The central theme of symbolic interactionism is that human life is lived in the symbolic domain. Symbols are culturally derived social objects having shared meanings that are created and maintained in social interaction.
Through language and communication, symbols provide the means by which reality is constructed. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Press ESC to cancel. Skip to content Home Social studies What is the sociological definition of gender? Social studies. Ben Davis December 30, What is the sociological definition of gender? Lack of bodily autonomy. Poor medical care. Lack of religious freedom.
Lack of political representation. Gender inequality affects everyone, including men Women with disabilities Women with disabilities are more likely to experience family violence and sexual assault. They are more likely to be unemployed or underemployed. They are paid less than men with disabilities and women without disabilities. Main page Sociology tips Socioligy in life Sociological practice Today tips Take a look at the similar writing assignments Essay What do Functionalists believe about true gender?
Get a writing assignment done or a free consulting with qualified academic writer. Read also What is medical sociology quizlet? What is UW Madison known for? What is a Credentialism? What is a latent function of education? How do I get a promo code for wish? What is race ethnicity and nationality? What is the main difference between interpersonal and institutional sexism? What kind of relationship exists between multiple organisms? To classify this continuum of heterosexuality and homosexuality, Kinsey created a six-point rating scale that ranges from exclusively heterosexual to exclusively homosexual see Figure Sedgwick recognized that in North American culture, males are subject to a clear divide between the two sides of this continuum, whereas females enjoy more fluidity.
This can be illustrated by the way women in Canada can express homosocial feelings nonsexual regard for people of the same sex through hugging, handholding, and physical closeness. In contrast, Canadian males refrain from these expressions since they violate the heteronormative expectation.
While women experience a flexible norming of variations of behaviour that spans the heterosocial-homosocial spectrum, male behaviour is subject to strong social sanction if it veers into homosocial territory because of societal homophobia Sedgwick There is no scientific consensus regarding the exact reasons why an individual holds a heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual orientation.
There has been research conducted to study the possible genetic, hormonal, developmental, social, and cultural influences on sexual orientation, but there has been no evidence that links sexual orientation to one factor APA Research, however, does present evidence showing that homosexuals and bisexuals are treated differently than heterosexuals in schools, the workplace, and the military.
The Canadian Climate Survey reported that 59 percent of LGBT lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered high school students had been subject to verbal harassment at school compared to 7 percent of non-LGBT students, 25 percent had been subject to physical harassment compared to 8 percent of non-LGBT students, 31 percent had been subject to cyber-bullying via internet or text messaging compared to 8 percent of non-LGBT students, 73 percent felt unsafe at school compared to 20 percent of non-LGBT students, and 51 percent felt unaccepted at school compared to 19 percent of non-LGBT students Taylor and Peter Much of this discrimination is based on stereotypes, misinformation, and homophobia , an extreme or irrational aversion to homosexuals.
Major policies to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation have not come into effect until the last few years. In the federal government legalized same-sex marriage. The Canadian Human Rights Act was amended in to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, including the unequal treatment of gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals. Organizations such as Egale Canada Equality for Gays And Lesbians Everywhere advocate for LGBT rights, establish gay pride organizations in Canadian communities, and promote gay-straight alliance support groups in schools.
As we grow, we learn how to behave from those around us. In this socialization process, children are introduced to certain roles that are typically linked to their biological sex.
These roles are based on norms, or standards, created by society. In Canadian culture, masculine roles are usually associated with strength, aggression, and dominance, while feminine roles are usually associated with passivity, nurturing, and subordination.
Role learning starts with socialization at birth. Even today, our society is quick to outfit male infants in blue and girls in pink, even applying these colour-coded gender labels while a baby is in the womb. One way children learn gender roles is through play. Parents typically supply boys with trucks, toy guns, and superhero paraphernalia, which are active toys that promote motor skills, aggression, and solitary play.
Girls are often given dolls and dress-up apparel that foster nurturing, social proximity, and role play. The drive to adhere to masculine and feminine gender roles continues later in life. Men tend to outnumber women in professions such as law enforcement, the military, and politics. Women tend to outnumber men in care-related occupations such as child care, health care, and social work.
Adherence to them demonstrates fulfillment of social expectations but not necessarily personal preference Diamond Canadian society allows for some level of flexibility when it comes to acting out gender roles.
