Comparative Analysis Of Strategies And Views Of Katha Pollitt And Aaron Devor

Sharma and Sharma (2012) argue that gender equality reinforces the attitude and practice of fair and reasonable distribution of resources and prospects to men and women. It promotes equal opportunities for men and women in any social congregation. The distinctive property with which one is born not preserves gender differentiation. However, the human world images created real and virtual gender images to narrow role specification functions.

In her article, Emily Martin discusses how society reshapes natural biological processes based on gender stereotypes. That these stereotypes believe that women’s biological processes are inferior to men and they are overall less worthy. Emily Martins goal in writing this article is to reveal the different gender stereotypes in regards to the scientific language of biology. And in return, she hopes to change the influence they have on the general population. She believes that it is human nature to take gender roles and apply them to certain situations as if they are fact. She thinks that this change was brought upon based on human socio economic forces.

The concept of gender identity can only be formed within society because it reflects social expectations and beliefs regarding gender roles in certain historical period. Several centuries ago women were expected to get married early and concentrate totally on housekeeping, family, and religion. Women were regarded as opposite to men, less intelligent and incapable to be in charge of themselves. They were not allowed to own property, vote on elections, and hold leading positions. Fortunately, the development of civilization and democratization of society resulted in women becoming more equal and free from many humiliating stereotypes. After a famous quote of Simona de Beauvoir “one is not born a woman, but rather becomes, a woman” feminists directed their critique to traditional women`s subordination to men which was built upon structuralists` theories and biological determinism (Beauvoir, 2011). Since then the discussions about sex as of cultural construct do not cease. It seems that it is impossible to argue with a nature which divided men and women with the help of different chromosomes: XX for female and XY for male. Scientific proof that female and male genders are conditioned and not as opposite as it seemed came with the research data from hormones study: it was revealed that both male and female contain hormones of both sexes Judith Butler, another important feminist writer, gave a new impact to feminism studies with her book “Gender Trouble: Feminism

Gender roles have played a major part in society. According to the book “The Psyche of Feminism” “A gender role is a theoretical construct in the social sciences that refers to a set of social and behavioral norms that are considered to be socially appropriate

Gender refers to the socially constructed categories of feminine and masculine. It is one of the major factors in social difference and inequality in today’s society. Gender inequality refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals based on their gender. It arises from differences in socially constructed gender roles. Using a paragraph based approach I intend to individually analyse various aspects of gender differences referencing to the theory of socialisation and also making links to the works of Marx, Durkham and Goffman. My essay will cover different aspects of gender inequalities still present in today’s contemporary society.

In present day all around the world, society has certain expectations for the actions and behaviors of males and females. There are many factors in our everyday lives that contribute to the gender norms that society has set. This essay will discuss how situations in life can play a part in how people treat other people based on their gender. It is believed that males are the leaders of our world, but in present day woman can do as much as men can do. From The Journal of Marriage and Family, Hu states, “Differentiated gender roles in adulthood are rooted in one’s gender role socialization. In order to understand the persistence of gender inequalities in the domestic sphere, we need to examine the gendered patterns of children’s housework time.”(2015, P.1). Gender roles are society’s expectations of the proper behavior, attitudes, and activities of males and females that they must be taught. These roles define how females and males are viewed in society, their household, and workplace. In The Journal of Sports behavior by Hardin, he states, “Although gender role differences from biological and “Natural” exists in popular consciousness, research has long demonstrated that instead, many are long time socially constructed… Individuals understand their gender because they are given names and treated in particular ways, such as dress in pink for girls and blue for boys, that reflect social construction of gender. Bandura's social cognitive theory is key in understanding the factors in socialization”(2009, P.3). Bandura's theory of of social cognition is that behavior, environmental events, and cognitive factors are the main keys that shape attitudes and actions of an individual. Although, gender roles play a very big part in our society, specific genders are treated differently while dealing with peer influence, media influence, as well as employment.

