Author: Andre Coleman

One of the assumptions in the Structural and Functional theory is ???ocial system properties applied to families In today?S? world, what is the most striking element of social system that you perceives as most applicable to families? There are two important elements in Structural Functional theory, which are ??’tructure” and ??»unction Social system is complex and it consists of several subsystems, such as family, school, and organization. In another word, social system is structured. The structures should be perfect and could not miss any subsystem. Parsons (1937, 1951) proposed that every social system need to achieve the system equilibrium. The subsystems need to contribute some positive outcomes to the social system to assist it in achieving the system equilibrium. In other words, every subsystem should have its own functions (White & Klein, 2008).

The most striking element which is most applicable to families nowadays is ??»unction This element is suitable to apply in families because it involves the function of socialization. The element of structure is less applicable to families nowadays because there is a lot of single-mother or single-father in a family. In additional, single parent families are not necessary leads to family and social system dysfunction.

There are two basic functions in families, which are socializing with children and stabilizing adult?S? personality (White & Klein, 2008). These two functions are interrelated. Parents socialize and convey important values to their child. The values are all related to their society and culture. Child will learn those values and bring it out to the school and workplace in the future. The child will integrate to their society by adopting the suitable values. They will perform very well in the society and does not violate the society?S? norms. How the societal values are learned by the child? Socialization between parents and child can make it. All the messages can be sent when parents socialize with their child. Parents will tell their child what they should not to do, the consequences of the negative behaviors, the roles of them, and others.

The next family function ??’tabilizing adult?S? personalityis not applicable to families nowadays. It is because in the process of stabilize adult?S? personality, it involves the family role structure. Family role structure address that the structures of family will influence on child?S? well-being. Both of the father and mother should be including in a family. The family structure of single-mother or single-father will leads to child?S? maladaptive behavior.

If a family deviates from the societal norms, is it considered dysfunctional? Justify your answer.

If a family deviates from the societal norms, it is considered as dysfunctional. According

to Parsons, society only can survive while share the norms and values to every society members. Deviation from the societal norms will leads to disorganization of the whole system. Family is one of the important systems in the society. Family deviation includes divorce, non-marital sex, single-parent families, teen delinquency and etc. In Structural Function theory, all of these patterns or behaviors are not accepted because they will threaten the survival of society. Therefore, all of these behaviors are defined as dysfunctional (as cited in Structural Function Theory, n.d.).

The more details will be discussed. George Murdock (1949) described that nuclear family is the basic structure for a family. Nuclear family must consist of husband, wife, and their children as well. This is one of the norms in the society. If a family which only consists of mother and children, it will considered as dysfunctional. It is because the family have deviate the societal norms. However, what is the reason if family deviate societal norms will be considered as dysfunctional? Then the family role structure should be discussed. Parsons proposed a family role structure to let all society members to follow. Parsons proposed that male should play a role as ???nstrumental Instrumental role means that they provide the financial support to the family. The physical needs of family members such as shelter, foods, and education will be provided by the father. Female plays a role as ???xpressive Mothers should provide the emotional supports to the family and they are doing the ???ndoorworks only (as cited in Structural Functional Theory, n.d.).

The societal norm had provided as above clearly indicates the roles of each members in a family. Thus, all family members should follow the roles and rules which formed by the society. If the father and mother exchange their roles, this will considered as deviate the societal norms. And this family will be considered as dysfunctional.

Compare the concept of ??‘olesin both Symbolic Interactions and Structural Functional theory. If a researcher wishes to study parental roles in polygamous family, which of the two theories are serves as a better guide for the research? Why?

Both of the theories are using the concept of ??‘oles The main difference between these two theories is, the concept of role in Structural Functional theory attaches to the ??’ocietal expectationsbut the role in Symbolic Interaction theory is attached to the ???nteraction First, we have to understand the meaning of the term ??’ocietal expectationand ???nteraction(Ross Eshleman, 2003).

Compare the ???olesin Two Theories

In Structural Functional theory, the role is formed by the society expectations. Society expects that how an individual or social group should perform their roles. For example, they expect that male should be more aggressive than female, female should be protected, fathers should raise the family and mothers should bear the child, students should respect teachers in school, and others. From the examples as stated above, we can see that the roles are also associated with the rules. The rules are set by the society for every role. The social group should perform their roles by following to the rules (Ross Eshleman, 2003).

