Introduction to the Lesson
The purpose
of this fifth lesson in the unit is to introduce the education student to
the mental models, concepts and constructs known as gender, gender identity,
sexual identity, gender role, sex role, gender/sex role/identity, gender/sex
role behavior, gender/sex role stereotypes, sex typing, patriarchy, feminism,
a gendered society and sexism.
In Unit II, Lesson IV, Gender was defined
:
...as the beliefs, values, and attitudes
regarding how men and women should think, feel and act; what they should
look like, etc
Gender identity was defined in that lesson as
one's "deeply ingrained sense of
being male or female" (Saccuzzo and Ingram, 1993) or the continuous
and persistent sense of onesself as male or female. Gender identity for
most people matches their primary and secondary sex characteristics, or
their biological sex (though there are some, transsexuals, for example,
who believe their gender identity is something other than their primary and
secondary sex characteristics. Gender identity refers to how one thinks
of one's own gender: whether one thinks of oneself as a man (masculine)
or as a woman (feminine.)
Society prescribes arbitrary rules or
gender roles (how one is supposed to and not supposed to dress,
act, think, feel, relate to others, think of oneself, etc.) based on one's
sex (whether one has a vagina or a penis.) These gender roles are called
feminine and masculine. Anyone who does not abide by these arbitrary
rules may be targeted for mistreatment ranging from not being included
in people's circle of friends, through the cold shoulder, snide comments,
verbal harrassment, assault, rape, and murder based on one's (perceived)
gender identity.
Sexual identity may be described simply as
one's physiological status as a male or
female. Sexual identity is an essential knowledge of oneself. It is the one of the ways a person defines her/his
attractions and/or feelings towards other people. Sexual identity refers to how one thinks of oneself in terms of
whom one is sexually and romantically attracted to, specifically whether
one is attracted to members of the same gender as one's own or the other
gender than one's own.
Society prescribes arbitrary rules that
one should be sexually and romantically attracted to members of the other
gender than one's own, and should not be attracted to members of the same
gender as one's own. Anyone who does not abide by these arbitrary rules
may be targeted for mistreatment ranging from not being included in people's
circle of friends, through the cold shoulder, snide comments, verbal harrassment,
assault, rape, and murder based on one's (perceived) sexual identity. When
one's sex and one's gender identity are different, one may base one's sexual
identity on either one.. According
to the latest and best available research, a person's sexual identity may
be "wired" into the brain at birth. Just as the majority of people know that they are heterosexual,
others know that they are lesbian, gay, or bisexual. We know who we
are romantically attracted to. Environmental factors are likely to have a variety of causal or
maintaining influences for different people. For some, biology may be the overwhelming factor, while for others
it may be environmental factors that have significantly influenced sexual
attraction. (http://www.psc.uc.edu/sh/SH_Sexual_Identity.htm)
Sexual identity and gender identity are similar in some ways and very different in others. Both refer to how one thinks of a person. The
existence and perpetuation of gender and sexual identities is based in the
historic and continuing oppression (systematic mistreatment condoned
by society as a whole) of people do not conform to certain aspects of society's
gender roles. However, sex, gender identity, and sexual
identity refer to different aspects
of oneself. Therefore, one may be any combination of sex (male/female),
gender (masculine/feminine), and sexual identity (straight, bisexual, lesbian/gay.)
In recent history, people oppressed on
the basis of different sexual identities (bisexuals, lesbians, gay men)
and people oppressed on the basis of gender identity have formed
communities which are partly separate and partly overlapping with one another. Because of this historic separation,
someone who is a member of one of these communities does not necessarily
understand and prioritize the issues of others of these communities. One who belongs to more than one of these communities
may feel welcome in both, but usually neither addresses all one's needs
or the way that one's needs from different communities overlap or interact.
Gender role or sex role may be defined as
the beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviors that a particular cultural
group considers appropriate for males and females on the basis of their
biological sex. Gender roles refer to the clothing, behaviors, thoughts,
feelings, relationships, etc., that are considered appropriate or inappropriate
for members of each sex.
Gender role/identity refers to
a person's understanding and acceptance
of gender roles.
In
addition, the individual accepts and conforms to what
the culture determines as “masculine”
or “feminine”
behavior, appearance and prerogatives.
Finally, the individual confirms his or her gender
identity by defining
and explaining (to self and others)
certain physiological feelings and responses in terms of biology
(nature) and/or culturally prescribed gender “envelopes.” These
roles as well as the concepts of masculinity and femininity to which they are
linked vary from culture
to culture.
Gender or sex role behavior refers
to what people's behaviors are actually like.
Gender or sex role stereotype may be described as
the socially determined model which contains
the cultural beliefs about what the gender roles should be.
Sex typing refers to
the differential treatment of people according
to their biological sex. While
there may be some biological basis for a few “sex-typed” behaviors,
most
are arbitrarily defined and prescribed by culture.
Further, in the peculiar calculus of dominance, that which is different must
either be superior or inferior.
Thus, once these arbitrary, mutually exclusive masculine and feminine
characteristics are established, in the American macroculture (as well as quite
a
few other cultures),
masculine
characteristics
are considered superior.
Patriarchy
is
any form of social
organization in which men are dominant over women. Patriarchies are characterized by unequal
allocations of value e.g., resources, power, prestige and personal freedom,
advantaging males over females.
Is male dominance a
"biogenetic thing," the product of hormones and genetic codes,
testosterone and the superior ability of most males to inflict damage
on most females? Some theorists in the "nature"
camp see a relationship between social dominance and sexual dominance.
