gender Flashcards
summary of theoretical views
functionalism - traditional gender roles are efficient, segregated conjugal roles, breadwinner and housewife roles
postmodernism - fluidity, choice, pick n mix, decline in traditional values
feminism, patriarchal values, increase in equality, restrictions around choice
marxism - choice surrounding gender identity is affected by money eg plastic surgery
gender differences are cultural creations
Mead - research of 3 tribes
Arapesh - tempermant for both males and females that was gentle, responsive and cooperative
Mundugumor - males and females both violent and aggressive
Tchambuli - female and male distinct, females dominant and managerial and male less responsible and more emotionally dependent
therefore not natural and socially constructed
Mead eval
criticised for reporting findings that seemed custom-made for her theory - each culture represented a different type within her theory - downplayed information that may have made her simple classifications untenable
are gender identities based on inequality
feminists - radical and liberal - patriarchy is a construction that puts men in dominant position
radical - gender inequalities exist are most significant forms of exploitation
liberal - more positive about changes regarding gender equality in contemporary society
Judith Butler - gender is a performance - we practice gender roles - people can undermine their gender identity by subversive body acts
socialisation into gender roles leads to stereotypes - hegemonic or dominant identities
Connell - no single version of masculinity or femininity - still hegemonic type based on traditional set of ideas
social change and re-defining gender-role socialisation
experiences of men and women vary greatly - eg class, age - most accounts of gender-role socialisation ignore these
Connolly - ethnic differences - children brought in expectations of masculinity and femininity through the family - asian have more traditional and hegemonic - black girls challenge ideas that boys dominant
pm - ignores choices available to people in construction of identity - many women resist
family
gender role socialisation
oakley - liberal feminist
4 processes
manipulation - boys and girls encouraged to adopt and rewarded for behaviours appropriate for their gender
canalisation - directed to different toys and games - skills reflecting gender roles
verbal appellations - boys and girls exposed to different language - brave boy, sweet girl
domestic activities - imitate role models - leads to differences in learning activities
gender codes
Statham - lead to a social conformity to expectations about appropriate gendered behaviour
by age of 5 - most children acquired clear gender identity
colour codes - blue, pink
appearance codes - jewellery, cosmetics
toy codes - dolls, action toys
play codes - girls more docile
control codes - girls learn to become conformist due to being controlled more tightly
different social control
boys and girls are subjected to differing levels of social control
girls are controlled much more tightly by their parents than boys who are controlled much less
segregated conjugal roles
parsons - nuclear family should contain segregated conjugal roles
warm bath theory - women’s role is to provide warm bath - family act as a metaphorical warm bath
men should assume instrumental role as physically strong and women give birth so predisposed to look after children
eval of segregated conjugal roles
marxist feminists - women’s role esp warm bath theory - role is to serve husband in dealing with harsh realities of capitalist society - takers of shit - ansley
radical feminists - segregated roles not based on efficiency but patriarchy - men have economic power and more freedom of movement
education - gendered hidden curriculum
Francis - attitudes and behaviours taught informally
eg school organisation, subject choice, teacher attitudes and language
eval of hidden curriculum
feminists - changes in achievement of girls especially at GCSE - hidden curriculum still operates to control their identities as being subordinate - school is patriarchal
school
gendered verbal behaviour
Francis - boys dominate talk in mix-sex classrooms - take up teacher-time and use verbal abuse to reinforce masculinity
girl’s identity is dominated and controlled by boys as they control the language usage within the classroom
gendered physical behaviours
Francis - girls passively resist school eg reading or not participating, boys act up in class
girls invisible in the classroom
boys dominate physical space eg sprawling over desks
exercise of patriarchal power
gendered pursuits
Francis
girls - appearance and construction of feministic
Mac an Ghaill - male gaze
boys boasts about sexual conquests
Sue Lees - boys have double standards studs and slags
gendered classroom behaviour
francis - mixed classroom - girls often support boys in clearing up but harassed by boys
often to most self-confident girls who risk undermining masculinity by standing up
girls that do not conform to mainstream expectations ridicules to reinforce male gaze and patriarchal power
role of teacher
Francis - speak to boys and girls differently, different punishments
girls who do not conform - penalised and punished more heavily than boys - ‘boys will be boys’
the media - stereotypical representation
Billington - media traditionally portrayed masculinity as dominant and femininity as subordinate - women rarely shown in high-status occupations
Mulvey - male gaze - lads mags
the media - advertising
