SOCI 102

GENDER
GENDER

Sex refers to the “physical and biological

differences between men and women.”
Sex is an ascribed status
GENDER
Gender is the “social, psychological, and
cultural attributes of masculinity and
femininity that are based on specific
biological distinctions”
“Masculinity and femininity are culturally
derived” and influences the life course of
males and females
GENDER
Sex is based on a combination of anatomical,
endocrinal, physiological and chromosomal
features, and the selection among these
criteria for sex assignment is based very
much on cultural beliefs about what actually
makes someone male or female
THE CONSTRUCTION OF GENDER
Gender and sex are closely related but not
identical
Gender is the socially recognised/assigned/
enforced set of behaviors tied to sex
While the basics of sex are biologically
universal, gender (sex roles, etc.) vary from
time to time and culture to culture
You are born with your sex, but must (for the
most part) learn your gender
LEARNING YOUR GENDER
The teaching begins early, e.g.
Girl babies are pink, boy babies are blue
Girl babies are treated differently than are boy
babies
They receive different toys
They may not seem to be different in their
behavior without coaching
GENDER
“...labelling someone a man or a woman is a
social decision. We may use scientific
knowledge to help us make the decision, but
only our beliefs about gender – not science –
can define our sex. Furthermore, our beliefs
about gender affect what kinds of knowledge
scientists produce about sex...”
(Anne Fausto-Sterling 2000, p. 3)
GENDER
Sex determination sets the stage for a
lifelong process of gendering, as the child
becomes, and learns how to be male or
female.
Gender is not something we are born with,
and not something we have, but something
we do (West and Zimmerman 1987);
something we perform (Butler 1990).
GENDER SOCIALISATION & GENDER
ROLES
Gender socialisation refers to the learning of
behaviour and attitudes considered
appropriate for a given sex. Boys learn to be
boys and girls learn to be girls. “Learning"
happens by way of many different agents of
socialisation.
GENDER SOCIALISATION
The family is important in reinforcing gender
roles, but so are peers, school, work and the
mass media. Gender roles are reinforced
through "countless subtle and not so subtle
ways“ .
GENDER
Gender refers to the cultural meaning that is
ascribed to a person's sex (generally labeled
masculine or feminine). Masculinity and
femininity are the terms that are often used
to identify a set of characteristics, values, and
meanings related to gender.
Androgyny is the combination of masculine
and feminine characteristics. Gender
ambiguity may be found in fashion, gender
identity, sexual identity, or sexual lifestyle.
GENDER IDENTITY
Gender identity is defined as a personal
conception of oneself as male or female (or
rarely, both or neither).
This concept is closely linked to the
concept of gender role, which is defined as
the outward manifestations of personality
that reflect the gender identity.
Gender performance is viewed in daily
practices, learned and performed based on
cultural norms of femininity and
masculinity.
GENDER SPECTRUM
Male
Female
Transgender. Sometimes used as an umbrella to describe anyone whose
identity or behavior falls outside of stereotypical gender norms. It refers to an
individual whose gender identity does not match their assigned birth gender.
Being transgender does not imply any specific sexual orientation (attraction to
people of a specific gender.) Therefore, transgender people may additionally
identify with a variety of other sexual identities as well.
Sexual Orientation. Term that refers to being romantically or sexually
attracted to people of a specific gender. Our sexual orientation and our gender
identity are separate, distinct parts of our overall identity. Although a child may
not yet be aware of their sexual orientation, they usually have a strong sense of
their gender identity.
Gender Normative/Cisgender. Refers to people whose sex
assignment at birth corresponds to their gender identity and expression.
Gender Fluidity. Gender fluidity is a wider, more flexible range of
gender expression, with interests and behaviors that may even change from day
to day. Gender fluid children do not feel limited to restrictive boundaries of
stereotypical expectations of girls or boys. Therefore, a child may feel they are a
girl some days and a boy on others, or possibly feel that neither term describes
them accurately.
T

TEDtalk: Geena Rocero:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCZCok_u37w
https://youtu.be/qUITqh58SIM
HISTORICAL VIEWS ON GENDER

Auguste Comte on the perfect society:

Women are the mental & physical inferiors of
men
Women are superior in the areas of emotion,
love, & morality. Their gentle nature required
that they stay at home as mothers looking
after children, as wives seeing to their
husbands’ emotional, domestic & sexual
needs
HISTORICAL VIEWS
Women should not be allowed to work
outside of the home, to own property, or have
political power
Equality for women is a social and moral
danger to them
Progress will be best if women are made
more domestic, reducing the “burden of
outdoor” labour
RELIGIOUS VIEWS ON GENDER

“Men are spiritually superior to women who

are dangerous and untrustworthy”.
E.g. The Judeo-Christian religion. Biblical
origin – Adam and Eve describes a
“God-ordained gender role hierarchy”
RELIGIOUS VIEWS

Traditional India – In Hindu religion, women

seen as strongly erotic and as threat to men’s
spirituality
Traditional Islamic law and tradition – Three
groups exempt from religious and legal
authority:
Unbelievers (could become a believer)
Slaves (the slave could become free)
Women (unable to change her status)
SEXUAL DIVISION OF LABOUR

