SOCL 2001 Chapter : Gender
Document Summary
Sex: biological differences (like chromosomes, genitalia, physical features) Gender: social construct consisting of a set of norms built around sex. Gender roles: behavioral norms, related more to social status than biology. Hegemonic masculinity: ideal of masculinity so dominant that it is regarded as the norm. Feminism: intellectual, consciousness-ranking movement, women and men should have equal opportunities and respect, gender is an organizing principle of life, structures social relations unequally, so power is intertwined with gender differences. Patriarchy: nearly universal system involving the subordination of femininity to masculinity. The woman question: many theories and approaches can be applied to the study of gender and power. Psychoanalytic theories: focus on individualistic explanations as opposed to societal ones, assumption: natural differences between sexes dictate behavior. Conflict theory: patriarchal capitalists benefit through systems that subordinate women, socialist feminists argue that all social relations are influenced by gender inequality.
