Gender Studies: Social Constructionism of Gender

Module 2: Theories of Gender

• Focus is defining, differentiating, analyzing, applying, evaluating, and understanding diverse gender identities through different theories.

Social Constructionism

• It is a sociological theory, constructs our understanding of reality through social processes and interactions, including concepts like gender.
• This perspective emphasizes, gender isn't an inherent biological trait, but cultural and societal norms.
• Core idea of social constructionism argues gender is not biological, but a concept created by society, shaped by cultural, historical, and social contexts.

Gender as a Social Construct

• This is viewed as a performance, seeing masculinity and femininity as learned roles enacted based on societal norms.
• The idea that women are nurturing and men are aggressive comes from cultural teachings, not natural law.

Language and Power

• This examines how language and social interactions maintain power structures.
• The binary classification of male and female assigns roles that favor patriarchal systems.
• Gendered behaviors are rewarded or punished, encouraging conformity to societal expectations.

Influence of Institutions

• Institutions like family, education, media, and religion reinforce gender roles.
• Institutions contribute to specific gender norms, often upholding traditional male-female roles.
• Boys may be encouraged to pursue STEM, while girls guided toward nurturing or artistic professions.

Critiques

• Theory highlights gender fluidity, but overlooks individual agency.
• Focus is too much on how society shapes us, and too little on how individuals resist or redefine norms.

Key Aspects

• Gender roles vary across cultures and historical periods, suggesting gender is learned, not innate.
• Language is important in shaping perceptions of gender as gendering language reinforces stereotypes and expectations.
• Power relations influence identity construction, dominant groups dictate what is "normal," marginalizing those who don't conform.
• Individuals navigate identities within societal frameworks, negotiating personal experiences and expectations.
• It challenges essentialist views by highlighting gender variability based on social contexts.
• Gender roles are shifting in modern workplaces.

Gender Roles in the Workplace

• Traditionally, men were suited for leadership, women for nurturing roles, illustrating social constructionism in action.

Gender Expectations in Careers

• Mid-20th century saw leadership predominantly male.
• Women were relegated to secretarial roles based on socially constructed beliefs.
• Men were considered naturally assertive, rational, and decisive, while women were seen as nurturing, passive, and emotional.
• This division, perpetuated by societal norms e.g. boys study science, girls study art, not rooted in biological differences.

Changing Norms Over Time

• In recent decades, women occupy leadership roles in business, politics, STEM, and men work in traditionally "feminine" roles.
• The rise of female leaders challenges the narrative that men are naturally suited for leadership.

Power Dynamics and Institutional Influence

• Societal structures continue their influence as women may face biases e.g. being seen as "too aggressive".
• Power dynamics and societal expectations are contested and renegotiated.

Reality

• The reality of gender in the workplace is constructed and reconstructed through societal beliefs, language, and institutions.

Feminist Theory

• Encompasses perspectives to understand and address inequalities based on gender.
• It critiques patriarchal structures, advocating for women's rights across social, political, economic, and cultural domains.
• Dismantling patriarchy and promoting gender equality.

Historical Context

• First wave focused on legal issues like suffrage.
• Second wave (1960s-80s) dealt with reproductive rights, workplace equality, and sexism.
• Third wave brought intersectionality, considering how race, class, sexuality, and gender intersect to create unique experiences of oppression.

Patriarchy

• Critiques a system where men hold power and dominate social, political, and economic systems.
• Patriarchy disadvantages women and limits men by enforcing gender roles.

Key Concepts

• Distinguishes between biological sex (male/female) and socially constructed gender (masculine/feminine).
• Kimberlé Crenshaw coins intersectionality, oppression forms i.e. racism, sexism, classism intersect. For example, oppression is both racial and gendered for a woman of color.

Types of Feminist Thought

• Liberal Feminism focuses on legal and political equality, advocating for reforms within existing structures.
• Radical Feminism argues for revolutionary societal changes, patriarchy is rooted in gender roles.
• Socialist Feminism links gender oppression to class oppression, suggesting both capitalist and patriarchal systems must be dismantled.
• Cultural Feminism emphasizes traditionally "feminine" traits, and advocates for societal recognition.

Critiques

• Early feminism has been criticized for centering white, middle-class women.

Key Components

• Theory evolved through waves, rights from suffrage to reproductive rights to intersectionality are all related.
• Intersectionality by Kimberlé Crenshaw highlights oppression forms are intersected , crucial for addressing systemic injustices.
• The theory critically examines patriarchal systems, seeking to dismantle them through advocacy.

Empowerment and Agency

• Women can make choices without coercion or oppression.

The Theory

• Theory remains dynamic, adapts to new challenges, and advocates for equality.

