GENDER

ORDER &
SEXUALITIES
SOCY 102
Please remember that the audio for the slides is also uploaded on
SOCY102 LEARN PAGE. First read the slides before you listen to
the audio.

Macionis and Plummer

Chapter 12, pgs. 364-454
(link for the textbook is on
SOCY102 LEARN PAGE)
Gender is a
social
construct
◦ “We tend to think that ‘becoming a man’ or
‘becoming a woman’ is a straightforward
process of ‘natural’ development” Macionis
and Plummer p.366

◦ This theme will help you unpack how exists

and is reproduced in society. Gender order
is the ways in which societies shape notions
of masculinity and femininity into power
relationships
We will be unpacking:

1. The distinction
3. The nature of
between sex, 2. How we become
the Women’s
gender, sexism, gendered and
Movement in
patriarchy and learning gender
challenging gender
gender identities
stratification
stratification

4. The sociological
5. The stratification 6. Lesbian and gay
approaches to
of sexualities life/queer theory
sexuality
 1. THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN SEX, GENDER,
SEXISM, PATRIARCHY AND GENDER STRATIFICATION
 Sex refers to the biological distinction between females and males
 Gender refers to the social aspects of differences and hierarchies
between male and female.
 Sexism is the belief that one sex is innately superior to the other
 Patriarchy (literally, ‘the rule of fathers’), a form of social
organisation in which men dominate, oppress and exploit women
 Gender stratification refers to a society’s unequal distribution of
wealth, power and privilege between the sexes.
2. HOW WE BECOME GENDERED AND
LEARNING GENDER IDENTITIES
 Gender identity refers to the subjective state in which someone comes to say
‘I am a man’ or ‘I am a woman’

 How does this happen? How do we know what gender we are?

 We become gendered through learning gender roles.

 Gender role refers to learning and performing the socially accepted

characteristics for a given sex.

 A person’s gender is not simply an aspect of what one is, but, more
fundamentally, it is something that one does, and does recurrently in interaction
with others. (see West and Zimmerman, 1987: 125)
Before your birth parents always want to find out your sex and then plan
accordingly (clothing, parenting style and correct socialization process)

Heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality = These three concepts

are important because when parents socialize you, you quickly understand
the difference between the three. Heterosexuality is considered the
normal sexuality that a parent tends to socialize you with.

So, we define ourselves as Male or Female but express our sexuality as

Heterosexuality, homosexuality OR bisexuality.
 Becoming Gendered And Learning
Gender Roles
 Social learning theories: differences in gender behaviour are learnt, in the same
way as all behaviours, through a mixture of rewards, reinforcements and
punishments.
 Cognitive theories: differences in gender emerge through a categorisation
process in which boys come to place themselves in a ‘masculine’ category
and proceed to organise their experiences around it.
 Psychodynamic theories: suggest that differences in gender emerge out of
emotional struggles between the infant and its caretakers in the earliest
years of life. This theory sees the role of the family, the mother in
particular, as crucial in shaping one's gender identity. Boys and girls shape
their identity in relation to that of their mother.
 Nancy Chodorow and Reproduction of mothering: looks at how do little girls grow
up to become mothers? Why don’t boys? Male children identify with their
fathers and detach from their mothers, while female children often struggle
3. THE NATURE OF THE WOMEN’S MOVEMENT
IN CHALLENGING GENDER STRATIFICATION
◦Feminism is the advocacy of social equality for the sexes, in
opposition to patriarchy and sexism.
◦They argued against women’s perceived (biologically) inferior status
and argued for improved education and equality before the law.
Many of the initial campaigns centred on morality and sexuality, and
an end to slavery.
The Women’s Movement In Challenging
Gender Stratification

◦ Mainstream/Liberal Feminism – Feminist interventions focused on the reform of institutions for example equal access to these
institutions and reforms in the profile of these male-dominated institutions

◦ Socialist Feminism: -Capitalist system, is the principal source of oppression. Capitalism intensifies patriarchy by focusing
wealth and power in the hands of a small number of men‘ domestic slavery’ in the household.

◦ Radical Feminism– Focuses on the systemic roots of gender discrimination and seeks to transform society from these roots and
not merely from an institutional level. Focuses on patriarchy as the sources of discrimination and the point of intervention
◦ Cultural Feminism – Rooted in the belief of difference between men and women and advocated for women and men to function
in spaces best suited for their unique qualities
◦ Womanism- As a social framework, separates itself from feminism. It celebrates womanhood, focuses on black women, and
aims at achieving and maintaining inclusivity in society. Traditionally, the feminist movement lacked diversity and was mainly
dominated by middle- and upper-class white women. It failed to address the plight of black women and rarely involved women
of colour in its protests.
4. THE SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO
SEXUALITY
◦ Sex according to Sociologists is socially constructed.
◦ Sexuality is how we experience and express ourselves sexually.
◦ Nurture vs Nature/Biological debate (first born a male or female-
biological… BUT you are nurtured into a man/woman)
◦ The accepted sexuality in society is heterosexuality (person who is attracted to
the opposite sex). Whereas homosexuality is frowned upon and produces what
we call homophobia.
◦ Heterosexism – like racism and sexism – describes an ideology that categorises
and then unjustly dismisses as inferior a whole group of fellow citizens; in the
case of heterosexism, the group are people who are not heterosexual
3 major sociological approaches:

1. Social constructs and scripting theory

2. Discourses of sexualities

3. Feminist theories of sexuality

 Social constructs and scripting
theory:
Gagnon and Simon (1973) propose that there are guidelines for appropriate
sexual behaviour and sexual encounters. Sexual behaviour and encounters is
learned behaviour which is also instinctive.
They state the different forms of human sexuality:
Personal Scripts: What you are taught sex/gender orientation and is
expected of you
Interactive Scripts: Knowing how to behave when in the midst of social
interactions ( if you are a man for example what is expected of you if you take
a woman out? And as a woman what is your expected behaviour on the date?)
Historical/Cultural Scripts: Wider culture expectations of sexual behaviour
and how sexuality has changed over time.
Discourses of sexualities:
Speaks to what are some of the conversations/discussions that drive
sexuality. In the 19th century there was changing patterns of social
behaviour.

◦ Homosexuality
◦ Women as professionals
◦ Prostitution
Expansion of sexual discourse brings in new categories of sexuality (this
shapes the way we see sex)
Feminist theories of sexuality:
The radical feminists believe that sexuality is the channel through which
men use their dominance to regulate women and the libertarian socialists
differ to say that instead we should have explorations about what it is that
women desire, how women can have sexual relations with men that are not
degrading, and how new patterns of positive sexuality can be developed.
 High rates of GBV/ Sexual Harassment/Rape (radical feminist point of
view)
 Movements and campaigns to improve the rights of the girls and women
= Progressive Women's Movement of South Africa (PWMSA) /Rape Crisis
(RC)/ POWA etc (libertarian feminist point of view)
5. THE STRATIFICATION OF SEXUALITIES
◦Stratification ? (Unpacking
inequality):
◦Like gender, sexuality is political. It is
organized into systems of power, which
reward and encourage some individuals and
activities, while punishing and suppressing
others. Gayle Rubin (1984: 309)
◦Throughout much of the world, same sex
relations are becoming more acceptable
(but it does not come without challenges)
◦In today’s context: most gay people
experience a lot of contestation regarding
their sexuality.
◦High marginalization of those who do not
conform to heterosexuality (homophobia).
◦Think of our spaces in society, toilets (male
and female), retail shops departments
(male and female)… raises question of what
does a gay/lesbian person do?.
STRATIFICATION OF SEXUALITIES
◦ Gender stratification can also be between men and
women in terms of the unequal distribution of
power, wealth and privilege.
In today’s context:
 Think of how men earn more than women (wealth)
 Positions of power and influence in society are
largely held by men.
 Male privileges in society include = political
leadership, moral authority, social privilege and
control of property. (because of their masculinity)
 THE STRATIFICATION OF SEXUALITIES

◦ 19th Century in Europe and America that homosexuality was invented as an object
of scientific investigation
◦ It was primarily viewed through a medical framework as a pathology, its causes
were located in biological degeneracy or family pathology, and treatments ranging
from castration to psychoanalysis were advocated.
◦ Germany in 1897 and campaigned through scientific research for the acceptance
of homosexuality up until the 1930s, when the Nazi movement stopped such
advocacy and started a policy of extermination instead.
◦ ‘Homosexual’ was shifted to the self-created term ‘gay’.
Stratificati
on of
Sexualities
◦ Heterosexual:
Attracted to people of
the opposite sex.
◦ Bisexual: Attracted
to people of either
sex.
◦ Homosexual:
Attracted to people of
one's own sex.
◦ Pansexual: Attracted
to people of any
gender identity.
◦ Asexual: Not
sexually attracted to
other people.
6. Queer theory
◦ One of the key concepts in queer theory is the idea
of “heteronormativity,” which pertains to “the
institutions, structures of understanding, and
practical orientations that make heterosexuality
seem not only coherent—that is, organized as a
sexuality—but also privileged” (Berlant).
◦ Heteronormativity is a worldview that promotes
heterosexuality as the normal and/or preferred
sexual orientation, and is reinforced in society
through the institutions of marriage, taxes,
employment, and adoption rights, among many
others. Heteronormativity is a form of power and
control that applies pressure to both straight and
gay individuals, through institutional arrangements
and accepted social norms.
Source:
https://guides.library.illinois.edu/queertheory/backgrou
 Queer theory therefore makes
us aware that:

◦ The polarised splits between both the

heterosexual and the homosexual and the sex
and gender are challenged;
◦ Identity – a sense of who one is – is no longer
seen as stable or fixed;
◦ All sexual categories are open and fluid (which
means modern lesbian, gay identities, bisexual
and transgender identities are fractured along
with all heterosexual ones);
◦ Its most frequent interests include a variety of
sexual fetishes, drag kings and drag queens,
gender and sexual playfulness, cyber
sexualities, polyamory, sadomasochism and all
the social worlds of the so called radical sexual
fringe.
◦ Societal structures have now
updated constitutions to include the
rights of gays and lesbians:
https://www.concourt.org.za/index.p
hp/gay-and-lesbian-rights

◦ We see worldwide events such as

LGBT Pride Month (June).

◦ Medicine has advanced to being

able to change people’s sexuality

◦ Queer theory dismantles traditional

assumptions about gender and
sexual identities.