Power Class Gender Status

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Gender is often considered an immutable trait, linked inextricably to the biological sex one was born with. However, research over the past several decades in a multitude of fields including anthropology, psychology, and sociology shows that gender is socially constructed and not innate. Gender is projected onto children before they are fully cognizant of their surroundings, dressed in gendered clothes and channeled into gendered activities. A child is rarely free to construct his or her own gender. While it is rare for a person to be born hermaphroditic, it is not rare at all for someone to dis-identify with their socially prescribed gender and therefore deviate from the norm. Some forms of gender-bending are considered normative, but only in certain contexts. For example, a young girl can be a tomboy without serious social consequences but if she continues to subvert traditional gender norms, she risks social stigma. The level of discrimination against people who do not conform to normative gender roles varies from community to community, but in some cases can be relatively severe. As Charon & Vigilant point out, women are treated measurably differently in the workplace, particularly after they have children. The perception is that men can better balance work and family commitments than women; something that has no grounding in fact.

Gender and sexuality are related issues, and sexual orientation is also something that can be considered socially constructed mainly in that heterosexuality has been constructed as normative.

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Charon & Vigilant draw attention to the social stigmas against homosexuality, linking homophobia to anti-Semitism: "the institutionalized hatred of homosexuality serves clear social functions . . . Like anti-Semitism, the hatred of homosexuality serves the function of valorizing the normal," by allowing heterosexuals to create an in-group status (p. 290). Gays and lesbians are portrayed as "dangerous" as well as deviant (Charon & Vigilant, p. 290). The result is systematic, institutionalized discrimination that becomes pervasive and pernicious, with direct ramifications on the daily lives of individuals. Gender and sexuality can be determinants of social status, which leads to consequences like access to positions of power. Women earn less than men and have less political capital in general. Homophobia frequently leads to bullying in schools, which can cause children to commit suicide.

Ultimately socially constructed features like gender, sexuality, and race are significant in that they impact status and access to power. As Charon & Vigilant put it, "the struggle over defining who is an 'American' . . . is, at its heart, about power," (p. 288). It is as if the dominant culture perceives power and status as limited resources, like a rare mineral. The struggle to maintain the dominant culture is rooted in fear of losing power, which is….....

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