Mr & Mrs - Gender inequality

Mr & Mrs - Gender inequality today!

Gender inequality can stem from a range of places. The male and female genitals and the difference between them being just a biological one! Language is another way in which gender inequality can be found today. One of the biggest taboo words in the English language is the C-word, this word is a description for the vagina and also an emasculating term for a male. It can also be found in other languages to as they have masculine and feminine nouns.

Feminists have developed lots of different theories about gender inequality. Radical feminists such as Valerie Bryson (1999) as cited in Haramlambos and Holborn (2008) see’s women as an oppressed group and that men are the oppressors. Some Radical feminists see the family as the biggest oppressor to women in a modern society. Shulamith Firestone (1972) is another radical feminist, she believes that oppression in women has originated from their biology because they have given birth. Firestone having this belief however is unusual as radical feminists usually believe that it is the male biology that is the problem. (Haramlambos & Holborn, 2008, P100-101,104-105)

Gender inequality is instilled in children from birth. With the notion that Little Girls like pink and Little Boys want Blue. It is also instilled by the family as men are usually seen as the husband and main breadwinner within and the family and women as the mothers and homemakers. Children that grow up in this type of environment tend to accept this as the norm and will follow this structure and replicate it within their own family model as they grow older. Some children will deviate from this model and will rebel against the norm and want to play with toys and dress in clothes that are meant to be for the opposite sex. Primary socialisation occurs at home and where gender stereotypes and inequalities can first happen. As we grow and start to attend school and form a social circle we then become secondary socialised. It is within this group we develop our own personalities but if we do not conform to the norms we risk becoming ostracised and outcast from the group therefore instilling even more the gender inequalities that could already have appeared.

https://www.boundless.com/sociology/textbooks/boundless-sociology-textbook/gender-stratification-and-inequality-11/gender-and-socialization-86/childhood-socialization-500-2094/