Sociological

• Major sociological theories of gender


  • Structural functionalism
  • Marxist/conflict theory
  • Symbolic interactionism
  • Feminist theory
• Structural functionalism


  • Men typically fulfill instrumental roles, while women tend to occupy expressive roles
  • Gendered division of labor as crucial for societal harmony and efficiency
  • Socialization into these predetermined roles contributes to gender inequality by influencing the choices men and women make regarding family and work
• Marxist/conflict theory


  • Examine how gender assumptions and biases result in the empowerment of men, the oppression of women, and the structural inequality favoring men over women
  • Perceive gendered power dynamics as ingrained within the social framework, evident across various facets of a patriarchal society
• Symbolic interactionism


  • Gender is something that is produced through interaction between people, and as such is an interactional accomplishment
  • Gender is unstable and fluid and is produced by people through interaction
• Feminism


  A theory about social life and human experience that investigates the conditions and experiences of women in society
• Mary Wollstonecraft, English writer and passionate advocate of educational and social equality for women


  1759–1797

  
• A Vindication of the Rights of Women


  • Equality on Education: Develop critical thinking and reasoning skills, Improved educational system for women
  • Marriage as "legal prostitution"
• Waves of feminism


  • First wave (1830-1920)
  • Second wave (1960-1990)
  • Third wave (late 1990s to early 2000s)
  • Fourth wave (age of social media)
• Feminist theory is not just about women
• The goal of feminism is to empower and broaden the understanding of women in order to create a better world that is perceived to be more just and humane
• Questions to understand women

  • What about women?
  • Why is all this as it is?
  • How can we change and improve the social world as to make it a more just place for all people?