UNIT II NATURE AND GENDER,

GENDER IDENTITY AND SELF

IMAGE, GENDER ROLE
SEGREGATION AND RANKING,
SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF
GENDER
Strucure
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Objectives
2.3 Nature and Gender
2.3.1 Gender: biological theory
2.3.2 Evaluation of the biological theory of gender
2.3.3 Gender stereotypes
2.4 Gender Identity and self-image
2.4.1 Gender Identity
2.4.2 Biological influences on gender identity
2.4.3 Psychological and social influences on gender identity
2.4.4. Self-Identity
2.4.5 Body
2.4.6 Identity
2.4.7 Social
2.5 Gender role
2.5.1 Types of Gender Role
2.5.2 Gender Roles and Relationships Matrix
2.5.3. Gender Based Division and Valuation of Work
2.5.4. Exploring Attitudes towards Gender
2.6 Segregation and ranking
2.6.1 Introduction
2.6.2 What are the causes of segregation?
2.6.3 What are the consequences of segregation?
2.7 Sociological analysis of gender
2.7.1 Introduction
2.7.2 The Social Construction of Gender
2.7.3 Major Sociological Theories of Gender
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4
1.1 INTRODUCTION

As one of the most fundamental aspects of self, gender impacts

everybody. All of us can point to a time in our lives when we were
burdened by unfair limitations or expectations because of others beliefs
about our gender. Gender identity appears to form very early in life and
is most likely irreversible by age. Although the exact causes of gender
identity remain unknown, biological, psychological, and social variables
clearly influence the process. The sociology of gender examines how
society influences our understandings and perception of differences
between masculinity (what society deems appropriate behavior for a-
man‖) and femininity (what society deems appropriate behavior for a-
woman‖). This unit’s emphasis the nature of gender, gender identity and
self-image, gender role, segregation and ranking and sociological
analysis of gender attitude towards gender and social construction of
gender. This unit creates a lot of inputs for the student perspective about
the nature of gender, gender issues, gender dynamics and gender roles.

1.2 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you will be able to:
 Express the biological theory of nature and gender
 Describe the gender roles in society through variety of institutions
 Discuss the gender identity and self-image
 Describe the causes and impact of declining sex ratio in India
 Identify the sociological analysis of gender

1.3 NATURE AND GENDER

.2.3.1 Gender: biological theory

Biological psychology regards gender identity and role as arising from

biological processes. Gender differences are seen as resulting from sex
differences. In other words, women and men act, think and feel
differently because of differences in how their brains work. These brain
differences may result from chromosomal differences and may also be
the result of hormonal differences.

Women and men are chromosomally different. Women have two X

chromosomes (XX), whereas men have an X and a Y chromosome (XY).
In the period following conception, female and male embryos are
indistinguishable apart from their chromosomes. However, the Y
chromosome in males starts to promote the production of testosterone
and other androgens (male sex hormones). These androgens cause the
male to develop testes and a penis instead of ovaries and a uterus. The
Nature and gender, gender identity
and self image, gender role androgens also cause the male brain to develop differently from the
Segregation and ranking, female. A biopsychologist would argue that it is these differences in
sociological analysis of gender
brain development, and the differences in brain activity caused by the
NOTES secretion of androgens in adulthood, that cause men to behave differently
from women (e.g. acting more aggressively).

Some people are conceived with an atypical chromosomal pattern.

People with Klinefelter‘s syndrome (XXY) are biologically male but
have an extra X chromosome. This causes physical effects including
underdeveloped genitals and a lack of body hair, and psychological
effects including poor language skills and a passive temperament. People
with Turner‘s syndrome (XO) are biologically female but have one X
chromosome missing. Physically the effects of this are a short body and
distinctive webbing at the neck. Psychologically, people with Turner‘s
syndrome often have poor spatial and mathematical skills.

Women and men produce different sex hormones in varying quantities.

