Historicizing Constructionism
Historicizing means when one presents something as a product of historical
development. Constructionism means that we view the world through certain
self-made constructs’(or ideas about reality).
Historicizing Constructionism hence means that over the course of history
certain ideas have been constructed about gender. These ideas have been
enforced and reinforced throughout time. So in today’s world they are not
presented as constructs but as essential truths which have been established
through historical development of man.
What is social constructionism?
It means that our realities are based on our experiences and interactions
with other people. We experience the world through our own opinions. These
opinions are constructed through a number of things such as culture, mores,
tradition, beliefs and values. So one person might consider a dishwasher a
necessity and the other might consider it a luxury. This will be discussed in
subsection 3 when we consider whether sex is socially constructed or not.
1966 – book – The Social Construction of Reality by Berger and Lukman –
revolutionary idea
A concept of pure sociology
Features
Relativism or Realism in Knowledge – relative to the place
No objective reality – constructed in minds – can be changed
Social reality is constructed – development of social phenomena and
made into tradition
Social Construction of Gender
“Society and Gender create gender roles and these roles are
prescribed as ideal or appropriate behaviour for a person of that
specific gender.”
Historical Development of social gender construction
1949 - Simon De Beauvoir’s – The Second Sex
1966 – book – The Social Construction of Reality by Berger and Lukman
1970 – Kate Millel’s – Sexual Politics – family as a unit of patriarchy
1970 – Dialectic of Sex – Shulanilth Firestone – gender norms evolve in
history through subjugating women
1990 – Judith Butler – Gender Trouble – biological sex is social
constructed
Gender as Socially Constructed
Sex-Gender Distinction
o Sex is biological – gender is cultural
Gender Socialization and Gender Roles
o Babies are taught how to behave
Construction of Masculinity and Femininity
o Stereotypes related to males and female – how they should be
Gender as a process of stratification and social structure
o As social institution – gender is process of creating distinguishable
social statuses for rights and responsibilities
o As part of stratification system that ranks these statuses unequally
– gender is building block in the social structures built on these
unequal statuses
Masculinity and Femininity
1. Masculinity
Manhood – manliness
Set of attributes and roles associated with boys and men
Socially constructed but sociologists believe biology plays some part
Social Construction of Masculinity
Linguistically or culturally driven aspects
Betty Friedan – just like Feminine Mystique there is a Masculine
Mystique
Masculinity and Gender Socialization
Expectations from boys and how to behave
Social Cognitive theory – psychology – portion of an individual's
knowledge acquisition can be directly related to observing others within
the context of social interactions, experiences, and outside media
influences
Masculinity and Appearances – Signifiers
Physique and muscular built
Body and facial hair
Short hair
Car and vehicle
Masculinity and Male Privilege
Concept within sociology – certain rights available to men solely based
on their sex – a man’s access to these benefits may vary depending on
how closely they match their society’s ideal masculine norm – patriarchy
Range of Masculinity
No single construction – vary by social class – multiplicity of masculinity
– working class more normative construction of masculinity than middle
class
Machismo
Sense of being manly and self-reliant – a strong sense of masculine pride
– exaggerated masculinity – more in a more patriarchal society
Effeminacy
Manifestation of traits in man that r more often associated with
feminine nature – frequently applied to womanly behavior, demeanour,
style, clothing etc.
Hegemonic Masculinity
A dominant or hegemonic – idealised form of masculinity or
apotheosised form of femininity – considered proper for men and women
Toxic Masculinity
Certain cultural norms associated with harm to society – used in
psychology and media
Traditional stereotypes of man as socially dominant – along with traits as
misogyny and homophobia – toxic traits
Fast driving + alcohol + strength
2. Femininity
Set of attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with girls and women
Deconstructing femininity
Loving, caring, nurturing, sexually faithful, beautiful etc.
