1.4 Applying Sociology to the Study of Gender
Gender is the meanings, attitudes, behaviors, norms, and roles that a society or culture ascribes to sexual differences. When we say that gender is socially constructed, we are saying that the meanings of gender are created, imposed, performed, enforced, reproduced, and negotiated in our shared culture, social norms, and social interactions. In other words, we learn and teach what gender is every day. This shared social learning and teaching is called socialization. Sociology of gender reveals that gender is real but it is not true.
Gender is real because it is a consequential aspect of identity that shapes how people are treated and can determine their general standing in society. Gender is commonly, but not always, divided into two categories: women and men. Gender differences are visible in behavior, emotions, relationships, and in the organization of social institutions such as family and the workforce.
Understanding that gender differences are socially constructed and therefore not universally true, helps us make sense of the shared expectations we have about how people with different gender identities should look and behave. It can also help us understand why people respond so strongly when our common understandings of gender are challenged by people whose lived experience, sexuality, and gender expression diverge from what we have been socialized to accept. By studying how gender is socially constructed, sociologists can explore the meanings and consequences of gender and sexualities, like gender inequality.
In this section, we will consider how gender is constructed and maintained. This section also introduces some foundational gender theories, which we will delve deeper into in the coming chapters.
Real But Not True
We take it for granted that the meanings, attitudes, behaviors, norms, and roles that a society or culture ascribes to sexual differences are based on objective fact, and that are therefore true. Throughout this book, we will use these puzzle pieces to draw attention to examples of the sociological imagination in action, sociological research, and sociological theories that demonstrate that gender is real in its consequences but not universally true.
The tools of sociology include:
- Sociological Imagination
- Research-based Evidence
- Social Theory
For example, in the section, Identifying Patterns, you learned that Noelle Chelsley’s research on “breadwinner moms” was based on 42 in-depth interviews with 21 heterosexual couples, in which women earned 80-100% of the household income.
We can recognize that socially constructed meanings, attitudes, behaviors, norms, and roles that a society or culture ascribes to sexual differences are not universally true when we can demonstrate that they:
- Change over time
- Are not the same in all societies
- Are imposed, enforced, reproduced, negotiated, or challenged through social interactions.
Returning to Chesley’s research, she found that mothers who were serious about paid work and felt accomplished breadwinners could be understood as having taken on non-typical gender roles. She speculated that by taking on gender roles that are outside of accepted norms, these women may be promoting “change in the direction of greater equality” (Chesley 2016).
This is an example of gender norms being challenged and renegotiated and, therefore, an example of social construction. The gender norm that men should be the breadwinner is based on “embedded cultural ideals of mothering and masculinity.” It is not universally true; it is a social construction.
Even though the gender norm that men should be the breadwinner is socially constructed and not universally true, challenging this norm has real consequences. The women in Chelsey’s research reported conflicted feelings about “undermining their husband’s masculinity” along with internal conflicts between being a good mother and doing well at their jobs, and Chelsey concluded that “embedded cultural ideals of mothering and masculinity” constricted their ability to achieve greater equality.
As you work through this book, be on the lookout for other examples of socially constructed meanings, attitudes, behaviors, norms, and roles that a society or culture ascribes to sexual differences and for the ways that tools of sociology can be used to reveal them as social constructions that are not universally true, but have real consequences.
The Gender Binary
The gender binary is a limited system of gender classification in which gender can only be masculine or feminine. This way of thinking about gender is specific to certain cultures and is not culturally, historically, or biologically universal. It is real but not true. Nonbinary gender classification systems may include more than two genders or place gender on a multi-dimensional spectrum of possibilities. People who identify as nonbinary or gender expansive may identify with no gender, a mix of multiple genders, a third or fourth gender, or their experience and expression of gender may change over time.
Transgender describes people who identify as a gender that is different from the gender they were assigned at birth. Cisgender describes people who identify as the same gender they were assigned at birth. Sexual orientation describes a person’s emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction to other people; it is often used to signify the relationship between a person’s gender identity and the gender identities to which a person is most attracted (Learning for Justice 2024). Heteronormativity is the social enforcement of heterosexuality, in which there are only two genders, that these genders are opposites, and that any sexual activity between people of the same gender is deviant or unnatural. We will describe gender and sexuality more fully in Chapter 2 and Chapter 3.