Compare to the Structural Functional theory, Symbolic Interaction theory is not focus on the rules. It focuses on the ???nteraction The expectation roles are formed through the process of interaction. The cooperative behavior and communication is very important. People will communicate first and then they know what they should perform. The role taking serves as an important term in the process of forming the expectation roles (Ross Eshleman, 2003).

The obvious difference can be seen at here is, the role in Structural Functional theory is how the society expects on it and it is mainly associated with the rules, but the role in Symbolic Interaction theory is mainly focus on the interaction and communication. The role is form through the process of interaction. The other difference between these two theories is the roles in Structural Functional theory are not easily to change but for the Symbolic Interaction theory, the roles are less rigid. The roles in Structural Functional theory are not easily changed because these are related to the expectation of the whole society. However, in Symbolic Interaction theory, the roles are easier to change because these are form through the interaction mainly between two individuals or groups. The differences are made as the points at below,

Societal expectation versus interaction

Focus on rules versus less focus on rules

Rigid versus less rigid

Polygamous Family and Structural Functional Theory

Structural Functional theory is more suitable to support the study of polygamous family. Polygamous families are considered as a nuclear family in Structural Functional theory. It is because the families are consisting of father and mother (Structural Functional Theory, n.d.). According to Al-Krenawi & Graham (1999), polygamy is defined as a marriage involves one husband and multiple wives. Polygamous wives may live together or stay in different houses. They could be cooperative or live without disturbing each other. It is depends on how the husband would like it.

Al-Krenawi & Graham (1999) had conducted a study about the story of Bedouin-Arab women in a polygamous marriage. In this study, the roles in Bedouin-Arab are form according to the gender differences. This is about how the society expects on the roles of a family. In a family, the men who include father and son are the leader and they have authority in the household, economy, and polity (Al-Krenawi, 1996 in Al-Krenawi & Graham, 1999). Thus, the role of father is to set the family rules and manage the household economy. However, the roles of Bedouin-Arab women in polygamous family are to bear children.

Not similar with the Bedouin-Arab society?S? role expectations, Parsons and Bales (1955) propose that both of the father and mother are superior in a family. Parsons and Bales (1955) stated that the family role structure is formed according to the gender roles. Father is serves as an instrumental superior role and mother is serves as an expressive superior role in family. The son is serves as an instrumental inferior role and daughter is serves as an expressive inferior in a family (as cited in White & Klein, 2008). From these, we can see that both of the father and mother also are superior in the family, but the only difference is father has to take care of the household economy and mother has to take care of their children. Again, we can see that how the different society and culture might make different parental roles in a family.

Structural and Functional theory is suitable to apply in polygamous families because it needs the family roles structure and rules which form by the society. The wives have to follow the roles and rules which formed by the society. This may eliminate the conflicts and disagreements between the wives.

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Figure 1 Structural Functional Theory explains the parental roles in polygamous family.

Discuss the major critic of development theory. If a researcher wishes to explore family dynamic within a step or blended family, identify suitable concepts from this theory that can guide such study.
Major Critic

The major critic in Development Theory is about the assumption of universality. Not all the families are developed in the same way. Development Theory proposed the development stages that used to explain the family development. For example, there are eight stages in family life cycle (Ross Eshleman, 2003). The stages are as below,

Married couples without children.

Childbearing families with oldest child 30 months.

Families with preschool children (oldest child aged between 2 and half to 6 years old).

Families with school children (oldest child aged between 6 to 13 years old).

Families with teenagers (oldest child aged between 13 to 20 years old).

Families with the first child to last child living outside of home.

Middle-aged parents who already retired.

Aging family members (retirement to death).

All of the stages listed at above are not suitable to all types of families. The stages are

only applicable to the normal developmental families. For example, a woman in a family is unable to pregnant. Thus, the eight stages are not accomplished by that family. Another example is that a teenager was pregnant and then gets married. The stages are not in sequence as what the eight stages have proposed. Nowadays, there is a lot of step-family from in the society. A couple may divorced and get into another marriage. They may stop at the second stage and start the first stage again when they are in the other marriage. Thus, it is not applicable to all forms of the families nowadays.

Concepts Using in Step Family

If a researchers wishes to study a dynamic within a step-family, the concepts of ??»amily changeand ???ositions, norms, and rolesare suitable to support it. Family change is defined as an outcome change that experienced by the family. In step-family, the family members had experienced the family change. For instance, a couple was divorced and the father gets married with other woman who will be called step-mother in the family. The children in the family are experienced two changes, which are their parents was divorced and their father was remarried again.

