Social Construction Of Gender Essay

There is a huge debate going on today about gender. Society believes you’re a boy if you like blue, and like to play sports and go hunting; and you’re a girl if you like pink and have long hair and pig tails and play with Barbie dolls. Society has forced us to choose between the two. I believe that both women and men can both have it all. As Dorment says, ‘competing work life balance and home as much as women’. (Dorment 697) I believe in this article Richard Dorment, has argued his opinion very well, I think both men and woman equally need to be involved in housework as well as taking care of the children. In today’s world were judging who were going to be even before were born. Throughout this article Dorment effectively convinces his audience that men and women should be equal by using statistics and emotional stories, Dorment uses personal stories and extensive research to make readers believe in his credibility, and lastly Dorment employs the rhetorical appeals of pathos and ethos effectively.

Social reproduction refers to the continuous intergenerational physically and emotionally exhausting household labour that is needed to maintain life (Trotz, lecture, Jan 13, 2016). This kind of labour though is considered to be a woman’s duty. Since an economic activity happens where there is a market, social reproduction is not considered as one as it doesn’t have a visible market. Even though, it doesn’t have market value, domestic work greatly contribute to the economy (Waring, 2013). Since this work is done in homes and by women who are usually marginalized, it remains invisible and thus not considered for pay. This kind of work depends on the traditional division of labour in which women are seen as housewives while men, breadwinners. Thus, the gendering of social reproduction is a result of “doing gender,” where women’s abilities to be mothers are naturalized (Coltrane, 1989); in other words, women are made to fit into the simplistic “domestic = family = heterosexual woman = care and love” equation (Manalansan & Martin, 2008, p.2), while any man who does the caring work in a family is feminized and considered a lesser man (Coltrane, 1989).Thus, a woman’s femininity depends on her motherhood while a man’s masculinity depends on “not doing mother’s work” (Coltrane, 1989, p.473).

Throughout history, women are made to seem unintelligent and helpless and men are seen as the only ones entitled to power. This injustice is present in the media all the time. What is not typically shown is the great injustice that men face when dealing with the social norms, that ‘all they can do is work’. These stigmatisms not only places restrictions on women and their opportunities, but also place similar restrictions on men. The ideas addressed in “Dads of Tech”, “Data’s Work is Never Done”, and “Paternity Leave: The Rewards and the Remaining Stigma” provide an insight into both perspectives.

Continuing on with the discussion on working-class occupation and masculinity, Paul Willis (1977) conducted research and wrote an article on why working-class kids get working-class jobs. The 12 working-class 'lads ' that Willis (1977) interviewed were all from a town in England, that was largely industrial, called Hammertown. Willis (1977) witnessed a distinct counter-culture towards the school and what Willis calls 'learning labour '. The argument that is put forward in the article is that the 'lads ' rejected the 'learning labour ' not because they had bad experiences in school, but instead because it was seen as feminine (Willis, P., 1977). Thus 'lads ' demonstrated stereotypical views of working-class males masculinity. They believed that manual labour and working physically hard is an expression of male masculinity (ibid). The article does also share an idea that the lads conform to the ideas that are shared by the leader or others members of the group (ibid). This conforming to social groups does give us a valuable insight to the possible reason why working-class males get working-class masculine jobs. Linking in with Joan Acker 's (2006) work on inequality regimes, Willis (1977) does make reference to companies praying on lads, similar to the ones he interviewed, who are from working-class backgrounds and share the lads masculine ideas, to work in their low-skilled factories. However, the 'lads ' did not see this as them being exploited by the organisations,

The physical body has been seen as many things both positive and negative. It can be thought of as the temple which houses the soul or can be seen as entrapping, like a cage of flesh. More often it seems that the body, especially women’s bodies, are looked at in more complicated ways than the bodies of men. As I grew up, it began to feel more and more like my body, and the bodies of other women, did not actually belong to us like we believed. Through my Women’s Studies class I have gained more knowledge on the body as a political object. In this essay I will examine six different articles with the similar theme of women’s bodies, the expression of those bodies and how by using feminism as a political standpoint they gain power and ownership of their bodies.

Another example of structure and agency is the influence of gender. Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women (Willis & Elmer 2008, pp.85-91). The concept of men recognised as the breadwinner and as the main financial provider in the family (Hobson 2002, p. 174). In Ernie’s case, he has lost his job. Therefore he may have no self-confident as a leader in his family because he earns nothing. In his family, the husband has been the breadwinner; that trend is changing as his wife, Gloria start to support family’s finance. Moreover, he may be condemned as being lazy and labelled simply as a ‘scrounger’ in the social structure (Clegg 1990, pp.406-408). Ernie’s situation does not match his ideas about masculinity. As a result, the

6. In his article, “Home Economics: The Link Between Work-Life Balance and Income Equality,” Ross MacDonald discusses how life of the working father has changed because of feminism.

