Download WORD - Indian Journal of Applied and Clinical Sociology

Ind. J. of Applied & Clinical Sociology 10 (4), 2015, 63-66
ISSN: 2230-9772 (Print); 2347-5927 (Online)
©: Human Development & Welfare Institute
Basics of Social Structure, Gender, Inequality and Feminism
Suman Kumari
Full text: Society is an integrated system of
social structure and function (T. Parson).
“Social structure is concerned with the
principal forms of social organization i.e types
of groups, associations and institutions and the
complex of those, which constitute societies
(Ginsberg). “The components of social
structure are human beings, the structure itself
being an arrangement of persons in
relationships institutionally defined and
regulated” (Radcliffe Brown). Society is an
organism (Herbert Spencer). “Social Structure
is a term applied to the particular arrangement
of the interrelated institutions, agencies and
social patterns as well as the statuses and roles
which each person assumes in the group”
(Talcott Parson). The structure of anything
consists of the relatively stable inter
relationships among its parts; moreover, the
term ‘part’ itself implies a certain degree of
stability (Harry M. Johnson).
Primary
Institutions
Family
Economics
Secondary Institutions
:
:
Education
Religion
State
:
:
:
Marriage, Divorce, Desertion
Production,
Distribution,
Marketing, Banking, Share
market, Insurance
School, College, Universities
Church, Mosques, Temples
Democracy,
Parliament,
Courts, Political parties,
Armed forces,
Functions of social institutions:
Institution
Society is made of social groups,
organizations-associations, and institutions.
1. Social groups: Race, Ethnicity, Tribe,
Color, Caste, Varna, Gotra, Dynasty, Class,
Age, Ashram, Sex, Family
2. Associations: Defined as a group of people
organised for a particular purpose. According
to Ginsberg “a group of social beings related to
one another by organization with a view to
securing a specific end or specific ends”.
Examples- Family, church, trade union,
association of people, clubs, political parties,
philanthropic & charitable agencies.
Family
:
Economics
:
Education
:
Religion
:
State
:
Manifested
functions
Unity
of
objectives,
goals,
efforts
Promoting
production,
trade.
Teaching,
Providing
skill
Promotion
of religious
activities
Security,
welfare,
International
relations.
Hidden
functions
Selfishness,
Damaging for
others
Damage
to
economy,
economical
rivalry
False
and
wrong
education
Conversions,
Love Jehad,
Riots,
Tensions
Terrorism,
aggression,
war, conflicts,
invasions.
Foundations of Social Structure:
3. Social Institutions: Institutions are means
of controlling individuals. It depended upon
collective actions. It is a stable means of social
control. It has certain compulsory rules and
symbols. According to Maclver “established
forms or conditions of procedure characteristics
of group activity”. According to Sumner, “An
Institution consists of a concept (idea, notion,
doctrine or interest) and a structure”.
1. Normative system 2. Position system 3.
Sanction system 4. Anticipated response
system 5. Action system
Social Values:
1. Universalistic social values 2. Particularistic
social values 3. Achieved social values 4.
Ascribed social values.
Types of social structure:
Types of social institutions:
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Talcott Parson describes four principal type of
social structure based upon four social values.
1. The Universalistic- Achievement Pattern 2.
The Universalistic- Ascription Pattern 3. The
Particularistic Achievement Pattern 4. The
Particularistic Ascription Pattern.
marriage 7. Feticide- infanticide, 8. High and
risky fertility, 9. Adverse sex ratio at birth etc.
GENDER & INEQUALITY
C. Economic factors: 1. Poverty, 2. Lack of
employment, 3. Migratory jobs, 4. Economic
underdevelopment, 5. Brawn-based production,
B.
Political
democratization
implementation,
Gender is not something we are born with, and
not something we have, but something we do
(West and Zimmerman 1987). Sex is natural
and comes first. Gender is perceived as a
secondary construct that is imposed over the
top of this natural distinction (Judith Butler). In
the Western culture, women play the roles of
the housewife and mother. The roles of men
and women helps to support and maintain the
patriarchal society (Oakley, 1972).Simone de
Beauvior in her book The Second Sex says, one
is not born, but rather becomes a woman. She
explains that gender differences in the society
make the man superior through his role as the
breadwinner. Shulamith Firestone in her book,
The Dialectics of Sex (1970) suggests that
patriarchy exploits women’s biological
capacity to reproduce as their essential
weakness.
factors:
1.
