Download Sociological Paths

M.Bonfili –Philosophy of Law, 2015
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gender thematisations in the psychosexological
and psychoanalytical field, to different extents,
share the critique of:
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biological determinism that postulates the original
aspect of nature and the subordination of society
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essentialism, which claims anteriority, priority and
exclusivity of sex with respect to gender
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deterministic-essentialist perspective considers
irrelevant even the terminological distinction
sex/gender
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Criticize naturalistic paradigm
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Thematize priority of social assumption of
gender role for the perception of gender identity
in relation to sex
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According to these theories: society significant
influence on the perception of subjective
identity
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Three types of theories explain gender
socialization:
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Psychoanalytic theory(Freud- emphasizes the
unconscious processes involved in developing
gender identity)
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Social learning theory
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Cognitive developmental theory
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More straightforward than psychoanalytic: focus on
observable events and their consequences rather than
on unconscious motives and drives.
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Numerous social learning theories but share principles
derived from behaviorism in psychology.
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emphasizes the importance of our social
environment on our development
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A lot of what you learn for gender-identity is
gained by watching your primary and secondary
socialisers.
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Primary socialisers (also known as Informal
socialising agents) include people such as
family, and siblings
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Secondary socialisers (also known as formal
socializing agents) include the media, law
enforcers, and teachers
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Albert Bandura (1986)
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The reason we act and behave the way we do
has been explained in 4 simple ways:
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Imitation
Identification
Reinforcement
Modelling
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Social learning theory also suggests that children learn by
observing and imitating the behavior of same-sex adults.
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This is simply copying behaviour and is the fastest type of
learning in humans.
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A young girl learns what it means to be female by
observing her mother, whereas a boy learns what it means
to be male by observing his father.
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This behaviour may be imitated because it is seen as
rewarding. Thus the rewards stop and the behaviour too
ceases.
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Not all behaviour is likely to be imitated.
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In order to imitate, children need the belief that
they have the capacity to imitate a behaviour
they have observed.
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They also need Reinforcement of that behaviour
to keep them from extinguishing the learned
behaviour. Reinforcement strengthens
behaviour with positive consequences
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This is direct learning – Our behaviour is strengthened
(repeated/not repeated) due to a particular response (i.e.
reward/punishment)
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According to this perspective, children are reinforced – both
positively and negatively – for gender appropriate and
inappropriate behavior
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A young boy playing with dolls, for example, might be
ignored by his father; the lack of attention serves as a
negative reinforcement, so that the boy eventually stops
playing with dolls altogether.
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Or, parents might hug a young girl who cries –
the hug serving as a positive reinforcement –
thereby increasing the likelihood the girl will cry
again in the future
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In this way, the theory suggests, boys and girls
learn which behaviors are expected of them.
Boys learn that playing with dolls is
‘inappropriate’; girls learn that expressing
emotion is consistent with being female.
An individual desires to be like a specific model
or part of a social group because they possess
qualities they view as rewarding, i.e.
attractiveness or status.
 The child experiences a form of attachment to
them and aspires to be like them.
 Unlike imitation, identification implies some
form of relationship between the imitator and
imitated.
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Are children the passive recipients of
socialization messages that the theory
postulates?
 There is evidence that children seek out message
from their environment rather than merely
passively accept what models offer.
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Cognitive theories of gender socialization offer a
different perspective
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emphasizing the developmental nature of the
socialization process, as well as the active role the child
plays in the construction of his or her gender identity.
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Lawrence Kohlberg was one of the first to apply
theories of cognitive development to gender identity.
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Children develop the stereotypic conceptions of gender
from what they see and hear around them.
Kohlberg believed that once they achieve gender
constancy-- the belief that their own gender is fixed
and irreversible – they positively value their gender
identity and seek to behave only in ways that are
congruent with that conception.