Cult of Domesticity
Suited for the domestic environment – should remain in home
Femininity as socially constructed: Feminist Perspectives
o ‘One is not born a woman, rather becomes one’
Analysis in Simon de Beauvoir’s ‘The Second Sex’
o Simon laid down the Sex/Gender distinction by claiming that
feminine characteristics are taught.
o Second-wave feminists, influenced by de Beauvoir, believed that
although biological differences between females and males were
innate, the concepts of femininity and masculinity had been
culturally constructed, with traits such as passivity and tenderness
assigned to women and aggression and intelligence assigned to
men
Analysis in Betty Friedan’s ‘The Feminine Mystique’
o She claims women are expected to follow a ‘feminine mystique’,
especially as housewife.
o In her significant 1963 book The Feminine Mystique, American
feminist Betty Friedan wrote that the key to women’s subjugation
lay in the social construction of femininity as childlike, passive and
dependent.
Analysis in Kate Millet’s ‘Sexual Politics’
o Gender roles are created by society to control women.
o ‘There is no differentiation between the sexes at birth.
Psychosexual personality is therefore postnatal and
learned’
Judith Butler's Analysis in 'Gender Trouble'
o Feminist philosophers such as Judith Butler and Simone de
Beauvoir contend that femininity and masculinity are created
through repeated performances of gender; these performances
reproduce and define the traditional categories of sex and/or
gender
Femininity and Gender Socialization
The Agencies of socialization teach children about roles and
expectations from them.
Social cognitive theory, used in psychology, education, and
communication, holds that portions of an individual's knowledge
acquisition can be directly related to observing others within the context
of social interactions, experiences, and outside media influences.
Femininity and Nature-Nurture debate
Scholars have debated the extent to which gender identity and gender-
specific behaviors are due to socialization versus biological factors.
Social and biological influences are thought to be mutually interacting
during development.
Femininity and Appearance: Signifiers of Femininity
Across cultures clothing and physical appearance differentiates the
feminine gender.
Signifiers of Femininity
o Long hair.
o Lack of facial and body hair.
o Delicate body.
o Soft body.
o Bright colors in clothes.
o Narrow waist.
o Clear Skin.
Muslim Signifiers of Femininity - Hijab (symbol of modesty)
Femininity and Deviance
Women who fail to adapt to their expected gender roles are shunned by
the society through various means of Social Control.
Role congruity theory proposes that a group will be positively evaluated
when its characteristics are recognized as aligning with that group's
typical social roles.
Prejudice toward female leaders occurs because inconsistencies exist
between the characteristics associated with the female gender
stereotype and those associated with the typical leadership.
Case of Qandeel Baloch:
o Qandeel Baloch was a model and social media celebrity who
gained attention through her provocative videos.
o She seriously challenged the gender norms of society and was
murdered in response to the deviance from expected feminine
role.
Is ‘Sex’ socially determined, too?
Sex Gender
Sex is defined as the biological Gender is the fashion in which
differences between men and society highlights the sexual
women differences among the both species
Anatomical characteristics are masculine and feminine qualities,
considered. They have the following behaviour patterns, related roles
six components; chromosome make- and responsibility, etc are
up, external genitalia, internal considered.
genitalia, gonads hormonal states
and secondary sex characteristics.
The addition of all of these qualities
forms the basis of which sex
category most people fall under,
female or male
refers to male or female Refers to Masculinity and femininity
It is a universal term It is variable it changes under the
influence of time, geographical and
socio-cultural settings
It can be said that to an extent sex is also socially constructed. It is true that
the distinctions between the sexes depend on 6 anatomical features,
however let's look at all these in detail.
1. Chromosome make-up: XY (M) OR XX (F) (XXY Chromosomal
variations = Klinefelter Syndrome, XO Chromosomal variations =
Turner Syndrome)
2. External genitals: Penis(M) OR Vagina (F) (Some people are born with
ambiguous genitalia, and they are classified as intersex)
3. Internal genitalia: testes(M) OR Ovaries (F) (Internal genitalia of
certain individuals may not match their internal genitalia)
4. Gonads
5. Hormonal states [oestrogen (F) and Testosterone (M)]
6. Secondary sex characteristics