2. Policies
Lack
of
and their
D. Cultural factors: 1. Patrilocality, 2. Oldage support from sons, 3. Dowry system, 4.
Patrilineality, 5. Role of sons in religious
rituals, 6. Less physical mobility to protect
female safety and purity, 7. Desire for sons and
higher investment in sons, 8. Desire for sons &
sex imbalance.
Levels of gender inequality: 1. At policy
levels 2. At Organizational/institutional level 3.
Societal/ cultural levels
Consequences of gender inequality: 1. No
adequate contribution in GDP 2. Low number
in production industries 3. Keeping away from
technologies and its development 4. Gender
gap in education 5. No energy safety 6.
Environmental depletion 7. Unpaid jobs 8.
Poor developmental indicators.
Masculinity & Femininity: Male and female
are sex categories, while masculine and
feminine are gender categories. A woman is
assumed feminine female, a man a masculine
male. Male associated with masculinity and
female with femininity. Both are the social
constructions of the biological differences
between men and women into social terms and
descriptions. Sometimes due to works of
several feminists, biological differences
heightened through social descriptions of
masculinity and femininity. Masculinity is not
valued unless performed by biological male
(Moira Gatens).
Prevention from gender inequality: Article
15 of the Constitution provides for prohibition
of discrimination on grounds of sex also apart
from other grounds such as religion, race,
caste, or place of birth. Article 15(3) authorizes
the State to make any special provision for
women and children. Article 51(A) (e) imposes
a fundamental duty on every citizen to
renounce the practices derogatory to the dignity
of women. Article 16 provides for equality of
opportunities in the matter of public
appointments for all citizens. Moreover, the
Directive Principles of State Policy also
provides various provisions that are for the
benefit of women and provides safeguards
against discrimination.
Gender Inequality: Because of sex if women
or girl devoid of rights, opportunities, face
barriers, controls, difference in power, status,
prestige, participation in society, politics, and
economy could term as gender inequality. It
could also refer as unequal treatment and
discrimination because of sex. The difference
between women and men in attainments is
called gender gap.
Sati
(Prevention)
Act,
1987,
Equal
remuneration Act 1976, Dowry Prohibition
Act, 1961, The Child Marriage Restraint
Amendment Act. 1978, Special Marriage Act,
1954 to give rightful status to married couples
who marry inter-caste or inter-religion; PreNatal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and
Prevention of Misuse) Bill passed in 1994 to
stop female infanticide. Section 304-B was
added to the Indian Penal Code, 1860 to make
Causes of gender inequality: A. Social
factors 1. Patriarchy, 2. Unequal socialization
3. Lack of education, 4. Dowry system, 5. Lack
of gender egalitarian environment, 6. Early
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dowry-death or bride burning a specific offence
punishable with maximum punishment of life
imprisonment. The Factories (Amendment)
Act, 1976, provides for establishment of a
Crèche where 30 women are employed as
against one for every 50 women.
while social constructionist explanations say
that individuals, male and female, actively
construct gender roles. Individuals in a society
choose to saturate a particular structure with
meaning create gender roles.
March 8, is observed as women's day, Hostels
for Working Women, Women's Training
Centres/Institutes for the Rehabilitation of
Women in Distress, Short-stay homes for
Women and Girls, Family Life Institute,
Education Work for prevention of Atrocities
against Women, Support to Training and
Employment Programme for Women (STEP),
National and State Commissions for women,
Women Development Corporations, Rastriya
Mahila Kosh, ICDS, Central Social Welfare
Board, Balika Poshak Yojana, Napkin Yojna,
It identified patriarchy as a situation highly
unjust for women. Through patriarchy male
used chauhanism or sexism towards women.
However, it is criticized because patriarchy is
not just about women however it is more about
overall power and control.
Special measures: School intervention,
Community intervention, Media intervention,
Legal intervention, Gender budgeting, gender
forecasting, women policing.
Psychoanalytic model:
Patriarchy: Patriarchy means rule of father,
father like figure or male. There is difference
between parental care, control, and patriarchy.
Through patriarchy male, hold primary power
to decide roles in politics, leadership, morality,
social privilege, control of property; and
authority over women and children. Many
patriarchal societies are also patrilineal,
meaning that property and title inherited by the
male lineage. The female equivalent is
matriarchy.
