Aisling Mc Ginn
10326743
Compare and contrast the conflict theory explanation and the social constructionist explanation for the persistence of gender inequality.
In order to be able to compare these two theories in terms of the persistence of gender inequality it is first important to understand the differences between the conflict theory and the social constructionist theory. Karl Marx, the most influential socialist thinker from the 19th century, proposed what is known as the conflict theory. This theory looks at how certain social interactions occur through conflict in order to gain more power in a society. Conflict theorists claim that gender now involves disparities in power. Conventional ideas about gender have historically benefited men while leaving women the victims of discrimination, prejudice and violence (Hacker, 1951, 1974; Collins, 1971; Lengermann and Wallace, 1985).
This idea highlights the persistence of inequalities between men and women in our world today.
On the other hand the social construction theory is based on how a social phenomenon develops in social contexts. This is associated with how society is actively and creatively produced by human beings. The world is made or invented, rather than given or taken for granted, and the individuals and groups within this world make up the social groups (Schutz, 1932; W.I. Thomas, 1951).
The Essay on Gender Issues Related To Social conflict Approach Theory
Gender Issues Related To Social-Conflict Approach Theory by [Students name] Sociology 1 Prof. Charles Levy June 03, 2008 Gender Issues Related To Social-Conflict Approach Theory Internet Explorer, AOL Browser Google, Ask, Altavista, Yahoo, Dogpile Introduction Understanding gender issues from a sociological perspective is very important. In the modern world, gender issues and gender roles are in ...
‘Society is a human product. Society is an objective reality. Man is a social product.’ (Berger and Luckmann, 1966)
In societies today there are two categories of human being – men and women. Men have seemed to adapt to a particular role that is dominant over the role women have developed, which accentuates the presence of gender inequality. The social shapes of gender and sexuality are bound up with the economic, religious, political and cultural times people live in.
Gender order refers to the ways in which societies shape notions of masculinity and femininity into power relationships. gender role on the other hand refers to learning and performing the socially accepted characteristics for a given sex. It has been clear from as early as the hunter-gatherer era that inequalities exist between men and women and that both sexes have taken on different gender roles due to the gender orders that they live in. A world-leading sociobiologist E.O Wilson observed that in hunter-gatherer societies the men hunted for food while the women stayed at home. This strong bias persists in agricultural societies and on that ground alone appears to have a genetic origin. If we look at the social constructionist theory we can see that in the hunter-gatherer period men took on the role of the protector and breadwinner whilst the women took on the role of rearing the family and keeping the house (Sayers 1982:29).
These gender roles have remained the same for men and women right up to the 21st century which have led to differences in power between both sexes.
As the social constructionist theory has lead to specific roles for men and women, gender stratification has become an issue in many countries around the globe. Gender stratification refers to a society’s unequal distribution of wealth, power and privilege between the sexes. In certain countries the gender gap between men and women are worse than others. For example, when we look at women’s economic participation, education, health and survival and political empowerment in a country like Saudi Arabia compared to Canada, we can see that the gender gap is very big. In Saudi Arabia many girls drop out of school at a young age to get married due to the local norms and traditions and over 60% of those who go on to university drop out.
The Essay on Women Men Gender Society
... am a woman. I believe that women, regardless of how we are "supposed" to act, should have the same opportunities as men. Gender roles tell ... be able to handle a power position is society have read many articles and writings about the gender inequality issue and social mobility, ... a lot has improved. But women are still looked down upon in society, and men still have the power. I believe that this issue ...
‘The problem is more pronounced amongst girls – as they reach puberty, they mostly drop out to get married. This phenomenon is confirmed once again after high school graduation.’ (AlMunajjed, 2006)
Women also had very little political power in Saudi Arabia. They had no suffrage and when the first local elections occurred in 2005 women did not have the right to vote, to stand for election or to appear before a judge without male representation. Their husbands often beat them but they could not take cases against these men as they had little or no power. Fewer than 30% of women in Saudi Arabia worked for money compared to over 60% in Canada where women were treated more equally. In Canada the gender gap is much smaller; however there is still the issue of gender inequality. Women are given the lower paid jobs, have fewer seats in parliament and are seen as less powerful to men.
The concept of Patriarchy accentuates the conflict theory when it comes to the matter of gender inequality. Men dominate, oppress and exploit women in many different ways, some of which I have mentioned already, for example, how women are paid less than men and how women have less access to formal power. Other areas that men have exploited women in are violence, the household, sexuality, and culture. The masculine role that men have adapted to within a society due to social constructionism has given them the ‘power and dominance’ over women. Men are automatically seen as masculine with strong, assertive and independent characteristics whilst women are associated with femininities such as weak, submissive and receptive. If we look at the concept of violence it is obvious from history and even today’s world that women are more vulnerable to being the victims of violent actions than men due to their dependent, timid and passive characteristics. Violence against women is usually more common in countries with big gender gaps like Saudi Arabia and Iran but that is not to say that women in our very own country and countries like Canada and The United States have not been violently abused. In fact the United Nations stated that:
The Essay on Revolution Women Men Society Began
Woman's Struggle for Independence Women have had to fight for there independence. They have been repressed for a long period of history. Only recently have women started to gain respect as equals and individuals. Even today women are still looked down upon for there sex. From the begging of history women have been viewed as a lesser sex. In the time Mesopotamia women we in charge of the children ...