Besides affecting the functioning of various bodily organs (e.g. causing
the menstrual cycle in women) these sex hormones appear to have an
effect on behavior. Testosterone, which is produced in greater quantities
by men, affects several types of behavior, some of which are regarded as
typically male’. For example, Dabbs et al (1995) found that violent
offenders had higher testosterone levels than non-violent offenders and
Coates et al (2008) found that financial traders with higher testosterone
levels took greater risks. Women have higher levels of oxytocin than
men. Some researchers have linked this to increased sociability. Oxytocin
seems to affect the formation of bonds and attachments between people
and Klaver et al (2009) found that higher levels of oxytocin are linked to
improved memory for faces.

2.3.2 Evaluation of the biological theory of gender

It is clear from a range of studies involving humans and other animals

that chromosomal and hormonal differences between males and females
affect a range of masculine and feminine behaviors, which supports the
biological view. However, much of this research is correlation.
Consequently, whist it indicates a relationship between, for example,
testosterone levels and risk taking, it does not indicate the direction of
causality. Whilst higher testosterone might cause people to make riskier
decisions, it might also be that the process of taking risks causes
testosterone levels to rise.

Self-Instructional Material The biological view of gender is supported by those cross-cultural studies
that have found universal features of gender. For example, in all cultures

6
studied,
men are
found to
be more
aggressive
than
women,
which
suggest
an innate, biological difference. Similarly, Buss et al (1990) studied what Nature and gender, gender
women and men look for in a potential mate in a large number of cultures identity and self image, gender
role Segregation and ranking,
and found that whilst men consistently prioritized youth and physical sociological analysis of gender
attractiveness, women placed a higher premium on wealth and status.
NOTES
These differences may reflect biological differences between women and
men that have arisen because of evolutionary processes.

What are gender roles?

Gender roles in society means how we’re expected to act, speak, dress,
groom, and conduct ourselves based upon our assigned sex. For example,
girls and women are generally expected to dress in typically feminine
ways and be polite, accommodating, and nurturing. Men are generally
expected to be strong, aggressive, and bold.
Every society, ethnic group, and culture has gender role expectations, but
they can be very different from group to group. They can also change in
the same society over time.
2.3.3 Gender Stereotypes
A stereotype is a widely accepted judgment or bias about a person or
group — even though it’s overly simplified and not always accurate.
Stereotypes about gender can cause unequal and unfair treatment because
of a person’s gender. This is called sexism.
There are four basic kinds of gender stereotypes:
Personality traits — For example, women are often expected to be
accommodating and emotional, while men are usually expected to be
self-confident and aggressive.
Domestic behaviors — For example, some people expect that women
will take care of the children, cook, and clean the home, while men take
care of finances, work on the car, and do the home repairs.
Occupations — some people are quick to assume that teachers and nurses
are women, and that pilots, doctors, and engineers are men.
Physical appearance — For example, women are expected to be thin and
graceful, while men are expected to be tall and muscular. Men and
women are also expected to dress and groom in ways that are
stereotypical to their gender (men wearing pants and short hairstyles,
women wearing dresses and make-up.

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8
Nature and gender, gender identity
and self image, gender role 2.4 GENDER IDENTITY AND SELF IMAGE
Segregation and ranking,
sociological analysis of gender
2.4.1 Gender Identity
NOTES
Sociologists are particularly interested in gender identity and how (or if)
it determines gender roles. Gender identity appears to form very early in
life and is most likely irreversible by age. Although the exact causes of
gender identity remain unknown, biological, psychological, and social
variables clearly influence the process. Genetics, prenatal and postnatal
hormones, differences in the brain and the reproductive organs, and
socialization all interact to mold a person's gender identity.

