05: The Social Construction of Gender Relations: Sociological and Feminist Perspectives Flashcards
sociological imagination
private troubles vs. public issues
in relation to the sociological imagination, according to c.w. mills we must also develop
historical imagination
anthropological imagination
critical awareness
social constructionist perspectives
an analysis of difference, power, and the institutional dimensions of gender -> variations
what’s wrong with sex roles and sex theory?
- use of ‘role’ has the effect of actually minimizing the importance of gender
- puts forth singular normative definitions of masculinity and femininity
- puts forth two separate spheres like farm cattle
- ignores the fact that because gender is plural and relational, it is also situational
- depoliticizes gender, makes gender a set of individual attributes and not an aspect of social structure
- inadequate in comprehending the dynamics of change
power and domination
whereas other theories explain male domination as the result of sex differences, social constructionism explains differences as the result of domination; all theories of gender must explain both gender and domination.
how institutions are gendered
- construction of gender division lines i.e. division of labour
- construction of symbols and images that explain, express, reinforce, or sometimes oppose those division
- interactions between women and men, women and women, men and men, including all those patterns that enact dominance and submission
- gender is implicated in the fundamental, ongoing processes of creating and conceptualizing social structures
sex category
achieved through application of the sex criteria, but in every day life, categorization is established and sustained by the socially required identificatory displays that proclaim one’s membership in one of the other category
“doing gender” - the interactionist approach
gender is not only something done to us; we create and re-create our own gendered idnetities within the contexts of our interactions with others and within the institutions that we inhabit
first-wave feminism
emphasized women’s legal status and eventually suffrage
second-wave feminism
developed in industralized societies
men’s movement
initially focused on men’s liberation movement, now includes both pro feminist and anti feminist groups; describes movements of men seeking changes
third-wave feminism
critiques what it sees as the universalizing tendencies of second-wave feminism and incorporates the insights of post-modern, post-colonial, and multiracial feminisms
also insists on a ‘positive’ view of sexuality
how the men’s movement went in 3 diff directions
- some men’s groups continued to support feminism -> pro-feminist men groups emerged though less prominent than others
- men’s rights movement drew on idea of ‘symmetry of oppression’ which argued both men and women are oppressed by the sex-role system. arguing male privilege was a myth
- mythopoetic/new men’s movement = segment of men’s movement focusing on reclaiming archetypal and mythical forms of masculinity through poetry, literature, and ritual
liberal feminism
main branch of feminism defined by its focus on achieving gender equality through political and legal reform within the framework of liberal democracy; liberal feminism: “anything you can do i can do as well”i.e. if im doing the same amount of work men are doing i should be paid the same amount
liberal feminism does not challenge the system — which is exactly why it’s the most powerful form of feminism (not asking to change capitalism, just asking to fit us in to this broken system
radical feminism
radical reordering of society in which male supremacy is eliminated in all social and economic contexts, while recognizing that women’s experiences are also affected by other social divisions such as in race, class, and sexual orientation.