(furze) Stereotypes are so ingrained into our social environment that often they aren’t seen as stereotypes but as ‘the way things are’. (lips) Society shapes men to believe within the family unit, they must be the ‘bread winner’ and provide financial and economically support for the family while the woman do domestic housework and care for any children. Connell refers to this as production relations; the division of labour allocated to men and women based on their gender roles. While society is becoming more accepting of men who choose to stay become stay-at-home dads, it is not yet a commonly seen practise. Males often seek high status careers such as architects, doctors and engineers to exert their masculinity. Personally, I come from a traditional nuclear family where my mother stayed at home and cared for my siblings and I, and my father went out to work and support the family. I feel if I had grown up as a male, my father would be influential and inspiring role model. Drawing from family influence and Connell’s construction of production relations, as a male I would feel obligated by society to work and financially support my family just as my father had

Out of the whole list of current global issues, gender inequality is one of the concealed matters, either to the public or for the most part men made work environments. Masculine society categorized men as dominant, careless, angry, and egoistic. On the contrary, Feminine society is customarily thought of as having common characteristics, like being caring, supportive, fragile, and relationship oriented. By examining masculinity and femininity through the lens of performing gender on socially constructed gender codes, Rosalind Barnett, a social researcher and analyst in her text, “Women and Work: Where Are We, Where Did We Come From, and Where Are We Going? ” aims to dismantle socially assigned gender

During the fourth week of class, we discussed the connection that capitalism has to the reinforcement of feminine domestic ideals. It is the way that labour is organized in contemporary Canadian society, along with the values that are connected with this economic system that perpetuate ideals surrounding labour and gender roles. Examples of these are ideals surrounding marriage and women’s work in the home. When speaking about capitalism, Marxist ideas are often brought up. Marxist analysis looks at the relations of production, between those who own the means of production, and those who do not (Rahman & Jackson, 2010, p. 67). Marxist feminists use this as a starting point. Instead of looking at the relations between the bourgeoise or capitalist class and the proletariat or working class though, Marxist feminists look at women’s exploited labour under male domination, seeing women as a ‘class’ of exploited workers (Rahman & Jackson, 2010, p. 67).

Ueno first discusses gender bias in the modern family system and its roots in the Ie System. There is a dynamic contrast between the “public sphere”, a nationwide grouping of individuals, and the “private sphere”, the small grouping of individuals, particularly the nuclear family. Ueno argues, however, that the meaning of the private sphere is totally different between men and women. This is because while men find an emotional shelter from the “public sphere” of competition, women find yet another workplace where they are expected to provide care and love. She recounts that when feminists made this point clear, there was a resounding backlash from the sociologist community which had an interest in keeping the family system. Ueno is implying here that Ie system has trapped women into the role of caregiver

Gendered logics are embedded in the taken for granted practices and assumptions of the workplace. The notion of hegemonic masculinity is the standard to which subordinate men and women are live up to and are compared in relation to. Power and privilege are consequently allotted to and maintained by the dominant group. “Thus occupations and organizations are important arenas in which masculinities are defined and maintained and challenged” (Lupton 2010). This illustrates that men are concerned with preserving their identities as being masculine. Since historically men were required to earn a family wage to support his family, the workplace is where men prove their manhood. But those men that enter female sex typed jobs have their reputations as ‘men’ harmed. While safeguarding their male gender identity, men leverage their position as a dominant group to acquire privileges that their female counterparts are excluded from. Rather then being an oppressed group, men who venture over the line into sex typed female jobs sit in an advantaged arrangement.

8). The traditional views of gender roles are indeed quite different from the modern views. The men in society are the bread-winners where as the women take care of the children and home. There are basic and common work roles, however in terms of behaviour and involvement there are gender role distinctions. The sex roles generally play out in modern society as well, some sex roles and stereotypes for girls are that they are “nonaggressive, nonathletic, emotionally expressive, tender, domestic, and nurturing. Boys on the other hand are “aggressive, value achievement, attain goals through conflict, and work towards monetary success” (Whicker and Kronenfeld, 1986; pp. 8). The males in the society are “emotionally anesthetised, aggressive, physically tough and daring, unwilling or unable to give nurturance to a child” (Lewis and Sussman, 1986; pp. 1). These traits are carried out by this particular gender mostly outside the society to demonstrate their strength. Those individuals who ignore to carry out these personality traits are seen as weak and unmanly. The women on the other hand are given the responsibility of looking after the family and are supposed to have the opposite personality traits. For instance a woman can show emotions but not outside of the family because of the shame that would bring to the

Until the 1970s women were the ones that were in charge of child care, you wouldn’t see men out shopping for baby food or pushing strollers because it would threaten their “masculinity”, as where now a days it not only common but expect. Sociologists aren’t surprised more men are choosing to be single parents seeing as they are now coming

We are branded with a gender as far back as the second we are born. Looking into history, the different conduct of men and women has echoed gendered perceptions of public and private space. This importance is wholly fitting; what is astounding is the length of time it took for gender to find its equitable place within sociological thinking. Despite the fact there had been effort done on ‘sex roles’ prior to the 1970s, this was on the edge to sociology’s main concern. The revival of feminism in the 1970s changed the state of affairs, thought-provoking the androcentric interpretation of the world which had triumphed for a vast period of time. It was fundamental to the feminist scheme to pawn the supposition that present changes between women and men were intended by nature. The notion of gender was implemented in order to highlight the social construction of masculinity and femininity and the social organisation of relations amid women and men. Since not every person expresses and customs the term ‘gender’ in exactly the same way. Gender as sociologists outline a ranked separation between women and men entrenched in in cooperation of social institutions and social practices. Consequently, gender is a social structural phenomenon but is also produced, negotiated and continued at the level of everyday interaction. Feminism and feminists recognise that gender inequalities happen in society and they rate chance that improves gender equality, (Belknap, The Invisible Woman: Gender,