Gender as Essentially Multidimensional Aspect - Term Paper Example

Sex, Gender and Bodies Name: Institution: Introduction Social research variables, such as gender and sex reflect meanings that conceptualise sexuality, bodies, and social status. For decades, sociologists have carefully reconsidered the manner in which the concepts of sex and gender are used. Regardless of these challenges, some researchers have maintained that gender and sex should denote the idea of constructing the feminine females and the masculine males. Johnson and Repta (2008) suggest that a critical challenge facing most researchers is determining the ingrained power relations existing in the concepts of sex, gender, and bodies. This essay argues that gender is essentially context-specific, multidimensional aspect that is variable over time and place, and is routinely conceptualised as a homogenous category of research. Sex to human bodies Sex is conceived as a binary biological category (female and male). While this assumption is advocated in some studies, it complicates the variation that happens in and across sexes when it comes to the concepts of anatomy, genetics, and physiology (Brase et al, 2014). It however, deviates from the range of sex-related characteristics. Still, Krieger (2003) argues that there has been lack of precision on the conceptual definitions of gender and sex. Sex refers to an individual’s biological status, and is essentially, classified as female, male, or intersex. There indicators of an individual’s biological sex include gonads, external genitalia, sex chromosomes, and reproductive organs. On the other hand, gender consists of the feelings, attitudes, and behaviours that a particular culture links to an individual’s biological sex (Brase et al, 2014). A behaviour that is consistent with the cultural expectations is known as gender-normative. Such behaviours are seen as being inconsistent with the expectations that make up gender con-conformity. Sociologists portray sex as the comparatively unchanging biology of a female and a male, and gender as the expectations and roles accredited to the women and men in the society. These roles are variable and tend to change over time depending on the place and different life stages. According Harris and Jenkins (2006), the home profile, and genetic make-up comprise the two examples of sex, which are generally invariable across societies even as they are biological in nature. Gender Gender, as Giddens and Sutton (2012) perceives it, is however, socially rather than a biological variable, and changes with the values, norms and roles the society assigns. Hence, it could be reasoned that having a capacity to bear a child is essentially a biological function while expectations regarding the capacity to bear a child or the status linked to becoming a mother is closely related to the gender expectations and roles. Principally, the concept of gender focuses on women and men’s roles within a society. As Connell and Messerschmidt (2005) confirms, understanding masculinity’s social context is comparable to understanding the social context of ethnicity and race. Additionally, approaching significant questions based on a single perspective of the divergence is comparable to assuming that understanding how sex and gender is constructed within the cultural and social context is only possible by comparing them. Indeed, it is easy to conclude that the concept of gender goes beyond the sex differences between women and men on interestingly multiple variables. Gender is also a multidimensional construct in the same way sex is. Gender comprises the different responsibilities, roles, experiences and limitations granted to individuals based on their gender or sex. Giddens and Sutton (2012) assert that gender develops biological sex to imply sex differences, to categorise people with different labels, such as a man, woman, or transsexual. Such classifications are socially constructed. Hence, in the same way as sex, concepts regarding gender are temporarily and culturally specific and susceptible to change. Gender is viewed as an amorphous notion, as it may often be unclear on what it refers to. Socio-legal, political and cultural perspectives Some sociologists, such as Johnson and Repta (2008) maintain that human biology, varying from hormones to genes is the cause of the inherent differences in the behaviours between women and men. However, other sociologists, such as Harris and Jenkins (2006) refute such claims by tending to reductionist. Societies have different sexual prohibitions and norms, which are broadly divergent. According to Brase et al (2014), human sexuality is symbolic and instilled with the cultural and social meanings. In the case of Australia, Beel (2014) suggests that religion has shaped the attitudes towards sexuality. Additionally, the last four decades have seen massive changes in attitudes towards sex and gender. Sociologists, such as Chesters et al (2009) make a distinction between sex and gender. In his view, sex is the physiological and anatomical differences while gender denotes the social, cultural and psychological differences between the females and the males. On the other hand, gender socialisation consists of the processes through which the humans learn behaviours regarded as being gender appropriate in societies. Johnson and Repta (2008) view gender as being central to sociology. Additionally, they focus on women’s position in the society. Giddens and Sutton (2012) identified three societal aspects that interact to create gender order, such as power, labour and sex relations. Indeed, feminist academics made gender to be the fundamental in sociology and focus on women’s position within the society. Still, masculinity has also a field of study within the context of gender relations. Sex, gender, and power relations Giddens and Sutton (2012) identified three facets of the society that interact to create gender order, such as power relations. According to Connell and Messerschmidt (2005), there are varied versions of femininities and masculinities, with the latter being the most powerful. Gender relations are organised hierarchically despite not being fixed, or restructured through social practices. Gender is a central factor needed for structuring the various forms of opportunities and positions in life that individuals and groups within the society face, which in turn influences the roles they play in the social institutions and homes. For instance, the predominant position of labour between the males and females has cause women and men to assume unequal positions within the society in terms of prestige, power, and wealth. In fact, several institutions, such as the media have assigned the term gender specific meanings. As Krieger (2003) states, gender is shaped and created by institutions like religion, the government, workplaces, and the media, which create social gender structures that are deep-rooted and influential. The media expresses the value, responses, responsibilities, and expectations assigned to groups and individuals according to gender. For instance, in Australia, women tend to be paid less than men for the same work. This also shows that unlike sex, gender