SEMINAR-Socio Legal Dimensions of gender

Submitted by:- Paras Sehgal

02819103819

Ba llb 09

Submitted to :- Tanya Singh Ma’am

Gender Is a Social Construct:

Introduction

How Is Gender Socially Constructed?

Gender is an underlying characteristic of all societies, and the social construction of gender roles,
behaviors, and expectations is an important aspect of modern society. Seeking to understand how
gender is constructed and how gender expectations influence our lives, this essay will provide an in-
depth analysis of how gender is constructed.

Furthermore, we will discuss sex and gender and the role gender plays in modern American society with
a focus on the social implications of sexism. Finally, we will conclude with a summation of the research
explored here and discuss the ramifications of gender role construction today.

Further Explanation..

Unlike sex, gender is artificially imposed, and although based upon biological differences between men
and women, gender is socially constructed. As a social construct, gender roles, behaviors, attitudes, and
expectations are created by society and enforced by social norms.

The funny thing about gender Is that we are led to believe that it is innate and something that we are
born with. As Aaron Devor so eloquently points out in his ground-breaking and incredibly illuminating
essay, “Gender Role, Behavior, and Attitudes,” gender is created, acquired, and constructed by the
greater society at large. Sex has a biological basis and is predetermined at birth.

Gender, on the other hand, is a social construction, and gender roles and expectations are unique to
each and every society. As social actors, individuals play an important role in the construction and
creation of gender roles, attitudes, and expectations and are not simply passive recipients of societal
expectations about how men and women are to behave .

In his lucid analysis of the construction of gender, Aaron Devor explores the socially constructed nature
of gender in modern society and persuasively argues for a reevaluation of traditional gender role
expectations in modern society.

Seeking to dispel the myths surrounding sex and gender, this author persuasively argues that a gender
hierarchy is embedded within our society and unmasks the argument for the naturalness of gender roles,
behaviors, and expectations.
Asserting that gender roles are created and not innate, he argues that the naturalness argument for
gender has no biological basis and is a social construction. Our society is organized under a patriarchal
gender schema in which men and women, as dichotomous members of the gender hierarchy, are
situated on opposite ends of the schema.

While we are taught from a very young age to believe that gender differences are normal and natural,
Devor actually asserts that a power imbalance underlies the gender hierarchy so prevalent in our society
and informs our beliefs about gender.

Patriarchy is defined as a type of social structure in which men are perceived as being superior to
women, and it is impossible to understand the construction of gender roles and expectations in modern
Western society without first understanding the omnipresent patriarchal nature of our society.

Patriarchy is subconscious and not universal. In fact, matriarchy, a society that is structured with women
at the helm, has been found in places as diverse as Latin America, India, and parts of Africa (Amadiume
1997). Despite the global diversity, modern Western culture is characterized by its patriarchal nature,
and this has important implications in a variety of social realms.

Social stratification can be explained by the gender hierarchy. Female job ghettos, including teachers,
nurses, and librarians, tend to be overpopulated with women and characterized by low wages and
prestige. Interestingly, Devor points out that these jobs tend to be based upon the same characteristics
which are viewed as innate to women.

Feminine qualities like caring and nurturing are found in job descriptions for employment in the ‘pink
collar ghetto’ of daycare workers, elementary school teachers, and nurses. Gender role expectations are
also explained through social cues such as body posture and demeanor, speech patterns, and dress style.

The nature of these cues lends credence to the argument that gender is socially constructed, and the
way we talk, the way we carry ourselves, and the types of clothes we wear are all determined by social
forces. You would be hard-pressed to find someone who says today that women wear dresses because
they have a biological need to do so; this would be an example of sex stereotypes and sexism.

Accordingly, sexism is a scourge in American society that affects the overall quality of life for women
today. Sexism is the belief that one sex is superior to the other and generally implies ideas about
superiority and inferiority between sex and gender.

While some societies are characterized as matriarchal, much of Western society is patriarchal, and the
United States is no exception. The patriarchal nature of American society is explained by various social
and historical factors beyond the scope of this assignment.

Nonetheless, while women in America have made incredible gains in the social, economic, cultural, and
political spheres over the past century, sexism remains a prevalent aspect of our society. Sexism is the
result of the social construction of gender in society, and while it can be overt, latent, or suppressed, it
exists and has a variety of wide social repercussions.

