Gender and Identity

• Oakley: 4 processes of primary gender socialisation - Canalisation


  Children are channelled towards different interests depending on gender
• Oakley: 4 processes of primary gender socialisation - Differential activity


  Boys and girls are exposed to different activities based on gender stereotypes, e.g. boys are encouraged to be adventurous and risky, whilst girls are expected to focus on domestic and caring responsibilities
• Oakley: 4 processes of primary gender socialisation - Manipulation


  Parents reward/punish behaviours which are deemed '(in)appropriate' for the child's gender
• Oakley: 4 processes of primary gender socialisation - Verbal appellations


  Parents reinforce expectations by using stereotypical feminine/masculine expressions, e.g. boys are less likely to be told off for bad behaviour compared to girls, who are expected to be obedient
• Liberal feminism


  - Believes that everyone is equal and that men and women are entitled to equal treatment (e.g. Suffragette Movement)

  - Seeks to reform the current structure and try to eradicate sexism in the media and education (e.g. Equal Pay and Sex Discrimination acts)
• Criticisms of liberal feminism


  - Accused of being ethnocentric (focusing on white M/C women) by Difference feminists

  - Emphasises public life at the expense of private life

  - Encourages women to be more like men
• Radical feminism


  - Believes that sexual oppression is the most fundamental feature of society

  - Society is patriarchal; blames women's exploitation on men

  - Encourages separatism (political lesbianism) and matrifocal families
• Criticisms of radical feminism

  - Ignores other variations of oppression

  - Focuses too much on negative female experiences
• Marxist feminism


  - Inequality stems from capitalism in society

  - Women are used as cheap labour force and absorb men's anger

  - Lack ownership of the means of production
• Criticisms of Marxist feminism


  - Ignore other sources of inequality

  - Patriarchal societies existed before capitalism
• Intersectional feminism


  Emphasises the different levels of privilege and power that women possess due to factors such as ethnicity, sexuality, class and religion
• Mac an Ghaill: Crisis of masculinity


  Growing sense of insecurity amongst men stemming from the decline of manual industries
• Mulvey: Male gaze


  The way women are objectified in the media by society
• Connell: Hegemonic masculinity


  The most idealised form of masculinity

  - Physical strength, aggression, risk-taking, competition, lack of domesticity; heterosexuality is central to masculine hegemonic identity
• Connell: Emphasised femininity


  Women who comply the most with subordinated femininity

  - Emotional, responsible for housework, concerned with physical appearance