When the family changes had happened, the positions, norms, and roles in a family may be changed. From the instance had mentioned, the positions in that step-family include father, step-mother, son, and daughter. All of the family members should follow the norms and roles that had formed by the society. Normally the societal norms are formed for the ??‰ormal family The norms and roles can be formed by the step-family itself or formed by the society as well. The roles of the father in step-family can be instrumental and roles of the step-mother can be expressive. However, the roles of father and step-mother can be exchanged as well. It is depends on how the family forms the rules. The decision making is influenced by the societal culture.

One of the roles for the step-parents is to seek affinity from the step-children. Either the step-father or step-mother is seeking affinity to maintain a good relationship in the family. However, some of the step-parents are not seeking the affinity because they do not feel that maintain positive relationship with the children is important. There are three types of affinity, which are not seeking affinity from the step-children, seeking affinity before married only, and seeking affinity before and continuous in the marriage (Ganong, Coleman, Fine & Martin, 1999 in Arnold, 2008).

How does the concept of ??’elf interestdiffer or similar in Conflict Theory and Social Exchange Theory? Propose a research framework using Conflict Theory and highlight the use of self interest as a guiding concept.
Similarity and Differences of ???elf-Interestin Conflict and Social Exchange Theory

In both of the Conflict and Social Exchange Theory, people are always motivated by their self-interest. In Conflict Theory, when self-interest collides with othersself-interest, the conflict will happen. Self-interest in Conflict Theory is not involving the process of ???xchange In other words, people prefer to get what they are interested without contributing anything. They don?S° want to lose anything when they get the things that they are interested.

In Social Exchange Theory, people get what they want by contribute something. They exchange things and get the profits that they are interested to. For example, a woman would like to give up her freedom to marry her boy friend. This woman lost her freedom but she will get various supports form her husband. Self-interest in Social Exchange Theory is involving rational thinking. People gain the profits through two procedures, which are Comparison Level (CL) and Comparison Level for Alternatives (CL+). According to White and Klein (2008), CL is defined as people compare their profits with other people who have same situation. C+ is defined as an individual compare the profits with the other choice or alternative.

Table 1 Compare Self-interest in Social Conflict and Social Exchange Theory

Social Conflict TheorySocial Exchange TheoryNot involved in ???xchangeExperience the exchange procedure:

loss and gainNot involved in rational thinking. Involves rational thinking.

Not involved in CL and CL+ Involves CL and CL+

Research Framework

The research topic is ??•he relationship between self-interest marital satisfactions with the mediator of marital conflict

Introduction

Conflict is very common in a family. The conflicts between parents, couples, parent and child are very common nowadays. Conflicts occurred because the family members have their own different tastes, habits, likes and dislikes, values and standards (Marital Conflicts, n.d.). If the opinions of two people had crashed, conflict will happened. For example, parents may have their own preferred parenting style, child-rearing patterns, activities, religion, career decision, and so on. If their self-interest is crash with their partner’s and they do not seek for the solutions, mostly they will facing conflicts. Conflict will lead to both positive and negative outcomes if it does not be solved. Conflict may leads to divorce and low marital satisfaction (Morawska & Thompson, 2008).

Theory and Concept used

Social Conflict Theory will be used to explain this study. The concept of self-interest explains how the conflicts happened between the couples. Self-interest of couples may different in the aspect of finance, sexual relations, career decision, and leisure times. When self-interest of the couples in these aspects is different, they will face conflict. Thus, the self-interest and marital conflicts of these four aspects will be measured.

Research Question

Is there any significant relationship between marital conflict and marital satisfaction?

Research Hypothesis

There is a significant relationship between marital conflict and marital satisfaction.

Design

Mix-method will be conducted in this study. Questionnaires which consist of open-ended and closed-ended questions will be used to collect data. Researchers will interview the respondents who have already married.

Independent Variable: Self-interest will be measured based on four aspect, which are financial

investment, sexual relations, career decision, and leisure times.

Mediator Variable: Marital conflict will be measured based on four aspects, which are

financial investment, sexual relations, career decision, and leisure times.

Dependent Variable: Marital satisfaction

Urie Bronfenbrenner proposed that the smallest unit of analysis in studying development is the dyad, not the individual person. Describe this proposition in the context of delinquent behavior.

Bronfenbrenner?S? ecological system theory proposed that there are five interrelated system level, which are Microsystems, Mesosystem, Exosystem, Macrosystem, and Chronosystem (Hong, Huang, Sabri & Kim, 2011). Microsystem will used to apply in the context of delinquent behavior.

