SOCA01H3 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Queer Theory, Empirical Evidence, Abbie Hoffman
Document Summary
Social constructionism- is a variant of symbolic interactionism that has become popular in recent years. Since power distributions and ideas about gender vary over time and place. Social constructionists are able to show how changing social conditions produce changes in the way people act out their gender identity, they conclude gender is more a performance shaped by social conditions. Queer theory- denies the very existence of stable identities. When we apply labels such as male female lesbian to ourselves or others we are adopting official or at least socially accepted labels that fail to capture the fluidity and variability of peoples actual identities and performances. Argues that people"s sexual identities and performances are so variable that conventional labels such as male female gay fail to capture the sexual instability that characterizes the lives of many people. Harriet martineau (1802-76)- first female sociologist and one of the first feminists.
