Introduction
Sociologists have developed three main perspectives to decipher the social world. Each perspective evaluates the society, social patterns, and behaviors through a different lens. These traditional paradigms include structural-functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. The structural-functional theory focuses on the interdependent role of each part that works collectively to stabilize the complex machine of society. The conflict theory considers the inevitable competition of groups to access limited resources. The symbolic interactionism focuses on the creation of meaningful events and symbols that become a basis for the active interaction of humans. After defining of these perspectives and the contributors to each, we will explain how they are related to the issue of gender and we will employ these theories to the gender inequality.
Structural-functionalism
Structural-functionalism is a macro-sociological theory. This …show more content…
The gender based division of roles can be traced back to the early hunter-gathering societies. Men were supposed to haunt for food and women were limited to perform household duties such as pregnancy, childcare, and cooking. This lead to dependence of women on men for safety and food. This pre-industrial environment mandated assignment of different tasks based on gender. Consequently, division of labor was essential to survival of human beings at that time.
Example 2) The transition from pre-industrial to industrial societies was accompanied with a similar gender-based division of labor. The family's survival depended on men working outside to provide money, food, and shelter, and women focusing on caregiving to children. Any imbalance or overlap of the roles would have changed the equilibrium of the family. Therefore, gender inequality preserved the social order and stabilized the
Sociologists have developed three main perspectives to decipher the social world. Each perspective evaluates the society, social patterns, and behaviors through a different lens. These traditional paradigms include structural-functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. The structural-functional theory focuses on the interdependent role of each part that works collectively to stabilize the complex machine of society. The conflict theory considers the inevitable competition of groups to access limited resources. The symbolic interactionism focuses on the creation of meaningful events and symbols that become a basis for the active interaction of humans. After defining of these perspectives and the contributors to each, we will explain how they are related to the issue of gender and we will employ these theories to the gender inequality.
Structural-functionalism
Structural-functionalism is a macro-sociological theory. This …show more content…
The gender based division of roles can be traced back to the early hunter-gathering societies. Men were supposed to haunt for food and women were limited to perform household duties such as pregnancy, childcare, and cooking. This lead to dependence of women on men for safety and food. This pre-industrial environment mandated assignment of different tasks based on gender. Consequently, division of labor was essential to survival of human beings at that time.
Example 2) The transition from pre-industrial to industrial societies was accompanied with a similar gender-based division of labor. The family's survival depended on men working outside to provide money, food, and shelter, and women focusing on caregiving to children. Any imbalance or overlap of the roles would have changed the equilibrium of the family. Therefore, gender inequality preserved the social order and stabilized the