In the modern world of knowledge revolution, there are several theoretical frameworks that address the basic concepts of gender and gender identity. One of the very effective ways of comprehending the concepts of gender and gender inequality is to understand it with the assistance of social learning theories as the very definition of gender is based on the social roles and activities of human beings. Thus, a prominent definition of gender recognises it as “the socially constructed roles, behaviour, activities and attributes that a particular society considers appropriate for men and women. The distinct roles and behaviour may give rise to gender inequalities, i.e. differences between men and women that systematically favour one group. In turn, such inequalities can lead to inequities between men and women in both health status and access to health care.” (Gender, World Health Organization). Now another elementary facet of gender which is the social dimension of being male or female, is that it is very much linked with the social learning theories. Thus, these theories address the different elements of gender such as gender roles, gender typing, gender behaviour etc.
“Gender typing is the way society stereotypes males and females who have characteristics of the opposite gender… Social learning theory and gender are intertwined… There is a distinct line between the two genders. To be socially connected, one must know whom he/she is inside. They must realize that the most important thing in life is how they perceive themselves and also how they perceive others.” (Social Definition of Gender). Symbolic Interactionism is an effective theory that deals with gender and in turn there is abundant literature that refers to the respective premise of Symbolic Interactionism. “Symbolic Interactionism, or Interactionism for short, is one of the major theoretical perspectives in sociology… Interactionists focus on the subjective aspects of social life, rather than on objective, macro-structural aspects of social systems… For the interactionist, society consists of organized and patterned interactions among individuals. Thus, research by interactionists focuses on easily observable face-to-face interactions rather than on macro-level structural relationships involving social institutions.” (Symbolic Interactionism) .
The following is an analysis of how the premises of Symbolic Interactionism are viewed in the gender studies and particularly in feminist literature.
People adapt to their symbolic environment (symbol=stimulus and meaning).
S.I. and Socialisation: The socialisation process takes place by learning and internalising the attitudes of others.
The Perspective of the other/s and role distance
Reference groups: family and neighbourhood.
Bibliography
Gender, World Health Organization. Web.
Social Definition of Gender. Web.
Symbolic Interactionism. Web.
Conclusion. Web. p 532, Sociology in Perspective, By Mark Kirby, Heinemann: 2000).
Lecture by L. M. Downes, Ph.D. “The Power of Social Structure: Lessons from the Feminist Theoretical Perspective Regarding the Power of Social Structure To Limit or Increase our Life Chances”). Web.
Adams and Sydie, Symbolic Interaction Perspectives, Sociology 250. 2003. Web.
Symbolic Interactionism, Gender Differences in Adolescent Sexual Attitudes: The Influence of Individual and Family Factors, Journal article by Ronald Jay Werner-Wilson; Adolescence, Vol. 33, 1998. Web.
Brian Milstein, Moral Critique and Symbolic Interaction: Augmenting Tronto’s “Ethic of Care”. Web.
Women in Advertisements across Cultures, Pamela K. Morris. Web.