Microsystem Level

According to Bronfenbrenner, Microsystem is the layer closest to the child. The layer contains some structures which have direct interaction with an individual. One of the structures is family (Ryan, 2001). In Microsystem level, a child has direct interaction with their parents. Parents considered as the primary agent to have interaction with the child. Thus, the parent-child is considered as ???yad

Parents Influence on Child?S? Behaviors

Interaction between the child and parents will bring impact on both of them. However, the negative impact on child will be discussed at here only. Bronfenbrenner believes the reason that child?S? behavior is mostly influenced by their parents is because the parents assist the child to explore the environment. In between, parents are also giving their child the affirmations (Ryan, 2001). The child will adapt to the environment and maintain it when dealing with other complex environment in the future (Bronfenbrenner, 1979 as cited in White & Klein, 2008). If this immediate interaction is break down, child will adopts delinquent behaviors especially during adolescence.

Empirical Implication

Parent-youth relationship is associated with youth?S? delinquency and substances used (Chang & Le, 2005 in Hong, Huang, Sabri & Kim, 2011). The communication and socialization between parent-child is important to influences on child?S? development. Parents would like to socialize and communicate with their child about the consequences of delinquent behaviors. This will reduce the tendency of child to engage in delinquent behaviors (Hong, Huang, Sabri & Kim, 2011).

One of the studies was using the instrument which developed by Bronfenbrenner to measure the maternal and paternal parenting. The parentings are including support, communication, and psychological control (Torrente & Vazsonyi, 2008). The researchers aim to examine the parenting influences on adolescentsantisocial and delinquent behavior. The result revealed that there is a significant difference of maternal parenting on male and female adolescents. Female adolescents reported higher support and communication parenting compare to male adolescents. Male adolescents reported higher psychological control parenting compare to female adolescents. Besides that, the result also showed that mother?S? support and communication were negatively correlated with adolescentsdelinquent behavior. However, there was only father?S? support has significant negative correlation with adolescentsdelinquent behavior. Lastly, the study found that, maternal support was significantly predicting the male?S? delinquent behavior negatively and, maternal psychological control was significantly predicting the female?S? delinquent behavior positively. In another word, high maternal support will lead to less delinquency among male adolescents, and high maternal psychological control will lead to high delinquency among female adolescents. The father did not show any significant parenting predictors towards adolescentsdelinquency (Torrente & Vazsonyi, 2008).

Discussion

One of the reasons to explain that mothers have significant contribution to the adolescentsdelinquent behavior is, they are spending more time together with their children. They have more socialization with their children during their children?S? development. Therefore, mothers develop an important relationship with their children more than the fathers. They provide supports when their children are facing difficulties. This may assist the child to solve problem and adapt to the environment. Mothers always communicate with their children about their thinking and belief will assist the child to learn it and understand what they should not to do.

Social and cultural theories are often used when studying and applying knowledge to sports. The theories in society often provide a framework for asking research questions, interpreting information and being able to uncover the deeper meanings and stories that are associated with sports, they also enable citizens in the society to become more informed so that we can apply what we have learned from the research and being able to apply it in the world that we live in. Theories also enable people to see things in new angles and perspectives and give us the ability to make informed decisions about sports and how sports participation can be used in our lives, communities, families and societies. The six main theories used in sport have many points and can overlap with each other but only two are going to be discussed in this study. The two theories chosen to compare are functionalist theory and conflict theory.

Functionalist theory is a macro sociological theory that is based on the characteristics of social patterns, structures, social systems and institutions such as family, education, religion, leisure, the economy, media, politics and sport. If all these social institutions are organized and co-operate with one another around a set of core values functionalist theorists assume that the entire social system will function properly and efficiently. Society in functionalism has a view that it is an organized system of interrelated parts that are held together by shared values and established social arrangements that help maintain the system in being in a state of equilibrium and balance. When sociologists use functionalist theory they split it into two parts, the first concept of interdependent parts is all of the social institutions (media, religion, sports, politics and economics) and how they are linked together.

In the tradition of Talcott Parsons and his conception of functional imperatives (goal attainment, adaptation, latency and integration) functionalists argue that there are four basic “system needs” for any society in sports (team, clubs etc) to run smoothly and that everyone will benefit. The four principles are

Adaptation – In order to survive in a society it is essential that members learn to adapt to changes in the social structure and culture. Another important element to survival is the emphasis on being physically fit as it is required for most sports.

