participation in legal discourse and are excluded from the rest of society including groups who fight to embrace the acceptance of different identities within the law. These individuals are only pushed further away from having any participation in legal discourse. As a result the rule of law continues to privileges heteronormativity, and reproduce subordination of marginalized...
Words: 2273 - Pages: 10
...age-old traditional beliefs. Here, ‘old beliefs’ imply the mindset of people who still find themselves in the trap of girl-boy inequality. The ‘liberal’ Indian society has failed to transform the other orthodox India. No doubt India is advancing at a fast pace in the field of science and technology, and also in aping of the western culture, but if we look at the grass root level, the picture is not so rosy; it is rather a dark, especially when it comes to how we treat the fairer sex. The status of females in India aptly symbolizes India’s status of being a developing nation – miles away from becoming a developed state. Of course, India deserves to be in this list because here, in this 21st century, the girl child continues to be murdered before she is born. Female foeticide is still prevalent in the Indian society, in fact, it has been a practice for hundreds of years. Narrow-minded people do not mind murdering their unborn daughters for the fear of giving huge amounts of dowry at the time of her marriage. Such people, whenever they discover they are going to have a girl child (through illegal sex selection tests), get the foetus aborted. Else they would continue to reproduce till they get a male heir. When price rise is already taking a toll on the standard of living, is it necessary to go in for more than two children irrespective of their gender? Many families put pressure on women to give birth to boy so that he can take family’s name forward, light the funeral pyre...
Words: 1387 - Pages: 6
...l)*s*xY YUrrur(J Susan Moller Okin "ls Multiculturalism Bad for Women?" Ethics in Society and Profe.ssor o,f.Politiin Western Political Thought andJustice, cal Science atStanford rJniversity, isthe authorofwomen Cender, and the FamilY. Susan Moller Okin, the Marta Sutton Weeks Professor of arise between acceptance of diversity In this article, Okin explores some of the tensions that the rights and well-being of women' (a key telnA of multicultural'ism) and concern for ' As You Recd, Consiiler This: ,'Eeminism" .and "multicultur rtlism" 1. fine each of these terms? aTe two key terms in okin's arlrcle' How does she de- originallypublisheditlheBostonReview,october/November199?'ReprintedinsusanMollerOkin'IsMulticulc' Nussbaum (Princeton: PrinceMatthew Howard' and Martha turalism Bad for women? edited by Joshua cohen, Press, 1999). ton UniversitY Chapter 7 . Gender 287 2. Why, according to Kymticka, do certain minority groups deserve special group rights? 3. \Mhat is the liberal response to Okin's crlttque?'Nhatrejoinder does Olcrn offer to this response? Until the past few decades, minority groups-immigrants as well as indigenous peoples-were typically expected to assimilate into majority cultures. This assimilationist expectation is now often considered oppressive, and many Western countries are seeking to devise new policies that are more responsive to persistent cultural differences. The appropriate policies...
Words: 6045 - Pages: 25
...women rule -as it is often commonly believed -instead, they are all egalitarian societies, without exception. This means they do not know hierarchies, classes and the domination of one gender by the other. They are societies free of domination, but they still have their regulations. And this is the fact that makes them so attractive in any search for a new philosophy, to create a just society. Equality does not merely mean a levelling of differences. The natural differences between the genders and the generations are respected and honoured, but they never serve to create hierarchies, as is common in patriarchy. The different genders and generations have their own honour and through complimentary areas of activity, they are geared towards each other. This can be observed on all levels of society: the economic level, the social level, the political level and the areas of their worldviews and faiths. More precisely matriarchies are societies with complementary equality, where great care is taken to provide a balance. This applies to the balance between genders, among generations, and between humans and nature. The differentiated rules of matriarchal societies have been meticulously researched regarding existing societies of this type. Merely historical facts will not reveal how matriarchal people thought and felt, how they conducted their politics and how they lived their faith. To make it clear right away: There is no "complete matriarchal people" known today. Every so called...
Words: 6823 - Pages: 28
...50 Key Concepts in Gender Studies Jane Pilcher & Imelda Whelehan Fifty Key Concepts in Gender Studies i Recent volumes include: Key Concepts in Social Research Geoff Payne and Judy Payne Key Concepts in Medical Sociology Jonathan Gabe, Mike Bury and Mary Ann Elston Forthcoming titles include: Key Concepts in Leisure Studies David Harris Key Concepts in Critical Social Theory Nick Crossley Key Concepts in Urban Studies Mark Gottdiener The SAGE Key Concepts series provide students with accessible and authoritative knowledge of the essential topics in a variety of disciplines. Cross-referenced throughout, the format encourages critical evaluation through understanding. Written by experienced and respected academics, the books are indispensable study aids and guides to comprehension. JANE PILCHER AND IMELDA WHELEHAN Fifty Key Concepts in Gender Studies SAGE Publications London • Thousand Oaks • New Delhi iii © Jane Pilcher and Imelda Whelehan 2004 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without permission in writing from the Publishers. SAGE Publications Ltd 1 Oliver’s Yard 55 City Road London EC1Y 1SP SAGE Publications Inc 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320 SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd B-42 Panchsheel Enclave Post Box 4109 New Delhi 100 017 British Library...
