SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM

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 SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM

-aims to understand human behavior

by analyzing the critical role of symbols in
human interaction.

-relevant to the discussion of

masculinity and femininity.
 SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM

 It is very useful to those seeking to understand

the social significance of sex and gender.

 Gender is a social construct: that is, one’s

gender does not need to correspond to one’s
biological sex---but there are strong social
pressures to act in particular ways based on
one’s sex.
 The process of gendering a baby begins almost
immediately after birth.
 The society produces meaning of gender shapes
things like:
 The kinds of toys
 Styles and colors of clothes
 The way we speak to babies and what we tell them
about themselves
 As people who have learned the meaning of
masculine and feminine gender roles and behaviors,
we transmit those to the young through social
interaction.

 All people we interact with on a daily basis play a role

in either reaffirming the meaning of gender that we
already hold or in challenging and reshaping it.
GENDER ROLES
 How a society define how women and men should
think and behave

A man wearing a skirt is seen as more of a rejection of

traditional gender roles than woman wearing pants.

Body language and how people interact with each

other are also part of how people do gender.
 When people perform tasks or possess
characteristics based on the gender role
assigned to them, they are said to be doing
gender.

 This notion is based on the work of West and

Zimmerman argue, we are always “doing
gender”
Ways people do gender?
Example:
 What we wear
 Hairstyle
 Wearing make-up

 Thus, gender is something we do or perform, not

something we are.
 -Women more likely to make eye contact to show their
listening or smile as a way to encourage the speaking
partner.
- Crossing leg is called “lady like”
- whereas if you sit subway with your legs spread out you
might glared that for “man spreading”

 Women are socialize to be differential in conversation.

Society is being conditioned of masculinity and
femininity

 Masculinity associated with power directing

conversation often value more than femininity.

 Everyday interaction focuses on gender

stratification.
 FUNCTIONALISM

In a situation such as making loan:

with a male loan officer- you may state your case
logically by listing all the hard numbers that make you a qualified
applicant as a means of appealing to the analytical
characteristics associated with masculinity

with female loan officer-you may make an emotional

appeal by stating your good intentions as a means of appealing
to the caring characteristics associated with femininity.
 The meanings attached to symbols are socially created and not
natural, and fluid, not static, we act and react to symbols based on the
current assigned meaning
Example “gay”-once meant “cheerful”
- by 1960s – “homosexuals”
- in transition- it mean “careless” or “bright and showing”
(Oxford American Dictionary 2010)
 Functionalist perspective of gender
inequality

The word gay (homosexual) carried a

somewhat negative and unfavorable meaning, 50
years ago
but it has gained more neutral and even
positive connotations.
In other words, both gender and
sexuality are socially constructed.
The social construction of sexuality
-refers to the way in which
socially created definitions about
the cultural appropriateness of
sex-linked behavior shape the way
people see and experience
sexuality.
Reference:
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/alamo-
sociology/chapter/reading-theoretical-perspectives-
on-gender/