The minimum length for each of your replies to classmates in order to earn any credit is 150 words.
INDYAH:
1. One of Charlotte Gilman’s main ideas is that men control economic capital. She argues that this is due to society “forbidding” women to progress to the same level of economic ability, rather than any inherent differences (Hurst, 2018, Chapter I section, para. 10). She states that “the male human being is thousands of years in advance of the female economic status” (para.10). She supports this idea by pointing out that communities would suffer economically without the existence of men, more so than they would without women (para. 9). However, Gilman also emphasizes how important a woman’s role at the home is in men’s wealth production (para. 12). While a woman’s house service helps men to gain more wealth, these women are hardly compensated fairly (para. 14). According to Gilman, men produce and distribute wealth, while women simply receive it (para. 10). In reference to the spending money the housewife of a rich husband receives versus that of a working-class husband, Gilman states that “the women who do the most work get the least money, and the women who have the most money do the least work,” (para.15).
2. Butler’s concept of gender normativity argues against the idea that there is a correct way to be a woman, or that there are certain essential properties and attributes of a woman (Mikkola, 2022, Normativity Argument section, para. 4) Feminists in their time used normative definitions of women, creating an exclusive criterion that all women did not meet (para. 3). In defining what a woman is, it not only excludes certain types of women, but it also creates social constructs of what it means to be feminine (para. 2). Butler argues that defining what it means to be a woman inevitably creates a sort of norm or expectation that women would have to conform to, making it problematic (para. 3).
3. Connell introduces the idea that gender interacts with race in shaping perceptions of masculinity. She discusses how how historical situations, particularly from colonial and post-colonial periods, have contributed to the fears that black and white men have of each other (Connell, 1995 as cited in Garner & Hancock, 2014, p. 512). She argues that these fears stem from power structures and behaviors established during these periods, which continue to influence modern views of masculinity. Connell emphasizes that gender cannot be understood by itself, rather, it must be understood in relation to other forms of social inequality, such as class and race (p. 513). As she states, “we cannot understand class, race, or gender inequality without constantly moving towards gender” (p. 513), highlighting the need to look at gender when examining social hierarchies.
1. Gilman argued that men were “thousands of years in advance of the female economic status” (Hurst, 2018, Chapter I section, para. 10). This is not true in modern society. Despite the differences in the economic statuses between men and women, I believe that education has put women closer to men economically than they were in 1898, at the time this article was written. Educating women prepares them for the workforce. Although they may not get the jobs over a male counterpart, they can be just as qualified. The NCES (n.d.) states that female undergraduate students outnumbered male students by over 2 million in 2021. This shows that women are taking advantage of educational opportunities just as much as men, if not more, providing them with some resources needed to catch up to men economically.
2. Gilman claims that taking away males would hurt the economy more than taking away females. This may still be true, today. Although both males and females are in the workforce, men dominate positions of power. While women may be highly skilled in many areas, positions of authority, management, and decision-making typically require leadership skills that are not taught in schools (Stojmenovska et al., 2021). A lack of women filling these roles and gaining mentorship and experience may make them unprepared to take on these higher positions in the absence of men.
3. Connell discusses gender and race interacting to form our perceptions of masculinity. They fear each other based on certain historical situations I believe we also see this interaction today. We can see this playing out in popular culture. Some people may get upset when seeing a black man with a white woman romantically, however this is not the case with white men and black women. This could be due to the history of white women being “off-limits” for black men.
References
Garner, R. & Hancock, B. H. (2014). Social theory a reader: Continuity and confrontation (3rd ed.). University of Toronto Press.
Hurst, A. L. (2018, December 31). Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Women and Economics (1898). Classical Sociological Theory and Foundations of American Sociology. https://open.oregonstate.education/sociologicaltheory/chapter/gilman-on-women-and-economics-1898/
Mikkola, M. (2022, January 18). Feminist perspectives on sex and gender. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-gender/#NorArg
NCES. (n.d.). The NCES Fast Facts Tool provides quick answers to many education questions (National Center for Education Statistics). National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a part of the U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.). https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=98#:~:text=See%20Digest%20of%20Education%20Statistics,percent%20(6.5%20million%20students).
Stojmenovska, D., Steinmetz, S., & Volker, B. (2021). The gender gap in workplace authority: Variation across types of authority positions. Social Forces, 100(2), 599-621.