Many societies have understood gender as nonbinary, expansive, and/or fluid. For example, some Indigenous people in the Americas have used the term “Two Spirit” to refer to individuals who occasionally or permanently dress and live as a “third gender.” Historically, people who are Two Spirit also have taken on labor roles traditionally associated with a masculine or feminine gender expression that is different from the gender they were assigned at birth, a practice often forbidden and harshly punished in societies with rigidly binary gender roles.
Samoan society has also traditionally accommodated a third gender, fa’afafine, which translates as “the way of the woman.” It is a term used to describe individuals born with male sex characteristics but who embody both masculine and feminine traits. Fa’afafines may have sexual partners who identify as men or women. Like Two Spirit People in the Americas, Fa’afafines have traditionally been considered an important part of Samoan culture (Poasa 1992). We’ll explore more transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive identities in Chapter Five.
“Two-Spirit” and Fa’afafines are only two of the many different ways non-binary gender has been recognized around the world. By exploring how gender is constructed, and the role of gender in systems of power, Sociology of Gender makes an important contribution to the larger sociological project of understanding the causes and consequences of social inequality.
Gender Inequality and Patriarchy
In this section, we will learn about gender inequality in the US and around the world. Gender inequality is the unequal distribution of power and resources based on gender. We will also learn how the study of gender inequality in its many forms is a key topic of the sociology of gender.
As you think about the data in this section, notice that most of the data assumes the gender binary. The omission of trans and non-binary genders from most of the available data on gender equality is itself an indicator of gender inequality. The data that is available suggests that worldwide, trans and nonbinary people are routinely excluded from full economic and political participation and access to healthcare and are subject to high rates of violence (United Nations 2019).
Worldwide, gender inequality has been well documented. The World Economic Forum (WEF) categorizes gender inequality in terms of economic participation, mobility, workplace, pay, marriage, parenthood, entrepreneurship, assets, and pensions. In 2020, the WEF assessed 190 countries and found that women only have the same rights as men in 14 countries (WEF 2020). This political inequality translates to women representing 60 percent of chronically hungry people, over two-thirds of the world’s 796 million illiterate people, and less than 20 percent of the world’s landholders Facts & Figures (n.d.). There is a specific history of gender inequality in the United States. When looking to the past, it would appear that society has made great strides in terms of abolishing some of the most blatant forms of gender inequality (see timeline below) but gender inequality still permeates many aspects of society.
- Before 1809—Women could not execute a will
- Before 1840—Women were not allowed to own or control property
- Before 1920—Women were not permitted to vote
- Before 1963—Employers could legally pay a woman less than a man for the same work
Despite making up nearly half (49.8 percent) of payroll employment, men vastly outnumber women in authoritative, powerful, and, therefore, high-earning jobs. Even when a woman’s employment status is equal to a man’s, she will generally make only 81 cents for every dollar her male counterpart makes (GPGR 2024). Women in the paid labor force also still do the majority of the unpaid work at home. On an average day, 86 percent of women (compared to 71 percent of men) spend time doing household management activities (American Time Use Survey Summary 2024). Can you see how this unpaid double duty can keep working women in a subordinate role in the family (Hochschild & Machung 1989)?
Part of the gender pay gap can be attributed to unique barriers faced by women regarding work experience and promotion opportunities. A mother of young children is more likely to drop out of the labor force for several years or work on a reduced schedule than the father of young children. As a result, women in their 30s and 40s are likely, on average, to have less job experience than men. This effect becomes more evident when considering the pay rates of two groups of women: those who did not leave the workforce and those who did. In the United States, childless women with the same education and experience levels as men are typically paid a closer (but not exact) parity to men. However, women with families and children are paid less. Mothers are recommended a 7.9 percent lower starting salary than non-mothers, which is 8.6 percent lower than men (Correll, et al, 2007).
The gender pay gap in the US grows even wider when race is considered. In 2020, compared to every dollar that White, non-Hispanic men made, Latinas earned 57 cents, Native American women earned 60 cents, and Black women earned 64 cents (U. S. Census 2020a). The census does not yet count trans and non-binary genders.