2.4.2 Biological influences on gender identity

Sexual differentiation, which encompasses the physiological processes
whereby females become females and males become males, begins
prenatally. The differences brought about by physiological processes
ultimately interact with social learning influences postpartum (after birth)
to establish firmly a person's gender identity.
Genetics is the scientific study of heredity. Geneticists study genes, the
basic units of heredity that determine inherited characteristics.
Determination of an embryo's chromosomal sex is genetic, occurring at
conception. This process involves chromosomes, which are the biological
structures containing biological ―blueprints, or genes. The egg, or
ovum, always carries an X chromosome, and the sperm carries either a Y
or an X chromosome. A zygote is the product of conception: a fertilized
egg. A male zygote (XY) is the product of the fusion of an egg with a
sperm carrying a Y chromosome; a female zygote (XX), the product of
the fusion of an egg with a sperm carrying an X chromosome. The X
chromosome provides valuable genetic material essential to life and
health. The Y chromosome is smaller than the X, and carries little more
than directions for producing a male.

2.4.3 Psychological and social influences on gender identity

Gender identity is ultimately derived from both chromosomal makeup
and physical appearance, but this does not mean that psychosocial
influences are missing. Socialization, or the process whereby a child
learns the norms and roles that society has created for his or her gender,
plays a significant role in the establishment of her or his sense of
femaleness or maleness.
Children quickly develop a clear understanding that they are either
female or male, as well as a strong desire to adopt gender appropriate
mannerisms and behaviors. This normally occurs within two years,
Self-Instructional Material according to many authorities. In short, biology ―sets the stage, but
children's interactions with the social environment actually determine the
nature of gender identity.
Some people are unable to merge the biological, psychological, and Nature and gender, gender identity
social sides of their gender. They suffer gender dysphoria, or emotional and self image, gender role
Segregation and ranking,
confusion and pain over their gender identity. Specifically, transsexuals sociological analysis of gender
may desire to be rid of their primary and secondary sexual structures and
NOTES
acquire those of the other sex by undergoing sex reassignment surgery.
Transsexuals should not be confused with transvestites, who enjoy
wearing the clothing of the other gender.
2.4.4. Self-Identity
How do you see yourself physically and psychologically?
Your identity refers to the characteristics that distinguish you as you. It is
the answer to the question, ―Who am I? These characteristics include
physical features, interests, personality, ethnic origin, your gender, and so
on. One of your most distinguishing personal characteristics is being
male or female. A child learns this distinction by age two or three and
will be very unhappy if you make a mistake about it!
A person's sex refers to being male or female. Currently, the
word gender is also often used to mean male or female. However,
scientists use ―sex and ―gender to mean different things. In this case,
sex refers to the biological differences between men and women, or what
makes them male and female, such as their genes, hormones, genital
organs, secondary sexual characteristics, and some other aspects of their
bodies. These biological differences constitute the sex of the person.
Biology determines sex differences between male and female bodies.
Bodies are basically the same in all cultures, but gender differences are
largely shaped by your social and cultural groups. There are two
important parts to gender: gender identity, how you see yourself as
masculine or feminine, and gender role, how society expects you to
behave because of being male or female. Like two sides of a coin, they
are different but closely linked.
Other scientists think gender identity is learned in childhood and is set
by age three. From early childhood on, boys and girls are socialized, by
the expectations of others, to think of themselves in certain ways.
Consciously or not, parents, other adults, and your friends treat you in
certain ways depending on your sex. So some researchers believe it is not
biology, but social expectations that determine what it means to be
masculine or feminine.