Control through patriarchy:
Feminist theory:
Aggressive mentality theory:
Patriarchy may be seen as an expression of a
stunted, immature form of masculinity and thus
as an attack on masculinity in its fullness as
well as on femininity in its fullness.
Men become able to do patriarchy when he
became old. That mostly not opposed by any
member of the family.
1. Productive power 2. Reproduction- fertility
3. Social institution and their functions 4.
Sexuality 5. Mobility 6. Property and other
economic resources.
Sexual division of labour, Production, and
Reproduction:
The sexual division of labour is central to
feminism. Women considered suitable for
childbirth, stay at home, rear children, and
undertake all the domestic responsibilities
because of their biology. Men undertake all the
difficult tasks as a part of their biology. Thus
after rise of economy work done by men
termed productive and valued as labour.
Traditionally girl and women considered a
weak entity. According to Manusmriti
“Women supposed to be in the safekeeping of
their father during childhood, under protection
of their husband after marriage, and under the
charge of her son in old age or as widows”.
Production and reproduction in gender terms
aimed at highlighting the contrast between the
paid and unpaid work of men and women.
Reproduction refers to cyclical processes by
which the initial conditions necessary for
economic activity to occur are constantly recreated. It involves the physical production and
distribution of goods and services, their
distribution, and consumption. Karl Marx in
Das Kapital showed the reproduction process
that can take place in capitalist society by
means of the circulation of capital. Women
mainly face problems such as unpaid jobs,
temporary jobs, unequal wages, or salary.
Most of the modern sociologists considered
patriarchy as root cause of gender inequality.
Modern sociology differed from those ancient
provisions that still prevalent in India and
advocated total independency of women in
decision-making.
Theories of patriarchy:
There are sociobiological and social
constructionist explanations of patriarchy.
Sociobiological explanations use human
biology and genetics to explain male control,
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Reproduction could also refer to the worker's
daily reproduction of his or her own labor
power. This consists of subsistence tasks such
as food preparation, laundry, and all other that
maintain the worker and his or her ability to
work became responsibility of women.
According to Silvia Federici "In the new
monetary regime, only production-for-market
was defined as value-creating activity, whereas
the reproduction of the worker began to be
considered as valueless from an economic
viewpoint and even ceased to be considered as
work".
conscious action by women and men to alter
the situation.
1) Liberal feminism:
According to liberal feminist, the basic
structure of the society should be reformed and
not restructured. Voting rights in India, focus
on women education, abolition of child
marriage, sati pratha, remarriages, widow
marriages influenced by this feminism.
2) Radical feminism:
It considered men and patriarchy as responsible
for women suppression. It further considers
women as absolute positive value as men. It
also said that roots of women’s subordination
are in social distribution of power, wealth, and
status, the hierarchical sexual division of
society, sex roles.
The public private dichotomy:
Women expected to engage in productive work
in private realm only such as household and
family. Whereas male could work in public
realm including household, family, economy,
and polity. Feminist considered the public
private dichotomy has played an important role
in producing gender inequalities.
3) Post-Modernist or New wave feminism:
The new age feminism developed around
1980s, do not take up women as a general
category but focus on the factual and
theoretical implication of difference among
women. The difference resulted from the
unequal distribution of socially produced goods
and services because of position in global
system, caste, class, race, ethnicity, religion,
age, and affection preference. Studies showed a
complexly inter-waves system of caste, class,
race, gender and global expression and
privileges. Those oppressive systems produces
compulsive attitude, actions, and personalities,
such compulsive personalities came up in new
feminist movement, referred as global
movement and futurist movement of the 21st
century.
Identity polities:
Identities keep changing and there could be
differences in identities among women also,
and it needed to eradicate all those identities to
create solidarity for women cause. There is
emergence of international sisterhoods.
Feminism:
Feminism is an awareness of women’s
oppression and exploitation in society at the
place of work and with the family and the
conscious action to change this situation.
Feminism could also see as an awareness of
aristocratic control, exploitation and oppression
of material and ideological levels of women’s
labour, fertility and sexuality in the family, at
the place of work, and in society in general and
Others categories may be 4) Socialist feminism
5) Marxist feminism 6) Eco feminism 7)
Condition feminism.
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