Introduction to Gender

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Introduction to Gender
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Gender a Social Construct

• All academic disciplines as they now exist,
  whether sociology, psychology, astronomy,
  physics, theology or chemistry, have been
  developed largely by men.

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• It is men who run governments, control education
  systems, who earn most of the money, and who are
  generally consider the movers and shakers of the
  society.

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A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792),

• In 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft, wrote a book
  entitled, Vindication of the Rights of Women in
  which she showed how women have been historically
  influential in all of the areas of above. The
  mainstream should be deemed malestream.

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Women sidelined

• Women have been sidelined in historyHistorical
  sociology questions great man history,
  Sociology pretends to be about people when in
  fact it is about men.

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1987 UN Report

• A 1987 United Nations report claimed, women
  constitute half of the worlds population,
  perform nearly 2/3s of it work hours, receive one
  tenth of its income, and own less than
  one-hundredth of its property.

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• The need for more research into gender is
  evident.Although weve had the feminist
  movement.we still have Barbie girls.Math is
  hard.Im a Genie in a bottle.

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Objectification, reification..

• Go to a club, what do you witness sex role
  stereotypical behaviour.men flashing their
  wallets, women selling their sexuality.
  Objectification, reification..

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Gender Concepts Defined

• In order to fully understand how society and
  biology are combined in a social order it is
  important to define concepts

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Sex-

• The biological aspects of an individual,
  differences between males and females by
  chromosomal, anatomical, reproductive, hormonal
  characteristics.

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Sex Status

• -Sex status is biologically determined but
  socially constructed. All human societies make
  distinctions based on inborn (ascribed)
  characteristics of sex, the physiological
  distinctions based on biology and reproductive
  anatomy that distinguishes male from female.

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Gender-

• Gender is a status designation derived from the
  physiological aspects link to males and females
  physiological aspects link to males and females
  to allow individuals to function within
  particular social contexts.

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Gender-

• At the societal level, gender differentiation is
  critical in understanding the differential
  distributions of
• . roles
• . tasks,
• . resources,
• . privileges and disadvantages bestowed upon
  males and females.

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Biological Sex

• Sex is made up of several components. In fact,
  some babies (2-3) each year are born with
  ambiguous external genitalia. These babies
  receive a sexual assignment as one of the two
  sexes and if required, surgical intervention is
  provided.

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Sex Assignment-

• Sex Assignment- The categorization into either
  male or female seems like an irrefutable
  biological fact. However, How do we know if
  these babies are male or female???? Ones
  biological sex is in fact multidimensional.

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Several sex components

• There are several components which may comprise
  BIOLOGICAL sex
• . chromosomal sex,
• . gondola sex (sexual production organ),
• . internal sex organs,
• . external genitalia.

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Video Gender TangoVIDEO 4322

• Anthropological Evidence
• Three Contexts.. Papua New Guinea
• A. Sambians-war, patriarchy
• B. Trobrians-peace, matriarchy
• C. Mid West Plains Indian-Berdache

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Gender A Continuum?

• Transsexuals are individuals who have the
  genotype of one sex but are convinced they are in
  the wrong body, in other words, they are really
  the opposite sex. Transsexuals do not see
  themselves as homosexual. They feel trapped by
  their exterior.

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Transsexual operations

• Sex change surgery to effect reassignment is
  sought out by many to this crisis. Transsexual
  operations tend to flow more male to female than
  female to male.(Perhaps this might suggest
  something about our culture)

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Sexual reassignment

• It has been argued that the dramatic choice of
  sexual reassignment is the product of societal
  intolerance. In societies where notions of
  masculine and feminine are more flexibly defined,
  such procedures might seem unnecessary. For
  example, Australia with its rigid gender role
  exceptions has a much higher incidence of sex
  reassignment surgery than Sweden.

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Gender a Societal Construction

• In societies where notions of masculine and
  feminine are more flexibly defined, such
  procedures might seem unnecessary. For example,
  Sambians of New Guinea with its rigid gender role
  exceptions has a much higher incidence of sex
  reassignment surgery than Sweden.

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Transsexuals are individuals who have the
genotype of one sex but are convinced they are in
the wrong body, in other words, they are really
the opposite sex. Transsexuals do not see
themselves as homosexual. They feel trapped by
their exterior. Sex change surgery to effect
reassignment is sought out by many to this
crisis. Transsexual operations tend to flow more
male to female than female to male.(Perhaps this
might suggest something about our culture) It
has been argued that the dramatic choice of
sexual reassignment is the product of societal
intolerance. In societies where notions of
masculine and feminine are more flexibly defined,
such procedures might seem unnecessary. For
example, Australia with its rigid gender role
exceptions has a much higher incidence of sex
reassignment surgery than Sweden.
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Two polar theoretical explanations of Gender

• There are two explanations of sexual orientation
  Essentialist who believe that biological
  disposition or the core self develops in early
  life.