Real Life Example of Feminist Theory

• The global fight for reproductive rights challenges control and advocates for gender equality.

The Fight for Reproductive Rights

• It has evolved alongside the broader feminist movement (1960s-80s) as women fought for access to birth control and abortion.
• Those efforts aimed to dismantle patriarchal systems controlling reproductive choices.
• Roe v. Wade (1973) legalized abortion in the U.S. as a major victory for feminist activists, struggle continues worldwide.

Critique of Patriarchy

• Feminist ideas critique patriarchal control over women's reproductive choices and prioritizes traditional roles emphasizing childbearing.

Feminist Thought on Reproductive Rights

• Liberal Feminism: Advocates are for legal protection e.g. access to abortion to policy reforms.
• Ensuring women have the same reproductive independence to healthcare.
• Radical Feminism argues rights are foundational patriarchal elements and autonomy isn't achieved until women control bodies.
• Radical feminists often push for revolutionary changes in how how society views reproduction roles.

Socialist Feminism

• Healthcare access is restricted based on economic status.
• Dismantling capitalist and patriarchal systems to ensure healthcare access for all.
• Cultural Feminism argues for recognition of reproductive capabilities e.g childbirth, and motherhood and unique appreciate of women's rights to choose to have children.

Intersectionality in Reproductive Rights

• Access isn't just a gender issue but racial and economic.
• Marginalized women i.e. women of color have less access.

Intersectional Feminism

• The fight for reproductive rights must account for these overlapping forms of oppression to benefit all, not just those with privilege.

Critiques and Expansions

• Heavily criticized is focusing on white, middle-class women, early movements are neglected for the unique challenges i.e. women of color of color, LGBTQ+ and developing women.
• Today's feminist movement should include addressing reproductive rights, race, class, and global inequality.
• A powerful example of challenging control is for women's rights of their own bodies e.g. legal, social, to healthcare and advocate gender equality.

Queer Theory

• Emerged in the late 20th century to examine sexual orientation and identity beyond "traditional" binaries (heterosexual/homosexual).
• Draws various disciplines such as sociology, literary studies, cultural studies, and LGBTQ+ activism.
• Challenges rigid categories and advocates for identity fluidity, societal structure deconstruction.

Critique of Normativity

• Queer theory questions gender (male/female) and sexuality (heterosexual/homosexual) categories/thinking.
• The term "queer" is to reject the labels/identities that do not neatly fit to fluid understanding.

Deconstruction of Gender

• Theory suggests categories i.e. “man” or “woman” are unstable i.e Judith butler, "gender is a performative act", society recognizes act e.g. “masculine” or “feminine.”
• The Idea of gender performativity demonstrates something we do not not what we are.

Subversion of Power

• Queer theory aims to subvert societal power structures for rejecting binary categories to control individual desire, identity, it often it is heteronormative when privileging heterosexual, cisgender relationships.
• resistance to areas of identities e.g. such as race, class, and ability intersectional, and race.

Expanding LGBTQ+ Understanding

• Theory broadens the conversation about LGBTQ+ rights by not just focusing on inclusion but questioning inclusion itself.
• It questions "What is Normal" and embraces non-conforming relationships.

Critiques

• Critics might indicate how to address queer identities as well.
• By deconstructing identities we might overlook identities e.g “gay" or “transgender."

Key Elements of Queer Theory

• Normative assumptions about identity and sexuality e.g “male,” “female,” “gay,” or “straight", argues there socially constructed.
• Theories emphasizes fluid nature identities. People may identify differently.

Critiques of Heteronormativity

• Theory critiques it stating that heterosexuality is default, or biased this marginalizes sexual identities.
• Activism intersects activism advocating broader acceptance diverse sexuality and identities.

Summary of Queer Theory

• Expands gender discussions by incorporating sexuality advocating beyond classifications.
• Together these three, Social, Feminist and Queer theories are comprehensive to understand Gender.

Provides Comprehensiveness

• Social- Gender is shaped by social expectations,not biology.
• Feminist- Gender inequitable power structures are there for gender equity.
• Queer-The rigid categories of gender and sexuality deconstructed for identity understanding.
• Each invites questioning about norms.

A Queer Real-Live Example

• The rising genderqueer and binary identities challenge traditional genders and sexuality categories.

Non-Binary Identities Recognized

• Critique of binary thinking, and it proposes its a social construct.
• No aligned genders and gender isn't inherent but set a repeated societal expectations.

Heteronormativity is Subverted

• The theory also critiques heternormative, sexualities that not based on a binary system are embraced.

Institutional Changes/Social Impact

• Many recent countries, workplaces, and schools begun nonbinary policies.
• The shift recognizes importance from theories of Intersectionality of individuals experiences.