Feminism is a theory which begs to understand the nature of gender equality in theoretical or philosophical situations. It would be examined on how the genders work in society, social systems and structures

He helps his audience see how easy it is to naturally assume that dominance is the stronger trait, when in fact all characteristics are neutral. Society determines which characteristics are positive, negative, stronger or weaker. Devor uses scientific research to show how society’s definition of male and female characteristics “flow inevitably from evolutionary and biological sources.” (Devor 476). He argues that “feminine characteristics are thought to be intrinsic to the female facility for childbirth and breastfeeding,” forcing them to be more passive, attentive and communal. This, along with the female’s “‘natural’ dependency on men for the maintenance of the mother-child unit” gives them the title of “weaker sex” (Devor 476). Devor’s research clarifies that, from a strictly scientific perspective, men and women harbor a mutualistic relationship where the man must protect the woman, who is critically responsible for the birth and maintenance of his offspring. From a biological perspective, the two possess complementary character traits, making them equally important variables in this genetic relationship. Yet, somewhere along the lines, this evolutionary relationship seeped into modern day society, introducing the belief that the female social position is “biologically mandated to be intertwined with the care of children and a ‘natural dependency on men” (476). The modern

This books focuses on things that influence gender roles such as Sociological Perspectives, Social Stratification , Sex and Gender, Race, Ethnicity and Nationality, Poverty and Social Exclusion , Crime and Deviance, Religion , Families and Households, Power, Politics and the State, Work, Unemployment and Leisure, Organisations and Bureaucracy, Education, Culture and Identity and Methodology.

Women are humans, humans with emotions and the need for self expression. The men, throughout history, have degraded the female sex, they have always seen women as objects and a machine that helps reproduce and carry on their blood. Society formed the ‘perfect’ role for women and it was expected that they follow it. They were expected to be the loving, responsible, obedient, stay at home wives. Due to such an inequitable lifestyle given to women, they decided to fight for equality and defend their gender. They will later be known as feminists. According to Literary and Cultural Theory by Donald Hall, feminists focal point is to investigate the various ways women have been limited to social power and the liberty to self

Feminine characteristics are thought to be intrinsic to the female facility for childbirth and breast-feeding. Hence, it is popularly believed that the social position of females is biologically mandated to be intertwined with the care of children and a 'natural' dependency on men for the maintenance of mother-child units."

The nurture argument can explain why some people adopt the gender role not expected of their sex. In theory, a feminine boy would have had a set of experiences which have led him to acquire a different gender role from most boys. If gender roles are nurtured, it also explains why an individual’s gender may change over time as anything that is learnt can be unlearnt and replaced by a new set of behaviours.

It is only recently that sociology has begun to explore the topic of gender. Before this, inequalities within society were based primarily on factors such as social class and status. This paper will discuss gender itself: what makes us who we are and how we are represented. It will also explore discrimination towards women throughout history, focusing mainly on women and the right to vote, inequalities between males and females in the work place and how gender is represented in the media.

The term gender refers to the characteristics of a person despite the person’s biological sex. Gender role, which is the focus of sociologists, is the anticipated attitude and behavior that a certain society connects with each sex. With this definition, gender is placed evenly in the sociocultural context. Events that previously occurred had a vital impact on gender roles. Due to this, the study of gender emerged as one of the significant disciplines in the field of sociology in the twentieth century. The gender issues were studied using various research and theory. The research on gender issues provided a testament that all social interactions that occur, and the institutions where they occur, are gendered in one way or the other. Sociologists explain gender roles with respect to various theoretical perspectives. The perspectives are the ways of perceiving social reality that guide the process of research and provide a method for understanding the data. The sociological perspectives on gender roles include functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interaction, and feminist sociological theory (pearsonhighered.com).

The idea of “Feminism” is seen in the eyes of many as “women who want to be more masculine” whenever its true meaning is just women who want equality and the same respect and opportunities that men have. This belief has been built up over time through many different perspectives which is why it had turned into the negative idea of what it is. This idea of “Feminism” affected the social hierarchy and system where people were categorized based upon their sex and the social impact it made created and resolved multiple social issues. The idea of “Feminism” impacted the interactions between men and women and the morals of society and through this created power in women as well introduce a long needed new peace amongst the sexes.