Political representation can impact gender inequality. The number of women elected to serve in Congress has increased over the years but does not yet accurately reflect the general population. For example, in 2018, the population of the United States was 49 percent male and 51 percent female, but the population of Congress was 78.8 percent male and 21.2 percent female (Conerly 2021). Over the years, the number of women in the federal government has increased, but until it accurately reflects the population, there will be inequalities in our laws.
In the U.S., where we like to believe that all people are created equal, it is a provocative statement to assert that our society was founded and continues to function as a patriarchy. Patriarchy is a system in which masculine people hold more social power and status than feminine and nonbinary people. Patriarchy is literally the rule of fathers. A patriarchal society is one where characteristics associated with masculinity signify more power and status than those associated with femininity.
In patriarchal societies, gender differences produce gender inequality. Characteristics that are highly valued in women and girls, such as empathy, nurturance, and care for others, are considered to be weaknesses in men and boys, so many patriarchal cultures have traditionally considered trans- and nonbinary genders to be transgressive. Because men and boys in patriarchal societies are held in higher social regard than other genders, they tend to have more advantages and rights, as demonstrated in the previous section.
While gendered norms for labor exist in both patriarchal and matriarchal societies, feminine work in patriarchal societies tends to be less valued, and women tend to have less choice about working outside of the traditional domestic sphere. Feminine work is also generally not as well compensated as masculine work when they do. An exception to this construct sometimes exists in highly stratified patriarchal societies where more affluent women have access to high-paying, powerful careers, where they still may not be compensated at the same rates as men. No matter the opportunities available to them in the workplace, women in patriarchal societies still bear primary responsibilities for the care of home and children, although more affluent women may be able to hire one or more less affluent women to tend to domestic duties.
A core concern of sociology is understanding the reasons for inequality in human society. The three major sociological theories, structural functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism, each explain inequality differently. In simplest terms, structural functionalism accepts inequality as inevitable and even beneficial in societies. Conflict theory views inequality as the dysfunctional result of capitalism’s competition for limited resources. Interactionists look at how inequality is created, maintained, and interrupted or maintained by the arrangements of power in social interaction. Feminist theory considers the relationships between power and gender.
Sociology of gender is specifically concerned with applying sociological theory to understand and address gender inequality. Because sociology of gender is a critical approach, it aligns with the critical theory’s premise that gender inequality is dysfunctional, but also draws from structural theories to make dominant power structures visible, and from interactionist theory to describe the dynamics of social power that produce and sustain gender inequality.
Sociology of gender demonstrates that gender inequality is not rooted in biology. While humans with female sex traits may generally be physically smaller than humans with male sex traits, this generalization neither explains nor justifies the unequal wealth, health outcomes, education, political power, and rights of self-determination experienced by women, girls, and people who are LGBTQIA +. Rather these conditions are socially created and normalized patriarchy and other systems of power.
Theories of Gender
While sociologists have been theorizing about gender for as long as there have been sociologists, sociology of gender is a relatively new and exciting field. It has emerged to meet a social moment when issues of global inequality have become more urgent than ever. This section sketches out some key moments in the development of sociology of gender.
The term “gender role” was coined by John Money (he/his) back in 1955. He defined gender roles as “all those things that a person says or does to disclose himself or herself as having the status of boy or man, girl or woman” (Money 1955). Many of the sociology of gender theories and much of the research developed during the 1960s and 1970s when feminist theory became prominent. Some major historical moments for feminist theory included the publication of The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan (she/her) (1963) and research by Ann Oakley (she/her) in 1969, who earned a Ph.D. for research on women’s attitudes to housework.
Early sociology courses and research about gender were described as sociology of women, or more broadly, women’s studies. During this period, research was focused solely on cisgender women and femininity and excluded other genders, including men and masculinity, up until the 1980s and 1990s.
In 1987, Candace West (she/her) and Don Zimmerman (he/him) argued in their article “Doing Gender” (1987) that both men and women “do gender” every day and that “their competence as members of society is hostage to its production.” In other words, our success in society is based on how good we are at being the gender we are assigned. For an example of this, think about how boys are bullied and shamed with taunts of “Don’t be a girl.”
Judith Butler (1988) (they/them) broke new ground in the study of gender with “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory,” arguing that since gender is made by our everyday doing of gender, it is possible to remake gender by doing gender in different ways. Both of these papers are foundational to contemporary gender studies.
