Theories on Gender Inequality - Book Report/Review Example

Theories on gender inequality The world today in some aspects is not any different from the way it was centuries and even millennia back. One of these aspects still prevalent is that of gender inequality that has been with us since the history of mankind. Gender inequality has been an area that has attracted the attention of academicians and researchers from varies disciplines trying to uncover its root causes, effects or impacts it has on the society and the various ways in which it can be avoided altogether. Sociologists have been in the forefront in the search for answers in relation to this social manifestation and in doing so have come up with a number of theories that aim at explaining its existence (Giddens 2007). It is also important to note at this point that gender as taken by many is not a term exclusive to females or women as men too fall under the male gender. Therefore, inequality practices and manifestations that underlie gender inequality also affect men where they are discriminated against. This paper shall look into three theories i.e. Marxian, Non-Marxian and the Militarist theories where it will contrast them while giving a real live example from one of them (Giddens 2007). Militarist theory is the one that tries to explain the manifestation of gender inequality using the warfare needs of a society approach. The theory argues that different societies have and are facing security threats both internally and beyond their borders (Giddens 2007). For this reason they need to have people in place to defend their interests from the enemies. Due to his masculine nature, man is preferred to engage in combat while a woman is taken to be passive and inefficient in the battle field. In societies that security is a dominant issue men tend to occupy most or even all the political positions. In so doing roles of leadership from the topmost hierarchy of politics to the domestic leadership are all occupied by men. It is also a widely common feature that physical activities are left for men to perform. Women in this respect are left aside to do the less physically demanding activities especially at home (Giddens 2007). These characteristics were more common in the western countries before and in the agrarian times while majority countries in Asia and Africa still have this type of segregation that discriminates women more than their male counterparts. Marxian theory on the other hand tends to lean more on the means of production approach whereby the basis for gender inequality in the society depends on the gender controlling the means of production. Many world societies have embraced exchange economy model whereby people are required to go out and move around in search for goods and services needed in the family while selling what the family has as surplus (Giddens 2007). Due to the nature of men to dominate the family setup, women found themselves taking the backseat in the various exchange roles. With time men have taken over all the means of production while women have settled for domestic activities and child rearing. Personally I faced discrimination when it came to attending night parties as I was always told that it is only my brothers who are to go while I assist my mother to do house chores. The other theory is Non-Marxian Materialist one whereby materialist approach or perspective is used (Giddens 2007). Under this theory the various gender related roles are seen to be as a result of the changes that have happened and continue to happen in the realm of technological, ecological and economic societal arrangements. Human beings adapt themselves to the roles that fit them more and this has been the trend since the time of hunting and gathering societies. Women were the gatherers and men the hunters which were roles that developed out of adaptive results of the two genders. Women fitted more as gatherers as they also had children take care about while men had all the time to be patient in the hunting grounds. These were roles that fit well within the two separate genders. In today’s world not as many women are versant with the current technology nor are they also raising more money in families than men do on general terms and these are the biggest contributing factors to gender inequalities. Immigration problem in USA Immigration in the United States has been a big problem for many years and it is high time that the government come up with reforms that aim at solving it once and for all (Briggs 1996). The Obama administration has been quite vibrant on this matter since he stepped in as the president. USA alone has well over twenty million immigrants who are undocumented. There have been debates by politicians, activists and members of the general public on how to deal with this issue. However, my plan on handling this issue is quite simple but hard to follow if the relevant authorities fail to act accordingly. It is important to appreciate that America is having too many undocumented immigrants already and trying to take them back from where they came from will reap no benefit socially or even economically both in the short and long term. Therefore, for those already in the US we have to start a program of registering them whereby they should take a maximum of ten years to become full US citizens. The major focus should thereby be directed towards the potential future immigrants (Briggs 1996). For this the border security is of essence whereby the number of the personnel manning borders should be increased. The US border fencing with Mexico should be particularly stretched further by not less than three hundred miles as an urgent measure while the rest take not more than four years to cover. These and more endeavors should be heavily funded by the government while considering that they are for the long term benefit. There should be collaboration though with countries so as to return their citizens back when found in bleach of US immigration law. There should be a strict requirement for all people to have legal documentation for them to work and organizations should demand for such. The programs for guest workers should be reviewed for example extending to 3 years the visa eligibility for TN. Social security is the other area where no illegal immigrant should earn credit over as measures of intense screening shall be imposed. Last but not the least is to have better education to immigrants on the various issues relating to legal and social guidelines and to have them well trained on the English language (Briggs 1996). Individual as a social person Piaget’s social theory stresses that an individual is who they are as a result of the relationship between them and the society. The social aspect is much emphasized in this regard and that ones peers are much involved in ones social development (Giddens 2007). He continues to add that peers are quite relevant in ones intellectual and social development as they are also important for their moral and social values development. These aspects make who a person is described to be in terms of morals, social interactions and intelligence. Sigmund Freud is the other person who came up with theories that explained the relationship between a person and the society. He focused more on how a child develops and came up with these explanations in five stages (Giddens 2007). He reiterated that parents’ role in child development was quite crucial in that how they dealt with their children was a huge determining factor of the personalities that their children shall bear. Parents are to be careful in the way they handle their children’s sexual desires as well as those related to their aggressiveness as these are the main determinants of future personalities of these children. The stages earlier mentioned start with Oral followed by Anal. The rest are phallic stage, latency while the last one is the genital stage (Giddens 2007). The last theory to look into is the one developed by G. H. Mead which is Social Behaviorism and Social Interactionism whereby it is argued that the society shapes who an individual is. It is through one comparing themselves with others while they act in a certain manner, that they take themselves to be different from them. These are what he referred to as Social Acts whereby an individual will view themselves after taking into consideration their co-actors (Giddens 2007). This is what makes one to develop socially after interaction with others around them. I take this theory to be the most correct one as compared to the other two for one basic reason. The reason is that personally I have developed the behaviors that I possess as a result of being close with people who behave similarly and who appreciate who I am and who I have become. Role in terms of front and back region In the society we live in, individuals are actors who have different roles to perform. This in other words means that the people in a society act in ways they are not and can therefore be termed as fakers. Under this concept Erving Goffman came up with the concept of back and front regions to describe the various personal performances in the social arena (Giddens 2007). In the front region an individual tries to give the society an impression of who they are. On the outside an individual shows levels of politeness and certain moral standings. In my case I usually show humility and empathy to those around me. At the back region the individual shows their true self and all that was suppressed manifests itself. In my case I take my private life quite seriously. In my house for example the bedroom is a no go zone for a guest and it is my back region. Works cited Giddens, Anthony. Duneier, Mitchell and Appelbaum, Richard P. Introduction to Sociology. 6th edn. W. W. Norton & Co., 2007. Briggs, Vernon M. Mass Immigration and the National Interest. M.E. Sharpe, 1996. Read More