Theoretical Perspectives on Gender and Sex

The Feminist Movement

• Misogyny issue in US
• the hatred of or, aversion to, or prejudice against
women
• misogyny has evolved as an ideology that men are
superior to women in all aspects of life
• There have been multiple movements to try and
fight this prejudice
• The feminist movement (also known as the
women’s liberation movement, the women’s
movement, or simply feminism) refers to a
series of political campaigns for reform on a
variety of issues that affect women’s quality
of life.
Four Eras of Feminist Movements in United
States of America
• 1. First Wave Feminism (1848-1920)

• 2. Second Wave Feminism (1960s-1980s)

• 3. Third Wave Feminism (1990s-2008)

• 4. Fourth Wave Feminism (2008-present)

First Wave Feminism (1848-1920)
• propelled by middle class, western, cisgender, white
women
• as “a convention to discuss the social, civil, and religious
condition and rights of woman.” the Seneca Falls Convention
from July 19-20, 1848)
• 68 women and 32 men–100 out of some 300 attendees–
signed the Declaration of Sentiments, also known as the
Declaration of Rights and Sentiments,
• a notable connection between the movement to abolish
slavery and the women’s rights movement
First Wave Feminism (1848-1920)

• Limitations:
• lack of inclusion of women of color and poor
women.
• The movement was led by educated white
women and often willfully ignored pressing
issues for the rest of the women in the United
States.
Second Wave Feminism (1960s-1980s)

• drew in women of color and women from developing

nations, seeking sisterhood and solidarity, and claiming
“Women’s struggle is class struggle.”

• Feminists spoke of women as a social class and coined

phrases such as “the personal is political” and “identity
politics” in an effort to demonstrate that race, class, and
gender oppression are all related.
• Margaret Sanger, birth control advocate from the first
wave, lived to see the Food and Drug Administration
approve the combined oral contraceptive pill in 1960,
which was made available in 1961
• Both first second wave feminists were influenced by
other contemporaneous social movements.
• Feminists engaged in protests and actions designed to
bring awareness and change.
• Feminists were concerned with far more than protests,
however…
• In the 1970s, they opened battered women’s shelters and
successfully fought for protection from employment
discrimination for pregnant women, reform of rape laws (such
as the abolition of laws requiring a witness to corroborate a
woman’s report of rape), criminalization of domestic violence,
and funding for schools that sought to counter sexist
stereotypes of women.
• The successes of the second wave included a more
individualistic approach to feminism, a broadening of
issues beyond voting and property rights, and greater
awareness of timely feminist objectives through books
and television.

• However, there were some impactful political

disappointments, as the ERA (Equal Rights
Amendment ) was not ratified by the states, and
second wave feminists were not able to create lasting
coalitions with other social movements.
Third Wave Feminism (1990s-2008)

• refers to several diverse strains of feminist activity and

study, whose exact boundaries in the history of feminism
are a subject of debate
• arose partially as a response to the perceived failures of and
backlash against initiatives and movements created by
second-wave feminism.
• broadened the parameters of feminism to include a more
diverse group of women and a more fluid range of sexual
and gender identities.
• Third wave feminists effectively used mass
media, particularly the web (“cybergrrls” and
“netgrrls”), to create a feminism that is global,
multicultural, and boundary-crossing.
• Third wave feminism’s focus on identity and
the blurring of boundaries, however, did not
effectively address many persistent macro
sociological issues such as sexual harassment
and sexual assault.
Fourth Wave Feminism (2008-present)

• is shaped by technology and characterized by the

#metoo and the #timesup movements.
• these hashtags were first introduced on Twitter in
2007, this movement has grown rapidly, as social
media activism has spread interest in and awareness
of feminism.
• Waves of accusations against men in powerful
positions—from Hollywood directors, to Supreme
Court justices, to the President of the United States
• As Rampton (2015) states, “The emerging fourth wavers
are not just reincarnations of their second wave
grandmothers; they bring to the discussion important
perspectives taught by third wave feminism; they speak
in terms of intersectionality whereby women’s suppression
can only fully be understood in a context of the
marginalization of other groups and genders—feminism is
part of a larger consciousness of oppression along with
racism, ageism, classism, ableism, and sexual orientation
(no “ism” to go with that).”
Feminist Theory
• a conflict theory that examines inequalities in gender-related
issues.
• to examine the maintenance of gender roles and uneven
power relations
• Patriarchal societies:
• men’s contributions are seen as more valuable than those of
women
• Result: women’s viewpoints tend to be silenced or marginalized to
the point of being discredited or considered invalid.
Patriarchy
• a set of institutional structures (like property rights, access to
positions of power, relationship to sources of income) that are
based on the belief that men and women are dichotomous
and unequal categories of being
• Key to patriarchy: is what might be called the dominant gender ideology
toward sexual differences: the assumption that physiological sex differences
between males and females are related to differences in their character, behavior,
and ability (i.e., their gender).
• Use to justify gendered division of social roles and inequality in access
to rewards, positions of power, and privilege.
 How does this distinction between male and female, and the attribution of
different qualities to each, serve to organize our institutions (e.g., the
family, law, the occupational structure, religious institutions, the division
between public and private) and to perpetuate inequality between the
sexes?