Accordingly, women in America earn less than their male counterparts, and the employment mobility of
women is often hindered by preconceived ideas about sexuality and the economic roles that women can
play in the modern world. Anthropologists and cultural theorists have written for years about a “pink
ghetto” in which women are regulated to a sector of the labor market which is poorly remunerated and
oftentimes unrewarding.

Ideas about “women’s work” force women into so-called female ghettos in which women predominate,
and their upward social mobility is hindered by preconceived notions of what women can (and should)
do. Accordingly, there is also an invisible “glass ceiling” which limits the future job prospects of women
in American society and their future earning power.

Looking at the medical sector again, a profession formerly limited to men, the New England Journal of
Medicine reports that as in “young male physicians earned 41% more per year than young female
physicians”. Is this the result of sexism, either latent or overt? Although it is difficult to say, it is important
to remember that these disparities do, in fact, exist and have real-world implications.

Conclusion

Aaron Devor’s arguments in “Gender Role, Behavior, and Attitudes” persuasively argue that gender is
socially constructed and culturally specific. Accordingly, gender role expectations are largely a product of
social forces and are the result of systemic power imbalances in our society. These expectations and
attitudes serve to reinforce discrimination based on gender and are socially constructed.

The social construction of gender influences behaviors, roles, attitudes, and expectations, and because of
the hierarchical nature of gender in our society, masculinity becomes superior, and femininity is deemed
to be inferior. Because of a socially enforced gender code, our engrained ideas about gender are
incredibly difficult to change.

We are all products of our own individual societies, and we subconsciously impart the ideas and beliefs
which make up our cultures. Ideas about gender roles are subsequently often unquestioned since they
are perceived to be so integral to our understanding of how the world works. Understanding that gender
is a construction is perhaps the first step in breaking free from the bonds of gender.

Case Laws

 Mary Roy Vs State of Kerala

Women from the Syrian Christian community in Kerala were prevented from inheriting property due to
patriarchal traditions. This decree was challenged by Mary Roy, a woman’s right activist and educator.
After the demise of her father, she filed a case against her elder brother when she was denied equal
share in the family’s inheritance. Though the plea was rejected by the lower court, the Kerala High Court
overruled the previous judgment. In 1986, the Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgment that
granted Syrian Christian women the right to seek an equal share in their father’s property.

 SC Ruling On Women Armed Forces Officers: ‘Army Has Not Been Fair’

In a legal battle that lasted for over 12 years, the SC ruled in favor of the plea submitted by 32 former
women Indian Air Force officers who served in the Short Service Commission (SSC). Directing the Centre
to grant pension benefits to the women officers equivalent to officers who served the forces for 20 years,
the court honoured the services offered to the nation by the women officers. According to an article by
Mint, the ruling was made by a bench comprising Justice DY Chandrachud, Hima Kohli, and JB Pardiwala.
Following this, yet another plea by 34 women Army officers alleging discrimination was heard in favour
of the women officers. The officers had accused that junior male officers were being considered over
them for promotions to perform certain roles in the Army. Responding to this, the court stated that the
Army has not been fair to their women officers and asked them to ‘set their house’ right.

 SC On Tribal Women’s Succession Rights: ‘Female Tribal Entitled To Parity In Intestate

Succession’

A female tribal member is entitled to an equal share of the family property, observed the Supreme Court
on December 9. The court noted that “When a daughter belonging to a non-tribal is entitled to the equal
share in the property of the father, there is no reason to deny such a right to the daughter of a tribal
community.” The bench then instructed the Centre to consider amendments within the Hindu
Succession Act to make it applicable to people from the Scheduled Tribes as well and stated that they
trust the Centre to make an appropriate decision with consideration to the Constitutionally enabled right
to equality.

Stating that tribal women are denied their rights even 70 years after the Constitution was drafted, they
directed measures to be taken to ensure equality in property rights, according to an article by the Indian
Express.

References

Amadiume, I. (1997). Re-inventing Africa: Matriarchy, Religion, and Culture. London: Zed Books.

Baker, L C. (1996). Differences in Earnings between Male and Female Physicians. New England Journal of
Medicine. 334.15: 960-964.

Devor, A. (1993). “Gender Role, Behavior and Attitudes”. Annual Review of Sex Research, 7, 44-89.

Devor, A. (1997). “Toward a Taxonomy of Gendered Sexuality.” Journal of Psychology and Human
Sexuality, 6(1), 23-55.

Hooks, bell. 1981. Ain’t I a Woman? Black Women and Feminism. Boston: South End Press.