As theorists and researchers like R. W. Connell (she/her) and Michael Kimmell (he/him) began addressing masculinity in their work, the field quickly shifted beyond the exclusive study of cisgender women and femininity to include all genders. We’ll explore more about sociological theories of gender and how they critique the dominant culture in Chapter Four.
Let’s Review
Licenses and Attributions for Applying Sociology to the Study of Gender
Open Content, Original
“Applying Sociology to the Study of Gender” by Heidi Ebenson and Nora Karena is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
“Real But Not True” by Nora Karena is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
“Applying Sociology to the Study of Gender Question Set” was created by ChatGPT and is not subject to copyright. Edits for relevance, alignment, and meaningful answer feedback by Colleen Sanders are licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Open Content, Shared Previously
“Theories of Gender” is adapted from “Social Construction of Gender” by Jennifer Puentes, Introduction to Sociology, which is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Modifications by Nora Karena include Revision for context, style, and more inclusive language.
“Theories of Gender” is adapted from “Gender and Sexuality” by Carol C. Mukhopadhyay, Tami Blumenfield, Susan Harper, and Abby Gondek, Perspectives: An Open Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (2nd ed.), which is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0. Modifications include revision for context, style, and more inclusive language.
“Gender Inequality and Patriarchy” is adapted from “Social Stratification and Inequality” by Conerly, T. R., Holmes, K., & Tamang, A. L., Introduction to Sociology 3e, which is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0. Modifications include revision for context, style, and more inclusive language.
“Gender” definition is adapted from”1.1 What Is Sociology?” by Tonja R. Conerly, Kathleen Holmes, Asha Lal Tamang, Introduction to Sociology 3e, Openstax, which is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Figure 1.10. “Auckland Pride Parade 2016” by Ле Лой is in the Public Domain.
All Rights Reserved Content
“Sexual orientation” definition by Learning for Justice (2024) is included under fair use.
the meanings, attitudes, behaviors, norms, and roles that a society or culture ascribes to sexual differences (Adapted from Conerly et.al. 2021a).
a group of people who live in a defined geographic area, who interact with one another, and who share a common culture (Conerly et al. 2021).
a group’s shared practices, values, beliefs, and norms. Culture encompasses a group’s way of life, from daily routines and everyday interactions to the most essential aspects of group members’ lives. It includes everything produced by a society, including social rules.
the process of learning culture through social interactions.
applies the tools of sociology to explore how gender, including sexuality, gender expression, and identity, is socially constructed, imposed, enforced, reproduced, and negotiated.
refers to a person’s personal and interpersonal expression of sexual desire, behavior, and identity.
the way our gender identity is expressed outwardly through clothing, personal grooming, self-adornment, physical posture and gestures, and other elements of self-presentation.
the unequal distribution of power and resources based on gender.
an awareness of the relationship between a person’s behavior, experience, and the wider culture that shapes the person’s choices and perceptions. (Mills 1959)
a systematic approach that involves asking questions, identifying possible answers to your question, collecting, and evaluating evidence—not always in that order—before drawing logical, testable conclusions based on the best available evidence.
a limited system of gender classification in which gender can only be masculine or feminine. This way of thinking about gender is specific to certain cultures and is not culturally, historically, or biologically universal.
refers to gender identities beyond binary identifications of man or woman/masculine or feminine.
describes people who identify as a gender that is different from the gender they were assigned at birth.
describes people who identify as the same gender they were assigned at birth.
emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction to other people; often used to signify the relationship between a person’s gender identity and the gender identities to which a person is most attracted (Learning for Justice 2018).
the gender we experience ourselves to be.
the social enforcement of heterosexuality, in which there are only two genders, that these genders are opposites, and that any sexual activity between people of the same gender is deviant or unnatural.
interconnected ideas and practices that attach identity and social position to power and serve to produce and normalize arrangements of power in society.
literally the rule of fathers. A patriarchal society is one where characteristics associated with masculinity signify more power and status than those associated with femininity.
also called functionalism, a macro-level theory concerned with large-scale processes and large-scale social systems that order, stabilize, and destabilize societies.
is a macro-level theory that proposes conflict is a basic fact of social life, which argues that the institutions of society benefit the powerful.
a complex competitive economic system of power in which limited resources are subject to private ownership and the accumulation of surplus is rewarded.
an acronym that stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual, Plus a continuously expanding spectrum of gender identities and sexual orientations.