The Social Construction of

Gender
Gender is an underlying characteristic all societies and the social construction of
gender roles, behaviors and expectations is an importance aspect of modern
society. Seeking to understand how gender is constructed and how gender
expectations influence our lives, this essay will provide an in-depth analysis of how
gender is constructed.
Furthermore, we will discuss sex and gender and the role gender plays in modern
American society with a focus on the social implications of sexism. Finally, we will
conclude with a summation of the research explored here and discuss the
ramifications of gender role construction today.

Unlike sex, gender is artificially imposed and although based upon biological
differences between men and women, gender is socially constructed. As a social
construct, gender roles, behaviors, attitudes and expectations are created by society
and enforced by social norms.

The funny thing about gender is that we are led to believe that it is innate and
something that we are born with. As Aaron Devor so eloquently points out in his
ground-breaking and incredibly illuminating essay, “Gender Role, Behavior and
Attitudes”, gender is created, acquired and constructed by the greater society at
large. Sex has a biological basis and is predetermined at birth.

Gender, on the other hand, is a social construction and gender roles and
expectations are unique to each and every society. As social actors, individuals play
an important role in the construction and creation of gender roles, attitudes and
expectations and are not simply passive recipients of societal expectations about
how men and women are to behave (Devor 458-463).
In his lucid analysis in the construction of gender, Aaron Devor explores the socially
constructed nature of gender in modern society and persuasively argues for a
reevaluation of traditional gender role expectations in modern society.

Seeking to dispel the myths surrounding sex and gender, this author persuasively
argues that a gender hierarchy is embedded within our society and unmasks the
argument for the naturalness of gender roles, behaviors and expectations.

Asserting that gender roles are created and not innate, he argues that the
naturalness argument for gender has not biological basis and is a social
construction. Our society is organized under a patriarchal gender schema in which
men and women, as dichotomous members of the gender hierarchy, are situated on
opposite ends of the schema.

While we are taught from a very young age to believe that gender differences are
normal and natural, Devor actually asserts that a power imbalance underlies the
gender hierarchy so prevalent in our society and informs our beliefs about gender
(Devor 458-463).

Patriarchy is defined as a type of social structure in which men are perceived as

being superior to women and it is impossible to understand the construction of
gender roles and expectations in modern Western society without first understanding
the omnipresent patriarchal nature of our society.

Patriarchy is subconscious and not universal. In fact matriarchy, a society which is

structured with women at the helm, has been found in places as diverse as Latin
America, India and parts of Africa (Amadiume 1997). Despite the global diversity,
modern Western culture is characterized by its patriarchal nature and this has
important implications in a variety of social realms.
Social stratification can be explained by the gender hierarchy. Female job ghettos
including those of teacher, nurse and librarian tend to be overpopulated with women
and characterized by low wages and low prestige. Interestingly, Devor points out that
these jobs tend to be based upon the same characteristics which are viewed as
innate to women.

Feminine qualities like caring and nurturing are found in job descriptions for
employment in the ‘pink collar ghetto’ of daycare workers, elementary school
teachers and nurses. Gender role expectations are also explained through social
cues such as body posture and demeanor, speech patterns, style of dress.

The nature of these cues lends credence to the argument that gender is socially
constructed and the way that we talk, they way we carry ourselves and the types of
clothes that we wear are all determined by social forces. You would be hard pressed
to find someone say today that women wear dresses because they have a biological
need to do so; this would be an example of sex stereotypes and sexism (Devor 460-
463).

Accordingly, sexism is a scourge in American society which affects the overall quality
of life for women today. Sexism is the belief that one sex is superior to the other and
generally implies ideas about superiority and inferiority between sex and gender.

While some societies are characterized as being matriarchal, much of Western

society is patriarchal and the United States in no exception. The patriarchal nature of
American society is explained by a variety of social and historical factors which are
beyond the scope of this assignment.

Nonetheless, while women in American have made incredible gains in the social,
economic, cultural and political spheres over the past century, sexism remains a
prevalent aspect of our society. Sexism is the result of social construction of gender
in society and the while it can be overt, latent or suppressed, it exists and has a
variety of wide social repercussions.

Accordingly, women in American earn less than their male counterparts and the
employment mobility of women is often hindered by preconceived ideas about
sexuality and the economic roles that women can play in the modern world.
Anthropologists and cultural theorists have written for years about a “pink ghetto”, in
which women are regulated to a sector of the labour market which is poorly
remunerated and oftentimes unrewarding.

Ideas about “women’s work” force women into so called female-ghettos in which
women predominate and their upward social mobility is hindered by preconceived
notions of what women can (and should) do. Accordingly, there is also an invisible
“glass ceiling” which limits the future job prospects of women in American society
and their future earning power.

Looking at the medical sector again, a profession formerly limited to men, the New
England Journal of Medicine reports that as in “young male physicians earned 41%
more per year than young female physicians” (Baker, 960). Is this the result sexism,
either latent or overt? Although it is difficult to say, it is important to remember that
these disparities do in fact exist and have real world implications.

Concluding Remarks
Aaron Devor’s arguments in “Gender Role, Behavior and Attitudes” persuasively
argue that gender is socially constructed and culturally specific. Accordingly, gender
role expectations are largely a product of social forces and are the result of systemic
power imbalances with our society. These expectations and attitudes serve to
reinforces discrimination based upon gender and are socially constructed.

The social construction of gender influences of behaviors, roles, attitudes and

expectations and because of the hierarchical nature of gender in our society,
masculinity becomes superior and femininity is deemed to be inferior. Because of a
socially enforced gender code, our engrained ideas about gender are incredibly
difficult to change.

We are all products of our own individual societies and we subconsciously impart the
ideas and beliefs which make up our cultures. Ideas about gender roles are
subsequently often unquestioned since they are perceived to be so integral to our
understanding of how the world works. Understanding that gender is a construction
is perhaps the first step in breaking free from the bonds of gender.

References
Amadiume, I. (1997). Re-inventing Africa: Matriarchy, Religion, and Culture. London:
Zed Books.

Baker, L C. (1996). Differences in Earnings between Male and Female

Physicians. New England Journal of Medicine. 334.15: 960-964.

Devor, A. (1993). “Gender Role, Behavior and Attitudes”. Annual Review of Sex

Research, 7, 44-89.

Devor, A. (1997). “Toward a Taxonomy of Gendered Sexuality.” Journal of

Psychology and Human Sexuality, 6(1), 23-55.

hooks, bell. 1981. Ain’t I a Woman? Black Women and Feminism. Boston: South
End Press.