To a certain extent, men can assume some feminine roles and women can assume some masculine roles without interfering with their gender identity. Individuals who identify with the role that is the opposite of their biological sex are called transgendered. Transgendered males, for example, have such a strong emotional and psychological connection to the feminine aspects of society that they identify their gender as female.
The parallel connection to masculinity exists for transgendered females. It is difficult to determine the prevalence of transgenderism in society. Statistics Canada states that they have neither the definitive number of people whose sexual orientation is lesbian, gay, or bisexual, nor the number of people who are transgendered Statistics Canada However, it is estimated that 2 to 5 percent of the U.
Transgendered individuals who wish to alter their bodies through medical interventions such as surgery and hormonal therapy—so that their physical being is better aligned with gender identity—are called transsexuals.
Not all transgendered individuals choose to alter their bodies: many will maintain their original anatomy but may present themselves to society as the opposite gender. This is typically done by adopting the dress, hairstyle, mannerisms, or other characteristic typically assigned to the opposite gender. It is important to note that people who cross-dress, or wear clothing that is traditionally assigned to opposite gender, are not necessarily transgendered.
There is no single, conclusive explanation for why people are transgendered. Transgendered expressions and experiences are so diverse that it is difficult to identify their origin. Some hypotheses suggest biological factors such as genetics or prenatal hormone levels as well as social and cultural factors such as childhood and adulthood experiences.
It is known, however, that transgendered and transsexual individuals experience discrimination based on their gender identity. People who identify as transgendered are twice as likely to experience assault or discrimination as non-transgendered individuals; they are also one and a half times more likely to experience intimidation National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs These organizations hope that by educating the public about gender identity and empowering transgendered and transsexual individuals, this violence will end.
What if you had to live as the opposite sex? If you are a man, imagine that you were forced to wear frilly dresses, dainty shoes, and makeup to special occasions, and you were expected to enjoy romantic comedies and glamour reality shows.
If you are a woman, imagine that you were forced to wear shapeless clothing, put only minimal effort into your personal appearance, not show emotion, and watch countless hours of sporting events and sports-related commentary.
It would be pretty uncomfortable, right? Well, maybe not. Many people enjoy participating in activities that are typically associated with the opposite sex and would not mind if some of the cultural expectations for men and women were loosened. Now, imagine that when you look at your body in the mirror, you feel disconnected. As you get older, you hate the way your body is changing, and, therefore, you hate yourself. These elements of disconnect and shame are important to understand when discussing transgendered individuals.
Fortunately, sociological studies pave the way for a deeper and more empirically grounded understanding of transgendered experience.
Aggressive behaviour, when it does not inflict significant harm, is often accepted from boys and men because it is congruent with the cultural script for masculinity. Just as a playwright expects actors to adhere to a prescribed script, society expects women and men to behave according to the expectations of their respective gender role.
Scripts are generally learned through a process known as socialization , which teaches people to behave according to social norms.
Children learn at a young age that there are distinct expectations for boys and girls. Cross-cultural studies reveal that children are aware of gender roles by age two or three.
At four or five, most children are firmly entrenched in culturally appropriate gender roles Kane Children acquire these roles through socialization, a process in which people learn to behave in a particular way as dictated by societal values, beliefs, and attitudes. For example, society often views riding a motorcycle as a masculine activity and, therefore, considers it to be part of the male gender role. Attitudes such as this are typically based on stereotypes, oversimplified notions about members of a group.
Gender stereotyping involves overgeneralizing about the attitudes, traits, or behaviour patterns of women or men. For example, women may be thought of as too timid or weak to ride a motorcycle.
Gender stereotypes form the basis of sexism. Sexism refers to prejudiced beliefs that value one sex over another. Sexism varies in its level of severity. In parts of the world where women are strongly undervalued, young girls may not be given the same access to nutrition, health care, and education as boys.
While illegal in Canada when practised as discrimination, unequal treatment of women continues to pervade social life. It should be noted that discrimination based on sex occurs at both the micro- and macro-levels.
Many sociologists focus on discrimination that is built into the social structure; this type of discrimination is known as institutional discrimination Pincus Gender socialization occurs through four major agents of socialization: family, education, peer groups, and mass media.
Each agent reinforces gender roles by creating and maintaining normative expectations for gender-specific behaviour. Exposure also occurs through secondary agents such as religion and the workplace. Repeated exposure to these agents over time leads men and women into a false sense that they are acting naturally rather than following a socially constructed role.