• One of the influential sociological insights that emerged within second wave
feminism is that “the personal is political.”
• Personal is political
• This is a way of acknowledging that the challenges and personal crises that
emerge in one’s day-to-day lived experience are symptomatic of larger
systemic political issues, and that the solutions to such problems must be
collectively pursued.
Standpoint Theory
• Many of the most immediate and fundamental experiences of
social life—from childbirth to who washes the dishes to the
experience of sexual violence—had simply been invisible or
regarded as unimportant politically or socially.
• Argument:
• Smith argued that instead of beginning sociological analysis from the
abstract point of view of institutions or systems, women’s lives could
be more effectively examined if one began from the “actualities” of
their lived experience in the immediate local settings of “everyday/
every night” life.
• What are the common features of women’s everyday lives?”
• Smith observed that women’s position in modern society is acutely divided
by the experience of dual consciousness (recall W.E.B. DuBois’ double
consciousness).
• Every day women crossed a tangible dividing line when they went from the
“particularizing work in relation to children, spouse, and household” to the
institutional world of text-mediated, abstract concerns at work, or in their
dealings with schools, medical systems, or government bureaucracies.

• Smith’s argument is in keeping with the second wave feminist idea that “the
personal” (child-rearing, housekeeping) complicates and illuminates one’s
relationship to “the political” (work life, government bureaucracies).
Intersectional Theory
• examines multiple, overlapping identities and social
contexts (Black, Latina, Asian, gay, trans, working
class, poor, single parent, working, stay-at-home,
immigrant, undocumented, etc.) and the unique,
various lived experiences within these spaces.
Theoretical Perspectives on Gender
• The three main sociological perspectives to
better understand the socio-economic
phenomenon of the gender wage gap.
• 1. Structural functionalism
• 2. Conflict theory
• 3. Symbolic-Interactionism
Structural functionalism

• Argument:
• gender roles were established well before the pre-industrial era
when men typically took care of responsibilities outside of the
home, such as hunting, and women typically took care of the
domestic responsibilities in or around the home.
• These roles were considered functional because women were often limited
by the physical restraints of pregnancy and nursing and were unable to leave
the home for long periods of time.
• These roles were passed on to subsequent generations, since they served as
an effective means of keeping the family system functioning properly.
• When changes occurred in the social and economic climate of the
United States during World War II, changes in the family structure
also occurred. Many women had to assume the role of breadwinner
(or modern hunter-gatherer) alongside their traditional domestic
role in order to stabilize a rapidly changing society. When the men
returned from war and wanted to reclaim their jobs, society fell
back into a state of imbalance, as many women did not want to
forfeit their wage-earning positions (Hawke 2007).
Conflict Theory
• society is a struggle for dominance among social groups (like
women versus men) that compete for scarce resources
• men as the dominant group and women as the subordinate
group
• social problems are created when dominant groups exploit or
oppress subordinate groups.
• It is difficult for women to rise above men, as dominant group
members create the rules for success and opportunity in
society (Farrington and Chertok 1993).
• Engels suggested that the same owner-worker
relationship seen in the labor force is also seen in the
household, with women assuming the role of the
proletariat (i.e., the industrial age, routine-bound
workers).
• due to women’s dependence on men for the attainment
of wages, which is even worse for women who are
entirely dependent upon their spouses for economic
support.
• Contemporary conflict theorists suggest that
when women become wage earners, they can
gain power in the family structure and create
more democratic arrangements in the home,
although they may still carry the majority of
the domestic burden, as noted earlier
(Rismanand and Johnson-Sumerford 1998).
Symbolic Interactionism
• aims to understand human behavior by analyzing the critical role of symbols
and meaning-making in human interaction.
• relevant to the discussion of masculinity and femininity.
• Eg.
• Imagine that you walk into a bank hoping to get a small loan for school, a home, or a
small business venture. If you meet with a male loan officer, you may state your case
logically by listing all the hard numbers that make you a qualified applicant as a means
of appealing to the practical, analytical characteristics associated with masculinity.
• If you meet with a female loan officer, you may make an emotional appeal by stating
your good intentions as a means of appealing to the empathetic, nurturing
characteristics associated with femininity.

