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Chapter Overview
In this chapter, we explore the distinction between sex, a biological concept, and gender, culturally learned ideas of femininity and masculinity. Foundational sociological thinkers (Marx, Durkheim, and Weber) did little in the way of focusing on gender issues. But today, issues such as sexism and gender discrimination, the difference between men and women in gaining access to societal rewards, is central to the sociological discipline. Through the study of gender relations, we learn that gender is not innate, but learned through gender roles, learned patterns of behaviour that are socially expected. In this way, gender roles produce concepts of masculinity, qualities that societies expect in men, and femininity, qualities that societies expect in women. These qualities are learned through gender socialization, the learning process involved in acquiring gender habits.
Gender stereotypes influence our roles in society. For example, housework remains a female-dominated activity, whereas men are more likely than women to commit violent crimes. These learned notions of masculinity and femininity thus shape our day-to-day lives. To a significantly lesser extent, biological factors contribute to gender divides—one of the most pressing being a woman’s ability to have children. Women who choose not to have children face social stigma, and those who do decide to have kids do more work than their male partners in child rearing. But, for the most part, it is social barriers rather than the biological barriers that stand in the way of gender equality. Women are less likely to be in higher-paid positions in the workforce and earn 87 cents per hour for every dollar that men make in similar levels of employment. In fact, women often hit the metaphorical glass ceiling, which stops them from being able to enter higher levels of employment. In light of this gender divide, many women experience the feminization of poverty, which sees more women than men in conditions of poverty.
Each sociological theory sees gender relations in a different light. Talcott Parsons, an influential structural functionalist, saw gender inequality as leading to greater efficiencies. Conflict theorists believe that gender inequality benefits the capitalistic system by providing the next generation of exploited labourers. Feminist theorists extend the conflict-theory approach by also arguing that men and capitalists exploit gender inequality. Symbolic interactionists are concerned with the symbolic representation of males and females, for example, women as sex objects or as victims. And finally, the social constructionist is primarily interested in the historical development of women movements.