Heads Up Sociology

by DK

  Australian sociologist Raewyn Connell shares Butler’s perspective that gender is a social construct. In her analysis she claims that gender is arranged in a hierarchy with masculinity valued higher than femininity. She believes there are different ways to be a man or a woman and these behaviours, which she calls “masculinities” and “femininities”, are graded in society, with some regarded as more masculine or feminine than others. The most powerful form of masculinity is “hegemonic masculinity”. Hegemonic refers to an idea or group of people that are dominant in a society. This type of masculinity is a tough, successful, outgoing, "macho" style. However, for Connell it is the behaviour that is crucial, not the biological sex. So, women can also act in keeping with hegemonic masculinity. The German chancellor Angela Merkel and former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher could be said to embody the traits associated with hegemonic masculinity.

  Gender then is a state of being that is explained not by thinking in terms of biology but by referring to wider society and its expectations of what it is to be a man or a woman.

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  Research in the UK by medical sociologist Rosaleen O’Brien (2006) found that trying to live up to the demands of hegemonic masculinity impacted on men’s health. In the study, men avoided talking about physical or emotional problems, which might make them appear weak. As a result of not seeking help, health problems could develop or be left untreated.

  The Telegraph newspaper listed 25 English words that are used to describe women (and not men), including "airhead", "bossy", and "sassy".

  most societies discriminate against women so that they have fewer opportunities and earn less than men. though for most women “Work” is more than their paid employment. they also work in the home or care for others, and this work is usually unpaid.

  Jobs for women

  To fill a pressing shortage of factory workers during World War II, the US government began a campaign to recruit more women workers. The government was trying to reverse the dominant gender stereotype that dictated that women were not able to work in factories, and were better suited to being secretaries or housewives. The campaign was effective and the workforce was swelled by a great many extra women. After the war finished, however, the men returned and the need for women workers was reduced. Now all the women who had been recruited lost their jobs, and the pre-war stereotype of the jobs women could do was quickly reinstated.

  This example illustrates how women’s work is determined by the kind of society in which they live. Clearly during World War II women were capable of doing the same work as men, once they were allowed to, but discrimination in society has meant that they are not always given the same opportunities as men. Though women achieve the same educational levels as men, most societies discriminate against them, holding them in a lower position than men, so that when it comes to access to employment many restrictions are placed on women.

  The glass ceiling

  Trapped between a glass ceiling and a sticky floor is one way of summarizing women’s experiences of work. The glass ceiling refers to women being able to see the top jobs in the company in which they work but not being able to break through and gain those positions. The sticky floor refers to the trap for women of low-paid, low-status, and low-skilled jobs such as waitressing or cleaning.

  Despite the decades of feminism (a political and social movement that campaigns for equality between men and women) and equal pay legislation in Europe and North America, a woman’s weekly wage is significantly less than that of a man in many countries. In the USA the gender pay gap, the difference between men’s and women’s wages, is 20%, while in the UK the same gap is just under 14%. Another way of expressing this UK figure is to imagine that if men’s wages lasted for 12 months from 1st January, women’s would last only until the 10th November – for the rest of the year women are effectively working unpaid.

  Housework

  For many women “work” consists of more than paid employment; it frequently includes caring for children as well as household chores. Published in the mid-1970s British sociologist Ann Oakley’s book The Sociology of Housework highlighted how domestic work is just as important, demanding, and valuable as paid work. Though Oakley’s book was written forty years ago the point it makes is still relevant. Women still do more housework and childcare than men.

  Research in Britain in 2011 by Man Yee Kan and colleagues found that on average men do 148 minutes of chores around the house per week while women do 280 minutes. This situation affects men as well as women, both are limited by gender stereotypes, or fixed ideas about what jobs men and women can do.

  The inequalities that exist in the workplace reflect other inequalities that women face in society. The problems women face at work are another example of discrimination against women.

  Women’s roles There are still fewer women in top executive positions in business, the law, and medicine than there are men.

  rosie the riveter

  During World War II the US government invented a character called Rosie the Riveter to encourage women to work in factories. Rosie appeared on posters wearing the blue overalls usually worn by men. She appeared with the slogan “We Can Do It” to inspire women to take up the challenge.

  It will be around 2150 before the gender pay gap closes in the USA and, possibly, 2070 in the UK.

