Gender

• Gender


  Whether you are male or female will have a huge effect on how you see yourself & how others see & relate to you.
• Gender identity


  Something that is fluid & changing.

  The way that women are seen & the expectations surrounding their appearance, behaviour & roles have all changed in the last hundred years.

  Male identities are also changing, & expectations of masculinity are also different in today's societies.

  Today many argue there are many ways to be a woman or be a man, & it may make more sense to discuss 'femininities' & 'masculinities'.
• The biological view


  Argues the need to reproduce requires men to be more promiscuous - 'spreading the seed'.

  Women need to nurture one child & stay faithful to the father of their child to ensure his help in its upbringing.
• The functionalist view


  Females have an 'expressive role' in the family, this is natural & based on their childbearing role, but is reinforced by socialisation.

  Men have an 'instrumental role' in the family, that of breadwinner & protector, this is natural based on their physical strength, but is reinforced through socialisation.
• Evaluation of the functionalism view


  Most sociologists argue that gender & thus gender identities are socially constructed, learned through socialisation, but also changeable.
• The social construction of gender identities

  Feminists argue that gender identity is socially constructed by patriarchal society and reinforces stereotypes of how males & females should be.
• The social construction of gender identities - Hey


  Studied friendship groups among teenage girls & looked at the power the female peer group has over girls' behaviour, & how the norms of the female peer group aredeeply rooted in patriarchy & expectations of how girls should be.
• The social construction of gender identities - Mac an Ghaill


  Explored how boys learn to be men in their peer groups at school, policing their own & others' sexuality.Gender power, based on 'hyper-masculinity', was the main source of identity for the 'macho lads' who valued the '3Fs' - 'fighting, football & f***ing'.
• Gender role socialisation in the family - Oakley


  Children are socialised into their gender roles by their families in four ways:1.Manipulation- encouraging behaviour that is seen as stereotypically acceptable for the child's gender & discouraging behaviour that is not considered the norm.boys getting dirty vs girls getting dirty2.Canalisation- parents channelling their child's interests into toys, games & activities that are considered the norm for their gender.girls = dolls, boys = superhero’s3.Verbal appellation- giving children nicknames/pet names that reinforce gender expectations.soldier/princess4.Different activities- parents/family members may encourage children to participate in activities around the home that reinforce stereotypes.boys gardening, girls cleaning
• Feminine identity


  Related to a submissive or passive role, associated with alack of self-confidence& ambition.Feminists argue that this is learned throughsocialisation.There is evidence that this is changing.
• Jackson - the rise of the ladette

  Some girls, or 'ladettes', also spent time drinking & smoking, swearing & disrupting lessons, for fear of doing otherwise & being considered unpopular & 'uncool'.
• Denscombe - the rise of the ladette


  Looked at the increase in female risk-taking behaviour, particularly smoking, as being related to a 'ladette' culture, where young womenwant to be seen as anything but the stereotypes of a woman.
• Mac an Ghaill - crisis of masculinity


  Used 'crisis of masculinity' to refer to the insecurity felt by working-class men today.There has been a loss of the 'breadwinner' identity with the decline of traditional male industries.
• Canaan - crisis of masculinity


  Researched working-class men in Wolverhampton - questioned both those who employed & those who were in long term unemployment & found interesting differences in their views of masculinity.She asked 'What is the most important thing about being a man?'The men who had jobs gave fairly predictable responses relating tofighting, drinking & sex.The men who were unemployed saidhaving a jobwas the most important thing, & that they feltemasculated due to their employment.