The women’s movement and the consequent development of feminist ideas in the 1960s and 1970s influenced the question of gender and began emphasise the importance of gender as a concept of its own. (Howson, 2013, 51). To understand the differences between male and female, it is important to formulate a basic distinction between gender and sex. The key distinctions to note are based around biology and social arrangements. Oakley (1972, cited in Howson, 2013) refers to gender as the ‘psychological, social and representational differences between men and women, which are socially determined and culturally variable’.
However not all functionalists see society exactly the same, as they have similar but different views towards it also functionalists are also externally criticised of their views of society as a functional unit. Talcott Parson one functionalist says that social change is the process of changing from one type of society to another is a gradual evolutionary process of increasing complexity and structural differ enation. Talcott Parson identifies two types of society- traditional and modern (both has its own typical pattern of norms). In traditional societies, a single institution- the kinship system performs many functions. For example it organises production and consumption, often provides political leadership by socialising its members to
Gender is put into “masculine” and “feminine” categories while sex is put into “male” and “female”categories. How do gender and sex contribute to the concepts and constructions of masculinity and femininity? Gender and sex have so much to do with masculinity and femininity. Like I said above [Gender is put into “masculine” and “feminine” categories while sex is put into “male” and “female”categories.] Males are considered masculine because they are “rough and tough” and females are considered feminine because of history and women having to act like a “proper lady”.
122 As a process, gender creates the social differences that define “woman” and “man.” In social interaction throughout their lives, individuals learn what is expected, see what is expected, act and react in expected ways, and thus simultaneously construct and maintain the gender order pg. 123 As part of a stratification system, gender ranks men above women of the same race and class pg. 123 The dominant categories are the hegemonic ideals, taken so for granted as the way things should be that white is not ordinarily thought of as race, middle class or men as a gender. The characteristics of these categories define the Other as that which lacks the valuable qualities the dominants exhibit. Pg.
Religious symbols and rituals play a significant role in human life. Here, two important terms-"mood" and "motivation"-are introduced. According to the anthropologist Clifford Geertz, a "mood is a psychological attitude" while "a motivation is the social and political trajectory created by a mood that transforms mythos into ethos, symbol system into social and political reality". This theory can explain why for a long period of time, women's spiritual experienced has been dominated by patriarchal ideology such as Judaism and Christianity. In a patriarchal society or religion, moods and motivations decide that women are psychologically depend on the male authority.
Jensen mentions that “… we live our lives in that system and it deforms men narrowing our emotional range and depth” (533).For example, when two people decide to be in a relationship they are both vulnerable to getting hurt both emotionally and physically, but most men tend to be conservative while women get very attached to things so we are affected on different levels. Even though masculinity has varies ways of shaping our lives, we came part of the system in which masculinity can flourish, and we fail to see how it has taken over our lives to the point that we struggle to make a connection with our environment. If this view of masculinity was somehow to be replaced or somehow forgotten it will direct us to the ideal understanding of humanity and enable it to shape our lives in a way that we can gain back control of who we are and what we strive to be. Ideally it’s a world where no tendencies are embedded within
Masculinity and femininity differ vastly in a society due to social construction, actions of men and women, and the social norms in a society and so on. Behaviour is a very important role as it defines people. The behaviour of men and women can sometimes not be acceptable as it can be obscene and vulgar to the public, though this
These struggles are hardly far from over. American Gender roles and sexism can be defined as a social identity consisting of a role a person is to play because of their sex. There is a variety in male and female roles, making it impossible to define gender by the term male and female. Gender is defer significantly by culture to culture. Anthropologists conducted studies to ascertain the range of behaviors that have developed to define gender and their forces at work in the creation of these roles.
While sex differences are fixed, gender differences vary between cultures and over time. Sexist attitudes are stereotypical beliefs about gender and culturally constructed and transmitted through socialization. Gender equality will happen with change of society’s socialisation patterns, they seek to promote appropriate role models in education and the family. Over time they believe such actions will produce cultural change and gender equality will become the norm. They can be seen as a critique of the functionalist view of the gender role.
Jose Martinez GWS 210 Professor Keys 3/5/12 Gender Norm Violation Project Introduction Gender roles are changing in American society as men and women broaden their interest and activities. “It is now widely accepted that gender is a social construction, that sex and gender is something is all of us ‘do’,” says Lucal (Spade, Valentine p.22). As it is more accepting for women and men to take on roles of the opposite gender, it's still common to see certain norms violated. Gender norm violations can either transform the way in which we categorize ourselves or can hinder our progression towards equality. Thus the only way to test the direction society is heading to is by testing the norms we necessarily shouldn't partake in.