media is promoting beauty myth - women should be assessed primarily in terms of appearance
Coughlan - increased sexualisation of images of women eg GTA, pop music
Tebbel - 10 times more adverts and articles about weight loss in women’s magazines than men’s
sex objects, housewives
top grossing 100 hollywood films in 2021
- 41% features woman driving the plot
20th C 54.5% and paramount pictures 50% - top performers with half or more focused on woman protagonists
universal pictures and warner bros - 18.7% and 23.5%
intersectionality
gender and ethnicity less and 1% of top grossing hollywood films between 2007 and 2021
women’s portrayal eval
radical feminists - patriarchal and exploits women as sex objects - media corporations run by men reinforcing patriarchal ideas on what women should look like - male-gaze and using women for profit
liberal feminism - some changes in representation of women - starting to be seen in high-positions
- can lead to stereotypical understanding of identity
peer groups
conformity to stereotypical identities - gain acceptance amongst peers
gendered double standards - sue lees and paul willis
- lads dropped girls and labelled them once had sex
girls who has sex outside of a long-term relationship condemned
encouraging masculine dominance
changes in masculinity - workplace and education
men’s opportunities in society diminishing - underachieving in education, manual work replaced by service sector, dominant position under threat - 2019 62% of divorces initiated by women, equal opporunities
Connell - hegemonic masculinity, marginalised masculinity (crisis of masculinity due to losing jobs, feel at the margins of their identity), complicit masculinity (new man), subordinate masculinity (gay man)
new man - since 1980s - associated with being in touch with feminine side
HOWEVEr - creation of media and through advertising - surveys suggest increase in domestic work is long way off equality
Mac an Ghaill - crisis of masculinity - traditional industries eg coal mining - rapid decline where en gained core identity from work - low self-esteem and status
mac an ghaill’s features of crisis of masculinity
decline in traditional male jobs
decline in importance of traditional male role in the family
decline of male power and influence in society
rising equality and economic success of women
rise of new man
medical technology - men less necessary for having children
underachievement in education
rise of gay movements
impact of the media
Mort - growth of meterosexual man - heterosexual man concerned with image ego david beckham
new lad - violent and aggressive
new bloke - new lad but father and not caring for child
emo boy - new man hat reads, watches diet, shows emotions
Gilmore - men’s traditional hegemonic identity of being provider, protector and impregnator now met with insecurity and loss of purpose
rise in equality and choice
rise of gay movement and growth of anti-sexist ideas
possibility for aspects of masculine identity to merge with traditional aspects of femininity - mosiac identity
femininity - socialisation changes
increase in female role models within the family have changed
femininity - changes in economy
labour market changes - rise in service sector - suit women’s skills - eg retail, banking - gender neutral jobs and puts women on a more equal footing for being successful
Wilkinson - feminisation of the economy - workplace has led to an increase in women’s ambitions - family commitments no longer priority
femininity - changes in economy eval
Natasha Walter - living dolls: the return of sexism - although women do have more career opportunities - new forms of sexism eg physical appearance
femininity - impact of education
structural changes in education system - national curriculum - girls can study any subject
female overachieving compared to boys
workplace eg music industry
- being feminine has now changed
femininity - impact of media and consumption
media - women being seen in more positive light
rise in economic independence - now seen as consumers and try to target women
femininity - impact of convergence with masculinity
however - Whelehan - spectical that consumer freedom allow women to choose identity or pressurise young women to conform to patriarchal identities
rise of feminine identities eg ladettes - taking aspect of boys identities
Jackson - ladette behaviour existed in schools where girls adopting more assertive behaviour
radical feminism - importance
identity defined by gender
- gender role socialisation transmitting patriarchal ideology
family - gender role socialisation begins in the family - observe parents
Oakley - parents use different languages for boys and girls
school - hidden curriculum - Skelton - gender stereotypes created and maintained in primary school through different language
mass media - tuchman - women symbolically annihilated
gender theorists - important
men also suffer from having limited, stereotyped identities
Connell - some forms of masculinity more dominant
hegemonic masculinity - stresses toughness, aggression
those that do not conform try to form alternative identities are punished
marxist - not important
most fundamental social division is based on class
class can impact our gender choices in terms of the goods we consume - the leisure activities ect
marxist feminist - not important
social class is a more important source of identity for women than gender
capitalist ideology more oppressive than patriarchal ideology
difference feminism - less important
women fragmented into different groups
ethnicity, sexuality more important
