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How gender and sexuality are socially constructed
How gender and sexuality are socially constructed
Karl Marx theory on capitalism
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Sociology is the study of societies. Sociology analyses the various social phenomena, such as ethnicity, gender, and sexuality, to gain a better understanding of the dominating values [and 'norms'] that underpin a society’s function and provides an individual with a sense of belonging or attachment. This insight into human behaviour, both as an individual and as part of a group, has been the foundation for sociological thinking in the past and is still relevant in understanding the present and future. This essay is broken into three main points - the history; legacy systems and thinking; and institutions role in modern society - to support sociology's role in helping us to understand 'sex, gender, and sexualities' as important social phenomena.
Holmes, Hughes and Julian (2012, pg 22) introduce us to Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, and Karl Marx - the three prominent social thinkers of the 19th century. Through their respective works, we are presented with ‘social integration, social inequality and social reproduction’ as the three models that are still highly relevant in sociological studies today. Durkheim, Weber, and Marx each used historical, critical and comparative methodologies to support their theories. Today, these methodologies, when employed together, are known as the ‘sociological imagination’. The sociological imagination provides meaning to the history that created the current configuration; compares the circumstances from the past and present; and critically analyses how these meanings affect an individual in their current environment (Holmes, Hughes; and Julian, 2012, pg )
Marx’s theoretical thinking is based on inequality and social reproduction – most evident in his interpretation of capitalism. Generally, we associa...
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...onomic globalization and women's status in the labor market: A cross-national investigation of occupational sex segregation and inequality. Sociological Quarterly, 44(3), 351-383. Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/sociology/docview/234980716/30D720B052324D20PQ/2?accountid=10344
Thelwall .M. (2008), Social networks, gender and friending: An analysis of MySpace member profiles, in Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Volume 59, Issue 8, pp1321-1330. Retrieved from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/doi/10.1002/asi.20835/full Vaux .A. (1985), Variations in Social Support Associated with Gender, Ethnicity, and Age, in Journal of Social Issues, Volume 41, Issue 1, pp 89-110. Retrieved from:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/doi/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1985.tb01118.x/abstract
Marx states that the bourgeoisie not only took advantage of the proletariat through a horrible ratio of wages to labor, but also through other atrocities; he claims that it was common pract...
Essay #1: Sexual Politics It has been said that “Society has always defined for us what it means to be a man and what it means to be a woman, what a man should be like and what a woman should be like, and these traditional definitions of gender roles have limited and even harmed individuals”. The theme of sexual politics comes to mind in this quote. One can define sexual politics as the relationship of the sexes, male and female, regarding power. Society’s definition of this can limit an individual in their gender role and restrain a person from being themselves.
Introduction Three thinkers form the foundations of modern-day sociological thinking. Émile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Max Weber. Each developed different theoretical approaches to help us understand the way societies function, and how we are determined by society. This essay will focus on the contrasts and similarities between Durkheim and Weber’s thoughts on how we are determined by society. It will then go on to argue that Weber provides us with the best account of modern life.
ABSTRACT: I defend the continued viability of Marx's critique of capitalism against Ronald Aronson's recent claim that because Marxists are 'unable to point to a social class or movement' away from capitalism, Marxism is 'over' 'as a project of historical transformation.' First, Marx's account of the forced extraction of surplus labor remains true. It constitutes an indictment of the process of capital accumulation because defenses of capitalism's right to profit based on productive contribution are weak. If generalized, the current cooperative movement, well advanced in many nations, can displace capitalism and thus counts as the movement Aronson challenges Marxists to point to. It will do this, I argue, by stopping capitalist exploitation, blocking capital accumulation, and narrowing class divisions. But in defending Marx by pointing to the cooperative movement, we have diverged from Marx's essentially political strategy for bringing about socialism onto an economic one of support for tendencies toward workplace democracy worldwide.
Karl Marx noted that society was highly stratified in that most of the individuals in society, those who worked the hardest, were also the ones who received the least from the benefits of their labor. In reaction to this observation, Karl Marx wrote The Communist Manifesto where he described a new society, a more perfect society, a communist society. Marx envisioned a society, in which all property is held in common, that is a society in which one individual did not receive more than another, but in which all individuals shared in the benefits of collective labor (Marx #11, p. 262). In order to accomplish such a task Marx needed to find a relationship between the individual and society that accounted for social change. For Marx such relationship was from the historical mode of production, through the exploits of wage labor, and thus the individual’s relationship to the mode of production (Marx #11, p. 256).