Critiques in Queer Theory

• Rejecting labels can cause difficulty.
• All Identities illustrate theories challenges to sexuality and identity by by challenging norms.

Social Learning Theory (SLT)

• Developed by psychologist Albert Bandura in the 1960s, the study posits that that learning happen through direct instruction within the social context.
• The theories is introduced observationally, learning with new behavior new imitation.

Key Components of Social

• Observational learning (imitating a model behavior), Motivation (reason for it), and Reinforcement (rewards or punishments).
• Modeling (imitate similar behaviors).

Role

• Gender (kids will always look up to behaviors related to Gender by peer groups and family.)

Reinforcement by Punishment

• The learning for praise is positive with action negative discourages gendered actions.

Social Context

• Understanding underlines importances, learning norms by children and media and immediate environments.

A Role-Play

• Extends understanding for development influenced norms.

Parental

• Primary roles children learn by providing attitudes and behaviours.

Peer

• Reinforce norms by expecting gender norms.

Cultural

• Media plays a pivotal role stereotypes.

Variations

• Different traditional narratives that are not static and practices over time.

Theory Provided

• Theories are how an individual acquire knowledge with a broad social interplay in the reinforcement seen from Society.

Example 1

• Roles shaped and learnt.

Ella a Traditional Child's Household

• Context ( 6 yearolds perform modelling gender at times.
• Parents performs tasks ( fathers and mothers), father was construction and mother was taking care of sibling and chores.
• She watches the mother and performs those role and observations show girls how and what is to be done for woman.
• Mom mimics taking care for her dolls.
• Reinforcement- praise that her mother is the "helper".

Contradictory

• Her mother said that her brother can help the father in "dad chores."

Media and Peers

• The support is from reinforcement from both, the school and media where genders.

Final

• Girls learn caring focused attributes and while boys are active adventure.

Social Learning

• Observations were made in the household.

Cognitive Developmental Theory

• Focus is on how children understand gender (identity and roles.)
• Theories are based on gender of Jean Piaget(Stages of of Cognitive children's development) and Lawrence Kohlberg ( applied moral principles),

Piaget Stages for Development

• (0-2)- Sensorimotor- World learn actions of stable self.
• (2-7)-Preoperational- Think but not in abstract only symbolic, see egocentric perspective.
• (7-11)- Concrete Operational- Events are understood logically and categorizing objects is better, can conserve ideas.
• (12UP) Abstract and logical planing system.

Expanding on Development with Kohlberg

• (2-3)- Can identify gender that isn't always continuous.
• (4-5)- Are more stable and girls are women and boys men.
• (6-7)Gender Constantly- Will not changed but also understand how the stages influence.

Theory

• Social understanding is influenced with cognitives.

Individuals

• Make understandings on male and females.
• Influential factors come from family parents media.

Implications

• Should be from environment.

Factors for Real Life

• Toddler gender, the labelling aligning with the gender that start developing gender- with typical associated behaviours.

Stabilities

• A girl at four recognizes dresses for a the girl she will be will be in dresses always.

The Constancy of Gender

• A six yrl boy see friend with short hair, later understands that it does not change their genders.

Social

• Diverse activities with kids.

Illustrious

• Theory manifestations through environment.

Gender Schema theory.

• Children can make assumptions about framework cognitive around gender.
• Theory highlights that experience in societal influence it and shapes behavior and identity.

Schemantics

• Kids categorize behaviors, attitudes masculine or feminine, are from culture and what individuals learnt.

Theory for Earlier Development

• Kids at 2 or 3 have started to recognise themselves as male or female with their views associated and that's how they organise the world.

Behavior and Influence

• Seek activity alligned, helps to create an individuals expectations and identity.

Schematic

• This all influence info processing depending on the views the views might be ignored depending, a women in business meeting and not kitchen is ignored.

Flexibility

• Not stereotypes and adjustments from diverse.

Real-Life examples

• Toys, clothes and school all play a role in the influence.

Neurophysiological Theory

• Suggests the biological are significant parts.
• Emphasizing the inherent influences is hormonal ( females testosterone to risk task and emotional expression, which can influence prenatal) and also brain structure too.

Structural Variations

• Contribute some to the different thoughts but more roles in vocational training.

Environmental influences

• Influences come though some aspects e.g interaction family, from early family life may mean you may have stereotypes by societal norms.

Critiques

• Simpilfying is the complexity and it may risk with biology alone without adequately cultural or individual attributes.

Theoretical

• Consider different behaviours with interaction and bio-dynamics as a individual is developing.

Valuables is Theory provided

• Bio is hormonal to gender where influence is also understood by a individual based on society.

Action is

• Toys( from youth with their pref),Risk task, and Differences that align with expression. "