According to Hutchinson:
To reproduce, males must not only be sexually
attracted to females and desire to have sex with them, they must actually
succeed in having sex with them. And in this regard, as all males quickly
and painfully learn, there is a yawning gap between intention and reality.
From the male's point of view there simply
aren't enough females to go around, and so a male must compete for sexual
success with other sexually seeking males. In many species this involves vicious
battles between males . . .
For males, the scientific evidence is
clear, social dominance is closely related to sexual dominance; while their
manifestations seem different, they are, biologically speaking, identical (The
Anatomy of Sex and Power, 1993, p. 203).
Social dominance, [being the dominant
male], is, according to theory, linked to sexual dominance because the
dominant male is presumed to have access to all resources in the group including the sexual favors of the
females.
The socially dominant male who prevails
against other "sexually seeking males" either physically or
by "finesse" is expected to dominate most if not all of the
females.
Proponents of this theory suggest that
the socially dominant male is sexually attractive to females, that elevated
testosterone levels are correlated with power and status. More importantly,
the socially dominant male considers and treats females as sexual property.
The ideology of sexual property, according
to sociologist Randall Collins (1971), is at the heart of gender stratification
in most patriarchies.
Gender stratification or
the ranking of genders in such a way that
one gender, usually women, are unequal in power, privilege and status is, according to Collins, based on
three fundamental assumptions:
1. People use their resources
i.e., economic, political, physical, etc., to dominate others.
2. The structure of domination
is dependent upon the way in which resources are distributed in a culture
or society.Any changes in the distribution of resources
changes the structure of domination.
3. The domination of one group
by another is always justified by ideology (Adapted from Collins, 1974).
According to Collins' reasoning, males,
who are almost always physically stronger than females use their physical
strength to dominate females. In order for males to enjoy superior
political, economic and social advantage, they must subordinate women in
all respects.
This process begins by the assertion of
power over the female, physically, and then continues by the males use
of the advantages gained to create more advantages.
Ideas justifying this dominance quickly
become incorporated in the cultural thought of the society.Collins' conflict theory of gender stratification
matches well with biogenetic notions of "hardwired" evolutionary
determinants of some behaviors.
Part of the controversy between the "nature"
and "nurture" camps is the idea that if male domination (or any
behavior) is the result of genetic reproductive strategies, then male dominance
is natural and cannot be helped.
This is nonsense. Even if some behaviors
are "hardwired" i.e., encoded in our genes, human beings daily override drives, instincts
and automatic functions just as surely as cultural evolution has overridden
biological evolution. Biological evolution used here means
"those alterations in the information
encoded in our genes, changes that are the result of natural selection
operating over thousands of generations" (Hutchinson, p. 106).
Cultural evolution refers to those changes
in beliefs, values, attitudes, habits and capabilities that have been acquired
in culture and society. Human beings at any time can and do behave
in ways that do not favor reproductive success.
Further, many so-called reproductive
strategies that may have insured reproductive success for millions of years,
if the theory is correct, are today no longer desirable, socially acceptable
or even sensible and should be overridden and changed.
Matriarchy is defined as
A society or family system organized around dominance
by females, especially mothers.
Gender
stratification
refers to the
arbitrary
and mutually exclusive gender roles, where men and the masculine are
considered superior to women and the feminine.
Gender
stratification is the basis for gender
inequality which is
the
unequal distribution of
socially valued resources, power, prestige and personal freedom which
advantages males over females.
When
individual members of
a culture and that culture’s institutions, policies and social
processes validate and enforce gender stratification and inequality, sexism exists as a feature of that culture. Since women in a
majority of human cultures, western or otherwise, are considered the “inferior”
gender and treated as such, sexism
in these cultures can be described as
the
individual, institutional and/or organizational discrimination/oppression of
women.
Sexism is
similar to the dynamics of racism. Males
are believed to be superior to females and when this belief is put into
action it leads to females being treated as objects, the last to be hired,
first to be fired, being paid less for equal work, etc.
Feminism is
a theoretical and ideological framework
that directly opposes sexism by supporting gender equality.
"Feminism is a transformational force,
an individual and social force. It is a way of looking at the world--a
questioning of power/domination issues, an affirmation of women's
energy."
--Charlotte Bunch
"Feminism simply (means) supporting
women's rights and choices." --Susan Faludi
"Feminist is understood to include a
recognition of the unequal status of women economically, socially,
culturally, and politically, and a commitment to redress this
condition."
--The Women's Foundation, San Francisco
"I myself have never been able to
find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a
feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a
doormat..."
--Rebecca West
This lesson was developed to address
elements of competency #3 on the barriers to understanding diversity for
education majors who are taking EDG 2701 in partial fulfillment of the graduation
requirements for an Associate of Arts degree in Teaching (Elementary), Teaching
(Secondary), Early Childhood and Exceptional Education.
Competency #3 reads (in part) as follows:
"The
student will examine barriers to understanding diversity by
Demonstrating that cultural differences
among students and teachers are natural and inevitable and should be celebrated.
Defining the concept of prejudice and
learning ways to reduce or eliminate it and its related "isms."
Reviewing one's own viewpoint and value
system, and compare and contrast these with the viewpoints and values of
others from diverse backgrounds.
Defining the concept of a cultural
filter and explain how it affects the way a person or a group perceives
reality.
Defining the concept of transformation
(including paradigms and paradigm shifts) and explain how it affects the
way a person or a group reduces or eliminates prejudice and discrimination.
(A complete list of all the competencies
for EDF 1005 is provided below by clicking on the link titled competencies)
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