KRISTIN:
A – Major Theories on Sex and Gender
Dorothy Smith, Judith Butler, and R.W. Connell enriched the field of sociology by offering major concepts that explain how sex and gender influence our social institutions and norms. First, Dorothy Smith examined the inequities between the sexes when it comes to work and labor. (Smith, 1990 as cited in Garner and Hancock, 2014, pp. 490-494) Women globally are usually socially regulated to local, domestic work like maintaining the home and rearing the children while men’s responsibilities and value lie outside the home and in professional spaces. Their bodies are also regulated differently due to its function in society. This impacts how women are viewed and treated in the workplace. Smith stated that the “organization of work in managerial and professional circles depends upon the alienation of subjects from their bodily and local existence.” (Smith, 1990 as cited in Garner and Hancock, 2014, p. 492) Since the work of women is widely limited to local work and the function of their bodies, this explains an inherent exclusion of women in the maintenance and governance of organizations, outside the home, with far greater social impact.
Next, Connell expanded the concept of hegemony by emphasizing gendered hegemony, which can be defined as the configuration of gender practice which embodies the currently accepted answer to the problem of the legitimacy of patriarchy, which guarantees the dominate position of men and the subordination of women.” (Connell, 1995 as cited in Garner and Hancock, 2014, p. 513) This means that the socially accepted form of masculinity will supersede all others and legitimate the dominance of men and the subservience of women. This reinforces the dominance of men and can insulate them from exposure or accountability if of higher influence or economic status. (Connell, 1995 as cited in Garner and Hancock, 2014, p. 513)
Finally, Butler addressed the interdependence of sex and gender in society. Once we are determined male or female, our sex and associated gender has already been constructed by society and we reinforce it by adhering to those social definitions. (Mikkola, 2022) Butler believed, “We, then, engage in activities that make it seem as if sexes naturally come in two and that being female or male is an objective feature of the world, rather than being a consequence of certain constitutive acts (that is, rather than being performative).” (Mikkola, 2022) Because they are both socially constructed and work in the same manner, it is difficult to separate the two. Both are used to categorize individuals and assign social roles and expectations and without the other, neither can stand alone. If biological sex was not determined or defined, how would we then assign those social norms, expectations, and roles?
B – Applications of Theories on Sex and Gender
Connell, Butler, and Smith conceptualized inherent gender inequities that were and are still relevant to how sex and gender are perceived in American society. First, Connell’s concept of gender hegemony can be seen in how the American public viewed and handled the sexual assault accusations against prominent political figures. Schermerhorn et al. (2022) discussed how gender hegemony is accepted and perpetuated by most, regardless of sex or gender, through the open support of the accused and condemnation of the accusers. As we know, Trump was accused of sexual abuse prior to the election and was still able to beat out a better qualified candidate and ascend to the highest office in the land. His success would not have been assured without the help and support of particular American women. This also reaffirms the subordination of women by putting their abuse and mistreatment beneath the professional advancement of men. Connell (1995 as cited in Garner and Hancock, 2014, p. 514) used homosexual men to show how even different levels of masculinity has a hierarchy.
Secondly, Butler’s views on sex and gender being interdependent, intermeshed, and socially constructed is evident in how cis-gendered women are sometimes perceived as transgendered and the same for transgendered women. For example, there were countless stories from Olympic, cisgendered athletes that were disqualified under the suspicion of being transgendered. Again, Butler argued that sex and gender were the same as they are both socially constructed and dependent on each other (your biological sex often supports the applicable gender and assigned roles of that gender) and that social perception is a major part of it. (Mikkola, 2022) If society views you as masculine, then society will attach the agreed upon social roles and expectations society to you. The same can be said for femininity.
Next, we can visualize how women are excluded from certain professions, fields, and opportunities due to their gendered bodies and identities and the social expectations associated with it through the sexism former Vice President Kamala Harris experienced during her Presidential campaign run. Despite being one of if not the only Presidential candidate to have worked in all three branches of government, Harris lost to a man accused and convicted of sexual abuse. According to NBC News (2024), Trump supporters blatantly ignored Harris’s impeccable resume and long list of accomplishments and attributed her success to her performing sexual acts for favors. (Terkel and Tabet, 2024) She was also openly criticized for not birthing children of her own as if any other President had birthed a child themselves. Her lack of qualifications rested upon her gendered body. Smith (1990 as cited in Garner and Hancock, 2014, p. 492) explained that often women, like Harris, contribute to the very systems that silence and minimize their experiences like the political arena.