How does puberty influence your gender identity? Children already
know that the genital organs of boys and girls are different. But before
puberty, with clothes on, boys and girls don't look that different,
especially if they have similar hairstyles. As you mature during puberty,
the differences become more obvious as the secondary sexual
characteristics develop and clearly distinguish who is male and who is
female.
Self-Instructional Material
Differences in appearance represent only part of the picture. Gender
identity is how a person thinks of himself or herself as a boy or girl. An
10
Nature and gender, gender identity
and self image, gender role important part of gender identity is how people expect you to behave,
Segregation and ranking, how society defines your gender role.
sociological analysis of gender
2.4.5 Body
NOTES Most societies view sex as a binary concept, with two rigidly fixed
options: male or female, based on a person’s reproductive anatomy and
functions. But a binary view of sex fails to capture even the biological
aspect of gender. While we are often taught that bodies have one of two
forms of genitalia, which are classified as ―female‖ or ―male, there are
Intersex traits that demonstrate that sex exists across a continuum of
possibilities. This biological spectrum by itself should be enough to
dispel the simplistic notion that there are just two sexes. The relationship
between a person’s gender and their body goes beyond one‘s
reproductive functions.
Bodies themselves are also gendered in the context of cultural
expectations. Masculinity and femininity are equated with certain
physical attributes, labelling us as more or less a man/woman based on
the degree to which those attributes are present. This gendering of our
bodies affects how we feel about ourselves and how others perceive and
interact with us.
2.4.6 Identity
Gender identity is our internal experience and naming of our gender. It
can correspond to or differ from the sex we were assigned at birth.
This core aspect of one’s identity comes from within each of us. Gender
identity is an inherent aspect of a person’s make-up. Individuals do not
choose their gender, nor can they be made to change it. However, the
words someone uses to communicate their gender identity may change
over time; naming one’s gender can be a complex and evolving matter.
Because we are provided with limited language for gender, it may take a
person quite some time to discover, or create, the language that best
communicates their internal experience. Likewise, as language evolves, a
person‘s name for their gender may also evolve. This does not mean their
gender has changed, but rather that the words for it are shifting.
More than just a series of new words, however, this shift in language
represents a far more nuanced understanding of the experience of gender
itself. Terms that communicate the broad range of experiences of non-
binary people are particularly growing in number. Genderqueer, a term
that is used both as an identity and as an umbrella term for non-binary
identities, is one example of a term for those who do not identify as
exclusively masculine or feminine. This evolution of language is
exciting, but can also be confusing as new terms are created regularly,
and since what a term means can vary from person to person.
2.4.7 Social
Self-Instructional Material Social gender is the third dimension. This includes Gender expression,
which is the way we communicate our gender to others through such
things as clothing, hairstyles, and mannerisms. It also includes how
individuals, communities and society perceive, interact with, and try to Nature and gender, gender
shape our gender. Social gender includes gender roles and expectations identity and self image, gender
role Segregation and ranking,
and how society uses those to try to enforce conformity to current gender sociological analysis of gender
norms.
NOTES
Practically everything is assigned a gender—toys, colors and clothes are
some of the more obvious examples. We begin to teach children about
gender from the moment they are born; given the prevalence of the
gender binary, children face great pressure to express their gender within
narrow, stereotypical definitions of ―boy‖ or ―girl. Expectations
regarding gender are communicated through every aspect of our lives,
including family, culture, peers, schools, community, media, and
religion. Gender roles and expectations are so entrenched in our culture
that it‘s difficult to imagine things any other way.

