Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Women sidelined
Women have been sidelined in history
Historical sociology questions great man
history, Sociology pretends to be about
people when in fact it is about men.
1987 UN Report
A 1987 United Nations report claimed,
women constitute half of the worlds
population, perform nearly 2/3s of it work
hours, receive one tenth of its income, and
own less than one-hundredth of its
property.
Objectification, reification..
Go to a club, what do you witness sex role
stereotypical behaviour.men flashing
their wallets, women selling their
sexuality. Objectification, reification..
Sex Status
-Sex status is biologically determined but
socially constructed. All human
societies make distinctions based on
inborn (ascribed) characteristics of sex,
the physiological distinctions based on
biology and reproductive anatomy that
distinguishes male from female.
. roles
. tasks,
. resources,
. privileges and disadvantages bestowed upon
males and females.
Biological Sex
Sex is made up of several components. In
fact, some babies (2-3%) each year are born
with ambiguous external genitalia. These
babies receive a sexual assignment as one of
the two sexes and if required, surgical
intervention is provided.
. chromosomal sex,
. gondola sex (sexual production organ),
. internal sex organs,
. external genitalia.
Gender: A Continuum?
Transsexuals are individuals who have the
genotype of one sex but are convinced
they are in the wrong body, in other
words, they are really the opposite sex.
Transsexuals do not see themselves as
homosexual. They feel trapped by their
exterior.
Transsexual operations
Sex change surgery to effect
reassignment is sought out by many to
this crisis. Transsexual operations tend to
flow more male to female than female to
male.(Perhaps this might suggest
something about our culture)
Sexual reassignment
It has been argued that the dramatic choice of
sexual reassignment is the product of societal
intolerance. In societies where notions of
masculine and feminine are more flexibly
defined, such procedures might seem
unnecessary. For example, Australia with its
rigid gender role exceptions has a much higher
incidence of sex reassignment surgery than
Sweden.
Social constructionist
The social constructionist who believes
that heterosexuality and homosexuality
are matters of mere definition that vary
across time and place
Structural Approach-essentialist
Social Exchange Theory-essentialist
Social Conflict Theory-constructionist
Symbolic Interactionist-constructionist
Socialist/Marxist Feminists
Radical Feminists
Radical Feminists - Believe gender
stratification is not just the result of
capitalism.
The problem is capitalism and patriarchy.
Patriarchy is much more pervasive and
historical..ie. Traditional religion-patriarchy.
Feminist Concerns
Five Key
1. Social construction gender
2. Social Change
3. Family
4. Social theory
5. Social Justice
Feminist theory
Feminist theory emphasizes womens lives
and their experiences. The emphasis is
upon putting on a new set of glasses.
For example, they do not study fathering
unless the construction of gender is the
central concept.
Research
Socialization is not as important as social
stratification
THE SYSTEM (capitalism) IS DESIGNED
BY MEN (patriarchal) and is UNFAIR!!
Summary
By the 1980's, writers identified liberal, radical
and socialist feminism.
Important points to remember about the feminist
approach to family and gender:
The central concept of feminist theory is the social
construction of gender.