 Once children establish knowledge of their own
gender, the reciprocal interplay between one's
behavior (acting like a girl) and thoughts (I am a girl)
leads to a stable gender identity, or in cognitivedevelopmental theory terms, the child achieves
gender constancy.
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Some discredit his theory by saying that children
demonstrate gender-typed behavior as young as two or
three years of age, long before they develop gender
constancy
The Gender schema theory proposes that
children learn from the culture in which they live
a concept of what it means to be male and
female.
 they internalize this pattern as a knowledge
 as a gender pattern that becomes the core of
gender identity that interacts with individual
experiences and is reinforced by the mechanisms
of reward/punishment received based on
behavior.
 gender schemas, help children organize
information, and maintain a sense of consistency
and predictability.
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In your own childhood, as you struggled to
comprehend the world, you – like other children –
formed concepts, or schema, including a schema for
your own gender. Gender then became a lens through
which you viewed your experiences.
 Through language, dress, toys, and songs, social
learning shapes gender schemas. Children then
compare themselves with their concept of gender ("I
am male - thus, masculine, strong, aggressive," or "I
am female - therefore, feminine, sweet, and helpful")
and adjust their behavior accordingly
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tend to be polarized, so that children believe
“what is acceptable and appropriate for
females is not acceptable or appropriate for
males (and vice versa)”
tend to be androcentric; that is, children
internalize the message that males and
masculinity are the standard or norm, and are
more highly valued than females and
femininity (Wharton).
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In other words, children adjust their behavior
according to their gender norms and
expectations.
This theory states that the developing child
internalizes gender lenses that are embedded in
the discourse and social practices of the culture,
and that these lenses predispose the individual
to construct a self-identity that is consistent
with these lenses
Gender schema is essential in gender role
development and it emerges in early childhood.
 gender-stereotyped behaviors and attitudes may occur
 this ultimately leads to the androcentrism part of the
Gender Schema theory which suggests that the standards
are created from the male point of view, so everything
different from this category is considered a deviation from
the standard as well as an inferior departure.
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Kohlbergfirst to apply theories of cognitive
development to gender identity
“children’s views of appropriate gender roles
...change as they grow older, reflecting their
changing cognitive development”
once children develop gender constancy – the
recognition of themselves as male or female and
the stable, unchanging nature of their gender –
they become more motivated to demonstrate
gender appropriate behavior.
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theory failed to explain why children use
gender, rather than some other construct, to
organize their view of the world
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This theory posits 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.
It is a learning theory based on the ideas that
people learn by watching what others do and
that human thought processes are central to
understanding personality.
People learn by observing others.
 Learning is an internal process that may or may not
change behavior.
 People behave in certain ways to reach goals.
 Behavior is self-directed (as opposed to the behaviorist
thought that behavior is determined by environment.)
 Reinforcement and punishment have unpredictable and
indirect effects on both behavior and learning
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interpret socialization as an active process
that is not reduced to mere passive
internalization of external expectations, but
presupposes and involves negotiation and
modification.
Children do not limit themselves to the
perception of the gender messages from
outside, but they interact with others
building their own identity.
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Interpret socialization as an active process
that is not reduced to mere passive
internalization of external expectations, but
presupposes and involves negotitation and
modification
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Children do not limit themselves to the
perception of gender messages from outside,
but they interact with others building their
own identity
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suggests that almost all behavioral differences we
know about between males and females are result
of cultural stereotypes about gender (how males
and females are supposed to act) and the resulting
social roles that are taught to young people
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Gender stereotypes are the common beliefs
about people based on the belonging to
social categories
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They vary according to physical
characteristics, psychological traits,
behaviour and to tasks/ functions
M.Bonfili -Philosophy of Law, 2015
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has had a major impact in the philosophical
debate on gender
Critics essentialism
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Social constructionism is opposite to:
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biological essentialismthat recognizes
identity in essence
social essentialism fixes single identity on a
social level
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The social construction of gender comes out of
the general school of thought entitled social
constructionism.