Finally, norms around gender change across societies and over time. One
need only considers men wearing earrings or women having tattoos to
see the flexibility of social expectations about gender. Even the
seemingly intractable notion that ―pink is for girls, blue is for boys‖ is
relatively new. Prior to the mid-twentieth century, pink was associated
with boys clothing and blue with girl’s clothing (still due to the
gendering of colors, but with a different rationale associating each color
with particular gendered characteristics).
Psychological and social influences on gender identity

2.5. GENDER ROLES

A gender role is a set of societal norms dictating the types of behaviors
which are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for
people based on their actual or perceived sex or sexuality. Gender roles
are usually cantered on conceptions of femininity and masculinity,
although there are exceptions and variations. The specifics regarding
these gendered expectations may vary substantially among cultures,
while other characteristics may be common throughout a range of
cultures.
The term gender role was first coined by John Money in 1955, during the
course of his study of intersex individuals, to describe the manners in Self-Instructional Material
which these individuals expressed their status as a male or female in a

12
 Nature and gender, gender
identity and self image, gender situation where no clear biological assignment existed. The term gender
role Segregation and ranking, role refers to society’s concept of how men and women are expected to
sociological analysis of gender
act and how they should behave. These roles are based on norms, or
NOTES standards, created by society.
2.5.1 Types of Gender Roles
Gender roles are a specific set of social and behavioral actions which are
considered to be appropriate for the given gender. The concept of gender
roles has been developed from the work of Caroline Moser. She explains this
concept as follows: Gender planning recognizes that in most societies low-
income women have a triple role: women undertake reproductive, productive,
and community managing activities, while men primarily undertake
productive and community politics activities.
Reproductive Role Childbearing/rearing responsibilities, and
domestic tasks done by women, required
to guarantee the maintenance and
reproduction of the labor force. It includes
not only biological reproduction but also
the care and maintenance of the work
force (male partner and working
children) and the future work force
(infants and school-going children)
Productive Role Work done by both men and women for
pay in cash or kind. It includes both
market production with an exchange-
value, and subsistence/home production
with actual use-value, and also potential
exchange-value. For women in
agricultural production, this includes
work as independent farmers, peasant
wives and wage workers.
Community Managing Activities undertaken primarily by
Role women at the community level, as an
extension of their reproductive role, to
ensure the provision and 12 maintenance
of scarce resources of collective
consumption, such as water, health care
and education. This is voluntary unpaid
work, undertaken in 'free' time.
Community Politics Role Activities undertaken primarily by men at
the community level, organizing at the
formal political level, often within the
framework of national politics. This is
Self-Instructional Material usually paid work, either directly or
indirectly, through status or power.
Multiple Role
Nature and gender, gender identity Both
and self men
image, and
gender role women
Segregationplay multiple
and ranking, roles.analysis of gender
sociological

The majorNOTES
difference, however, is that
Men: typically play their roles
sequentially, focusing on a single
productive role Women: must usually
play their roles simultaneously,
The gender-based division of laborbalancing the indemands
ascribed a given of each within
socio-economic
setting determines the roles thattheir
menlimited time constraints
and women actually perform. Since
men and women play different roles, they often face very different
cultural, institutional, physical and economic constraints, many of which
are rooted in systematic biases and discrimination
2.5.2 Gender Roles and Relationships Matrix
The Gender Relationship Matrix is an analytical tool that uses
participatory methodology to facilitate the definition and analysis of
gender issues by the communities that are affected by them. Using the
Gender Relationship Matrix will provide a unique articulation of issues
as well as develop gender analysis capacity from the grassroots level up.
The main aims of the Gender Relationship Matrix are as follows.
• Helps determine the differing impacts of development interventions on
women & men.
• Provides a community based technique for identification and analysis
• Initiates a process of analysis that identifies and challenges gender
roles within the community in a constructive manner. The Gender
Relationship Matrix is consisting of two parts of analysis namely level of
analysis and category of analysis.
Level of Analysis
 Women – all ages in the community
 Men - all ages in the community
 Household - All men, women, children residing together
extended, nuclear family.
 Community - Everyone in the project area as a whole.
Category of Analysis
 Labor – This refers to Changes in tasks, level of skill required
(skilled versus unskilled, formal education, training) and labor
capacity (how many people and how much then can do; do people
need to be hired or can members of the household do it.)
 Time – This refers to changes in the amount of time (3 hours, 4
days, and so on) it takes to carry out the task associated with the
project or activity.
 Resource – This refers to the changes in access to capital
(income, land, etc) as a consequence of the project, and the
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14
 Nature and gender, gender
identity and self image, gender extend of control over changes in resources (more or less) for
role Segregation and ranking, each level of analysis.
sociological analysis of gender
 Cultural – Cultural factors refer to changes in social aspects of the
NOTES participant’s lives


