Social Identity and Change PDF

1.3 Social identity and change Social class, gender, ethnicity and age as elements in the construction of social identity This section examines the ways that people use concepts such as class, gender ethnicity and age to create social identities that fix them within particular cultures and societies...

1.3 Social identity and change Social class, gender, ethnicity and age as elements in the construction of social identity This section examines the ways that people use concepts such as class, gender ethnicity and age to create social identities that fix them within particular cultures and societies Class identities Social class can be difficult to define, but Crompton (2003) suggests that occupation is a good general measure that can allow us to define simple class groupings, such as working, middle and upper class. Occupation can also suggest ways in which class identities develop out of different work-related experiences. Working class Traditional working-class identities are fixed (or centred) around manual work and the manufacturing industry. A further dimension to class identity came from the largely urban and close communities within which the traditional working class lived. Here, people of a similar class, occupation and general social outlook had their cultural beliefs continually reinforced through personal experience and socialisation: the 'working-class Self' could be contrasted with the middle-/upper-class Other'. In such circumstances, class identity was built not just around what people were or believed themselves to be, but also around what they were not. More recently, however, Crompton has suggested changes to the nature of work: • a decline in traditional manufacturing industries • a rise of service industries such as banking, computing and a range of lesser-status service jobs. This has led to the emergence of a new working class. Goldthorpe et al. (1968) argued that this section of the working class developed new forms of identity: • privatised or home-centred • instrumental: work was a means to an end - the creation of a comfortable home and family life - rather than an end in itself. In terms of general class identity, however, Devine (1992) suggested that there were still important differences between the new working class and the middle classes. The former, for example, retained a strong sense of 'being working class'. Middle class Middle-class identities are constructed around a range of occupational identities. These include: • professionals such as doctors, whose identity combines high levels of educational achievement with personal autonomy (freedom of action) and decision-making • managers involved in the day-to-day running of private and public companies - an identity, Brooks (2006) suggests, that combines career progression, decision-making, power and control over others and the organisation of work routines intellectuals, such as university lecturers, who reflect an academic identity dealing with knowledge and information services • consultants focused on selling knowledge, information and skills across both national and global markets • routine service workers (such as shop assistants), who represent an expanding identity group situated at the bottom of the middle-class hierarchy; they may have lower earnings and levels of skill than some higher working-class occupations, but they qualify as middle class on the basis of their non-manual work and, in the case of occupations such as nursing, higher levels of social status (a significant factor in all types of middle-class identity). Upper class Upper-class identities are based on two major groupings: • The landed aristocracy is a relatively small group whose traditional source of power is its historic ownership of land and its political connections to the monarchy. In the past, this made it the most significant section of society. Over the course of the 20th century, the economic power and influence of the aristocracy may have declined, but there remains a significant upper-class section of society. • The business elite now represents a major section of the upper class - one characterised by great income and wealth based on ownership of significant national, international and global companies. Self and Zealey (2007) note that: • 21% of the UK's total wealth is owned by the wealthiest 1% of its population. • 7% of the nation's wealth is owned by the least wealthy 50%. In India, a similar pattern of income equality emerges: • The top 10% of wage-earners earn 12 times more than the bottom 10%. • 42% of India's 1.2 billion population live on around $1.25 a day. On a global scale, Davies et al. (2008) note that the world's richest 1% own 40% of the total global wealth. Of this 1%, 60% live in just two countries: the USA and Japan. • ACTIVITY 1.14 Describe three cultural practices in your society that are commonly used to identify class distinctions. Compare these three cultural practices. Which would be the most appropriate for sociological research, and why? Gender identities Connell et al. (1987) argued that we are not born a 'man' or a 'woman'; we become 'men' and 'women' through the social construction of gender identities. In other words, while biological sex refers to the physical characteristics that cause people to be labelled male or female, gender refers to the social characteristics given to each sex. Lips (1993) argued that differences in male and female identities do not occur naturally from biological differences. Gender identities differ historically and cross-culturally, which means that they are both learnt and relative. Connell (1995) suggested that there are two forms of dominant gender identities: 1. Hegemonic masculinity, where 'traditional' forms of masculinity are based on a variety of physical and mental characteristics. For example, men are encouraged to adopt a particular body shape that, ideally, emphasises physical strength. Mental characteristics include ideas about men as leaders, providers, being unemotional, rational, calm, cool and so on. 2. Emphasised femininity relates to the idea that female identities were traditionally defined by how they could accommodate the interests and needs of men. The dominant identity was one that matched and complemented hegemonic masculinity. Women were regarded as essentially passive, emotional beings whose identity was expressed in the service of others. Kitchen (2006) calls this a 'complicit femininity', because it is defined by male