Family is the first agent of socialization. There is considerable evidence that parents socialize sons and daughters differently. Generally speaking, girls are given more latitude to step outside of their prescribed gender role Coltrane and Adams ; Kimmel ; Raffaelli and Ontai However, differential socialization typically results in greater privileges afforded to boys.
For instance, sons are allowed more autonomy and independence at an earlier age than daughters. They may be given fewer restrictions on appropriate clothing, dating habits, or curfew. Sons are also often free from performing domestic duties such as cleaning or cooking and other household tasks that are considered feminine. Daughters are limited by their expectation to be passive, nurturing, and generally obedient, and to assume many of the domestic responsibilities.
Even when parents set gender equality as a goal, there may be underlying indications of inequality. For example, when dividing up household chores, boys may be asked to take out the garbage or perform other tasks that require strength or toughness, while girls may be asked to fold laundry or perform duties that require neatness and care.
It has been found that fathers are firmer in their expectations for gender conformity than are mothers, and their expectations are stronger for sons than they are for daughters Kimmel This is true in many types of activities, including preference of toys, play styles, discipline, chores, and personal achievements. It should be noted that parental socialization and normative expectations vary along lines of social class, race, and ethnicity. Research in the United States has shown that African American families, for instance, are more likely than Caucasians to model an egalitarian role structure for their children Staples and Boulin Johnson The reinforcement of gender roles and stereotypes continues once a child reaches school age.
Until very recently, schools were rather explicit in their efforts to stratify boys and girls. The first step toward stratification was segregation. Girls were encouraged to take home economics or humanities courses and boys to take shop, math, and science courses.
Studies suggest that gender socialization still occurs in schools today, perhaps in less obvious forms Lips Teachers may not even realize that they are acting in ways that reproduce gender-differentiated behaviour patterns. Yet, any time they ask students to arrange their seats or line up according to gender, teachers are asserting that boys and girls should be treated differently Thorne Even in levels as low as kindergarten, schools subtly convey messages to girls indicating that they are less intelligent or less important than boys.
For example, in a study involving teacher responses to male and female students, data indicated that teachers praised male students far more than their female counterparts. Additionally, teachers interrupted girls more and gave boys more opportunities to expand on their ideas Sadker and Sadker Further, in social as well as academic situations, teachers have traditionally positioned boys and girls oppositionally—reinforcing a sense of competition rather than collaboration Thorne Boys are also permitted a greater degree of freedom regarding rule-breaking or minor acts of deviance, whereas girls are expected to follow rules carefully and to adopt an obedient posture Ready Mimicking the actions of significant others is the first step in the development of a separate sense of self Mead Like adults, children become agents who actively facilitate and apply normative gender expectations to those around them.
When children do not conform to the appropriate gender role, they may face negative sanctions such as being criticized or marginalized by their peers. Though many of these sanctions are informal, they can be quite severe. Boys, especially, are subject to intense ridicule for gender nonconformity Coltrane and Adams ; Kimmel Mass media serves as another significant agent of gender socialization. In television and movies, women tend to have less significant roles and are often portrayed as wives or mothers.
When women are given a lead role, they are often one of two extremes: a wholesome, saint-like figure or a malevolent, hypersexual figure Etaugh and Bridges Research indicates that of the top-grossing G-rated movies released between and , three out of four characters were male. Out of those movies, only seven were near being gender balanced, with a character ratio of less than 1. Television commercials and other forms of advertising also reinforce inequality and gender-based stereotypes.
Women are almost exclusively present in ads promoting cooking, cleaning, or child care—related products Davis Think about the last time you saw a man star in a dishwasher or laundry detergent commercial. In general, women are underrepresented in roles that involve leadership, intelligence, or a balanced psyche.
Of particular concern is the depiction of women in ways that are dehumanizing, especially in music videos. Even in mainstream advertising, however, themes intermingling violence and sexuality are quite common Kilbourne Stratification refers to a system in which groups of people experience unequal access to basic, yet highly valuable, social resources.