2.5.3. Gender Based Division and Valuation of Work

Families provide love and support to adults and children, but
homes are also workplaces, and households are important parts of the
larger economy. Even when families do not directly produce or market
goods and services, they keep the economy running by supporting and
maintaining adult workers, buying and consuming products, and
reproducing the workforce by having babies and socializing children.
These domestic activities require labor. The total amount of time and
effort put into feeding, clothing, and caring for family member’s rivals
that spent in all other forms of work.
Every home is a combination of hotel, restaurant, laundry, and often
childcare and entertainment center. The mundane work that goes into
these activities is usually invisible to the people who benefit from it,
especially children and husbands, who are the equivalent of non-paying
customers. Cleaning and cooking obviously require work, but even fun
activities like parties or holiday gatherings require planning, preparation,
service, clean-up, and other behind-the-scenes effort. Women perform
most of this family labor, even though men do the same sorts of things
outside the home for pay as chefs, waiters, or janitors. Although people
tend to think of domestic activities as "naturally" being women's work,
there is enormous variation in who does what both inside and outside the
home. Every society has restrictions on what kinds of work men and
women do, but there is no global content to these roles, and studies show
that divisions of labor are influenced by specific environmental and
social conditions. Activities often associated with women, such as
nurturance, domestic chores, and childcare, are sometimes performed by
men, and activities often associated with men, such as warfare, hunting,
and politics, are sometimes performed by women. Thus, although gender
is often used to divide labor, there is no universal set of tasks that can be
defined as "women's work" or "men's work."

Self-Instructional Material
2.5.4. Exploring Attitudes towards Gender Nature and gender, gender
Attitudes towards Gender (also referred to as sex role attitudes) have identity and self image, gender
role Segregation and ranking,
been defined as "an individual's beliefs about appropriate behavior for sociological analysis of gender
men and women". One's gender role attitudes are likely to indicate her or
NOTES
his adherence to socially accepted and culturally based norms that dictate
behavioral standards in cross - sex relationships. Gender role attitudes
indicate the degree to which a person accepts or rejects socially accepted
and culturally based norms that dictate appropriate behavior that is
gender specific. Social Attitudes surveys have included attitudinal
questions asking about the roles of men and women within the family, in
particular around providing an income from work versus playing a caring
role in the home. Examples of gender role attitudes include such
statements as "men should open the door for women," "fathers and
mothers should participate equally in nurturing and caring for their
children," "men are primarily responsible for earning money and
providing for their family," and "women should adopt their husband's
surname upon marriage." Gender role attitudes and ideas about traits or
tasks that are specific or inherent to a particular gender encourage us to
stereotype or pigeonhole individuals according to their gender.
Obviously, this practice has negative implications for both males and
females.

However, gender biases in language, traditions, and the work

place have tended to historically favor men and produce undesirable
consequences for women.

2.6 GENDER SEGREGATION

2.6.1 Introduction
Nothing defines the nature of gender in a society more than the tendency
of men and women to do different work. In both paid and unpaid work,
contemporary societies exhibit a remarkable level of differentiation
between the tasks done by women and those done by men – the gender
segregation of work. This basic feature of society has proven highly
resilient in the face of dramatic social change in many other arenas, Self-Instructional Material
including the workplace, the family and the state (Geist & Cohen 2011).

16
Nature and gender, gender identity
and self image, gender role However, variation in the pattern of segregation belies the common
Segregation and ranking, assumption that it is immutable (Yaish & Stier 2009). Rather, although
sociological analysis of gender
gender segregation is a universal aspect of gender inequality, the form
NOTES that it takes reveals the nature of the gender system, and in theory it is no
more inevitable than gender inequality itself (Charles & Grusky 2004).
2.6.2 What are the causes of segregation?
Preferences, choices and opportunities
Paula England (2010) has suggested that social change with regard to
gender segregation is largely one-sided, as women seek access to male-
dominated jobs more than the reverse – because female-dominated jobs
are compensated less. Thus, changes in women’s occupational
distribution have been more pronounced than those for men. However,
women’s desire for upward mobility is constrained by the continuing
presence of gender ―essentialist‖ views which hold men and women to
be inherently, categorically different in terms of preferences and
aptitudes (Hollander & Howard 2000). Essentialism pushes women
toward jobs traditionally done by women, such as teaching, nursing, and
other care- related service work – while men under the influence of
essentialism prefer to stay in male-dominate fields. In England’s view, it
may be women with higher earning potential – especially those whose
parents and themselves went to college – who more often seek to
integrate male- dominated jobs; for them, upward mobility may require
crossing the gender line. On the other hand, women with less access to
high-status jobs can pursue an upwardly-mobile path that includes
female-dominated work; for them, getting into a white-collar
administrative job, nursing career or teaching credential represents
upward mobility even though their destination career is still female-
dominated. As a result, gender integration has advanced much more
among higher-status occupations.