  See also: Who holds the POWER? | ARLIE HOCHSCHILD

  US sociologist and philosopher Judith Butler is one of the world’s leading figures in feminist and gender issues. She studied philosophy at Yale University and is currently a professor in Rhetoric and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Berkeley. She is best known for her book Gender Trouble (1990), which challenges traditional theories on gender and sexuality. In addition to her academic work, she is also an active campaigner for human rights.

  JEWISH heritage

  Born in 1956, Butler grew up in a Jewish family in Cleveland, Ohio. According to Butler, she became interested in philosophy at the age of fourteen while debating with a rabbi from her local synagogue. Butler’s parents were practising Jews, who had lost several family members in the Holocaust. It was her Jewish heritage, she claims, that made her determined to speak out against violence and injustice.

  gender IDENTITY

  In her book Gender Trouble, Butler disputes the traditional idea that people are born either as a man or a woman. According to Butler, it is not what people are but what they do that determines their gender (she calls this “gender performivity”). In all societies, men and women are expected to behave in either a “masculine” or “feminine” way. After a time, they become so used to repeating these patterns of behaviour that their gender seems natural.

  QUEER theory

  Butler was influential in developing what came to be known as “Queer Theory”, which argues that there is no such thing as “normal” sexuality. She warns against using labels to describe gender and sexuality, arguing that sexual identity can be “fluid”. As an active campaigner for gay and lesbian human rights, Butler believes that radical action is needed to challenge traditional views on gender issues.

  WAR and the MEDIA

  In her book Frames of War (2016), Butler explores how the media portrays the victims of war in a way that distances us from their suffering. She argues that people in Western societies are quick to dismiss victims of war and torture in countries such as Iraq and Syria because their lives and experiences seem so far away. Butler calls for governments and global institutions to ensure that we recognize the suffering of all war victims.

  Butler became such a well-known figure in the 1990s that she had her own fanzine called “Judy”.

  global society is a big place to be and young people especially can feel unsure of who and where they are in the world. Many like the idea of being "different" but at the same time lack confidence to stand alone. belonging to a smaller subtribe provides an identity and security.

  We want to belong

  Trying
to figure out who we are, what we believe in, and how we want the world to see us takes up a lot of emotional energy. One way that people, especially young people, try to deal with all this is to form or join "subcultures". We could perhaps think of these subcultures as small tribes that share a common identity or appearance. Belonging to a subculture provides, at least for a time, answers to the question of who we are. Within such a social group we can find an identity and an enjoyable sense of difference from the norm, not just in terms of the fashions we follow but because of what we believe in and how we interpret and understand the world. Subcultures allow us to associate and socialize with like-minded people who, importantly, understand who we are in a way that the dominant cultures of the world may not.

  Goths and geeks

  Examples of subcultures can be found everywhere. Some are groups of people who have formed street gangs; many follow a particular style of music such as Grime or Metal. Subcultures like to create "tribal" names for themselves, and sometimes they are given a label by others outside their society.

  In the Western world, Goths are a good example of a well-known subculture based around a distinctive type of rock music. Trekkies are a subculture comprising the avid fans of the various Star Trek films and TV series. Attending one of the specialist conventions held around the world is a trekkie's best chance of meeting fellow enthusiasts in the mass, but it takes only a brief conversation for one trekkie to recognize another anywhere. A subculture may also simply mean the supporters of a football club or a sport such as cycling. So each subculture can be radically different from others, but what they all have in common is a desire to stand out in some way from what they see as the mainstream.

  Recognizing tribal signs

  To identify a subculture, look for the symbols and signs that its members use to communicate their allegiance to a special group. For example, black is a Goth's colour of choice for clothes, hair, and makeup. Trekkies are keen on "techno-talk" and even learn fictional extraterrestrial languages such as Klingon. But a subculture can be recognizable not just by obscure words or a distinguishing style of dress, but by posture, attitude, and beliefs. A tribal sign could be anything that sends out a message to wider society to say "we are not like you".

  From radical to mainstream

  Subcultures do not last forever and are absorbed into the mainstream much more quickly than they used to be in earlier decades. What was yesterday’s out there and radical is today’s sign of conformity. For example, house music that has its subcultural roots in the gay and black communities of Chicago is now a popular dance music for everyone. But however short-lived, subcultures still provide valuable insights into why we are drawn to little tribes and how people create and display a sense of identity.

  gothic gathering

  Twice a year in Whitby, a clifftop seaside town in the north of England, hundreds of Goths (and thousands of non-Goths) gather for a weekend to celebrate their culture and listen to music. The town’s association with Irish author Bram Stoker’s classic 1897 gothic horror story Dracula provides the attraction. Vampires and the undead are central motifs for the subculture.