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Constructionism refers to “constructivism”.
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Constructivism is a predominantly philosophical
and epistemological theory according to which it
is not possible to objectively represent reality,
given that the sphere of our experience is the
result of our constructive activity.
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Constructionism is a sociological theory that
applies the constructivist theory to society:
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believing that society is the construction
process through which people constantly
create not by means of their being, but by
means of their acting and interacting, a
common and shared reality, experienced as
objective
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Take, for example, money. Money is a socially
constructed reality. Paper bills are worth
nothing independent of the value individuals
ascribe to them. The Euro is only worth as
much as value as Europeans are willing to
ascribe to it. Note that the Euro only works in
its own currency market; it holds no value in
areas that don't use the Euro. Nevertheless,
the Euro is extremely powerful within its own
domain.
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Constructionism does not investigate what
people are but rather what they “do”
together as part of the social relations in
specific historical and cultural contexts
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The key concepts of the constructionist
theory are identified in the three phases of
the process which, through action and
interaction, allow subjective meanings to be
transformed into objective facts and to
construct socially the reality.
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The first phase is externalization: it is the moment in
which the agents, through their activities, create the
social dimensions.
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Then “objectification”: it is the phase in which
individuals, through thought and language,
objectivise reality as, independent of the individual.
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The last phase is “internalization”: it is the stage in
which, through socialization, the order constructed
subjectively and intersubjectively is accepted and
objectively legitimized.
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This theory has contributed to the social
elaboration of gender:
starting from the not disputed fact that there
are two sexes (man and woman) or sexed
identities
the gender category refers to the social
process or socialization (gendering process)
but also to the product of this process, which
divides people in society into male and female
In this sense gender is not rooted into gendered
beings, but in society (gendered society).
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Social constructionism, affirms that the source of gender
is not nature but history and human action/interactions
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Gender is no longer considered as a constitutive element
of natural being or inherent essence, but it becomes a
quality of social relationship.
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Gender is a human production that depends on everyone
constantly “doing gender”
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Gender becomes, therefore, the construction of femininity
and masculinity: it is an external creation, influenced by
society and determined by culture.
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The process of socialization, in this
perspective, is composed by the association
repeated in time between one sex
(male/female) and certain social
actions/practices
(roles,responsabilities,expectations)
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As a process gender creates the social
differences that define “woman” and “man”.
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In social interaction throughout their lives,
individuals learn what is expected, act and react
in expected ways, and thus simultanously
construct and mantain the gender order.
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In almost every encounter, human beings
produce gender , behaving in the ways they
learned were appropriate for their gender status,
or resisting or rebeling against these norms.
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This determines the association of the female
with the reproductive and domestic role and
the male with the economic and political role.
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Hierarchicalisation may arise from opposition:
in this sense, hierarchy does not come from
natural distinction, but from the social
construction associated with the natural
distinction, insofar as society privileges one
category, placing it in a position of superiority or
exclusivity, and devaluing the other.
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Constructionism believes that people are not
marginalized because they have different sex,
but different because marginalized in relation to
gender.
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In societies that create the greatest gender
difference, such as saudi arabia, women are kept
out of sight behind walls or veils, have no civil
rights and often create a cultural and emotional
world of their own.
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But even in societies with less rigid boundaries,
women and men spend much of their time with
people of their own gender because of the way
work and family are organized. This spatial
separation of men and women reinforces
gendered differences and ways of behaving.
It is a theory that is different from essentialism,
as it states that man/woman differentitiation is
also a social process, not only the direct
expression of nature;
 it criticizes the overlapping of sex and gender,
and introduces a contrast between sex, the term
fixes identity statically to nature and gender,
which flexibly indicates a process
 According to this theory gender varies from
culture to culture
 Changes form time to time
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A number of different discourses construct and
maintain gender identities and expectations.
