Coming from the social construction theory of gender, gender is socially constructed rather than biologically determined. According to the Functionalist theory, gender serves as an organizational tool to segregate people into groups and give them a certain set of tasks based on their segregated groups. This supposedly creates a stable and productive society. However, the terms "productive" and "stable" must be examined carefully; in a society where gender also serves to oppress the majority of the population, both are subjective terms and open to wide interpretation. (Even the group holding the most power is subject to standards of conformity.) And, if people analyze societies today, many are not productive or stable thanks to gender; rather, many societies are less stable and there is a varitable "gender war" taking place. so i ask, is gender oppression acceptable? If it isn't, why are we still gendering ourselves?
Director of Gender Schmender, a gender education community on MySpac
2006-08-26
14:07:20
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9 answers
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asked by
Anonymous
in
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender