Being a psychology major I have enrolled in my fair share of social psychology courses. I enrolled in sociology to fulfill my global learning requirement as it seemed to be the most fitting course for my given field. Social psychology is the study of individuals and how they interact with others. Whereas, sociology is the study of human behavior at a group and/or societal level. Sociology studies social structures, as well as how they were created and function, while social psychology studies the individual. For the purpose of this assignment I will concentrate on gender inequality (chapter 9) in regard to the study sociology.
Gender is defined in the book as the social expectations about behavior deemed appropriate for members of each sex. For example, lifting weights for men and shopping as an extreme sport for women. Though the gap between genders seems to have come closer to closing over time, with women leading male-dominated career fields, inequality between genders still very much exists today. There is much debate as to whether gender inequality is a product of nature, nurture, or a combination of the two.
Biological essentialism rationalizes gender differences as the natural and inevitable consequences of the intrinsic natures of men and women. The hypothesis that solely biological factors can be what determine behavior patterns in men and women is undermined. This is mainly due to a lack of empirical evidence. Another possible explanation for gender differences is gender socialization, or better explained as the way that individuals learn gender roles from the components of socialization in their life. For example, their family, peers, schools, etc.
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Through contact with these various agents of socialization; over time children begin to internalize the social norms that are seen as not corresponding with their sex. In other words, gender differences are not biologically determined; they are culturally produced. Take for example, how boys are given blue clothes and from a young age are taught to play with interactive motor skills building toys such as Tonka trucks and legos. While on the other hand, girls are all dressed in pink and are given baby dolls with a milk bottle or a plush strawberry.
It has also been observed that when boys are being played with, adults instinctively play rougher and tell them of how strong they are. While, little girls are pampered and told how cute they are. The concept of gender socialization teaches us that gender inequalities result because men and women are socialized into different roles. I believe these gender roles have been combed into existence from the very beginning. Our culture has essentially lad out a path for how each gender should behave and develop.
