SOCIOLOGY OF GENDER

• INTRODUCTION: Gender is a social construct

specifying the socially and culturally prescribed roles
that men and women are to follow.
• Sex and Gender
• Sex: biological differences between males and females
• Refers to who we are as males and females
• Gender: the social and cultural significance we attach to
those presumed biological differences
• Refers to what we become as men and women, which
occurs through socialization
 Traditional Gender Characteristicsfeminine and masculine

 Submissive dominant
 Dependent independent
 Emotional rational
 Receptive assertive
 Intuitive analytical
 Timid brave
 Passive active
 sensitive insensitive
• The biological fact of sex has created much
differences between man and women.
• The aims and objectives, desires and aspirations,
duties and responsibilities, dress styles behavioral
patterns, roles and statuses of men and women are
different.
• No where in the history of humanity we could see
men and women have treated equally.
• Subjected to inequality, discrimination, exploitation.
• Gender refers to the social relationship/roles
and responsibilities ,of men and women , the
expectation held about the characteristics
aptitudes and likely behaviors of both
women and men(feminity and masculinity)
that are learned, change over time and vary
within and between cultures
 DEFINITIONS
• GERDA LERNER in her book creation of
patriarch says that gender is the costume , a
mask, a straight jacket in which men and
women dance their unequal dance.
• Gender is a sociological construct which refers
to identities and expectations associated with
the biological categories of males and females
• Basically the term gender refers to culturally
based expectations of the roles and behaviour
of males and females.
 SOCIOLOGY OF WOMEN
• According to the feminist, most of the theories
suggest that women’s role is
NATURAL( Biologically determined) ------
• Role only to bear and look after children
• And if women disagree with their role as wives
or mothers------ then theory assumes that there
is something wrong with women, or they are
not fully biologically women or mentally ill
• In 1960s and 1970 – women began to express
their feelings
• Experiences were ignored
• World only from the perspective of men
• Feminist social scientist arise
• Existing theories to be challenged and
explained by women
• Attempt to reformulate
 FEMINIST CRITIQUE OF SOCIOLOGY

• CRITIC: failure to understand from women’s

point of view.
• To speak to the experiences of women
• Male bias
• Feminist to examine this issue
ANNE OAKLEY -3 EXPLANATIONS FOR SEXISM
IN SOCIOLOGY
• 1.Sociology has been biased from its origin

• 2. sociology is predominantly a male

profession

• 3. ideology of gender results in the world

being constructed in particular ways
 CRITICISMS BY FEMINISTS
• Sociology is concerned with RESEARCH on
men and by IMPLICATION WITH THEORIES
FOR MEN
• Research findings based only on all male
samples are generalized to whole of the
population
• Areas and issues of women are frequently
overlooked, unimportant
• A women’s research is always distorted and
sexist.
 PUBLIC SPHERE AND PRIVATE SPHERE

• PUBLIC SPHERE BY MAN

• PRIVATE SHERE BY WOMEN
• Due socio economic changes which gave room
for factory system, more political participation
and production where only man took place
was called public sphere
• Reproduction, woman’s place is his home
associated domestic relationship sphere.
• Sociology is concerned with RESEARCH on men
and by IMPLICATION WITH THEORIES FOR MEN---
• Theory and research should be from female
point of view.
• According to feminist as men are always
dominant and priviliged position .
• As women always occupy subordinate position
not able to challenge the social order.
• Research findings based only on all male samples
are generalized to whole of the population
• Feminist argue that gender is a social
construction,socialiation of boys and girls is so
different.
• When girls do not conform they are ridiculed,
when boys display feminine traits referred as
sissies, girls behave masculine referred as
tomboys
 FEMINISTS ARGUMENT
• Need to develop new tools , new concepts,
new theories to investigate the public world of
men.key issues to be researched and
explained.
• .1.why don’t men look after children?
• 2. why do men have leisure?
• Research are inadequate for investigating
women lives
• Women should be included in research
activities
• Female ethnographers to conduct studies.