When we are being socialized: we have all these
different levels of socialization from primary
socialization and secondary socialization to
everyday acts of maintenance that confirm and
sometimes challenge our gendered worlds.
So basically human beings are affiliated with a
number of institutions and each institution has
its own discourse they espouse, that help
program our gendered outlook on the world.
So some examples of this would be religious discourse:
People who are affiliated to different churches, these
different worship places will expose their followers to
gendered discourses that tell them the appropriate
behavior of men and women. Like in a number of religious
discourses women should defer to the judgment of men
 Also medical discourses, doctors also shape us our
understanding of appropriate gender performances, legal
discourse definitely come into play here: who should have
what opportunity in the job force and then other
discourses and institutions include education. Media
discourses that help us understand the way man and
women should look
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Discourses make the normative appear
natural. So in a lot of these discourses we try
to make it seem like: “this is the way it should
be done”, this makes gender appear as a
natural construct rather than something
socially constructed
There isn’t only one discourse but more
discourses that model our gender.
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The theorization of gender as a cultural
construction is along the same lines
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Also criticizes the essentialist claim that
explains sex biologically as an innate, deep
and unchanging character which is
“uncontaminated by cultural influences”
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The thematization of gender as cultural
construction is delineated by following
different paths:
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Gender as a cultural construction of sex
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Gender as a cultural construction of sexuality
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Ann Oakley in her book, sex, gender and Society
written in 1972 explores the term gender
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She notes that gender is a matter of culture as it
refers to the cultural classification of masculine
and feminine as opposed to sex, that
biologically distinguishes male from female.
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'Gender' is a matter of culture: it refers to the
social classification into 'masculine' and
'feminine'.
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The constancy of sex and the variability of
gender is revealed:
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this proves that biology has a minimal role in
the development of gender identity and that
gender is not a direct, mechanical and
automatic product of sex.
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According to the author cultural learning far
exceeds biological determination
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Oakley says that in the Western culture
women play the roles of the “housewife” and
“mother‟.
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The Author identifies in the sex/gender
distinction the most effective conceptual pair
to express the male/female relationship:
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sex indicates the natural differences that in
itself does not produce different social roles
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gender indicates the roles produced by
culture and the socio-historical context.
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Gender is defined as a “socially imposed division
of the sexes” but also as the product of the social
relations of sexuality.
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The sex/gender system refers to the series of
measures by which biological sex and sexuality
are configured on a social level, with reference
to the organization of human sexual relations, or
institutional forms of sexuality through the
structure of kinship and marriage.
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According to Rubin, the sex/gender system
has-in recent Western societies- led
prevalently to the domination of men:
heterosexual marriage and the division of
labour according to sex have led to
attribution of the maternal-domestic role to
women and of the public role to men
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The Author reconstructs a pyramid of sexual
relations, revealing how cultural priority is
given to those that are heterosexual, married,
monogamous, reproductive, and noncommercial” and how in contrast those that
are homosexual, not married, promiscuous,
non monogamous not reproductive, and
commercial are marginal and considered
inferior.
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identifies, through an empirical,
anthropological and cultural investigation of
the organization of family and kinship the
heart of the sex/gender system, therefore the
structure of society. These roles are related to
cultural appertainance; consequently, they
are variable within the different geographical
areas and historical periods.
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the author highlights that what feminism has
to fight- so that woman can reach a position
of equality to men- is not the difference of
sex, but the difference of gender.
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One method, in her opinion, is through the
abolition of the division of gender roles and
through the expansion of care to the father
alongside the mother: the care of both
parents from birth would take away alongside
the mother: the care of both parents from
birth would take away the root causes of the
Oedipus and Electra complex, which gave rise
to gender roles.
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It should be noted that Oakley and Rubin
emphasize the cultural construction of
gender but assume without questioning the
biological basis of sex on which the
distinction is grounded: in the case of Oakley
the anatomical sexual difference, in the case
of Rubin, procreative sexual activity.