Gender refers to the psychological, social, and cultural differences between males and females. Gender also means the physiological and anatomical differences between the male and female bodies. Most socio-biologists believe differences in sex are a result of differences in the thinking and behavior of men and women. They argue gender identity is formed through socialization. Gender structures every aspect of an individual's life through social relationships and all forms of interaction with society including work. Marxist writers note that pre-capitalism depended on a working relationship. Men dominated the public sphere while a woman's place was in the private sphere. John Stuart Mill (1869) wrote one of the first political tracts to address what was to become `The Woman Question' in Victorian society. Mill detailed the social inequalities built into the marriage contract, including disparate property rights and a woman's familial responsibilities. Mill argued that women should move into the workplace if they are to challenge men and gain freedom from subordination. However he also expected that women would continue to run the household and care for the children. Mill was careful not to alienate himself from men and women in society because most people at that time believed women should stay home. Mill argued that it was in a women's "nature" to choose the role of wife and mother (William Stafford, 1998). However, recent feminists have argued against such notions and challenge the idea that motherhood is the only meaningful occupation for women. They have developed a critique of the family, which claims family is: ...ideological confinement to the domestic sphere and that it institutionalizes hete... ... middle of paper ... ...nges the status quo. Challenging the status quo or social norms means that social policy relating to equality in the home and workplace will continue to advance. References Bristow J Sexuality New York and London 1997 Charles N Feminism, The State and Social Policy USA 2000 Gillespie R `Childfree And Feminine: Understanding The Gender Identity Of Voluntary Childless Women' Gender And Society 1st February 2003, vol.17 no. 1 pp122-136 Kimmel M The Gendered Society Oxford 2000 Payne G Social Divisions Hampshire 2000 Stafford W John Stuart Mill London 1997 Tong R Feminist Thought: A comprehensive Introduction London 1997 Walsh M Women, Men and Gender : Ongoing Debates New Haven and London 1997 Warren T et al `Gender and Wealth Inequality' Radical Statistics E- Journal 26/03/03 www.equalopportunitiescommision.com www.eironline.com
During the pre-revolutionary period, more and more men worked outside the home in workshops, factories or offices. Many women stayed at home and performed domestic labor. The emerging values of nineteenth-century America, which involves the eighteenth-century, increasingly placed great emphasis upon a man's ability to earn enough wages or salary to make his wife's labor unnecessary, but this devaluation of women's labor left women searching for a new understanding of themselves. Judith Sargent Murray, who was among America's earliest writers of female equality, education, and economic independence, strongly advocated equal opportunities for women. She wrote many essays in order to empower young women in the new republic to stand up against society and make it apparent that women are equals.
The reading also discussed the difference between sex and gender. While sex is biological, gender is socio-cultural, meaning it is a social construct. These constructs create stereotypes enforced by the culture. Gender roles are formed and become the "social roles that a person is expected to fulfill based upon his
The equality of identifying in roles of earning a living, cooking, sewing, and one caring for themselves. Eastman states, "we must bring up feminist sons." (Eastman, par. 12). Thirdly, birth control. Women should have the right to decide when or if they have children, how many, and when in life, if ever. Freedom of any kind for women is hardly worth considering unless it is assumed that they will know how to control the size of their families." (Eastman, par. 13). Lastly, universally "a principle that the occupation of raising children is peculiarly and directly a service to society, and that the mother upon whom the necessity and privilege of performing this service naturally falls is entitled to an adequate economic reward from the political government." (Eastman, par. 14). She believes mothers should receive an endowment for the years dedicated to rearing children and not working in a traditional job outside the home. This provides the economically freedom and independence a woman
She further expands on this notion by providing an example of the firing of the company’s Saatchi & Saatchi chairman following his denial of sexism’s existence in the workplace. Indeed, exposure to the public can be a helpful tool in uncovering the underlying sexism that, otherwise, could prosper and, consequently, impede on women’s rise in their carriers. After all, sexism works so well mainly because its victims are usually kept in silence and, therefore, male chauvinism is given a green light to go scot-free. If such undermining behaviour is exposed then the individuals exercising it would be stopped in fear of the public’s backlash, which, in today’s connected world, can be the determining factor in a company’s survival. Of course, this highly depends on the public’s consciousness to the problem. Thankfully, as there are now more and more examples of people being fired for their sexist remarks, the public is becoming increasingly aware of the seriousness of the problem and are willing to act upon
Another change in the patterns of marriage is the independence of women and how this has contributed to change regarding relationships. Over the past 30yrs women have evolved in the work place. From doing basic jobs such as cleaning and cooking, brought about by their previous domestic role, to intelligent money making career women. Since the end of the First World War and before, women have fought for independence from their counterparts for the freedom to earn their own money and not have to by tied down in marriage to gain any financial support. Mitchell (1971) suggests three reasons for the resurgence of feminist activity in the 1960s. One looks at the political view.
First, the 1900’s is a time where women are trying to put away the homemaker image and obtain work. This causes many hardships between husbands and wives. Jane is on the verge of beginning to leave her homemaker image and begin a career in writing. “I am sitting by the window now, up in the atrocious nursery, and there is nothing to hinder my writing much as I please, save lack of strength” (Gilman, 1599). Jane is starting to recognize that she is loosing her feminism. John recognizes this and tries to do everything he can to stop Jane. John knows that Jane is putting aside her role as being a wife, homemaker and mother. In these times, husbands’ do not believe that women could balance both home and work responsibilities. Jane decides to oppose the homemaker life and branch out into writing. The feminist role is “The concept of "The New Woman," for example, began to circulate in the 1890s-1910s as women are pushing for broader roles outside the home-roles that could draw on women's intelligence and non-domestic skills and talents” (http:/...
