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Social and cultural construction of gender
Gender and the workplace in modern society
Gender and the workplace in modern society
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Feminist Theories: The Oppression of Women at Home and in the Workplace Due to Gender Stratification “One is not born a woman, but instead one becomes a woman,” claims sociologist Simone de Beauvoir (as cited in Zaretsky). Similarly, sociologist Judith Butler argues that “gender is less a biological fact than a social fiction” (Zaretsky). Another sociologist, Berk, makes a similar claim, arguing that the family is where you first learn how to do gender in compliance with societal norms; the creation and functioning of a family perpetuates society (Berk). These arguments, based on the works of Jacques Lacan and Michel Foucault, are rooted in the idea that “what we assume to be essential human characteristics are instead malleable traits fashioned by social habits,” or the idea that characteristics we assign to gender are socially-constructed, as opposed to biologically predetermined (Zaretsky). With these culturally constructed gender roles, however, comes gender stratification. In the United States, for example, women are generally free to do as they please as it is becoming less the social norm to participate in traditional gender roles, though there is still a double standard in society and the workplace. Even the act of marriage itself has rituals that assign specific gender roles, including the bridge being ‘given away’ to her husband, and her being expected to take his last name. This also continues into marriage, where the wife is traditionally assigned to the home, and in charge of doing the cooking and caring for the children. In other countries, such as India and Saudi Arabia, however, women are discriminated against by the government, which aids in the maintenance of strict gender roles in society. Using the... ... middle of paper ... ...pe Family Care." The New York Times 17 Sept. 2012, sec. Ecnomix: n. pag. Print. Mathison, Dirk. "n Patriarchal Saudi Arabia, a Woman's Place Is Still in the Home, Not at the Front." People 10 Sept. 1990: n. pag. Web. Ritzer, George. Modern sociological theory. 5th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2000. Print. Suad, Joseph. Women and power in the Middle East. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001. Print. woman suffrage: In the United States, 1776–1959. Map. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Web. 26 Feb. 2014. . Zaretsky, Robert. "Down with Gender Theory! ; in America, It's an Academic Discipline. in France, It Brings Angry People to the Streets. by Robert Zaretsky." The Boston Globe 2 Mar. 2014: n. pag. Print.
Gender roles between men and women remains somewhat the same and never changing to the flow of the society. Women remains tvhe homemaker of the household while men continue to be the breadwinner of the family. With the continuation of stereotyping gender roles, women continues to lose grounds against men in this society. Even though women has secured a place within the society, they still remain responsible for their duties as daughters, wives, and mothers. The role of women and men remain constrain to the scope of the traditional gender roles and continues to be practice by families who continues to value traditional roles. However, the practice of traditional roles are old-fashioned and unfair to women’s individuality and should evolved into
Seen as sexist and oppressive societies – girls have no value if they are not married, women should obey orders from men
Gender by many scholars is deemed to be socially constructed although there is much debate to whether this is actually the case. Simone De Beauvoir (1973: 301) famously claimed that ‘One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman’. In this undisputed text de Beauvoir argues that women are not born a woman. Instead they have to develop feminine behaviours and traits in order to become a woman implying they were not always a woman. It is not the case that nature causes women to be feminine and men to act in a masculine way. Society has constructed it to be this way. Kate Millet also takes a gender socialisation view. Arguing that one’s gender has nothing to do with their biological makeup instead it depends on their culture
As Lorber explores in her essay “Night to His Day”: The Social Construction of Gender, “most people find it hard to believe that gender is constantly created and re-created out of human interaction, out of social life, and is the texture and order of that social life” (Lorber 1). This article was very intriguing because I thought of my gender as my sex but they are not the same. Lorber has tried to prove that gender has a different meaning that what is usually perceived of through ordinary connotation. Gender is the “role” we are given, or the role we give to ourselves. Throughout the article it is obvious that we are to act appropriately according to the norms and society has power over us to make us conform. As a member of a gender an individual is pushed to conform to social expectations of his/her group.
Sultana, A. M. “Patriarchy and Women’s Gender Ideology: A Socio-Cultural Perspective.” Journal of Social Sciences 6.1 (2010): 123-126. Print.
"It's the culture, not the religion," is a Saudi saying.[19] At least according to some (Library of Congress) customs of the Arabian peninsula also play a part in women's place in Saudi society. The peninsula is the ancestral home of patriarchal, nomadic tribes, in which separation of
Society created the role of gender and created an emphasis on the differences between the two genders. Alma Gottlieb states: “biological inevitability of the sex organs comes to stand for a perceived inevitability of social roles, expectations, and meanings” (Gottlieb, 167). Sex is the scientific acknowledgment that men and women are biologically different; gender stems from society’s formation of roles assigned to each sex and the emphasis of the differences between the two sexes. The creation of meanings centers on the expectations of the roles each sex should fill; society creates cultural norms that perpetuate these creations. Gender blurs the lines between the differences created by nature and those created by society (Gottlieb, 168); gender is the cultural expectations of sexes, with meaning assigned to the diff...