Goal Attainment – This is the motivation of individuals to achieve society’s goals through socially accepted means. Sport is preoccupied with tracking the success and failures of its participants however it also teaches participants that if they work hard enough it will lead to victory meaning success.

Integration – Sport promotes social connections between people and gives them the opportunity to co-operate with each other in a group and a community. It also provides a feeling of social identification as well as a source of personal identity. The society must keep itself together.

Latency (pattern maintenance and tension management) – Each system must maintain itself in a possible state of equilibrium for as long as it can without any outside disruptive influences. Many forms of pattern maintenance are provided by sport primarily through participation where the participants are taught to accept an authority structure that is well defined for example athletes knowing that referees have the authority over them to make sure they stick to the rules of the sport.

Functionalist theory in sport generally leads to the conclusion that it is popular in society because it can maintain the values of character that help to preserve stability and order in social life. Functionalist theory also supports sporting policies that help and recommend the growth of competitive sport programmes, developing coaching education programmes, in the case of youth sport there is an establishment on criminal bureau checks and qualification checks on coaches before working with younger children. The theory also supports the establishment of training centres for elite athletes so they can maintain their top-level performance and making sure to have increased surveillance and drug testing so they are able to supervise and control the actions of athletes by preventing those taking drugs so they can’t cheat their way to attaining a better sporting performance. People in society who have positions of power tend to favour functionalist theory as it is based on the assumption that society is organised for benefiting the people in that society of equality and that in any dramatic way it should not be changed. While functionalist theory is a popular approach it does have some weaknesses.

The weaknesses of functionalist theory is that it tends to lead to exaggerated accounts of positive consequences of sports and sports participation however it mistakenly assumes that there are no conflicts of interests between the different citizen groups in society such as women, people with disabilities, racial groups and people who are economically poor in society yet it doesn’t recognise that sport can privilege or disadvantage people more than others. The theory also ignores the powerful historical and economic factors that have influenced social events and social relationships.

Functionalist theory is centered on the idea that there is a consensus in the values and norms of society and that social institutions found within a society are integrated and function together. In contrast conflict theory looks at the role of power and the inequality found throughout society and how sport is shaped by these economic forces and used by people with economical power to increase their influence and wealth. Conflict theory is based on the ideas of Karl Marx (1818 – 1883) which rose to importance during the 1970s because of the growing disenchantment with functionalist theory. This theory of Karl Marx views sports as being built on the foundations of economic power. In society’s that are capitalistic you see that relationships and social arrangements are organised around wealth, money and economic power for example in the United States it’s easy to point out the owners of the sport teams as they are benefiting financially from the expense of elite athletes, the coaches that work alongside the athletes and the spectators who watch the sport.

Like functionalist theory conflict theory is based on the assumption that society is like a social system however conflict theory focuses on the “needs of capital” rather than the “general system needs”. Theorists of conflict theory explain that a society which is capitalist will not be able to survive and grow without exploiting any workers for the sake of boosting financial profits; they also suggest that if radical changes are to be concluded in sport and society by prevailing justice and fairness they need to identify the negative consequences that sport has. Once these changes are made sport will become a source of creative energy, expression and physical well-being. People who live in capitalist economies are generally not comfortable with the assumptions and conclusions of conflict theory because they say it has a negative effect and does not fit into their ideas about society and sport as they feel uneasy with the conclusions of calling for radical change in the current organisation and structure that they already have.

Much of conflict theory is directed at sports which are dominated by spectators. Conflict theorists if they had the choice they would increase the control that athletes and other sporting participants have to promote sport at local community level so that it benefits all classes of people rather than just all elite athletes. Meaning the working class would have more influence of sport than the rich class giving them more motivation for participation and eliminating profits. Many conflict theorists favour player’s unions that confront pro-team owners and are supporting organisations that help to guard against public tax money being used to benefit wealthy people. Ideally any public resources would be used to help aid sponsoring sports that are designed to improve physical fitness, political awareness and include placing the element of fun into activities. Conflict theorists (Leonard 1980; Rigauer2004) would also campaign for athletes at all levels to have representation with making decisions about sport in organisations so Olympians would be able to vote on policy questions that concerned the staging of the Olympic Games.