Finally, expanding on Smith’s idea that women’s bodies are regulated by its functions, women are deciding to have less children or no children at all. Rand and Heffington (2024) have an open discussion on why more and more women all over the world are having less children than previous generations and how that seemingly increased restrictions on contraceptives and abortion access. In this discussion, they discussed how forcing women to stay home and not enter the workforce is actually leading to the decrease of birth rates everywhere in that areas with more working mothers have higher birth rates than those that don’t. (Rand and Heffington, 2024) Giving women a choice seems to encourage more women to choose motherhood.
Garner, R., & Hancock, B. H. (2014a). Social theory: Continuity and confrontation: A reader (3rd ed.). University of Toronto Press.
Mikkola, M. (2022, January). Feminist perspectives on sex and gender. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-gender/#NorArg
Rand, P., & Heffington, P. (2024, September 5). Why are more women saying no to having kids?. UChicago News. https://news.uchicago.edu/why-are-more-women-saying-no-having-kids
Schermerhorn, N. E., Vescio, T. K., & Lewis, K. A. (2022). Hegemonic masculinity predicts support for U.S. political figures accused of sexual assault. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 14(5), 475–486. https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506221077861
Terkel, A., & Tabet, A. (2024, October 25). Even if Harris isn’t talking about gender, everyone else is. NBCNews.com. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/kamala-harris-talking-gender-election-rcna177139 Here are two responses to your classmates’ posts. You can modify them to align with your perspective or expand upon them further.
Response to Indyah:
Your discussion of Charlotte Gilman’s perspective on economic inequality between men and women provides a compelling analysis of how societal structures have historically limited women’s financial independence. I agree that while Gilman’s argument may have been accurate in 1898, the economic landscape has changed significantly due to increasing educational opportunities for women. The statistic from NCES (n.d.) showing that female undergraduates outnumber males by over 2 million is particularly telling. However, as you noted, education alone does not necessarily translate into leadership roles or economic parity. Structural barriers, such as the lack of leadership training and mentorship for women in corporate settings (Stojmenovska et al., 2021), still hinder progress.
Your point on the disproportionate impact of removing men versus women from the workforce is also intriguing. While men still hold a greater share of leadership positions, women have made strides in various industries, and their economic contributions are essential. It would be interesting to explore how shifting societal norms and policies—such as parental leave and corporate diversity initiatives—could further reduce the gender gap in leadership. Additionally, your example of racialized masculinity and its effect on relationships adds another layer to Connell’s discussion of gender and power. The historical context of interracial relationships, particularly regarding black men and white women, highlights how societal constructs of race and masculinity continue to shape perceptions today.
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Response to Kristin:
Your breakdown of Dorothy Smith, Judith Butler, and R.W. Connell’s theories provides an insightful synthesis of how sex and gender influence social structures. I appreciate your analysis of Connell’s concept of gendered hegemony, particularly in relation to the way sexual assault allegations against political figures are often dismissed. The example of Donald Trump’s election victory despite multiple accusations is a stark illustration of how gender hegemony operates to maintain power structures. Schermerhorn et al. (2022) effectively demonstrate that societal norms surrounding masculinity allow men in power to evade accountability, reinforcing Connell’s argument.
Your discussion of Butler’s view on gender as a social construct also resonates with ongoing debates surrounding transgender identities. The example of Olympic athletes being disqualified based on gender perceptions is a striking case of how society enforces rigid categories of sex and gender. It underscores Butler’s argument that gender is performative and socially imposed rather than biologically inherent (Mikkola, 2022). Furthermore, your point about Kamala Harris’s treatment in politics aligns with Smith’s theory of women’s bodies being regulated by social expectations. The scrutiny Harris faced regarding her personal life and qualifications is a direct reflection of how gendered norms continue to shape professional opportunities.
Lastly, your discussion of declining birth rates and the increased regulation of reproductive rights is a crucial addition to Smith’s argument. The paradox of restricting contraception and abortion access while simultaneously discouraging women from joining the workforce reveals the ongoing struggle between societal expectations and women’s autonomy. Overall, your analysis effectively ties these sociological theories to contemporary issues, demonstrating their continued relevance in understanding gender dynamics today.
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