Hi, everyone. My name is Shafaq Javaid.

I have a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from FC

College, and a Masters in Social Research from the University of Sheffield. During my masters, I
learned key theoretical concepts in social research and was taught qualitative and quantitative
research skills. I chose to focus on qualitative research because of my interest in gender studies.
Which brings me to today’s lecture: the sociology of gender.
Introduction
The sociology of gender is one of the largest subfields within sociology.
It features theory and research that critically interrogates the social construction of gender.
It examines how society influences our understandings of differences between masculinity
(what society deems appropriate behavior for a “man”) and femininity (what society deems
appropriate behavior for a “woman”).
It also examines how these differences influence identity and social practices.
People who study gender pay special focus on the power relationships that follow from the
established gender order in a given society, as well as how this changes over time.
To understand the sociology of gender one must first understand how sociologists define
gender and sex. Sex is a biological classification based on body parts. Gender, on the other
hand, is a social classification based on one's identity, presentation of self, behavior, and
interaction with others.
Sociologists view gender as learned behavior and a culturally produced identity, and as such, it
is a social category.
The Social Construction of Gender
We learn gender through the process of socialization.
Who here knows what socialization means?
Simply put, socialization is a learning process. When your parents teach you how to behave
politely, or when your teachers teach you about your country’s history, you are being
socialized. When you are being socialized, you are taking part in a learning process.
Gender socialization occurs through four major agents of socialization.
Can anyone name these four agents of socialization?
These agents are family, education, peer groups, and mass media.
Each agent reinforces gender roles by creating and maintaining normative expectations for
gender-specific behavior. Repeated exposure to these agents over time leads men and women
into a false sense that they are acting naturally rather than following a socially constructed role.
One result of gender socialization is the formation of gender identity.
Gender Identity is one’s definition of oneself as a man, woman, or more.
It shapes how we think about others and ourselves and also influences our behaviors.
Gender identity also has an especially strong effect on how we dress and present ourselves, and
what we want our bodies to look like.
Major Sociological Theories of Gender
Each major sociological framework has its own views regarding gender and how it relates to
other aspects of society.
Structural Functionalism:
During the mid-twentieth century, functionalist theorists argued that men filled instrumental
roles in society while women filled expressive roles, which worked to the benefit of society.
Let’s talk a little bit about expressive and instrumental roles before we move on.
By the way, this is an important theory when looking at the domestic division of labour from a
functionalist perspective. Talcott Parsons (1955) argues that in the nuclear family the husband
and wife have different separate roles to play.
According to him, this domestic division of labour was done by the husband playing an
'instrumental' role which means focusing on achieving success at work, being the breadwinner
for the family, and focusing on the financial needs of the family.
The wife plays an 'expressive' role which is focused on looking after the children and household
and focusing on the family in terms of emotional needs.
Parsons (1955) argues that this model fits because women are naturally suited to nurturing the
family and men are naturally suited to be a provider for the family.
However, most sociologists now view this functionalist approach as outdated and sexist. I am
one of them.
Symbolic Interactionism:
This is a popular and contemporary approach within the sociology of gender.
This focuses on the micro-level everyday interactions that produce gender as we know it.
Sociologists West and Zimmerman popularized this approach with their 1987 article on "doing
gender," which illustrated how gender is something that is produced through interaction
between people, and as such is an interactional accomplishment.
This approach highlights the instability and fluidity of gender and recognizes that since it is
produced by people through interaction, it is fundamentally changeable.
Conflict Theory:
Within the sociology of gender, conflict theory focusses on how biases about gender
differences lead to the empowerment of men, oppression of women, and the structural
inequality of women relative to men.
These sociologists see gendered power dynamics as built into the social structure, and thus
manifested throughout all aspects of a patriarchal society.
For example, from this viewpoint, in patriarchal societies, men’s contributions are seen as more
valuable than those of women. Patriarchal perspectives and arrangements are widespread and
taken for granted. As a result, women’s viewpoints tend to be silenced or marginalized to the
point of being discredited or considered invalid.

Studying Gender Sociologically

We can study how people “do” gender using ethnographic methods, such as fieldwork and
observation.
If we are interested in understanding how people make sense of their identities, or we want to
go in-depth into their gender experiences, we would use other theories or methods, such as
qualitative methods, like one-on-one interviews.
If we want to study direct measures of gender inequality, we might use quantitative methods
such as population surveys to cross-reference how people from different genders are paid at
work.
Mixed methods can be ideal when studying gender inequality.
With that, I come to the end of my lecture. Does anyone have any questions?