Gender roles play a large part within a marriage as well. As explained in our text, there are many roles for men and women involved in the beginning a marriage. Just in the act of courting and proposal, common customs include bride service (man must work for his bride’s family either before or after marriage), bridewealth (goods presented by the groom’s kin to the bride’s kin to seal a marriage), or the giving of a dowry, in which the bride’s kin gives the groom’s kin goods (Nanda, Serena, and Richard L. Warms 161-162). Within American society, the gender roles are quite stratified. Although times are changing, there is still a great deal of stress put on women to stay in the home and for men to be the breadwinners. This is related to what our text calls the private/public dichotomy, in which women’s status is lowered due to their association with childbearing and homemaking while men’s status is heightened by being linked with power and economy (Nanda, Serena, and Richard L. Warms 192). This also relates to the “How to be a Good Wife” scenarios we read for class, in which a 1950’s housewife is compared to a modern housewife. These scenarios prove just how much has changed within the last half-century or so pertaining to women’s rights. However, while women in the workplace are much more common nowadays, there is still a very heavy weight put on wives to be both mothers and working women. As discussed in Society: The Basics, by John Macionis, many working mothers today experience what is known as the “second shift”: “As women have entered the labor force, the amount of housework women do has gone down, but the share done by women has stayed the same…[women] do significantly more housework than men” (Macionis, John J. 281)...
Gender stratification is the cuts across all aspects of social life and social classes. It refers to the inequality distribution of wealth, power and privilege between men and women at the basis of their sex. The world has been divided and organized by gender, which are the behavioural differences between men and women that are culturally learnt (Appelbaum & Chambliss, 1997:218). The society is in fact historically shaped by males and the issue regarding the fact has been publicly reverberating through society for decades and now is still a debatably hot topic. Men and women have different roles and these sex roles, defined to be the set of behaviour’s and characteristics that are standard for each gender in a society (Singleton, 1987) are deemed to be proper in the eyes of the society. They are as a matter of fact proper but as time move on, the mind-set of women changes as well, women also want to move on. However the institutional stratification by the society has become more insidious that the stereotypical roles have created a huge barrier between men and women. These barriers has affected women in many aspects such as minimizing their access on a more superior position in workforce organization, limits their ownership of property and discriminates them from receiving better attention and care.
Gender Inequality at a Workplace Historically, males and females normally assume different kinds of jobs with varying wages in the workplace. These apparent disparities are widely recognized and experienced across the globe, and the most general justification for these differences is that they are the direct outcomes of discrimination or traditional gender beliefs—that women are the caregivers and men are the earners. However, at the turn of the new century, women have revolutionized their roles in the labor market. Specifically in industrialized societies, the social and economic position of women has shifted. Despite the improving participation of women in the labor force and their ameliorating proficiency and qualifications, the labor force is still not so favorable to women.
Gender inequality is “the unfair treatment of an applicant or employee because of the person’s sex”. Gender inequality or gender discrimination is illegal. Gender inequality did not only start in the workplace. It began before that. In history women were always expected to be the ones at home taking care of children, while the men were the breadwinners of the family.
For decades women have been fighting for political inequalities, and other broader range of inequalities such as those in the workplace, the family and reproductive rights. The feminist perspective recognizes that women are not only victims of inequality but that they also suffer from oppression due to their race, gender and even their role in society. For the purpose of this argument, we are going to focus on the feminist perspective’s concept of oppression of women in marriage. The feminist perspective is defined “as being the view that inequality in women’s roles is the result of male dominance in the family and in society” (Williams, B. K., Sawyer, S. C., Wahlstorm, C. M., 2013). That is, the view of the gender-stereotypical way of marriage.
Which gender is more privileged in today’s society men or women? This question has There seems to be inequality when it comes to both genders being granted their privileges. Gender inequality refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals based on their gender. Numerous individuals today face different kinds of privileges due to their gender. Many find themselves struggling in today’s society for several reasons such as gender differences or how society views each gender as a whole. This has been a conflict that has affected many generations.
From a radical theory of feminism, fundamental changes are in need in order to improve the position of women. Nowadays, women still face inequalities and multiple forms of discriminations. Society considers women by nature inferior to men. In fact, social institutions have reinforced these beliefs, which limit the opportunities for women. A current problem in the feminist ideology reduces the chances of moving toward a better position for all women, because feminist groups do not represent all types of women, and these groups are very middle class and very Western. Furthermore, problems on a personal level contribute to gender inequality. Women receive sexist remarks and undergo sexual objectification in media, which reduces their opportunities
In western society males are taught what it means to be masculine and females are taught what it means to be feminine. Lorber (1994:57) states “Individuals are born sexed but not gendered, and they have to be taught to be masculine or feminine.” As we grow older we are taught what is expected of us on the basis of what gender were identify as and/or what gender other people perceive us as. For instance, a woman is expected to cook, clean, and have occupations such as a nurse, or secretary. A man is expected to have be either have top jobs such as a surgeon or have a tough labor jobs, and be the bread winners. Western society expects each gender to stay within their gender role. Lorber (1994:61) argues “As, a structure, gender divides work in the home and in economic production…” Once an individual goes outside these expectations breaking they are out casted. Gender is a process that creates what is man and what woman based off of what other perceive what is expected of and should be expressed by each gender, making gender socially constructed. Lorber (1994:60) argues “As a process, gender creates the social differences that define ‘women’ and ‘man.’ In social interaction throughout their lives, individuals learn what is expected, and see what is expected act and