Identifying the causes of segregation is further complicated by the

distinction between two different kinds of gender segregation (Charles &
Grusky 2004): that which is a more benign division between comparably-
rewarded manual versus non-manual tasks, or ―horizontal‖ segregation;
and that which involves separation into hierarchically ranked occupations
within those spheres, or ―vertical‖ segregation. In practice, this
differentiation is very difficult to define, sometimes resulting in circular
definitions in which what men do is perceived as more ―manual‖ and
also higher status than what women do. In any event, this scheme at least
attempts to address the fact that segregation results from a combination
of both culturally-based ―choices‖ and hierarchically imposed status
rankings.
Self-Instructional Material 2.6.3 What are the consequences of segregation?
The most-studied effect of occupational segregation is its contribution to
the gender wage gap (Shauman 2006). However, the sorting of men and
women
into
different
jobs has a
variety of
consequen
ces,
including
job

18
satisfaction and stress as well as employee turnover (Reskin, McBrier & Nature and gender, gender identity
Kmec 1999). Because wages are more easily measured and compared and self image, gender role
Segregation and ranking,
across work settings – both for researchers and for workers comparing sociological analysis of gender
job opportunities and outcomes – focusing on the wage gap is both
NOTES
substantively and methodologically reasonable.
The gender wage gap could result from three mechanisms. First, if
women earn less than men on average, then it follows that female-
dominated occupations will have lower average pay. That is true, but it
does not account for the entire effect of gender composition; even
statistically holding constant the lower wages of women, average pay is
smaller in jobs with more women in them (Cohen and Huffman 2003a).
Second, women may be sorted into jobs that have lower expected
earnings. That could result from employers hiring practices (Fernandez
and Mors 2008), from women‘s lower levels of skills and experience
(England, Hermsen and Cotter 2000), or from women‘s acting on their
own occupational ―preferences,‖ such as the need to choose flexible jobs
so they can care for family members (Cha 2013; England 2005).
All of these processes do contribute to the tendency of women to cluster
in jobs that pay less than men’s, or to specialize in lower-paid areas
within their fields (Boulis & Jacobs 2008). However, a third mechanism
is particularly revealing about the deeply embedded nature of gender in
modern society: devaluation (Reskin 1988). Occupational gender
devaluation occurs when occupations with high concentrations of women
are paid less because women disproportionately fill them. That results
from a number of factors which are difficult to differentiate in a study,
such as the greater power of men to protect their own privileges in the
workplace, and the discriminatory practices of managers and employers
who profit from paying women less. However, recent research, which
carefully sequences the changes in occupational composition and
earnings over time, provides strong evidence that average pay in
occupations does in fact decline after women enter them (Levanon,
England and Allison 2009).

