Examine the extent to which social divisions are socially constructed. Use either gender or ethnicity to construct and illustrate your argument. Society is constructed through several social divisions, one of these being divisions being gender. Gender can be defined as a ‘socially determined difference based upon the biological differences between the sexes’ (Marsh et al, 2006: 216). Fulcher & Scott (2011) believe gender to examine the differences between men and women in relation to feeling, thinking and behaving.
Since we haven’t reached that point, affirmative action for women is seen as more or less acceptable. However, these “sameness criteria” have nothing to do with authentic gender equality, and instead introduce an element of confusion when discussing this subject. Assuming that equality means sameness is inherently problematic since if you want men and women to make exactly the same career choices, family choices and lifestyles choices, then you are basically trying to fit individuals into your own preconceived notion of reality. A Better Definition Equality between the sexes simply means that men and women have equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities. According to this definition we need to remove all legal discrimination as well as break down stereotypes that prevent people from leading the lives that they want.
Gender is often viewed as a system of meanings and influences, affecting access to power and influencing social status (Crawford, 2003). It has been suggested (Crawford, 2003) that both men and women use humour and jokes in both same-gender and mixed situations in order to create a tool for gender construction. The following study aimed to overcome the controversy in this field somewhat, and hoped to provide a clearer understanding and answer to the recurring question of whether there is a significant amount of gender difference in humour appreciation. We hypothesise that there will be a significant effect of gender on humour type. The null hypothesis states that there will be no significant effect of gender on humour type.
I feel that our concepts of gender and sex contribute to the ways we embrace gender and sex in diversity. I feel that we look at males in one light and females in another, we all at some point expect men to be the ones that are tough, and brave and look at women as being emotional. When it could be the other way around. There are still those who feel that women should be home makers and not working to where men should be out bringing home the bacon. Do our concepts of gender and sex contribute to our understanding of sexual orientation?
Rand says “Reality, the external world, exists independent of man’s consciousness, independent of any observer’s knowledge, beliefs, feelings, desires or fears…” (qtd. The Ayn Rand Institute 1). Consciousness, therefore, is to distinguish reality, not to fashion or form it around a personal belief. Consequently, Objectivists reject all forms of a supernatural or any beliefs unfounded in fact. In the quote below Rand explains why she rejects religion outright, and she believes man himself deserves the attention: Just as religion has preempted the field of ethics, turning morality against man, so it has usurped the highest moral concepts of our language, placing them outside this earth and beyond man’s reach.
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.
In addition, religious marriages will not be affected since there will be no interference on the religious beliefs concerning the union of women and men. Rick also creates the controversy that, any marriage must have children. To him, couples without children are not complete. Thus, he not only infringes on the wishes of those who decide not to have children but also contradicts the beliefs of those who are unable to conceive. He insinuates that such couples have no other means
Sex categories suppose sex but are not necessarily determined by it. Doing gender in this sense is acting in a manner which promotes assignment to one of the sex categories, under the supervision of others. Doing gender is a socially required practice, and therefore we cannot "not do gender", our assigned sex category is imposed on us and is perceived as essential, we can comply with is or rebel against it, but in either case we are always, “Dude you’re a Fag” (Pascoe) * This article argues that American adolescent boys become masculine through the continual rejection of a fag' identity. * Pascoe analyzes masculinity as not only a gendered process but also a sexual one * She demonstrates how the "specter of the fag" becomes a disciplinary mechanism for regulating heterosexual as well as homosexual boys and how the "fag discourse" is as much tied to gender as it is to sexuality. * The social construct of “fag,” which exists primarily as an image of failed masculinity, meaning that person is not a
Nothing may be prevented which is not forbidden by law, and no one may be forced to do anything not provided by law”. This idea plays a vital role in the societal vision of this declaration due to peoples’ perspective. One example that fits perfect with this role is Homosexual marriages. In some states, homosexual marriage is legal and some is illegal. Me personally, I think anyone should have a right to marry whoever they want to marry because nobody cannot change a person’s lifestyle unless that person wants to change.
Gender or sex refers to the socially constructed categories of feminine and masculine which are the cultural identies and values that prescribe how men and women should behave. The social power relations based on those categories are distinct from the categories of biological sex (male or female) (Germov, 2009, p. 131). Gender refers to the social aspects of differences and hierarchies between male and female. (Macionis, 2008, p. 367). Gender is understood as a system of relations, a social product constantly negotiated and redefined that both constrains and provides opportunity for action.