needs and desires. Male identities Although hegemonic masculinity is dominant, alternative masculinities exist. Schauer (2004) suggests the following forms of masculinity: • Subordinate masculinities are generally seen as 'lesser forms' of masculinity, particularly for men who are unable or unwilling to perform hegemonic masculinity, such as those with physical disabilities. • Subversive masculinities involve an alternative masculinity that challenges and undermines hegemonic masculinity. An example here might be the 'serious student' who works hard at school rather than being part of a gang that is disruptive in class. • Complicit masculinities refer to newly feminised masculinities such as the 'new man'; men who combine paid work with their share of unpaid housework and childcare, taking on aspects of the traditional feminine role. This type of masculinity sees women as equals and occurs, Connell (1995) argued, because 'as women have become more powerful, male identities have begun to change'. Figure 1.14: How does this behaviour challenge notions of hegemonic masculinity? Marginalised masculinities refer to men who feel they have been 'pushed to the margins' of family life due to long-term unemployment, for example; they no longer feel able to perform what they see as the traditional masculine roles of money earner and family provider. Willott and Griffin (1996) noted this type of masculinity developing among the long-term unemployed working class as traditional beliefs about 'the good family man' providing for wife and kids clashed with an inability to provide for their partner and children as traditional working-class occupations disappeared. WHAT'S THE EVIDENCE? Young Masculinities By Stephen Frosh and Ann Phoenix, Basingstoke, Palgrave (2002) The researchers used individual and focus group interviews to gain an insight into how boys aged 11 to 14 (younger than in most research of this kind) in schools in London, United Kingdom, negotiated their gender identities. Although there is a popular stereotype of teenage boys being unable or unwilling to talk, especially about emotions, this was not the case in these interviews. It was found that it was important for the boys that they were seen as different from girls and separate from things associated with feminism. There was pressure to be 'hard', shown by success in sports, casual attitudes to school work and swearing. Football was important for masculinity; boys were expected to talk about football. Looking good was important too, but played down because caring about appearance was seen as feminine. Some boys put up a front of masculinity with other boys but were willing to discard this in one to one interviews or when around girls. The boys did not want girls as friends, although they recognised they would be able to talk about emotions more with girls. Many boys worked continuously on re-establishing their masculinity. Overall this research shows the importance of ideas about masculinity for boys' identities, and how attitudes are formed at quite an early age. Question: Can you recognise any of these aspects of masculinity and masculine behaviour in your school or college? Female identities Ann Oakley (1972) suggested that female identities were shaped in childhood. Girls and boys are socialised differently, into gendered roles that involve gendered identities. This happens in several ways. Girls and boys are treated differently by their parents, dressed in different clothes, are given different toys to play with and so on. Oakley suggested four main ways in which children are socialised into gender roles: • By manipulation: for example, by stressing the importance of appearance for girls and of being brave or strong for boys. • By canalisation: channelling children's time and attention onto different activities, such as the girl helping her mother cook while the boy plays sport with his father. • By verbal appellation: how children are spoken to; for example, telling a girl she is pretty reinforces the idea that attractiveness in females is important. • By different activities: what children see their parents and others doing leads to ideas about what is appropriate for each sex, for example that cooking and cleaning are for women. According to Oakley, there are three main forms of feminine identity in contemporary societies: 1 Contingent femininities are framed and shaped by male beliefs, behaviours and demands: Normalised identities, for example, involve women learning to play a secondary role to men - as mothers, girlfriends, partners and the like. Chambers et al. (2003) argue that such identities continually struggle with the problem of 'producing a femininity that will secure male approval • Sexualised identities are made through male eyes and fantasies. In these types of identity, women are sexual objects that exist for male gratification. 2 Assertive identities reflect the changing position of women in many societies. They involve women breaking free from traditional ideas about femininity, but not completely setting themselves apart from men. Froyum (2005) suggests that assertive femininities are adopted to 'resist male power without actually threatening to overthrow such power'. Different types of assertive identity include: • 'Girl power' identities: Hollows (2000) suggests that these emphasise 'sex as fun' and the importance of female friendship. These identities represent a way of 'coping with masculinity', but older women are excluded from this identity. • Modernised femininities that relate to a slightly older age group. These locate new-found female economic and cultural power within the context of family relationships. The assertive aspect here is a desire for personal freedom and expression - what McRobbie (1996) termed 'individualism, liberty and the entitlement to sexual selfexpression' — within the context of traditional gender relationships. • Ageing femininities, which assert the right of elderly women to be fashionable, active and sexual beings. • 3 Autonomous femininities, which involve competition with men, on female terms. Evans (2006), for example, points to a female individualism as part of a 'new gender regime that frees women from traditional constraints', such as pregnancy and childcare. Autonomous women are likely to be: • highly educated • successful • professional middle class • career-focussed. They also tend to form non-committal heterosexual attachments. These may involve marriage but are unlikely to involve children.