Tiffany Garcia

Professor Ortega
Sociology 001
1.

What is meant by the social construction of gender? Provide a thorough response,

using sociological terms and situations.

Social construction of gender is the idea that through socialization we learn to equate certain
behaviors that we attribute to certain genders. Through these ideas, society deems which
actions are appropriate for males and females while continuously emphasizing the differences
between the two genders. For example, children in kindergarten are often given free time in
order to engage in activities. During this time boys are mostly given toys such as
legos/building blocks, trucks, and action figures to play around with. As for girls their
activities are mostly confined to cooking and dining sets and dolls. If a boy were to engage in
playing house they would be violating the norms of what society believes should be
characteristic of women. Playing house would be deemed a feminine characteristic that would
not fit societys idea of male gender norm; that is, masculine characteristics such as being
active, dominant, and so on. While boys and men are often described as being independent,
brave, aggressive, competitive and assertive, women are often described as being dependent,
submissive, timid, passive, and sensitive. Through these socially constructed characteristics of
gender norms, we are taught how to act accordingly. We are constantly being informed
whether our actions/gender performances are acceptable from the feedback that we receive
from those around us. When a boy gets hurt whether physically or emotionally, they are told
not to cry because their actions are characteristic of a girl. As for girls who want to participate
in male dominated sports, such as football, they are told that they are too weak to play in such
rough sports. Such reactions from society to the choices one makes helps to socially construct
ideas about how each gender should act.

2. What is feminism? Discuss the first wave, second wave and third wave of feminism. How
do feminists address sexism, institutional discrimination and the glass ceiling?
-Feminism is the term used to describe the movement working towards a change in peoples
perception of womens role in society. Women in society are often viewed as being weak, timid,
emotional, sensitive, passive, and so on. Most of these characteristics help to paint women in a
negative light, incapable of measuring up to most men who are seen as competent, rational,
assertive, and strong. However, such beliefs are often based of off stereotypes created by social
gender roles. Because of such assumptions, women have often been objectified and typecast into
roles of being the nurturer or caretaker. Feminists work in order to expel such ideologies and
work for the equal treatment for women in social, economic, and political circumstances.
The first wave of feminist movement occurred in 1848 with the first ever womens right
convention being held. This first wave detailed the struggles of women fighting for legal and
political equality. During this time women did not have the right to vote or say in their
government. The head of the household (i.e. men) were the only ones allowed to vote. Such
political discrimination exhibited characteristics of sexism, thus working to lead to further social
injustices against women based on their sex. Those who tried to voice their opinion and engaged
in such acts, such as Susan B. Anthony, were arrested. Through their continuous fight for equal
political rights, they were able to achieve the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution
in the 1920s, which allowed women the right to vote in national elections.
Although feminist were able to achieve such a feat, efforts to further the womens suffrage
movement soon died down and the second wave of feminism did not take place until the 1960s1970. This second way of arose from womens dissatisfaction with their daily lives and the
absence of depth in their existence. Most women fell into depression over their lack of purpose
in society and from such notions the fight for access to greater economic, social, and cultural
resources began. Feminists worked to gain access to higher education (e.g. attending college) and
for equal representation within the workforce in order to not only add meaning to their lives but

to also increase their social status by earning their own income (separate from their spouses) and
thus increasing their social power in society. Furthermore they fought to give women the right to
have a say in what goes on in their life (e.g. whether or not get married or stay single, or to have
children or not). The National Organization for Women (NOW), founded by feminists including
Betty Friedman, worked to fight for equality for women and to combat institutionalized
discrimination which at the time dictated that the only job women could hold was within their
homes. They helped to create the notion that no longer was the role of women only found within
the household, but women can also help to contribute to society by engaging in the male
dominated workforce; thus indicating that men and women can and should be considered as
equals.
The third wave of feminism occurred in the 1990s and saw a shift from noting the equivalency
between men and women to highlighting the differences. Feminist of this time worked to dispel
such ideas that women were dull or uptight, often from a white, upper middle class, and
heterosexual. Feminist of the third wave preached the idea of self-empowerment by highlighting
the differences/individuality of each person while also working to encourage the idea of self
empowerment. They worked to dispel social constructed gender roles that usually work to place
women within a confine of simply being a woman; such ideas do not take into consideration ones
race and ethnicity and various skills one might possess thus robbing women of their opportunity
of being regarded as an individual versus being typecast into a group. By addressing such
problems these feminist worked to combat the notion of the glass ceiling that has worked to
repressed womens economical progress.