Conflict theory also has three major weaknesses. The first weakness is that the theory tends to ignore the possibility that sport in capitalist societies can and may involve experiences that give individuals and groups power. Conflict theorists talk about how sport is organised to maximise the control that wealthy people have over other members in a capitalist society. The conflict theory approach doesn’t acknowledge that sport can take many forms of serving interests in the have-not society and denies that any participation in sport can be a personal creative and liberating experience that will inspire members of society to make economic changes that will help to promote equality in exiting capitalist societies. Secondly conflict theory ignores the importance of race, ethnicity, gender, disability, age and many other factors when it comes to explaining how people want to identify themselves, how they relate to other members in the society and how they organise the social world in which they live. Often it’s leading people to overlook the possibility that inequalities and power in any society are based on factors other than economic and social class differences. Thirdly the theory assumes that all aspects of social life are determined economically and is shaped by the needs of having capital in society and profit motive. Theorists of conflict theory focus on the assumptions that of economic factors when studying sport however they tend to overlook participation and recreational port for healthy living.

Functionalist theory and conflict theory both focus on the needs of society and how sport can relate to the satisfaction of the system needs. The theories don’t inform us about sport in everyday life and the ways in which people are active agents who are participating in the processes of sports and societies that are organised and changed. They both also ignore that sport and social constructions emerge in people’s everyday life when they struggle to decide what is important and how they are going to collect organisation in their lives.

Inequality is a social reality affecting many cultures and societies. The term stratification is described by Chaefer as structured standing or position among various individuals perpetuating the concept of unequitable distribution of reward and power, a privilege enjoyed by the privileged few (34). Hierarchies paint the social landscape and social classes are defined by means of their membership to a particular social group or subculture, occupational type, educational level, income class, and amount of wealth. Between-individuals inequalities in status are to be found universally; but the question is how much inequality would warrant a so-called stratified society.

The Four Basic Structures of Stratification

In Sajjadi, basic stratification structures were identified: first, slavery; second, estate; third, caste; and fourth, class. Viewed as the most extreme of all these structures, slavery is one in which individuals are owned as property by others where the owner exercises full control over the slave which often times end in the use of violence. Existence of slave system is sporadic across many eras and locations; however, two examples of slave societies are in the early Greek and Roman civilizations and the southern US during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The second is the estate system akin to feudalism. There are three salient features of feudal estates. One of which is that they are legally sanctioned. Each estate possesses its own status having legal obligations, privileges, duties and rights. The next is division of labor which means that a group is expected to perform a definite set of functions. The nobles were ordained to protect and defend the people; the clergy, give spiritual comfort; and the commoners, to ensure there is food in every table. The last is that feudal estates are political structures which mean that all of these three estates function like political groups and possess power.

The third is the caste system which is closely associated with Hindu tradition, custom, religion and philosophy. According to the Hindus, the caste system has a divine sanction and origin. The origin of this stratification in Indian societies could be traced back in the chaturvarna system. Doctrinal teachings subdivided India into four major varnas – Brahmins, Kashtriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. The Varna system which is highly prominent in the Vedic period is mainly based on occupation as well as division of labour; however, evolved in ancestral traditions. A family who makes a living of being a teacher had been in generations past resorted in the same profession and is followed by succeeding generations, believing that divine appointment has caused their clan to become teachers.

The fourth basic structure is social class. This system is a universal occurrence which denotes that a certain group of individuals having definite societal status permanently defines their association with other groups. Basis for the stratification is undoubtedly economic but they are not simply economic groupings. Across time and societies, the virtual significance and meaning of membership to a specific group varies, most especially in those societies that have legally differentiated groups of individuals according to occupation or birth. The popularly known illustration of socioeconomic class is adopting a system of hierarchy with reference to income, wealth, economic status, or occupational type.

Stratification in United States

The sociological phenomenon I find most interesting to study and work on is the stratification and social mobility in United States. Social class seems to be the most appropriate type of stratification to describe inequality in America. Social stratification certainly exists in United States although most Americans believe only in the three class model – the rich, middle class and the poor. Some sociologist proposed more complex structure and yet others deny its very existence. Here we try to expound on some academic class model proposed by sociologist William Thompson and Joseph Hickey: the upper, corporate elite, upper middle, traditional middle, lower middle, and working classes.

Upper class is a term that includes those referred to as the “blue bloods” for instance the Roosevelt and Astor families. There seemed to be confusion on the inclusion of “nouveau riche” into the upper class or the exclusive use of this term to denote established families. W. Lloyd Warner, a 20th century sociologist subdivided upper class into two: the first is composed of the “upper-upper class” or the bourgeoisie and the “lower-upper class” or the yuppies. In the former, established upper-class families are included while in the latter are those who have achieved a highly wealthy status in their lifetime. Because there is no such thing as a lower threshold in the upper class, it is an outright impossibility to compute the exact proportion of American households identified in this class.