In the chosen excerpt of The Subjection of Women from On Liberty and Other Essays, John Stewart Mill proposes the idea of how the woman’s role in a marriage with her husband is equivalent to that of a slave with their master by offering multiple ideas.
This is indeed what Mill strived for as a British philosopher, economist, moral and political theorist, as well as expert in logic. As time went on, Mill entered into the East India Company as a clerk, interestingly enough, the same place his own father had worked before. Mill sored through the hierarchical structure of the East India Company, in which he became chief examiner of correspondence. Moreover, problems arose and Mill was forced to retire. It was not until this very opportunity had occurred, in which he truly fought for what he believed in. He had continued to work for many radical causes throughout his life, such as the status and equality of women. Critics say, that because Mill’s father dominated the household during the early years of the 19th century, his mother was not permitted to have an opinion regarding such affairs. For this reason, his interest in women studies is thought to be a correlation to his own mother and her gender role due to the patriarchal society that dominated England in the 1800’s.
Mill’s socialist views were cultivated through the duration of his life as he emphasized “individuality, independence, and self-cultivation” (Claeys 122). With “objections to communism… and [a] defense of competition between economic enterprises” (123), Mill remained steadfast in his beliefs throughout his life. His early socialist views are often cited as beginning with his early essays detailing debates between himself, friends, and members of the London Cooperative Society. These debates consist of Mill’s defense of “his own Ricardian economic views against Owenism” (125). A primary point of Mill’s against Owenism is Mill’s support of competition, defending it as “the nature of commerce” (125). Mill’s opinions push toward equality for all, as well, not just women, as he pushes that “society would no longer be divided ‘into the idle and the industrious; when the rule that they who do not work shall not eat, will be applied not to paupers only, but impartially to all’” (129). His push for equality for each member of society grew with the aforementioned debates as his opinions only grew stronger throughout time, ultimately resulting in the production of major political and philosophical pieces that outline his views of
Gender – refers to the particular roles and relationship, personality traits, attitudes, behaviours and values that society ascribe to men and women; about learned differences between men and women.
Many people believe that marriage is important in this day and age, but it holds little significance compared to the importance of marriage in the Victorian era. In the Victorian era women were to get married to a man of the same or a better social status, be good wives, and be a mother to her husband's children. Very few marriages started with love, but a woman's life is not complete without being married. Over time, the role of married women has evolved a great deal and they now have rights and privileges. John Stuart Mill was one of the great thinkers of the Victorian era, and his essay The Subjection of Women tells how few privileges women had and that they were slaves to their husbands. He also says that women are their own people and should be free. This was an uncommon view for a man of this time to have. Mill provided a much-needed reality check for the ethical treatment of women, and also generated ideas for the women's rights movement which was quite uncommon for a man to do in this period. His essay On Liberty promotes how important it is to have the complete freedom to state one's opinion. Had someone else been as brave as Mill before the Victorian era the women's movement may be further advanced today than it is.
The only way Mill said that women living in the mid-nineteenth century in Europe could get their opinions known was through written works. The main argument women were trying to make was to be as educated and given the same opportunities that men received. Women wanted to obtain jobs in high positions; jobs that required men to listen to women and follow the orders that women gave to men. According to Mill, men wanted women to tend to their needs without forcing them. A wife who seemed to be forced to serve their husband was an undesirable one.
Gender" refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women "Sex" refers to the biological and physiological characteristics that define men and women
Sex and gender are terms that are mixed up from day to day and seen as similarities rather than differences. Sex is what distinguishes people from being either male or female. It is the natural or biological variations between males and females (Browne, 1998). Some of these variations are genitals, body hair and internal and external organs. It is the make-up of chromosomes, men have one X and one Y chromosome and women have two X chromosomes, these are responsible for primary characteristics (Fulcher and Scott, 2003). Gender on the other hand refers to the sociological differences between male and female. This is teaching males and females to behave in various ways due to socialisation (Browne, 1998). Example: masculinity and femininity. Girls are supposed to show their femininity by being non-competitive, sensitive, dependent, attractive and placid. If and when some girls don’t succeed in keeping this image they will be referred to as a tomboy. On the other hand, boys show their masculinity through aggression, physical strength...
Society has stamped an image into the minds of people of how the role of each gender should be played out. There are two recognized types of gender, a man and a woman, however there are many types of gender roles a man or a woman may assume or be placed into by society. The ideas of how one should act and behave are often times ascribed by their gender by society, but these ascribed statuses and roles are sometimes un-welcomed, and people will assume who they want to be as individuals by going against the stereotypes set forth by society. This paper will examine these roles in terms of how society sees men and women stereotypically, and how men and women view themselves and each other in terms of stereotypes that are typically ascribed, as well as their own opinions with a survey administered to ten individuals. What I hope to prove is that despite stereotypes playing a predominant role within our society, and thus influencing what people believe about each other in terms of their same and opposite genders, people within our society are able to go against these ascribed stereotypes and be who they want and it be okay. Through use of the survey and my own personal history dealing with gender stereotyping I think I can give a clear idea as to how stereotypes envelope our society, and how people and breaking free from those stereotypes to be more individualistic.