Canada is characterized by gender stratification as well as stratification of race, income, occupation, and the like. Evidence of gender stratification is especially keen within the economic realm. Despite women making up nearly half 48 percent of payroll employment, men vastly outnumber them in authoritative, powerful, and, therefore, high-earning jobs Statistics Canada However, as one report noted, if the gender gap in wages continues to close at the same glacial rate, women will not earn the same as men until the year McInturff Additionally, women who are in the paid labour force still do the majority of the unpaid work at home.
In women spent an average 50 hours a week looking after children compared to This double duty keeps working women in a subordinate role in the family structure Hochschild and Machung Gender stratification through the division of labour is not exclusively North American.
When a pattern appears in all societies, it is called a cultural universal. While the phenomenon of assigning work by gender is universal, its specifics are not. The same task is not assigned to either men or women worldwide.
There is a long history of gender stratification in Canada. When looking to the past, it would appear that society has made great strides in terms of abolishing some of the most blatant forms of gender inequality see timeline below but underlying effects of male dominance still permeate many aspects of society.
Sociological theories serve to guide the research process and offer a means for interpreting research data and explaining social phenomena. For example, a sociologist interested in gender stratification in education may study why middle-school girls are more likely than their male counterparts to fall behind grade-level expectations in math and science.
Another scholar might investigate why women are underrepresented in political office, while another might examine how women members of Parliament are treated by their male counterparts in meetings.
Structural functionalism provided one of the most important perspectives of sociological research in the 20th century and has been a major influence on research in the social sciences, including gender studies.
Viewing the family as the most integral component of society, assumptions about gender roles within marriage assume a prominent place in this perspective. Functionalists argue that gender roles were established well before the preindustrial era when men typically took care of responsibilities outside of the home, such as hunting, and women typically took care of the domestic responsibilities in or around the home.
These roles were considered functional because women were often limited by the physical restraints of pregnancy and nursing and unable to leave the home for long periods of time. Once established, these roles were passed on to subsequent generations since they served as an effective means of keeping the family system functioning properly. When changes occurred in the social and economic climate of Canada during World War II, changes in the family structure also occurred.
Many women had to assume the role of breadwinner or modern hunter and gatherer alongside their domestic role in order to stabilize a rapidly changing society. When the men returned from war and wanted to reclaim their jobs, society fell into a state of imbalance, as many women did not want to forfeit their wage-earning positions Hawke Talcott Parsons argued that the contradiction between occupational roles and kinship roles of men and women in North America created tension or strain on individuals as they tried to adapt to the conflicting norms or requirements.
The division of traditional middle-class gender roles within the family—the husband as breadwinner and wife as homemaker—was functional for him because the roles were complementary. They enabled a clear division of labour between spouses, which ensured that the ongoing functional needs of the family were being met. Within the North American kinship system, wives and husbands roles were equally valued according to Parsons.
As a result, Parson theorized that these tensions would lead women to become expressive specialists in order to claim prestige e. According to critical sociology, society is structured by relations of power and domination among social groups e. When sociologists examine gender from this perspective, we can view men as the dominant group and women as the subordinate group. According to critical sociology, social problems and contradictions are created when dominant groups exploit or oppress subordinate groups.
It is difficult for women to rise above men, as dominant group members create the rules for success and opportunity in society Farrington and Chertok Friedrich Engels, a German sociologist, studied family structure and gender roles. Engels suggested that the same owner-worker relationship seen in the labour force is also seen in the household, with women assuming the role of the proletariat. Women are therefore doubly exploited in capitalist society, both when they work outside the home and when they work within the home.
Contemporary critical sociologists suggest that when women become wage earners, they can gain power in the family structure and create more democratic arrangements in the home, although they may still carry the majority of the domestic burden, as noted earlier Risman and Johnson-Sumerford Feminist theory is a type of critical sociology that examines inequalities in gender-related issues. It uses the critical approach to examine the maintenance of gender roles and inequalities.
Radical feminism, in particular, considers the role of the family in perpetuating male dominance. Additionally, women often perceive a disconnect between their personal experiences and the way the world is represented by society as a whole. Dorothy Smith referred to this phenomenon as bifurcated consciousness Smith There are two modes of knowing, experiencing, and acting that are directly at odds with one another Smith Patriarchal perspectives and arrangements, widespread and taken for granted, are built into the relations of ruling.
As a result, not only do women find it difficult to find their experiences acknowledged in the wider patriarchal culture, their viewpoints also tend to be silenced or marginalized to the point of being discredited or considered invalid.
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