The high incomes and the potential for wealth from stock options have given rise to the term corporate elite; among them are top executives especially Chief Executive Officers or CEOs who receive the best financial compensation of all occupations in the US today. The median salary received by an American CEO annually is $140,350; this income exceeds the combined income of 90% of households in the U.S. On the other hand, the upper middle class is composed of professionals who are highly educated and perform self-directed work. A number of them have earned Master’s degree at the very least and have incomes greater than the high five-figure range. In this group, members are actively involved with professional as well as personal networks therefore they have a great influence in society.

The middle class is probably the most unclearly defined of all the social classes. The term has been found to be used to either define a group of managers and professionals also referred as upper middle class or those between wealth extremes with a disregard for significant differences in occupation, influence, educational level, culture and income. Those households occupying the center of American society may be called middle-middle class. These average Joes or those lying at the middle of the socio-economic divisions are commonly where the working class and the lower middle class meet. The lower middle class is generally described as having less privilege compared to the middle class. Individuals in this group are commonly working in supporting occupations and seldom acquired advanced academic degrees though more often than not they are bachelor degree holders. The term working class is used to denote individuals who are working at this level.

Markers of Social Class in United States

Markers of social class in United States includes but is not limited to social status, income, education, occupation and culture. Social status is defined as the rank or position of an individual or group in society and determined in two ways- through individual achievements or achieved status and by inheritance or ascribed status. In the US, many members of the society have sorted themselves along the position continuum which varies in compensation, prestige, influence, and importance. In this land of opportunity, many people especially immigrants have gained better living conditions, far from the land they came from due to their ‘ given chance’ of getting better education and occupation. Thus, having them earn a considerable place in the society. In other cases, where in status is inherited or has been fixed by birth, the individual is given and taught many social roles and are socially positioned by their family by equipping them with all the traits and characters that would sustain their inherited status. For example, being the son of a wealthy family may carry the same status or even higher status than his parents due to his upbringing that makes him even better in the craft that made his parents wealthy.

Income is regarded to be an important feature in a social class. It does not cause stratification rather it is reflected on that status. There are two types of income being monitored by the Department of Commerce: personal and household income. Personal income is an individual indicator which is often applied only to individuals whose age is above 15, 18, or 25, the age requirement for membership to the labor force. Several factors affect income in the US and these include education, racial background, gender, and age. The US Census Bureau mentioned that men are generally highly paid than women while Caucasian Americans and Asians have higher earnings compared to their African American and Hispanic counterparts. Individuals above 18 had an overall median personal income amounting to $25,149 ($32,140 among 25 years old and above in 2005. In the same year, earning of age 15 was $28,567.

In contrast, household income considers all the residents in the household over 18 and does not only cover all salaries and wages but also personal investment, business, regular rental receipts, child support payments, and unemployment insurance. Residents need not have any consanguinal relations with the household head for their income to be part of the household’s income (US Census 2007 pub 60). Because households are quite similar economically, utilization of household income is still one of the most widely acknowledged income indicators (Williams 10).

Some experts would say that prestige and income are societal incentives necessary to occupy desired positions with the personnel that is highly motivated and qualified (Levine 7). However, this conclusion is divergent to the general observation that upper management in several companies are less informed and experienced than most of their subordinates, and that their positions are attained because of inheritance and connections.

Because income is a product of employment and education is a principal determinant of employment, the level of education is a variable often related to generated income in the United States. Many studies have correlated income levels to other social outcomes such as health care, housing, life expectancy, and quality and quantity of education attained. Many studies have emphasized on the relationship of income to education. The higher the educational level, the higher a person earns. For instance, individuals who have a college degree have comparatively higher income than the national median while those who have high school diplomas have lesser income than the national median. Studies have also shown that individuals with doctorate degrees belonged to the top 15% based on annual earnings. Educational attainment then is an important class feature in American society and is considered a crucial factor toward social mobility.

Another feature of social class is occupational status. Occupational status is a product of level of education and is a variable that also impacts access to social resources such as health, housing, and income. People with low-wage jobs are associated with low education levels because these jobs are often sought out and available to those who have less education. Blue-collar workers are paid less because it does not take a college diploma to perform these jobs. On the other hand, white-collar jobs But, White collar jobs require more human capital, skill and knowledge and therefore produce higher earnings. With higher education it is more likely for one to occupy a professional-level job wherein he or she may earn a higher salary. Therefore, those with less education are more likely to be working in Low-wage jobs.