Words: 86432 - Pages: 346
...United Nations Development Programme SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND POVERTY ELIMINATION DIVISION WP 5 GENDER AND POVERTY* Nilüfer Cagatay May 1998 WORKING PAPER SERIES *The responsibility for opinions in these articles, studies and other contributions in this series rests solely with their authors, and publication does not constitute an endorsement by the United Nations Development Programme or the institutions of the United Nations system. Table Of Contents Introduction I. Women And Poverty: Are Women Poorer? II. From Women and Poverty to Gender and Poverty A. Engendering Poverty Analysis B. New Conceptualizations of Poverty C. From Consumption/Income Poverty to Human Poverty D. Are Women Poorer?: Revisiting the Question from a Human Poverty Perspective E. Assessing Gender Differences in Poverty: Quantitative versus Qualitative Approaches F. Do Gender Inequalities Increase Overall Poverty? III. What Is To Be Done? What Is Being Done? A. Gender Mainstreaming at UNDP B. Engendering Anti-Poverty Projects and Programmes Figures Figure 1: A Pyramid of Poverty Concepts Boxes Box 1: Chile: Targeting Female Headship for Combating Poverty Box 2: Gender and Poverty in Guinea: Human Poverty versus Consumption Poverty and Participatory Approach to Poverty Assessment Box 3: South Asia Poverty Alleviation Program (SAPAP): The Case of India Social Mobilization through Self-Help Groups 1 “The causes and outcomes of poverty are heavily...
Words: 9679 - Pages: 39
...partial view of reality. Sociological theories can be grouped together according to a variety of criteria. The most important of these is the distinction between Structural and Social action theories. Structural or macro perspectives analyses the way society as a whole fits together. Structural theory sees society as a system of relationships that creates the structure of the society in which we live. It is this structure that determines our lives and characters. Structured sets of social relationships are the 'reality' that lie below the appearance of 'the free individual' of western individualism. Structuralism focuses on the particular set of 'structural laws' that apply in any one society. Despite their differences, both functionalism and Marxism use a model of how society as a whole works. Many functionalists base their model of society around the assumption of basic needs and go to explain how different parts of society help to meet those needs. Marxists, on the other hand, see society as resting upon an economic base or infrastructure, with a superstructure above it. They see society as divided into social classes which have the potential to be in conflict with each other. However, the main differences between functionalist and Marxist perspectives then, is the way they characterize the social structure. Functionalists stress the extent to which the different elements of the social structure fit together harmoniously. Marxists stress the lack of fit between the...
Words: 9486 - Pages: 38
...Foundation Course 1 Human Rights, Gender & Environment Understanding Patriarchy Suranjita Ray• Subordination of women to men is prevalent in large parts of the world. We come across experiences where women are not only treated as subordinate to men but are also subject to discriminations, humiliations, exploitations, oppressions, control and violence. Women experience discrimination and unequal treatment in terms of basic right to food, health care, education, employment, control over productive resources, decision-making and livelihood not because of their biological differences or sex, which is natural but because of their gender differences which is a social construct. “Sex is considered a fact - one is born with either male or female genitalia. Gender is considered a social construction - it grants meaning to the fact of sex. Conversely, it could be said that only after specific meanings came to be attached to the sexes, did sex differences become pertinent” (Geetha, 2002: 10). Gender based discriminations and exploitations are widespread and the socio-culturally defined characteristics, aptitudes, abilities, desires, personality traits, roles, responsibilities and behavioral patterns of men and women contribute to the inequalities and hierarchies in society. Gender differences are man made and they get legitimised in a patriarchal society. This paper attempts to link the theoretical dimensions of patriarchy with its empirical experiences to engage in the ongoing...
Words: 9801 - Pages: 40
...Higher Sociology Understanding Human Society 1 Acknowledgements SFEU (Scottish Further Education Unit) gratefully acknowledges the contribution made to this publication by Learning and Teaching Scotland who have granted permission to use material previously produced by Higher Still Development Unit. SFEU also thanks SQA for permission to reproduce parts of the Arrangement documents. Copyright statement Documents on NQ Online can be downloaded free. However, where the publications are the copyright of Learning and Teaching Scotland, educational establishments in Scotland may reproduce them in whole or in part provided that the source is acknowledged and that no profit accrues at any stage. Other users of these publications should contact Learning and Teaching Scotland before reproducing any of them. Please note all rights held by the former Higher Still Development Unit continue to be held by Learning and Teaching Scotland. Contents Statement of Standards 3 Guide to Learning and Teaching Pack 7 Introduction to the Unit and Learning and Teaching Approaches 8 Class stratification 9 Recommended reading and recommended websites for class stratification 10 Introduction to social stratification 11 Class stratification 15 Functionalist theory of class stratification 24 Summary of functionalism ...
Words: 19327 - Pages: 78
...Key definitions: A family is usually a group of people related by marriage or blood. A household is a person living alone or a group of people living together who may or may not be related. Theories of the family From the specification: The relationship of the family to the social structure and social change * Functionalist views: the importance of the nuclear family, the universality of the family, changing functions, how the nuclear family ‘fits’ modern society. * Marxist views: the family as part of the ideological state apparatus, as an agent of social control. * Feminist views: patriarchy; liberal, radical and Marxist feminism. Consensus/Positive views of the family | Conflict/critical views of the family | * Functionalist theories: the family performs positive functions for individuals and society * New Right theories: the family is the cornerstone of society, but it is under threat | * Marxist theories: the family provides important functions for capitalism * Feminist theories: the family reinforces gender inequality and patriarchy | Functionalist theories GP Murdock | Evaluation | Murdock argues that the family is a universal institution (it exists everywhere) that performs four major functions: * Stable satisfaction of the sex drive with the same partner, preventing the social disruption caused by sexual ‘free-for-all’. * Reproduction of the next generation, without which society would not be able to continue. * Socialisation of...
Words: 16472 - Pages: 66