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Social constructionist

• The social constructionist who believes that
  heterosexuality and homosexuality are matters of
  mere definition that vary across time and place

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The Institution of the Family-Patriarchy and
Gender

• Structural Approach-essentialist
• Social Exchange Theory-essentialist
• Social Conflict Theory-constructionist
• Symbolic Interactionist-constructionist

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Sexual Orientation as a Social Construct

• Prior to groundbreaking research of Alfred
  Kinsey, the research literature equated sexual
  orientation with the essence of that person...
• Sexual Behavior in the Human Male 1948,
• Sexual Behavior in the Human Female 1953.

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Biology vs. Construction

• Kinsey criticized the rigid dichotomization of
  homosexual vs. heterosexual. He proposed that
  sexual behavior existed on a continuum.
• Categories of sexuality are not predetermined or
  universal.

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Feminist Approaches to the Study of Gender
Inequality

•  1.  Liberal Feminism -seeks to make incremental
  changes to legislation and piecemeal changes in
  attitudes. Aim is working towards gender
  equality. An example is Margrit Eichler and her
  concept monolithic bias, she uses this to
  influence piecemeal changes to family law 

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Socialist/Marxist Feminism-

• 2.Marxist Feminists believe that gender
  inequality was given an added boost by the
  capitalist mode of production.

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Marxist Feminism 4 points

• Capitalism separates home and work,
• The public and the private spheres
• Womens sphere is the private domestic sphere,
  her labour in the home is devalued.
• The solution is transformation of the capitalism

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Socialist/Marxist Feminists

•  An example is M.Barret and Mary McIntosh, The
  Anti-Social Family
• Shows that the bourgeoisie use family to promotes
  an Ideology of Familialism that affects all
  institution in this culture. 

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Radical Feminists

• Radical Feminists     - Believe gender
  stratification is not just the result of
  capitalism.
• The problem is capitalism and patriarchy.
• Patriarchy is much more pervasive and
  historical..ie. Traditional religion-patriarchy.

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Suzanne Keller/S. Firestone

• Firestone, The dialectic of sex The case for
  feminist revolution (1972).
• Suzanne Keller, Ðoes the Family Have a Future
  (1971) each contend that radical changes are
  required before women will have equality.

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Minority Anti Racist

• Race, Class and Gender must be examined
  together.
• The experiences of white, middle class women
  are not universal and monolithic. Carol Stack
  (1974) research into impoverished Black Families
  in Southern U.S.

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  Post Modernist Feminism

• 5.   - Seeks to deconstruct old theories on
  family.
• Modernist theorizes are grand narratives which
  limit understanding.
• Emphasis should be on uniqueness and diversity.
   Jane Flax (1981) Thinking Fragments
  Psychoanalysis, Feminism, and Postmodernism in
  the Contemporary West

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Feminist Concerns

• Five Key
• 1. Social construction gender
• 2. Social Change
• 3. Family
• 4. Social theory
• 5. Social Justice

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Social Construction Gender

• The central concept of feminist theory is the
  social construction of gender.
• Feminists all critique the essentialist view of
  gender and family
• Ie. T. Parsons-instrumental and expressive
  rolenuclear family.

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Commit to Social Change

• 2. Feminists are committed to gender equality and
  social change.
• It is an analysis of womens subordination for
  the purpose of figuring out how to change it.

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Feminists question the family The personal is
political

• Feminist theories question the family
• Capitalism and patriarchy thrive upon
  traditional family (father as provider, mother as
  homemaker)
• Nuclear family fits industrial societyinvisible
  labour in the home

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Feminist theory

• Feminist theory emphasizes womens lives and
  their experiences. The emphasis is upon putting
  on a new set of glasses.
• For example, they do not study fathering unless
  the construction of gender is the central
  concept.

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Feminism and Social Justice

• 4.     Feminist theorists and researcher put
  their beliefs into action.
• 5. Barbra Allen was one of the first who put
  into practice a feminist pedagogy.

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Feminist Sociology History

• First Wave-Suffragettes Maternal
• Second Wave-Civil Rights late 60s and beyond-has
  various branches.
• Third Wave-1990s-more inclusive

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Research

• Socialization is not as important as social
  stratification
• THE SYSTEM (capitalism) IS DESIGNED BY MEN
  (patriarchal) and is UNFAIR!!

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Summary

• By the 1980's, writers identified liberal,
  radical and socialist feminism.
• Important points to remember about the feminist
  approach to family and gender  
• The central concept of feminist theory is the
  social construction of gender.   

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