is context-specific and subject to change. Indeed, Australia has had an unrelenting gender pay gap over the last three decades. In fact, the gap remained consistently low in the slim range of 15 to 17 percent from 1990 to 2010. Towards the end of 2010, the pay gap in the country was 17.9 percent In Australia, men tend to be more highly regarded and assigned greater power, opportunities, and access to public life (Chesters et al, 2009). Approaches to thinking about gender Functionalist approaches have however, provided different approaches to gender relations. Feminism has created a rich body of concepts to analyse the women’s positions in the society. Liberal feminism suggests basic equality between male and females that can be attained through transformation of the social attitudes and the practices to eliminate unfair discrimination. Some studies have also showed that between 60 percent and 90 percent of the Australia gender, pay gap is not easy to explain through the differences between the workplace characteristics and qualifications of the men and women, and that gender discrimination has played a significant part in promoting the gender gap. When it comes to gender and health, statistics by Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show a gap between men and women in regards to life expectancy. For instance, statistics for 1998 showed the life expectancy of men was lower at 75.6, which that of women was 81.5. A similar trend of gender inequality is evident in education, which also has great implication on employment. Some elements in Australian school curriculum still emphasises particular gender-specific practices. Socialist feminist depends on the Marxist approach to capitalism, which emphasises male domination and the unpaid domestic labour of women. On the other hand, radical feminism centres on analysis of patriarchy, which is defined as a social system where men dominate over women, and emphasises the role of women in biological reproduction, or legitimises male violence against women. In this regards, Johnson and Repta (2008) suggest two types of patriarchy: private and public. Private patriarchy occurs in the household while public patriarchy seeks to exclude women from possession of power or wealth within the workplace. In fact, Giddens and Sutton (2012) suggest that towards the end of the 20th century in Australia, the balance shifted towards the latter. Black feminism on the other hand promotes the conception that feminist approaches have not been successful in clarifying the differences between men and women, specifically those framed imperialism and ethnicity. Indeed, most feminists take Western experiences and generalise them based on imperialism and ethnicity. However, Krieger (2003) argues that this is inappropriate and may mislead. On the other hand, postmodern feminism refutes the idea of universal category of women that can form the foundation for feminist political action. As stated by Giddens and Sutton (2012), the Queer theory breaks with a range of conventional sociological ideas on identities. The theory however, challenges the idea of identity as an issue that is comparatively assigned or fixed to individuals or socialising agents. Basing on Foucault, the queer theorists contend that sexuality and gender, as well as other terms accompanying these concepts make up certain discourse instead of referring to things that are natural or real. In Australia, prostitution is considered a type of sex work. Indeed, feminist campaigns in the country have campaigned against the sex industry by viewing it as degrading to the women and inherently anchored in women’s subordination to men. Still, in the recent past, sex work has been approached differently, by feminists in Australia, who have argued that many women sex workers earn a good living, enjoy what they do and consider themselves as not fitting the stereotype of being undereducated, poor or pressured to engage in prostitution due to circumstances (Beel, 2013). Still, the growth of the global sex industry is greatly an outcome of sex tourism and human trafficking (Giddens & Sutton, 2012). Hence, it is anchored in exploitation and great disparities of power and wealth. Overall, it could be reasoned that the long-term evolution of the feminist perspective and social movements in an attempt to promote the rights of women is essentially viewed as passing through a sequence of three waves. In the First wave, feminism sought equality to be able to access political power through the extension of the voting rights, access to higher education and social institutions. In the second-wave feminism, emphasis is placed on the concept of women empowerment and liberation (Giddens & Sutton, 2012). In which case, if the first-wave movement was not influenced by socialist and liberal political ideas of equality before the second law, the second wave is radically a movement for change within the private world of domesticity and family life. Last, the third-wave feminism is characterised by transnational, national and local activism in different scenarios, such as trafficking, violence against women, self-mutilation, and body surgery (Giddens & Sutton, 2012). Conclusion Gender is essentially context-specific, multidimensional aspect that is variable over time and place, and is routinely conceptualised as a homogenous category of research. Gender comprises the different responsibilities, roles, experiences, and limitations granted to individuals based on their gender or sex. Sex is also a multidimensional construct in the same way as gender. However, gender is viewed as an amorphous notion, as it may often be unclear on what it refers to. Sex consists of individual’s biological status, and is essentially, classified as female, male, or intersex. Sex is the comparatively unchanging biology of a female and a male, and gender as the expectations and roles accredited to the women and men in the society. These roles are variable and tend to change over time depending on the place and different life stages. References Beel, N. (2013). Domestic violence, gender, and counselling: Toward a more gender-inclusive understanding. Psychotherapy in Australia, 19(4), 44-52 Brase, G., Adair, L. & Monk, K. (2014). Explaining Sex Differences in Reactions to Relationship Infidelities: Comparisons of the Roles of Sex, Gender, Beliefs, Attachment, and Sociosexual Orientation. Evolutionary Psychology 12(1), 73-96 Chesters, J., Baxter, J. & Western, M. (2009). Paid and Unpaid Work in Australian Households: Trends in the Gender Division of Labour, 1986-2005. Australian Journal of Labour Economics 12(1), 89-107 Connell, R. & Messerschmidt, J. (2005). Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept," Gender & Society 19, 829-258 Giddens, A. & Sutton, P. (2012). Gender and Sexuality. Retrieved: Harris, C. & Jenkins, M. (2006). Gender Differences in Risk Assessment: Why do Women Take Fewer Risks than Men? Judgment and Decision Making, 1(1), 48–63 Johnson, J. & Repta, R. (2008). Sex and Gender: Beyond the Binaries. Retrieved: Krieger, N. (2003). Genders, sexes, and health: what are the connections—and why does it matter? International Journal of Epidemiology 32, 652–657 Read More