FREE ESSAY ON WHAT IS GENDER?

WHAT IS GENDER?

When studying gender, the first task is to clearly define what it is not. Gender simply
can not be defined by one's anatomy. In other words, gender is not categorized as male or
female. Stating this fact is of the utmost importance, because most people would define
gender in such a way. In fact, some dictionaries actually define gender as See sex. So
now that I have withdrawn that determinant, I must conclude that gender is something
which is determined socially. Unfortunately, the concept is far too broad to have one
clear definition. It can be studied in so many different ways, and it is because of this
that there are a multitude of theories about it. Learning about differing theories
stimulates one's own beliefs about gender and its usefulness. 
Every sociology litterateur is aware of the socialization theory. Socialization and the
study of gender are often linked. In terms of gender, the socialization theory suggests
that children are taught to behave a certain way according to their sex. Boys are taught
to be masculine and girls to be feminine. For example, parents will often buy boys trucks
or army toys and for girls, they will buy dolls and playhouse sort-of toys. Boys are
played with in a rough manner and are taught to tough it out when they get hurt. Girls
are taught to be more passive and expressive of their feelings. Also, children learn by
observing their parents and the roles that they play. Girls love pretending to be the
mommy. Chores are also divided. Those chores that are more masculine are for the boys
such as taking out the trash and raking leaves. Girls help in the kitchen and with
cleaning. The socialization theory is accepted by many, but it does not account for
everything. This theory is limiting in that it doesnot allow one to study gender in a
macro sense. This theory cannot explain why or how gender came about. It also doesn't
provide an answer for how gender inequality began or how it can be minimized. 
Many theorists take the socialization theory and expand on it. One of the most unique
theories on gender comes from Judith Lorber, a professor of sociology. Lorber's book,
Paradoxes of Gender, introduces her idea of gender being a social institution. Lorber
views gender inequality from this perspective. It is difficult to explain all aspects of
Lorber's theory without sounding repetitive, because so much is interrelated. She
critiques all of the popular beliefs about gender. Gender is not the assumptions or
beliefs about males and females; it is not the roles that males and females play; it is
not male and female status; it is certainly not anatomy, and it is not strictly
socialization. 
Gender is a social structure that has its origins in the development of human culture,
not in biology or procreation. ... As is true of other institutions, gender's history can
be traced, its structure examined, and
its changing effects researched. (Lorber, p.1)
LLorber does not view gender at the individual level, but rather as a social construction
that establishes norms for individuals which are built into the major societal
organizations. The development of gender inequality is the main focus of Lorber's
discussion of gender. According to Lorber, roles are gendered. Either sex can participate
in opposite gendered roles. The problem is that males are expected to be masculine and
women to be feminine. Those jobs that are more feminine have lower statuses, thus lower
pay. So we now begin to see where inequality comes into play. An interesting point that
Lorber makes about this is that women are to blame for this as well as men. When a woman
chooses to go into a female-dominated field, she is perpetuating inequality by
contributing to masculinism. However, when a female works in a male-dominated field, she
must become a social man. For example, in the work force, CEOs are supposed to possess
masculine traits. A female CEO must be aggressive, dominant, and non-sympathetic. So when
females become social men, they are looked down upon. Most of these women are thought to
be too aggressive and unappealing. They have failed at being a woman. The same goes for
men in female-dominated jobs, although for men, there isn't much of a problem simply
because there aren't very many men who take feminine jobs due to their lower statuses.
Naturally, female-dominated jobs are seen as feminine. If a man were to take a
female-dominated job, he would be expected to act as a social woman. The fact that a
person must behave according to the gender of his/her job demonstrates the idea of gender
being institutionalized. The process is known as gender differentiation. So why don't
more women get into male-dominated jobs? Lorber explains that women aren't viewed as
having what it takes to be successful in these jobs. Men are in positions of power,
therefore they will generally hire someone like themselves--a man. 
Another important distinction between Lorber's theory of gender and others is that she
asks why gender inequality exists. She has to ask how gender came about in the first
place. She gives a thorough discussion about the history of gender. According to Lorber,
gender was born in kinship. When fire was invented, new weapons resulted and hunting
practices changed. This new form of hunting required new skills, and this lead to
children taking longer before they could become members of this group. An increased in
food meant that fertility increased and more children lived. This lead to the division of
labor between child-minders and non-child-minders. Logically, the women were the
child-minders and would gather and process food and hides and make the necessary tools.