3. What occupations are men likely to perform? What occupations are women likely to
perform? (See pages 303-306). Compare their (men & women) earnings. Who is likely to
earn more? What accounts for wage gaps between men and women? Can such gaps be
corrected?

-In society there not only exists a difference in the perception of actions that are considered to be
masculine or feminine but also a divide in the occupation choices. Women in society often adopt
the role as a wife, mother, and household manager and are designated the job of maintaining the
household (e.g. household chores, taking care the kids, and making dinner). As for men they are
often designated as the one in the household that holds an occupation outside of the household
(i.e. they are considered the breadwinner). In society these differences in occupation choices also
exist. Men in society are more likely to engage in occupations in institutions such as government,
the armed forces, media, medical establishments, and large corporations. As for women they
often choose occupations that carry a social impact on society and therefore tend to pick careers
in fields such as health care, education, and social work. We also observe a high percentage of
women working as cashiers, receptionists, and clerks. The divide in the type of occupational
choice is not the only difference that exists between men and women. Wage gaps between
different genders also exist. This variance in pay can be attributed to the fact that men tend to
choose careers in high paying fields such as in engineering and in health care (e.g. becoming a
doctor). Women tend to dominate in lower paying fields such as social work and education.
Unlike men, women also have to work against the glass ceiling (i.e. an invisible barrier that often
halts the advancement of women in the workforce). Even when working in the same field,
women are more likely to be paid less and also more likely to be passed over for promotions
when going up against men. This pay discrepancy can be attributed to the influence of gender
role socialization which helps to form the basic ideas that the behaviors/characteristics of men
are more suitable to carry out a job versus those of women. Corrections in the wage gaps will
only become amended when the outright discrimination is formally addressed. If women
continue to not voice their opinions and concerns on the disparity of wages and promotions then
employers will continue to exert abuse during hiring process. Furthermore societys reliance on
socially constructed gender roles needs to change since they perpetuate the existence of
institutionalized discrimination. The ideas that women are weak and timid, while men are

aggressive and competitive are stereotypical beliefs that arent always true. Steering away from
such false beliefs and truly looking at ones job performance will help to accomplish the idea of
equal pay for equal work, making the workforce truly equal.

4. What is the second shift? Explain. Culturally, is it possible to equalize the second
shift? If so, how? For more insight into women in the workplace, check out this video
about women in the workplace.

-The second shift refers to the concept that women these days have two jobs that they must
carry out; first as an occupational worker and secondly as a household caretaker. Women often
carry out full time shifts while working at their day time occupation that they participate in
outside of the home. Although their work day ends there at their job, once they arrive home they
pick up their second shift and are designated the job of having to take care of the household
chores. Mothers and wives are expected to carry out chores such as cooking dinner, cleaning the
house, and taking care of the children. Often their husbands do not help in carrying out these
household chores thus increasing the disparity in the sharing of work and responsibilities. This
discrepancy can be attributed to societys socially constructed gender roles that dictate that
women are in charge of the house hold duties while men work to provide for their family.
Although times have changed and there is an increasing presence of women within the
workforce, because social ideology has yet to be changed or challenged the existing discrepancy
in gender roles continue to exist. Culturally, it is possible to equalize this imbalance in shared
responsibility but this would only occur if peoples and societys ideology on gender roles began
to change. This idea that women, regardless of having a job or not, are responsible for all house
hold duties has existed for years. However the idea that men should also participate with the
household duties has yet to matriculate. This isnt necessarily due to men being vicious or
outright refusing to help, but most of the time it can be traced back to how they were raised;

where their mothers were in charge of taking care of the household while their fathers were
waited on after coming home from work. Its hard to change this ideology in grown adults,
however by starting young and teaching kids how to share house hold duties we will help to
equalize the second shift.