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 so-called state of transition. It seems that the days when female and male spheres were clearly defined and separate, are gone. The modern sociology and modern philosophy introduce new perspectives allowing young people to grow up, seeing females in powerful social positions and roles that previous generations had little or no chance to get. However, despite such great social changes in female and male roles, some people still have traditional role expectations and traditional attitudes. The present paper undertakes an effort to examine gender issues in relation to social-conflict approach theory, through which it will make exploration of both sides of these controversial issues, fostering critical thinking on gender and find out how men historically have been considered more dominant than women in general. Before we proceed, it is important to define and explain the basic concepts that will be used throughout the paper, namely, the social-conflict approach theory, gender issues, and gender.
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The society we are living in strives to attain equality in all aspects. These include the people’s race, class, and gender. It is evident that most places in the world today would want equal treatment for everyone, no matter what color of skin you have, no matter what class you were brought up into, and no matter what your gender is. There still are obvious distinctions between people, but it is ...
From the perspective of Social-Conflict Approach Theory sociologists can examine how such important factors and aspects like gender, race, ethnicity, age, and class are related to unequal distribution of power, money, education, and social prestige. Karl Marx, W. E. B. Du Bois, Harriet Martineau, and Jane Addams made the most important contribution into the development of the theory (Dr. Ronald J. Werner-Wilson).
This theory developed mainly due to critique of the Structural-functional approach, according to which the society was treated as stable structure, which ignored the inequalities of the gender, race, social class, and ethnicity, generating conflicts and tension. The Social-Conflict Approach Theory, in its turn, treats society as “an arena of inequality that generates conflict and change.” (Macionis 2005) In such a way, The Social-Conflict Approach Theory places high emphasis on conflict and inequality. This theory is widely used to analyze the relationships and the nature of the ongoing conflicts between disadvantaged and dominant categories of people, such as employees and employers, rich and poor, and men and women. It should be also mentioned that gender-conflict approach is, obviously, the most important category of this conflict analysis, because it places a high emphasis on conflicts and inequality between men and women. To a certain extent this approach is related to feminism, as far as feminist positions itself as the advocacy of social equality for men and women. Now, after the explanation of the Social-Conflict Approach Theory it is important to define gender and gender issues. Gender is not simply a category to which a person is assigned on the basis of his or her sex. Gender is related to a persons sexual identity, especially when related to culture and/ or society.
Gender is related to social relations and social roles between men and women, including different responsibilities of men and women in a given location or a given country. In contrast to sex of women and men, which is determined at a biological basis, gender roles are socially constructed. Therefore, gender roles are subject to change with the lapse of time and can even vary significantly in accordance with the social context and/ or geographic location (Sibyl Nelson).
Biologically, men and women have many differences at genetic level (for example, X and Y chromosomes).
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The differences in gender is the most significant biological difference within the human species. Yet, most of us know very little about how these differences affect work, intimacy and conflict. Starting at a very young age, these differences begin to shape our play, concepts of relationships, productivity, and in general the way we communicate with one another. I have noticed the differences ...
However, although these differences are obvious, there are other differences that mostly result from traditional feminine-masculine and male-female characteristics. These differences are primarily based on gender roles, and due to these differences men historically have been considered more dominant that women in general. The subject at issue, namely, gender issues related to Social-Conflict Approach Theory, is very important because understanding why men historically have been considered more dominant that women may help not only understand society and gender issues, but also may help reduce social inequality.
The very establishment of male dominance over women is a continuous historic process what was formed both by men and women, where the patriarchal family played the role of a basic unit of organization. Males were historically dominant in many aspects of life (Gender political consequences 2004).
Traditionally men enjoyed higher status and central roles. Men were the leaders of the household, while women were responsible for cooking and education of their children. In hunter-gatherer societies the males had more responsibility and their sureness of their dominant role (also sex role) was interrelated with their ability and right to perform tasks and jobs that women weren’t allowed to perform. Masculinity and male dominance was in the nature of men, while submissiveness and weakness traditionally was associated with females (Abidemi R. Asiyanbola 2005).
This social inequality occurred mainly because males are traditionally physically stronger and larger than women.
