Figure 9.14 Gender Fluid Person People do gender in a variety of ways. Would you identify this person as male, female, fluid, androgynous or none of the above?

As early as Chapter 1, we started using the word gender in this book. We discussed sexual orientation and gender identity in Chapter 3, but as usual, we have more to say. Traditionally, sociologists defined gender as “The attitudes, behaviors, norms, and roles that a society or culture associated with an individual’s sex, thus the social differences between female and male; the meanings attached to being feminine or masculine. “ This definition is somewhat outdated, because it labels gender as only female or male, rather than seeing gender expression and gender identity as a continuum.

More new words, you say? The Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC) defines gender identity as one’s innermost concept of self as male, female, a blend of both or neither—how individuals perceive themselves and what they call themselves. One’s gender identity can be the same or different from their sex assigned at birth. For example, you may know yourself as female, even if your physical body has a penis. Alternatively, you may feel like female or male gender labels don’t fit you at all.

HRC further defines gender expression as the external appearance of one’s gender identity, usually expressed through behavior, clothing, body characteristics or voice, and which may or may not conform to socially defined behaviors and characteristics typically associated with being either masculine or feminine. Often your identity and your expression match. Sometimes, you may choose to wear skirts, glitter, and paint your nails, even if your gender identity is male.

Gender, then, is a complex construct. Gender develops throughout life. We may change our gender identity as we age. Paula Stone Willams, a transgender woman describes what she learned about being male and being female in this TED talk: I’ve lived as a man and a woman

How sociologists understand gender changes as we listen carefully to people who don’t fit in traditional gender boxes. How each of us “does” gender changes as we become more authentically ourselves throughout our life.

Even though our concept of gender is fluid, our social structures consistently privilege people with a male gender and marginalize people of a femal or nonbinary gender. How can we explain the persistence of this oppression?

Figure 9.15 Alda Facio Changemaker – Publicly available bio image http://learnwhr.org/dec4/

Like our concepts of structural racism in Chapter 6, our society supports the structure of patriarchy. Alda Facio, a Costa Rican jurist, writer, teacher, and activist offers the following definition of patriarchy:

Patriarchy is a form of mental, social, spiritual, economic and political organization/structuring of society produced by the gradual institutionalization of sexbased political relations created, maintained and reinforced by different institutions linked closely together to achieve consensus on the lesser value of women and their roles.

Figure 9.16 Patriarchy is like a tree – it has historical roots, structural branches, community limbs and individual leaves.

In the drawing of this tree, we notice:

Roots: The roots of the patriarchal tree are the core beliefs and practices that provide an often unconscious base of patriarchy. These underlying principles are obsession with control—controlling women’s bodies, money, and choices. This principle also supports the idea that men should stay in control—of their emotions, lives, and other people’s lives. The second principle, male domination, locates men in positions of authority. Leadership is a male role and a source of male power. The third principle, male identification, locates men at the center of what is right and good. We see this principle in action when we use words like all mankind when we actually mean all people. The fourth and final principle is male centeredness. In this principle we focus on and value the activities of men and boys, rather than women, girls, and nonbinary gendered people. Combining many of these principles in action, the U.S. Soccer Federation only agreed that female and male soccer players should earn equal pay in 2022. For more on this landmark victory, feel free to read: The US National Women’s Soccer Team wins $24 million in equal pay settlement.

Trunk: The trunk of this structural inequality are our institutions, our governments and our economy. Throughout this book, we have seen examples of gender inequality, often supported by our schools, businesses and governments. (We’ve also seen how these organizations sometimes change to become less patriarchal.)

Branches: The branches of our tree are the smaller containers of social interaction such as families, churches, clubs, work teams, or your favorite gamers discord group. At this level, group norms influence the behavior of individuals. In these smaller communities, we explore what it means to do the gender of nonbinary, female, or male. For example, in many heterosexual dual-parent families, members take on traditional gender roles; the father does the outside chores like mowing the lawn, the mother cooks, and the kids do their homework with the help of both their parents.

Leaves: Each of us is a leaf on the patriarchal tree. In our own actions we can reinforce gender norms or we can consciously choose to uproot these deep roots. Our choices matter deeply. However, by placing each of us in a system of power, we move away from shame, blame, and a bad person model. Instead, we can examine how social structures of gendered oppression may be reproduced in our own daily interactions. This knowledge empowers us to choose differently.

Because this structure is both deeply rooted and interconnected, it is resistant to change. Also, patriarchy itself becomes a reason for inequality in all of our social problems.