In the modern world, gender norms continue to undergo certain changes and improvements regularly. Some people are obsessed with their biological or social differences, while others prefer not to pay much attention to these concepts. Compared to the physiological characteristics based on sex, gender touches upon the way of how males and females view themselves. In addition, gender may explain the reasons for behavioral diversity, associated roles, and norms that must be followed. As a powerful social construct, gender cannot be ignored and may be re-assessed with time. A number of theories exist to explore gender differences, and this research paper will focus on structural-functional and social conflict theoretical perspectives.
These approaches introduce two opposite thoughts on how gender is viewed in modern society. Functionalists believe that an understanding of gender norms increases social solidarity, while conflict theorists consider promoting gender struggles for dominance. Despite evident controversies, the chosen theories reveal why the concept of gender is an integral issue in human relationships. Functionalist and conflict frameworks prove sociology of gender as a significant means to differentiate gender roles according to dominance and unity and set appropriate behavioral norms.
The Concept of Gender
In sociology, the terms of sex and gender should never be confused due to their characteristics and purposes. Sex characteristics include the reproductive system, height, and muscularity, and gender characteristics mean human behaviors, traits, and social positions. According to Lindqvist et al. (2020), gender is a critical social classification of people based on their identity and the presentation of self. For a long period, gender differences were determined by the roles people perform in their families, at work, and in other environments. Women are defined as housekeepers and babysitters, and men aim at earning money and providing their families with necessary resources.
However, with time, the quality of human relationships has been re-evaluated. New terms and explanations have been added to learn the differences between individuals. For example, cisgender is used to define people whose perception of sexuality and actual gender correspond to their birth characteristics, and transgender is used to describe people whose birth sex does not correspond with their personal identities. In most cases, people find it necessary to reflect on the concept of gender to predict and understand their behaviors, decisions, and norms of communication in society.
Gender-Biased Relationships
Gender roles vary depending on specific cultural, social, economic, and legal aspects. Many families try to introduce their children to certain gender roles as per their biological sex. Boys are taught to be strong and enduring, while girls need to be pretty and gentle. Games are commonly used to represent the idea of gender roles in society. As a result, boys usually get trucks, guns, and heroic equipment to train their motor skills and strengths. Females play with dolls, dress them up, and do their hair to develop creativity, imagination, and care qualities. In the 1970s, feminist activities underlined the necessity to distinguish gender norms and go away from biological functions to recognize social privileges (Cislaghi & Heise, 2020).
Therefore, it is correct to use the concept of gender as a primary frame for social relationships and human experiences in the world (as cited in Cislaghi & Heise, 2020). Gender biases have a strong impact on research, the choice of profession, and family standards. It is not enough to say that a person is a male or female but to recognize his or her responsibilities and rights in a community.
Structural-Functional Theory and Gender Issues
Structural functionalism is one of the sociological theories that can be addressed to understand the difference between genders and the role of this type of inequality in society. According to structural functionalists, each gender must play significant but unequal roles in their development as per the needs of societies and their practices (Ballantine et al., 2018). The main idea of this theory is that all social structures, culture, and social processes should work together (Ballantine et al., 2018). It means that men and women are both active participants in social life.
Structural functionalists look at the established values and norms to introduce clear gender roles, improve social solidarity, and support survival. The early ages made men left their houses for hunting and fishing to provide their families with food. With time, the role of men was improved, and their participation in social events was major compared to women who still had to perform many domestic duties.
During the war times, the division of labor was significantly shifted because it was necessary to fill in empty spaces with human resources. Women had to be involved in traditionally male occupations in addition to their regular duties like child care, food preparation, and gardening (Ballantine et al., 2018). Gender-based labor division exists today in several forms, and functionalists explain it as the necessity to accomplish tasks with different but complementary roles (Ballantine et al., 2018). In terms of this theory, such differentiation of roles is critical because it allows the use of available resources and opportunities efficiently.
Gender inequalities matter because any society needs a structure, the law, and other behavioral norms. Structural functionalists do not promote or restrict differences between men and women. They believe these distinctions are inevitable as it is a part of human history, complex relationships, discoveries, and available knowledge. Gender-based division of labor cannot be forgotten, and some judgments and prejudices emerge in democratic societies.
