SEC-II Course Title:- An Introduction to the
Political Sociology
Gender
Like caste and
class gender is another kind of social stratification system. Gender, perhaps
is the oldest and permanent source of social differentiation. But within the
broad hierarchy of caste and class, gender cuts across caste and class. In
present day Indian society caste, class and gender are dynamic phenomena which
vary between groups, communities and regions. Recent years have witnessed a
thorough and widespread discussion on gender. It has claimed critical address
within ender as a concept and as a set of practices has occurred during the
last three decades.
The origin of
the concept gender can be traced to the 19th century women’s movement and in
Marxism. But it seems to have first appeared among American Feminists who
wanted to reject biological determinism. Feminists prefer the term gender than
sex.
But the term
gender means much more than sex and more inclusive than sex. It is a socially
constructed category rather than biologically determined. The gender of a man
is masculine and a woman is feminine. Neither a man nor a woman is sex alone.
Gender refers to the socially constructed and culturally determined role that
men and women play in their day-to-day lives. Gender is the most potent
significant and enormously useful analytical concept used by the feminists.
It is a matter
of social ascription, a socio-cultural construction and provided a deeper
analysis of inequalities existing between male and female. It refers to the
social institutionalization of sexual difference. In feminist literature gender
is not a value free concept rather a value loaded term and has acquired new
dimensions. It is a conceptual tool for analysis and is used to highlight
different structural relationships of inequality between men and women. As a
socially constructed differences and relations between males and females it
very from time to time and from place to place.
Gender is
defined as the social construction of relations between women and men and among
various groups of women and men. Feminist consider gender as the socio-cultural
manifestation of being a man or a woman.
(1) According to
N. Kabeer “Gender is seen as the process by which individuals who are born into
biological categories of male or female become the social categories of men and
women through the acquisition of locally defined attributes of masculinity and
feminity.”
(2) According to
A. Masefield—”Gender can be defined as a notion that offers a set of frameworks
within which the social and ideological construction and representation of
differences between sexes are explained.”
(3) According to
ILO, “Gender refers to the social differences and relations between men and
women, which are learned, which vary widely among societies and cultures and
change over time.”
Thus, gender
involves power structure and economic relationships. It is used to analyze the
role, responsibilities, constraints, needs of men and women in all areas. It
encompasses the social division and cultural distinctions between women and
men. It plays an important role in shaping institutions and practices in every
society.
Gender
and Sex:
The term gender
does not replace the term sex. It is necessary to distinguish between sex and
gender. The distinction between sex and gender is fundamental, since many
differences between males and females are not biological in origin. Sex refers
to the physical differences of body where as gender refers to social, cultural
and psychological differences between males and females.
Sex refers to
biological differences between male and female which are much more the same
over time and space where as gender refers to socially and culturally
constructed differences and relations between males and females which vary from
place to place and from time to time. Sex refers to male and female where as
gender refers to masculinity and feminity. Gender is a structural feature of a
society.
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