Self-Instructional Material
2.7 SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF GENDER Nature and gender, gender identity
and self image, gender role
2.7.1 Introduction Segregation and ranking,
sociological analysis of gender
The sociology of gender is one of the largest subfields within
sociology and features theory and research that critically interrogates the NOTES
social construction of gender, how gender interacts with other social
forces in society, and how gender relates to social structure overall.
Sociologists within this subfield study a wide range of topics with a
variety of research methods, including things like identity, social
interaction, power and oppression, and the interaction of gender with
other things like race, class, culture, religion, and sexuality, among
others.
To understand the sociology of gender one must first understand how
sociologists define gender and sex. The former, sex, is understood by
sociologists to be a biological categorization based on reproductive
organs. Most people fall into the categories of male and female, however,
some people are born with sex organs that do not clearly fit either
category, and they are known as intersex. Either way, sex is a biological
classification based on body parts.
Gender, on the other hand, is a social classification based on one's
identity, presentation of self, behavior, and interaction with others.
Sociologists view gender as learned behavior and a culturally produced
identity, and as such, it is a social category.
The sociology of gender examines how society influences our
understandings and perception of differences between masculinity (what
society deems appropriate behavior for a ―man‖) and femininity (what
society deems appropriate behavior for a ―woman‖). We examine
how this, in turn, influences identity and social practices. We pay special
focus on the power relationships that follow from the established gender
order in a given society, as well as how this changes over time.

2.7.2 The Social Construction of Gender

That gender is a social construct becomes especially apparent when one
compares how men and women behave across different cultures, and how
in some cultures and societies, other genders exist too. In Western
industrialized nations like the U.S., people tend to think of masculinity
and femininity in dichotomous terms, viewing men and women as
distinctly different and opposites. Other cultures, however, challenge this
assumption and have less distinct views of masculinity and femininity.
What this suggests is that we learn gender through the process
of socialization. For many people, this process begins before they are
even born, with parents selecting gendered names on the basis of the sex
of a foetus, and by decorating the incoming baby's room and selecting its
toys and clothes in color-coded and gendered ways that reflect cultural Self-Instructional Material
expectations and stereotypes.

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Nature and gender, gender identity
and self image, gender role One result of gender socialization is the formation of gender identity,
Segregation and ranking, which is one’s definition of oneself as a man or woman. Gender identity
sociological analysis of gender
shapes how we think about others and ourselves and also influences our
NOTES behaviors.
2.7.3 Major Sociological Theories of Gender
Each major sociological framework has its own views and theories
regarding gender and how it relates to other aspects of society.
During the mid-twentieth century, functionalist theorists argued that men
filled instrumental roles in society while women filled expressive roles,
which worked to the benefit of society. They viewed a gendered division
of labor as important and necessary for the smooth functioning of a
modern society. Further, this perspective suggests that our socialization
into prescribed roles drives gender inequality by encouraging men and
women to make different choices about family and work. For example,
these theorists see wage inequalities as the result of choices women
make, assuming they choose family roles that compete with their work
roles, which renders them less valuable employees from the managerial
standpoint.
However, most sociologists now view this functionalist approach as
outdated and sexist, and there is now plenty of scientific evidence to
suggest that the wage gap is influenced by deeply ingrained gender
biases rather than by choices men and women make about family-work
balance.
A popular and contemporary approach within the sociology of gender is
influenced by symbolic interactionist theory, which focuses on the micro-
level everyday interactions that produce and challenge gender as we
know it. Sociologists West and Zimmerman popularized this approach
with their 1987 article on "doing gender," which illustrated how gender is
something that is produced through interaction between people, and as
such is an interactional accomplishment. This approach highlights the
instability and fluidity of gender and recognizes that since it is produced
by people through interaction, it is fundamentally changeable.
Within the sociology of gender, those inspired by conflict theory focus
on how gender and assumptions and biases about gender differences lead
to the empowerment of men, oppression of women, and the structural
inequality of women relative to men. These sociologists see gendered
power dynamics as built into the social structure, and thus manifested
throughout all aspects of a patriarchal society. For example, from this
viewpoint, wage inequalities that exist between men and women result
from men’s historic power to devalue women’s work and benefit as a
group from the services that women‘s labor provides.
Feminist theorists, building on aspects of the three areas of theory
Self-Instructional Material described above, focus on the structural forces, values, world views,
norms, and everyday behaviors that create inequality and injustice on the
basis of gender. Importantly, they also focus on how these social forces
can be changed to create a just and equal society in which no one is Nature and gender, gender identity
penalized for their gender. and self image, gender role
Segregation and ranking,
sociological analysis of gender

NOTES

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