Non-child-minders *males* would make their weapons and hunt for food. It was not women's
anatomy/biology that made them more nurturing than man, but rather their anatomy placed
them into a more nurturing role.
There is no need to posit special 'killer' or 'maternal' instincts in males and females
to explain the assignment of these roles. *Lorber, p.128)
SSocialization rooted from the placement of male and females in separate roles. Females
had to teach other younger females how to be care-takers and males had to teach younger
males how to hunt. Both roles were vital to the survival of the social system. So why is
manly work valued more today? This is directly related to waged and unwaged labor.
Unwaged labor is work done by mostly women in the home. Childcare, laundry, cooking, and
cleaning are all examples of unwaged labor. As shown earlier, women were placed in this
type of work long ago, therefore jobs that have feminine traits such as nurturing,
caring, and patience are not valued financially. Lorber makes a strong point that because
gender has been present for so long, we must rethink everything with a gender-sensitive
lens. 
Other theorists on gender offer interesting perspectives as well. Kate Millett, author of
Sexual Politics (1970) dealt with male supremacy. She believed that it was socially
enforced through socialization of early childhood, family restrictions placed on women,
male tendency toward violence and in other institutions. Millett was criticized for not
explaining how male supremacy came about historically. Shulamith Firestone, author of The
Dialectic of Sex (1970), accepted the traditional idea that male dominance was natural.
She agreed with Millett in that male supremacy was socially enforced, but that its roots
are with the biological family. Firestone was able to move further than Millett because
she pointed to a certain institution that caused it-the family. 
The family is the primary institution through which women participate in this society.
While Firestone ignored the important fact that women work outside the home, even working
women give the family their primary allegiance. Wherever a woman is in this society, it
is the family, and the ideology of the family that contributes most to shaping her
beliefs and maintaining her oppression. (P.17)
JJuliet Mitchell, author of Women's Estate (1971), criticized both Millett and Firestone.
She stated that Firestone's radical feminist outlook was too limiting. She states that
Millett and Firestone see the relevance of socialism but only in terms of the economy.
Mitchell urges that we develop a socialist theory of women's oppression and of the
family. She analyses the historic failure of the socialist movement to deal with the
oppression of women. She urged that we separate the family structures that compose it:
sexuality, reproduction, and socialization of the young. It was then portrayed as a
natural institution within which women performed natural function: sex, childbirth, and
the child-rearing. Mitchell describes the unity of the family in three ways. First, it is
always formed as an economic unit. Second, the family's unity is formed ideologically.
And lastly, she explains that relative autonomy of the family from history by its
'biosocial' formed the basic mother/father/child relationship. In this relationship,
within the family, the person is socially constructed and male supremacy takes shape.
Sheila Rowbotham, author of Woman's Consciousness, Man's World, does not believe that
believe that men and women are determined either by anatomy or economics. She shares
Lorber's view that women were subordinated to men before capitalism, and that this has
affected the position of women in capitalist society. She also would agree with Lorber
that women contribute to their oppression. 
Our sexual conditioning means that we submit more readily than men to this intolerable
state of affairs. (P. 121)
Gender studies lead to a variety of interpretations and explanations. What do we gain
from them, though? By studying gender, we can better understand how to minimize
inequality. Some of the theorists believe that radical means will result in drastic
change. For example, Firestone believed that if we would be making major progress if we
could somehow outgrow nature and reproduce outside the womb. Lorber admits that a gender
neutral society is far too radical of an idea, because it would call for a complete
reorganization of everything. Every institution would have to be exactly half male and
half female, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and heterosexuals would have to have everything
equal, etc. Even though a genderless society isn't attainable, I believe that Lorber
would agree that by being aware of gender inequality, we can at least change it at the
micro level. This over much time, should decrease the amount of it at the macro level.
Lorber believes that the first step is to realize that gender is everywhere. Every
institution is gendered. If people fail to see that, then they will not see the whole
picture of inequality. This is best described using the birdcage effect. The birdcage
effect is when only single events of oppression are viewed. This single event is
represented by one bar of the cage. When only one bar is seen, it looks as if the cage is
escapable, but when you step back and look at all the bars, it is apparent that the cage
is a trap. According to Lorber, society needs to step back in history and rethink it
using a gender sensitive lens. By doing this, all the bars will present themselves and we
will realize just how trapped in gender inequality we are.