Some nations are still concerned about families where men take care of children, while women earn a living. Anyway, the complexity of the gender concept is predetermined by cultural background, traditions, and acceptable changes. The application of structural-functional theory is a step to comprehend why modern society needs gender differences from the point of view of labor conditions and social obligations.
Conflict Theory and Gender Issues
The examination of the issue of gender can be developed through another sociological perspective, known as conflict theory. The main idea of this theory is the presence of a state of perpetual conflict due to false consciousness about specific groups in an unequal system. Conflict turns out to be inevitable because people get access to different sources and opportunities; as a result, some of them have more money or prestige and need to protect their achievement by using power (Ballantine et al., 2018). Compared to the structural-functional theory, where diversity serves as a background of progress and survival, conflict theory introduces diversity as something negative. It proves the importance of tensions in human relationships and the necessity to participate in a competition where rules cannot be changed.
Conflict theory is based on the approaches developed by Karl Marx in the middle of the 19th century. This German philosopher contrasted capitalists (the bourgeoisie) with workers (the proletariat) and explained how the former controlled the means of production, while the latter were exploited and exposed to unfair labor (Ballantine et al., 2018). As soon as workers learned about their contributions to social development and the plight created by capitalists, they got themselves ready for new conflicts to rise up and form a new society with collective ownership (Ballantine et al., 2018). Such origins of conflict theory should not be forgotten but applied to the analysis of modern social relationships, including gender roles and gender-based inequality.
Although functionalists have solid grounds for their theory, the supporters of conflict theory also specify the urgency of conflict in society. Conflict usually means competition, and competition has to be related to order. In its turn, order in society is a crucial element that proves gender as a structural system of power and privileges at some point. Similar to Marx’s position, men are defined as capitalists who own power and positions, while women are workers who have to perform subordinate roles and remain under male control (Ballantine et al., 2018).
Regarding the outcomes of the capitalist movement, the feminist movement follows the same standards to protect the privileges of women in society. Functionalists propose to view gender diversity as a means for survival, while conflict theory offers to keep women in traditional (minor) gender roles for men to maintain control. Social relationships are based on a struggle for gender dominance, and if a man overuses available power and resources, a woman has to oppose this inequality and protect her rights.
Improvements of Social Relationships Through Two Theoretical Perspectives
Despite mutual intentions to create an equal society and use available resources fairly, people cannot avoid the impact of gender biases today. Many nations believe that men and women have specific roles because of their inborn gender and should not deviate from the already established standards. The chosen approaches, structural functionalism and conflict theory, have certain advantages and disadvantages with the help of which gender relationships may be improved. For example, both frameworks define gender as a significant construct to differentiate people as per their inborn qualities and establish order as the only appropriate form of control.
However, if functionalists accept gender as a positive characteristic that promotes social development and growth, conflict theorists use gender as another reason for tensions and inconsistency of human relationships. These theories show that gender roles define the quality of living in the modern world. It is a responsibility of a person to accept gender either as a reason for conflict or as an opportunity for development. There are many chances to improve social relationships by respecting the differences between genders and the roles the representatives of both groups can perform.
Conclusion
Today, people live in a society where gender differences determine the quality of human relationships. For an extended period, gender roles have been formed and changed in regard to specific community demands, traditions, and achievements. It is hard to stop this process of formation because new interests and opportunities emerge regularly.
Therefore, the concept of gender remains a unique theme for analysis. In this paper, a comparative analysis of the structural-functional theory and conflict theory was developed to prove that gender diversity has certain positive and negative characteristics. Still, the major message is that gender is a critical variable in human relationships that define people’s roles. Gender is a complex topic, but awareness of gender inequalities has to be promoted to achieve respect and justice.
References
Ballantine, J. H., Roberts, K. A., & Korgen, K. O. (2018). Our social world: Introduction to sociology (6th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Cislaghi, B., & Heise, L. (2020). Gender norms and social norms: Differences, similarities and why they matter in prevention science. Sociology of Health & Illness, 42(2), 407-422.
Lindqvist, A., Sendén, M. G., & Renström, E. A. (2020). What is gender, anyway: A review of the options for operationalising gender. Psychology & Sexuality.