SY101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Socialist Feminism, Liberal Feminism, Social Inequality
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Gender inequality: women are a minority group in every society, have unequal access to power, property and prestige. In all societies we see gender inequalities in: work (type, prestige, and income) Biological vs social explanations for gender differences: many gender differences or stereotypes based on assumption of biological (or natural differences, nature vs. nurture. Sociologists stress social explanations: and encounter social barriers (structural institutional and cultural cultural. People learn different gender expectations through socialization expectations) that prevent them from making other choices. Sociological explanation: girls and boys raised differently girls taught to be more caring different toys. Theories for the origin of patriarchy: differences in reproductive biology, women spent much of their lives pregnant or nursing, differences in size and strength, reinforced the division of labour that saw men hunt and wage war. Feminist perspectives: gender is socially constructed, gender inequality is built into institutional practices and cultural understandings.