‘At least one in five of the world’s female population has been physically or sexually abused by a man or men at some time in their life.’ (UNFPA, 2000: 25).
It is interesting to think that if women weren’t automatically seen as feminine with these particular femininities would men still act violently towards women? Would they see women as equals and allow them to have equal power? This is a question that every woman would love to have answered but due to our socially constructed society it is impossible to find a legitimate answer.
The household is another element of Patriarchy that shows men’s power and dominance over women. Within marriages it is clear that husbands and wives have particular roles. In nearly all households it is the women that are expected to carry out housework such as cleaning, cooking and looking after the members of the family, whether it is the children or grandparents. Once again we can see how the gender role of women from the hunter-gatherer period has remained with women right up until the 21st century. Although, it is important to note that many women in the 21st century have tried to shake this ‘housewife’ role off and enter the labour force by themselves. Many women have been successful in this task and their time spent doing housework has decreased. However, the time spent by men doing housework has not changed at all. In a marriage with a working husband and wife, the wife is expected to come home and still carry out the cooking and cleaning in the house. As for the husband, he usually comes home from work with the intention of being served up a cooked meal in a clean house where he can relax (Hochschild, 1989).
The social constructionist theory is the only explanation for these issues. We have been born into a society where our fate is already planned out for us as a man or a woman.
Sexuality and culture are also elements of patriarchy that distinctively show the presence of gender inequality in our society. Heterosexuality is seen as the ‘natural’ foundation of society but sociologists often approach this as a social construction of power in which men’s masculinities of being assertive and driven by sex rule over women’s femininities of being passive and submissive. William Simon and John Gagnor came up with the metaphor of ‘script’ to help understand the social construction approach to sexuality. This metaphor is similar to Erving Goffman’s theory ‘The world, in truth, is a wedding’ as they suggested human sexualities are best seen as drama. Men and boys in society today, and in historical times, have always been seen as more sexually active than women. In the past it was expected for women to be virgins until marriage or at least until they were in a serious and mature relationship. If women did not conform to these norms they were classified by men as ‘tarts’ or ‘slags’ (Lees,1993; Holland et al.,1998).
The Essay on North America Women Men Society
With great pride, 35- year-old Sirhan describes the way in which he shot and killed his 16-year old sister, Suzanne. Cheerful and at ease, he is completely contented to tell his story. He shot Suzanne in the head four times last March, three days after she reported to the police that she had been raped. Sirhan fully believes that the rape was Suzanne's fault - her "mistake" - regardless of the ...
Women have often been the victims of sexual harassment due to our culture and position of power. In our society men are encouraged to be sexually assertive and to perceive women in sexual terms. Men also hold the more powerful positions in workplaces and oversee the work of women, which can lead to women receiving a lot more sexual attention than they wanted (Loy and Stewart, 1984; Paul, 1991).
Across the world women have been used for sexual labour such as prostitution. Their rights have been viloated by men but due to a woman’s unequal share of power, they can do little about it (O’Connell Davidson, 1998).
It is very clear from looking at the conflict theory explanation and the social constructionist explanation thet there is a persistent problem of gender inequality in our society today. It is thought that this extreme power struggle between men and women was increased as capitalism intensified. Capitalism empowered men because they were the main wage earners and this ment women were once again associated with maintaining the home (Einstein, 1979; Barry, 1983; Vogel, 1983).
Women have tried to fight for their equal place in society, which is known as feminism, but still to this day they struggle to hold an equal place in society. Their fight for equality has improved their rights in the 21st century but it is clear gender inequalities will continue into the future.
Bibliography
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Hochschild, A. and Machung, A. 1989. The Second Shift. New York; Viking.
The Essay on Reformers Had Quietly Expanded Women Men Alcohol Society
The American History Series: Women in Antebellum Reform was written by Lori D. Ginzberg who focused her work on the battle women went through to obtain rights in their society. This book is broken up into five chapters with numerous subtopics to better inform the reader. Edited by John Hope Franklin of Duke University and A. S. Eisen stadt of Brooklyn College have also helped to bring this book ...
Macionis, J and Plumber, K. 2008. Sociology: A Global Introduction. Harlow: Pearson Educated Limited.
Mesbah, R. 2009. ‘Women’s education in Saudi Arabia: the way forward’. Available online at: (accessed on 6th December 2010).
O’Connell Davidson, J. 1998. ‘The Rights and Wrongs of Prostitution’. Available online at: http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/hyp/summary/v017/17.2davidson.html (accessed on 8th December).
Pateman, C. 1989. The Disorder of Women: Democracy, Feminism and Political Theory. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Ravetz, J. 1995. Scientific Knowledge and its Social Problems. New Brunswick, N.J.; 1995.
