Global Relationship: Are Sexual Gender Roles Changing?

Résumé du document

As defined by the Encyclopedia, a role, in the sociological sense, is a set of connected behaviors, rights and obligations as conceptualized by the actors in a social situation. It is an expected behavior in a given individual social status and social position. Since the 18th century, the justification for the masculine hierarchy over the feminine gender was part of the order of nature. These are especially the feminist struggles and their problems have led companies to consider the different roles that men and women can play in society. From this period, the sociological studies of gender relations and roles have grown. For years, the point of view that has dominated sociology in this area was a functionalist perspective. For example, with Parsons, who 'naturalized' gender difference, assigning the 'private sphere' and the function of education to women and reserving the public and professional sphere to men. If such studies have primarily focused on women, it now appears that the emancipation and transformation of social roles of each lead to a reconfiguration of the other, that is to say men. Is the commitment to children specifically for mothers? Does working, as has long been evoked, the main factor of masculine identities?

Extraits

[...] male tasks (carrying wood, wash the car . ) and intermediate tasks (cooking, dishes, vacuuming . This division can not be explained in terms of natural skills of woman and of man but it represents the symbolism attached to male and female roles in the sharing out of activities. However, the higher the educational level of the man or woman is, the higher the man supports female tasks or intermediate tasks. But even among the most egalitarian, role changes do not come without tension. [...]

[...] There are also educational practices differentiated very early. Mother/baby interactions are different depending on whether the child is a girl or a boy. It seems that one more stimulates the "social behavior" of girls than boys. In contrast, boys are more stimulated on the motor plan: they are handled with greater strength, one helps them more to sit and walk that when it is a girl. Girls have a certain dependence compared with adults, while boys are pushed to the autonomy, independence. [...]

[...] Between the late 19th century and the mid-1960s, the parental role was defined by a conception of the father who is the purveyor of household money and housewife mother, a model that assigns man-father to the "public sphere" and wife-mother to the "private sphere". Thus, at this time, sociologists are interested to women only within the family context. Parsons (1955), is probably the first sociologist to consider the mother- father's equality (even though he is insensitive to the equality of the sexes). [...]

[...] Thus, it no longer seems unthinkable for a young father to care for her children (see the article from MP Dunleavey). But the asymmetry is persisting: mothers still do more than fathers. At birth, a child is automatically assigned to one of the two sexes, from the observation of its external anatomy and, with few exceptions, this is always true. But this labeling of sex is constantly called into question throughout the process of socialization. Anthropologists show how each culture interprets the anatomical sex to construct the feminine and masculine. [...]

[...] Take the example of Europe: in of the working population in Europe were women. The male and female behaviors are becoming closer: the women's activity ratio is increasing while the one of men has slightly decreased. However, men under 20 years are twice as numerous to work as the same age women. But the structure of jobs held by the working population of each sex are still very contrasted. Women work more in the Tertiary, while Industry sectors and the building trade remain strongly dominated by males. [...]