Men were responsible for heavy labor, while women have been too involved with the child upbringing and had no time and/ or opportunity to compete for dominance. Nevertheless, it should be noted that there were societies with female dominance from time to time; however, these were rather exceptions to the rule. In natural resource-dependent communities men and women are treated differently. Because of a gender-based labor division they assume different positions in society, and perform different tasks and jobs. Some jobs are traditionally considered to be masculine, while others are traditionally considered as feminine. Men and women have different opportunities. They have different access to resources: social resources (e.g.
The Term Paper on Study Of Women Male Men Societies
... women." Defining females: the nature of women in society, Shirley Arden er, ed. London, Croom Helm. 1978 Rohrlich-Leavitt, Ruby, et al; "Aboriginal Woman: Male ... of women from earlier studies of social organization requires continuing fieldwork that focuses on women's institutional roles, social ... and socialization of children for their proper gender and class position.By controlling the content and ...
social networks) (Gender Inequalities in Education), physical resources (e.g. land), or financial resources (e.g. credits or income-generating jobs).
Due to their different roles, men and women have different skills and knowledge. They also have unequal access to taking part in politics or decision making. This can also be explained by the system of differentiation on the basis of sex and social stratification that provides males with better access to resources and with material advantages to them, at the same time placing constraints on females’ activities and roles. Conclusion In conclusion it may be said that the importance of examining gender issues within the frameworks of the Social-Conflict Approach Theory cannot be underestimated.
As far as the Social-Conflict Approach Theory is a framework that allows seeing society as an arena of inequality that generates changes and conflicts, it may help not only understand society and gender issues, but also may help reduce social inequality. Yet, it should be taken into account that the Social-Conflict Approach Theory has few limitations and drawbacks, as it has little scientific objectivity, and ignores the impact of shared values, examines society within broad limits at a macro-level, and loses the sight of the individual (Macionis 2005).
Quality of Sources ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a1395e/a1395e00.p df (Sibyl Nelson under the technical supervision of Yianna Lambrou, Gender, Equity and Rural Employment) This source is not biased because it examines the males and females gender-differentiated roles based on experience and adapted to the local culture and environment. http://ftp.ccccd.edu/eohagi/SOCI%201301/Sociology1 .ppt (Macionis, John J., Society: The Basic) This source is not biased because it provides a thoughtful insight into the most important aspects of sociology and examines Social-Conflict Approach Theory, critically assessing its advantages and disadvantages. http://www.public.iastate.edu/~hd_fs.511/lecture/S ourcebook15.ppt (Dr. Ronald J. Werner-Wilson, Social Conflict Theory) This source is not biased because it provides a thorough examination of the Social Conflict Theory, its historical origins, and examines Social Conflict Theory within the field of family studies, analyzing the themes of gender relationships and examining the role of the family in maintaining inequalities in male-female relationships. http://iussp2005.princeton.edu/download.aspx?submi ssionId=50005 (Abidemi R. Asiyanbola, Patriarchy, male dominance, the role and women empowerment in Nigeria) This source is biased because although it empirically analyzes the nature of male dominance and roles using the model of the family in Nigeria, which traditionally has been a patriarchy society, as an example, the sample size is limited, thus making the conclusions mostly invalid.
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It is evident that in A Midsummer Nights Dream gender conflict is not the only source of comic disorder in the exposition of the play. This can be seen due to the number of other events and scenes which are sources of comic disorder such as character relationships, stereotypes & status and authoritative conflicts. An element of comic disorder in the exposition of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is ...
http://www.pedag.umu.se/utbildning/kurslitteratur/ litteratur/JoridHovdengender.pdf (Gender political consequences of male dominance in leadership positions in Norwegian Sport, 2004) This source is not biased, as the results and conclusions presented in the study dont differ systematically from the truth, proving that males are dominant and, moreover, they prefer not making any initiative to actualize gender equity issues. http://cse.stanford.edu/class/cs201/projects/gende r-gap-in-education/page1.htm (Gender Inequalities in Education) This source is not biased, as it provides a thorough and well-grounded explanation why gender issues are important in education and gives the reasons why focusing on eliminating gender inequalities will decrease the need for social welfare and will allow society to ensure women economic security, a better quality of life, and more career choices..
