Conflict Theory- By keeping women in subordinate roles, men ensure that they control the means of production and protect their privileges. Men will not voluntarily give up their current beneficial positions of power. Feminist Theory- It says that patriarchy is the cause of women’s oppression. Class, race, and gender intersect it in a way that privileges some women over others, though most women are still subordinate to most men. Consequences of Gender Stratification:- Rigid stereotyping can have psychological and social consequences for individuals • For men- guilt, anxiety; early
2.2 Theoretical Framework 2.2.1 Gender Stereotypes: Masculinity and Femininity Brannon (2004), defines gender stereotype as beliefs about the psychological traits and characteristics of, as well as the activities appropriate to, men or women. Gender roles are interpreted by behaviours, but gender stereotypes are about the beliefs, views and attitudes towards masculinity and femininity. Therefore, gender stereotypes are very influential; they impact conceptualizations of women and men and establish social categories for each gender. These categories represent what people think, and even when beliefs vary from reality, the beliefs can be very powerful forces in judgments of self and others. He further classifies gender stereotype in two categories
In "Sex and Temperament," Margaret Mead explores this concept. Men and women are predisposed to societal factors that influence their personality. This can be seen through their behavior and cognitive differences. Gender inequality, is a factor that helps shape personality with the guidance of society. Gender inequality deals with the treatment of individuals based on their gender, usually favoring male or females.
Global Perspectives of Masculinity Connell, (2005) noted that, to understand masculinity, we must start by understanding the gender system, in which masculinities are defined. a. “Role theory” is a theory of society based on the power of custom and social conformity. People learn their roles, in the course of growing up, and then perform them under social pressure. “Sex role” theory explains gender patterns by appealing to the social customs that define proper behaviour for women and for men.
Society has socially constructed gender roles and norms for men and women to fulfill throughout their life time. Women are socialized to be less assertive than a man. Therefore, woman aren’t as upfront with their desires. In an effort to respect people’s feelings, women often bite their tongue and go with the flow. Therefore, women are less likely to express their opinions and ask for what they want.
Labov (1990) refers to this phenomenon as Principle 1. While in stable sociolinguistic stratification men tend to use covert prestige and a higher frequency of non-standard forms, such as slang and incorrect grammar. Many explanations have been proposed as to why men and women tend to speak in this way. One theory suggests that because men’s occupation supposedly demonstrates their masculine status in society women have to rely on appearances and self-presentation because they have “less access to real power.”( Lodge,1997). According to Romaine (1978) “The females are clearly more concerned with the pressure exerted by local norms and asserting their status with the social structure”.
Differences in men’s and women’s speech People will consciously and unconsciously perform each identity. Language is a form of performance. The conventions of linguistic behaviour of men and women are strained from the performance of the felt and desired gender identity of a person. The above-mentioned conventions are based on natural discourse of the genders as well as on the ideologies of gendered speech behaviour within a society. Feminist movements realized that language was one of the instruments of female oppression by males.
Over history, the rights of women has been something that needs to be fought for. Women are treated differently than men, they are not as appreciated as men are. Stereotypes say that men are better, men are stronger, their ability is better than women. People have grown to believe in this stereotype. Emma Watson is one of the most influential people because she is trying to break the stereotype of gender inequality by encouraging men to play an active role with women’s rights, by being a positive female role model, and breaking down traditional gender roles.
This belief has been supported by numerous gender studies. Berg, Erlend, Bjour and Oivind, 2006 reported that females had both a greater recognition of the need of psychological help and confidence in the ability of the professional to assist them in resolving their challenges. Men are more reluctant to seek counselling because it is incongruent with values such as, toughness, emotional control and aggression acquired through socialization (Berger, Levant, McMillian, Kelleher, & Sellers 2005). Being a predominately a male dominated occupation (Gerber, 2001), Karaffa (2012) postulated that police officers are socialized to suppress their emotions to avoid being judged as weak and incapable of fulfilling one’s duty. On the contrary, Karaffa (2012) investigated the attitude towards seeking mental health in a sample of 158 Texan police officers by administering a 47 item online survey that composed of Attitude Towards Seeking Psychological Help-Short Form (ATSPH-SF), police culture surveys, perception item, identification item and demographics.
Characteristics of Masculine/Feminine Cultures Masculine Culture Feminine Culture Men and Women have greater value differences in the same job Men and Women have smaller value differences in the same job Recognition &Wealth defines achievement in the society Achievement is defined in terms of human contacts & living environment Employees prefer more salary to shorter working hours Shorter working hours over more salary is preferred Stronger achievement motivation Weaker achievement