Question

What does it mean to say that gender is socially constructed? How do we know? What does work have to do with the social construction of gender? Use the terms gender(ed) division of laborand gender identityin your answer.( 1 page single space answer)

Answer 1

Sociologists and other social scientists make a distinction between sex and gender. The term sex refers to a biological concept that is based on biological characteristics such as the anatomy of an individual's reproductive system, and secondary sex characteristics, whereas gender, is a social construct that deals with personal, societal and cultural perceptions of sexuality. Gender is considered a socially constructed concept because it depends on the socialization practices that prepare children for adult roles as per the prevalent cultural norms. For instance, children are rewarded for conforming to gender role expectations and punished for crossing gender lines. In other words, the approach shows how cultural practices mirror and perpetuate the gender divisions that are prevalent in society and create roles that are considered masculine (men) roles and feminine (women) roles. Some social scientist argues that gender differentiation is bad for society in general and women in particular because it keeps women from reaching their potential and contributing fully to society while other social scientists believe, gender differentiation contributes to the stability of a society. Gender roles, in this view, arise from the need to establish a division of labour within the family. Because of their biological role in childbirth and breastfeeding, women in virtually every culture and society around the planet have the primary responsibility for child care. Similarly, men have traditionally had the responsibilities for hunting and waging war because of their relatively greater size and strength. Another concept is of Gender identity. It refers to the personal sense of one's own gender and may or may not correlate with assigned sex at birth. Gender identity is formed on the basis of a set of gender categories that are offered by society.

One of the stark reality of gender is observed in work or occupation. The feature of occupation segregation based on gender gives rise to inequality. The jobs in which mostly women are concentrated are low paying jobs and require a lot of manual work. Work segregation by gender tends to limit the autonomy, freedom and recognition accorded to individuals’, not just women but also men. Most strikingly, work segregation by sex draws upon and in turn contributes to, social ‘stereotypes’. A stereotype is a fixed general image reinforcing the problem of gendered occupational segregation that shapes our expectations about whether a man or a woman is a better “fit” for a given job. These stereotypes influence the chances that a man or a woman will be hired, the pay each would receive, and even performance evaluations that determine promotions. For example, when a woman’s set of talents make her well suited to a particular occupation say a fire-fighter but this occupation is considered to be a ‘man’s job’ as a result she will not pursue that occupation. The same is true of men who wish to pursue occupations that are considered ‘female jobs’. Women have been historically facing limitations to enter the labour markets so occupational segregation as a whole disadvantages women more than men and this exacerbates inequality.