  Every year, fans of comic books, films, and sci fi, often dressed in character, meet at one of the many “Comic-con” events around the world.

  See also: What is my IDENTITY? | I SHOP therefore I am?

  in the 21st century, we may want to believe that we live in a world where supposed differences between people, based on constructed ideas of race, have disappeared. but there is evidence everywhere – among individuals, in institutions, and at national level –that we still have some way to go.

  Focus on ethnicity

  In his inaugural speech in 2009, President Obama drew attention to how he was now president in a city where in the past his father had been unable to get work in a restaurant because he was black. Obama was referring to the 1960s, when legally enforceable racial segregation was coming to an end. His presidency was taken to signal the closing of the racial divide in the United States. Events since then have shown that such issues are far from settled. The 2016 US presidential election, the British exit from the European Union (the so-called “Brexit” referendum) in the UK, and the entrance of far-right parties to mainstream politics across Europe, have all highlighted a renewed focus on ethnicity, race, and national identity. So, the answer to “does race matter?” is “yes”.

  “Race” does not exist

  There is no scientific basis for the term “race”. Most humans are genetically very similar and there is so little variation amongst us that it is not possible to draw neat boundaries around people and label them as a distinct racial group. Race is an example of social construction, where social processes create something that essentially does not exist but takes on real force in people’s lives. Sociologists prefer to call these processes “racialization”. Historical evidence that race has always been an issue is hard to find. For example, in ancient Rome there were various leading figures, such as Emperor Septimius Severus (ruled c.e. 193–211), who were black. Little is said of their skin colour in accounts written at the time, because the ancient Romans did not think it made any difference. They thought more in terms of judging people as being civilized or a barbarian.

  One species Humans are highly diverse in terms of appearance and lifestyle, but our genes are all more or less the same.

  The effects of discrimination

  Some sociologists claim that racism is deep-rooted in our society. And, indeed, evidence is found in many spheres of everyday life. People from ethnic minorities are often discriminated against in terms of jobs, housing, and education. Analysis of how racism affects the wellbeing of minority groups reveals relatively poor health. Where there are lifestyle factors, such as diet, these provide only part of the explanation. Sociologists argue that the chronic stress caused by various forms of racism, including abuse, discrimination, and social stigma, has an even deeper impact on health.

  Institutional racism

  Institutions such as health services, police forces, and private companies sometimes treat people differently because of their ethnic origins. This does not mean everyone working for a particular body is a racist, but that the institution has a culture of negative assumptions about ethnicity. Protest groups formed against institutional racism are part of the 21st-century response to prejudices we have still to consign to the past. Race has not yet ceased to matter.

  online activists

  The civil rights movement Black Lives Matter was formed in 2013 in response to high-profile police killings of black people in the United States. The group is known globally for its protests against racism. The widely dispersed Black Lives Matter activists are united not under the banner of a single leader but through the far-reaching power of social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

  There is more genetic variation within one ethnic group than between different groups.

  See also: What role does RELIGION play in society? | PIERRE BOURDIEU | Crime and health | Where did RACISM come from?

  US sociologist Elijah Anderson has devoted his career to the issues of race and racism in the inner cities of the United States. Anderson studied sociology at the universities of Indiana and Chicago and is currently a professor at Yale University, where he teaches urban ethnography – the study of city life and culture. Much of his work focuses on the way black people are treated in white middle-class society.

  street-corner LIFE

  Anderson was born on a cotton plantation in Mississippi during World War II. After the war, his parents fled the poverty and racism of the South and moved to Chicago. It was here that Anderson first became interested in black street-corner life. He spent three years interviewing local men at a bar on a street corner in Chicago, learning about their community and the way it worked. His research led to his first book A Place on the Corner (1978).

  STREET codes

  In his book Code of the Street (1999), Anderson claims that many young people dealing with poverty and rac
ism feel a sense of alienation and despair. As a result, they have developed a street “code” which uses violence as a way of gaining respect. Anderson highlights the uneasy relationship between the “street” families who use the code and the “decent” families who work hard and obey the law.

  the GHETTO

  In his 2012 article “The Iconic Ghetto”, Anderson argues that many racist people in the US regard “the ghetto” (an inner-city area where people of a certain race or religion live) as the place where only black people live. They associate the ghetto – and the people who live there – with poverty, drugs, and crime. According to Anderson, many white people believe that black people “belong” in the ghetto,rather than in white middle-class neighbourhoods.