The meanings attached to symbols are socially created and not natural,
and fluid, not static, we act and react to symbols based on the current
assigned meaning
 • The word gay, for example, once meant “cheerful,” but by the 1960s it
carried the primary meaning of “homosexual.”
• In transition, it was even known to mean “careless” or “bright and
showing” (Oxford American Dictionary 2010).
• the word gay (as it refers to a homosexual), carried a somewhat
negative and unfavorable meaning fifty years ago, but has since gained
more neutral and even positive connotations.
• When people perform tasks or possess characteristics based on the
gender role assigned to them, they are said to be doing gender.
• gender and sexuality are socially
Whether we are expressing our masculinity constructed
or femininity, Candace West and Don H. • The social construction of sexuality refers to
Zimmerman argue, we are always “doing the way in which socially created definitions
about the cultural appropriateness of sex-
gender.” Thus, gender is something we do or
linked behavior shape the way people see
perform, not something we are. and experience sexuality.
Activity! ½ cw by pair
• Choose one topic below and give your insights on the
relevance or significance of the topic in understanding
gender-related issues.

• 1. Structural functionalism
• 2. Conflict Theory
• 3. Symbolic Interactionism
Assignment
½ cw
Due date: March 6, 2023
• Based on the different assumptions of the theories
on gender, which of the theoretical perspectives
(structural functional, conflict and symbolic-
interactionism) best explains your understanding of
gender? Support your answer by providing an
example from your real life experience.
Theoretical Perspectives on Sex
• Structural Functionalism
• stress the importance of regulating sexual behavior to ensure marital cohesion and family
and social stability

• Functionalists such as Talcott Parsons (1955) have long argued that the regulation of
sexual activity is an important function of the family. Social norms surrounding family life
have, traditionally, encouraged sexual activity within the family unit (marriage) and have
discouraged activity outside of it (premarital and extramarital sex).

• From a functionalist standpoint, homosexuality cannot be promoted on a large-scale as

an acceptable substitute for heterosexuality. If this occurred, procreation would
eventually cease. Thus, homosexuality, if occurring predominantly within the population,
is dysfunctional to society.

• Note: This criticism does not take into account the increasing legal acceptance of same-
sex marriage, or the rise in gay and lesbian couples who choose to bear and raise children
through a variety of available alternative resources.
Conflict Theory
• sexuality is another area in which power differentials are present and
where dominant groups actively work to promote their worldview as
well as their economic interests.
• Issue: legalization of gay marriage
• two key dimensions to the debate over same-sex marriage—one
ideological and the other economic.
• 1. Dominant groups (in this instance, heterosexuals) wish for their worldview
—which embraces traditional marriage, the nuclear family, and oftentimes a
politicized religiosity—to win out over what they see as the intrusion of a
secular, individually driven worldview
• 2. many gay and lesbian activists argue that legal marriage is a fundamental
right that cannot be denied based on sexual orientation and that, historically,
there already exists a precedent for changes to marriage laws:
Symbolic Interactionism
• Interactionists focus on the meanings associated with sexuality and
sexual orientation.
• Eg. Prior to 1973, the American Psychological Association (APA)
defined homosexuality as an abnormal or deviant disorder.
Interactionist labeling theory recognizes the impact this has made.
Before 1973, the APA was powerful in shaping social attitudes
toward homosexuality by defining it as pathological. Today, the
APA cites no association between sexual orientation and
psychopathology and sees homosexuality as a normal aspect of
human sexuality (APA 2008).
• Interactionists are also interested in how discussions of
homosexuals often focus almost exclusively on the sex lives of gays
and lesbians; homosexuals, especially men, may be assumed to be
hypersexual and, in some cases, deviant.
• Interactionism might also focus on the slurs used to describe
homosexuals.
• Labels such as “queen” and “fag” are often used to demean
homosexual men by feminizing them.
 Recall Cooley’s “looking-glass self,”
• which suggests that self develops as a result of our
interpretation and evaluation of the responses of others
(Cooley 1902).
• Constant exposure to derogatory labels, jokes, and pervasive
homophobia would lead to a negative self-image, or worse,
self-hate.
• The CDC reports that homosexual youths who experience high
levels of social rejection are six times more likely to have high
levels of depression and eight times more likely to have
attempted suicide (CDC 2011).
Queer Theory
• an interdisciplinary approach to sexuality studies that identifies
Western society’s rigid splitting of gender into male and female
roles and questions the manner in which we have been taught to
think about sexual orientation.
• The perspective highlights the need for a more flexible and fluid
conceptualization of sexuality—one that allows for change,
negotiation, and freedom.