Social Misconceptions Of The Social Construction Of Gender

Social construction is the “idea that the social world consists of a number of shared understandings – about what it means to be, say, male or female, rich or poor – that humans have reached and reinforced over time” (Tepperman 2015). One of the most common misconceptions held by the layman is that sex, gender, and sexuality are somewhat completely synonymous and relatable terms. However, from a purely sociological and psychological point of view the two terms have different interpretations and meanings in terms of a context. That context is from where we have opened our essay, that is, Social Construction. Sex is a universal term used to describe a social differentiation between male and female since ages. This differentiation is based on

Basically, in simpler terms, gender by which we view men and female according to set social standards of behavior not just physical appearance. This where the study of the term sexuality and gendered and sexualized roles comes into the limelight and plays an intriguing role in the debate concerning the social construction of gender. This essay aims to open and explain the on-going debate on how gender, sex and sexuality are socially constructed and highlight the learned differences in gendered and sexualized roles that exist in the society. According to the coursework provided to us in the course, social construction of gender is looked at through multiple theories and sociological terminologies. These include perspectives of Functionalism, Conflict theory, Symbolic Interactionism, and

As studied in the course textbook, social interactionism is a study of society based upon interaction among individuals. It is a belief the social processes evolve from human interactions form the crux of the study of sociology. These interactions must be meaningful and of a substantial nature. This study is of an extreme relevance particularly in terms of the social construction of gender because daily interactions between the masculine and the feminine is what determines the respective viewpoint held by the two genders of each other. For example. “How young women become commoditized as sex objects. They also want to understand how the sexual double-standard, which has allowed men more sexual freedom than women, has been negotiated so that many women go along with an agenda that benefits men over women. One example of this is the defining of sexual freedom as men’s free access to women.” (Tepperman 2015). Interactionist studies also point us to the hypocrisies in which the world views gender. Interactionist view is that the social problems that surround sexual activity are also a result of social