Desfor Edles, Laura and Scott Appelrouth. 2010. “Émile Durkheim (1858-1917).” Pp. 100 and 122-134 in Sociological Theory in the Classical Era. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
In his Manifesto of the Communist Party Karl Marx created a radical theory revolving not around the man made institution of government itself, but around the ever present guiding vice of man that is materialism and the economic classes that stemmed from it. By unfolding the relat...
Manago, Adriana M., Taylor, Tamara, Greenfield, Patricia M. (2012). Me and My 400 Friends: The Anatomy of College Students’ Facebook Networks, Their Communication Patterns, and Well-Being. In Developmental Psychology, Vol. 48, No. 2, 369-380. American Psychological Association (2012). Web. 25 May 2015.
Kendal, Diana. "Sex and Gender." Sociology in Our Times 3.Ed. Joanna Cotton. Scarborough: Nelson Thomson, 2004. 339-367
Sociology is a branch of social science that examines human social life, groups and societies. Sociology allows people to appreciate what society’s do, why they behave in a particular manner, and how history, politics and culture has impacted the way societies live. The ideas mentioned have been effectively examined in the extract “The Sociological Imagination” (Charles Wright Mills, 1959). In “The Sociological Imagination”, C.W. Mills distinguishes between private troubles and public issues, and communicates how these aspects are formed by history. C.W. Mills utilises several examples, such as marriage, war and unemployment to illustrate how history has impacted individuals and larger society. As a result of private troubles and public issues, C.W. Mills claims that individuals often feel trapped, even in the twenty-first century.
Marx’s critique of capitalism was written more than a hundred and fifty years ago; however, its value and insight are still extremely relevant to the twenty-first century. In order for us to maintain mixed-market capitalism, ensuring ethics in businesses and stability in growth, all of us need to read and understand Marx’s critique.
According to Marx class is determined by property associations not by revenue or status. It is determined by allocation and utilization, which represent the production and power relations of class. Marx’s differentiate one class from another rooted on two criteria: possession of the means of production and control of the labor power of others. The major class groups are the capitalist also known as bourgeoisie and the workers or proletariat. The capitalist own the means of production and purchase the labor power of others. Proletariat is the laboring lower class. They are the ones who sell their own labor power. Class conflict to possess power over the means of production is the powerful force behind social growth.
Gender and sexuality can be comprehended through social science. Social science is “the study of human society and of individual relationships in and to society” (free dictionary, 2009). The study of social science deals with different aspects of society such as politics, economics, and the social aspects of society. Gender identity is closely interlinked with social science as it is based on an identity of an individual in the society. Sexuality is “the condition of being characterized and distinguished by sex” (free dictionary, 2009). There are different gender identities such as male, female, gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual that exists all around the world. There is inequality in gender identities and dominance of a male regardless of which sexuality they fall under. The males are superior over the females and gays superior over the lesbians, however it different depending on the place and circumstances. This paper will look at the gender roles and stereotypes, social policy, and homosexuality from a modern and a traditional society perspective. The three different areas will be compared by the two different societies to understand how much changes has occurred and whether or not anything has really changed. In general a traditional society is more conservative where as a modern society is fundamentally liberal. This is to say that a traditional society lists certain roles depending on the gender and there are stereotypes that are connected with the genders. One must obey the one that is dominant and make decisions. On the other hand, a modern society is lenient, It accepts the individual’s identity and sexuality. There is no inequality and everyone in the society is to be seen as individuals not a part of a family unit...
The Sociological Contribution of Karl Marx to an Understanding of Contemporary Society. This essay will discuss how the Karl Marx contributed his knowledge to the understanding of contemporary society. Karl Marx is often referred to. as the ‘intellectual father of modern day Marxist economics’.
Karl Marx had very strong viewpoints in regards to capitalism, making him a great candidate for this assignment. People constantly debate over whether his ideologies held any grain of truth to them. I believe that although not everything Marx predicted in his writings has come true (yet), he was definitely right on about a lot of issues. As a matter of fact, his teachings can definitely be applied to today’s society. This paper will give a summary of Marx’s political philosophy. It will also discuss a contemporary issue: the current economic crisis— and how Marx believed racism played a crucial a role in it. Finally, through the lens he has developed, I will explain how Marx would analyze this issue and how one can argue that it spurred the current movement known as Occupy Wall Street.