Biological differences between men and

women are the basis for the sexual division of
labour...physical strength of men and
child-bearing by women makes it practical
and efficient
(George Peter Murdock 1949)
SEXUAL DIVISION OF LABOUR
(TALCOTT PARSONS)
Women’s role in the family is expressive,
providing warmth, security and emotional
support, which is necessary for effective
socialisation of the young
Meanwhile, the male breadwinner spends his
day competing in the achievement-oriented
society. This instrumental role led to stress
and anxiety which the expressive female
reduces by providing love, consideration and
understanding...
SEXUAL DIVISION OF LABOUR
(TALCOTT PARSONS)
Clear sexual division of labour is necessary
for the family to operate efficiently as a social
system...instrumental and expressive roles
complemented each other and fostered
family solidarity
GENDER ROLE SOCIALISATION &
CULTURE
There are four ways (Ann Oakley 1974)
1. Manipulation of child’s self-concept – E.g.
girl’s hair and clothing
2. Canalisation – directing boys and girls to
different objects, like toys, to prepare them
for future roles
3. Verbal Appellations – E.g. Good girl, bad boy
– children identify with gender and imitate
adults
4. Different Activities – Reinforcement of
masculinity and femininity: E.g. domestic
tasks, etc.
RADICAL FEMINISM: PATRIARCHY
The belief that men are superior to women
and should control all important aspects of
society
Women are an oppressed group who had to
struggle for their own liberation against their
oppressors, the men
The family is the key institution that
oppresses women. Women are exploited as
unpaid housewives and mothers
Only revolutionary change can bring liberation
Valerie Bryson 1999
RADICAL FEMINISM

“Rape and male violence towards women are

the methods through which men have
secured and maintained their power”
MARXIST AND SOCIALIST FEMINISM

Capitalism is the source of women’s

oppression, and capitalists are the main
beneficiaries.
Women are exploited in paid employment
since their lack of ownership of the means of
production deprives them of power
SOCIALISATION, CULTURE AND GENDER
ROLES
MEDIA
(McQuail 2005: 494)

“… the media can teach norms and values by

way of symbolic reward and punishment for
different kinds of behaviour as represented in
the media
It is a learning process where we all learn how
to behave in certain situations and the
expectations which go with a given role or
status in society.
The media are continually offering pictures of
life and models of behaviour in advance of
actual experience...”
GENDER-ROLE SOCIALISATION
Childhood Socialisation – Gender role
relationships set before birth. Differences
reinforced by siblings, peers, education
system and the mass media
ADOLESCENT SOCIALISATION
Period for establishing sense of identity.
...boys and girls undergo severe emotional
crises ...about who they are and what will they
be...boys are encouraged to pursue paths that
prepare them for occupational
commitments...girls are encouraged to
develop behaviour patterns designed to
attract a suitable mate. It is more difficult for
girls to achieve a positive image in Western
society...
(Erik Erikson 1968)
MEDIA FOR PRESCHOOLERS

Are the gender behaviors in media for

preschoolers stereotypical?
Yes and no
Many educational TV programs are gender neutral
GENDER DIFFERENCES IN
SOCIALISATION
Up to the 1980s, in many families the
socialisation process parents socialised
their daughters to show dependence,
obedience, conformity and domesticity
while boys were encouraged to be
dominant, competitive and self–reliant.
When young children saw their parents
acting out traditional gender roles they
would perceive them as natural and
inevitable leading girls and boys to imagine
their futures as fulltime housewives and
mothers and as fulltime paid employees
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GENDER DIFFERENCES IN
SOCIALISATION
In schools, teachers praised girls for
"feminine qualities" and boys for
"masculine qualities"; boys and girls were
encouraged to choose traditional male and
female subjects and then for traditional
male and female careers.
In certain sections of the mass media [and
especially perhaps in teenage magazines]
girls were encouraged to recognise the
importance of finding "Mr. Right" and
settling down to a life of blissful
domesticity in their traditional
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GENDER DIFFERENTIALS IN SOCIAL
INTERACTION
The way in which men and women interact
continues to change because of changing
gender roles and stereotypical attitudes.
There is “universal expectation” of the kind of
future- kinds of jobs, higher education
choices, marriage, children, etc. Still many
men and women still have significant gender
differences in expectations of how family,
work, and education will be integrated...
GENDER DIFFERENTIALS IN THE
WORKPLACE
Job Discrimination – access to certain
occupations, differential pay scales to men and
women
Glass Ceiling: Unofficially bar to the
promotion of certain types of staff, normally
women. It is called glass because its not
obviously there, but it is in fact.
Glass Escalator -Unofficial fast track
promotion of certain types of staff, usually
men, within an organisation...typical in female
dominated organisations where men seem to
GENDER DIFFERENTIALS IN THE
WORKPLACE

Glass Walls - prevent the lateral/sideways

movement of one type of staff while other
types have no problem.
GENDER AND INTERSECTIONALITY
Concept coined by Kimberle Crenshaw, a feminist describing
the varying aspects of social interactions that influence
gender identity (Mc Call 2005).
Gender is understood to include factors such as race,
class, sexuality, ethnicity that can impact the way an
individual’s identity is formed.
A person’s identity and society’s expectations of them do
not only rest on their sex, but may be influenced by race,
sexuality etc.
Intersectionality recognises the different levels and the
hierarchies of sex and gender. E.g. this approach would
recognise the different power structures between a
Afro-Caribbean, Indo-Caribbean, Mixed or Caucasian
women in the Caribbean or even a homosexual and a
heterosexual male.
Even if they may belong to the same sex, their racial and
sexual identities can affect the way they are positioned in
society