Class culture also has been shown to have a strong influence on the mundane lives of people, affecting everything from the manner in which they raise their children, initiation and maintenance of romantic relationship to the color in which they paint their houses. The strongest cultural differences seem to run along the professional middle class-working class divide. A recent increase in residential class segregation and the overall tendency of individual to associate mostly with those of equal standing as themselves has further strengthened class differences.

Social Mobility in United States

The most important concept in a class system of stratification is social mobility. In class system, social stratification based on both birth and individual achievement; personal merit becomes more important. Since societies became more competitive and more meritocratic some elements such as energy, social skills, character, ambition, physical attractiveness, talent, and luck played great role in social mobility and changing social position. Social mobility refers to changes in social position which occur during a person’s lifetime.

There are two ways to study social mobility; intragenerational mobility and intergenerational mobility. By the first concept, we mean upward and downward movement in social ladder and by second one we refer to upward and downward movement in social hierarchy compared with the previous generation. Such a change may be described as “vertical mobility,” by contrast with a more general changing position (“horizontal mobility”). Mobility is enabled in part by cultural capital (such as higher education or an authoritative accent), human capital (such as competence and effort in labour), social capital (such as support from one’s social network), physical capital (such as ownership of tools), and symbolic capital (such as the worth of an official title). Many of these factors, however, ultimately remain intertwined with economic capital.

Upward social mobility is a change in a person’s social status resulting in that person receiving a higher position in their status system. Likewise, downward mobility results in a lower position. A prime example of an opportunity for upward mobility nowadays is athletics. There is an increased number of minorities seeking careers as professional athletes which can either lead to improved social status or could potentially harm them due to neglecting other aspects of their

life (e.g. education). Transformative assets would also allow one to achieve a higher status in society, as they increase wealth and provide for more opportunity. A transformative asset could be a trust fund set up by family that allows you to own a nice home in a nice neighborhood, instead of an apartment in a down trodden community. This type of move would allow the person to develop a new circle of friends of the same economic status.

Social class in United States is an open playing field. Through an individual’s achievement, occupation, educational attainment, and hardwork can attain a significant place in the society. Many individuals have already made a great leap in the social ladder. The new rich have increased tremendously over the last twenty years. There is upward mobility in social class ladder in that span of time. But with the current economic crisis that started two years ago and recovery is far from what is hoped for, that resulted in massive employment recession, it seems that the social mobility will move downwards. There is now increasing numbers of ‘new poor’ Americans. Still, definition is relative, what they consider poor might not be compared to other people of the world. Definitely, there will be changes in the social class structure of United States with the economic situation it is facing nowadays.

Social stratification concept makes it possible to understand people’s behavior. Without classifying people, it will be difficult to address social needs and social issues. Social class determines people’s way of life, customs, religions, happiness and other important aspects in the development of the individual, the community and the nation as a whole. Popular culture’s catering to the wealthy and social welfare for the poor can be easily tracked as shift in economic activity is pronounced such as the economic situation now.

Consumer research is a type of applied sociology that attempts to map and understand the way in which consumers behave and make decisions about the products that they purchase. This is absolutely fundamental to those managing marketing processes for an organisation. Understanding how consumers make the decision to purchase a particular item of goods or service is vital to the setting out of marketing plans for products. The research will also discover which marketing approaches are the most successful and, therefore, which ones should be repeated to attract attention^[1]. Typically, this type of research is statistical in nature, pulling together all of the decision inputs that consumers will look at, before making decisions^[2]. For example, factors such as availability, price, likely value growth and functionality will all play an important role in terms of consumer decision making. Traditional consumer research aims to be entirely objective in nature and is undertaken in an impartial manner, attempting to form an understanding of the actual state of affairs in the given product market. However, more recently, there has been recognition that many consumers will simply make impulse purchases and that one specific set of inputs will not always produce the same result, as human perceptions and decision making processes vary considerably from individual to individual, depending on a range of factors that cannot be neatly placed into a scientific analysis^[3].

Essentially, there are two key approaches to consumer research which are recognised and discussed in the research paper by Isabelle Szmigin and Gordon Foxall. Traditionally, consumer research theorists have argued that consumer research must naturally either centre on the interpretive approach or the positivist approach^[4]. Szmigin and Foxall argued that a combination of the two approaches will produce the best approach. Critically, Szmigin and Foxall recognise that the real value in consumer research comes from the quality of the information that the research gives to the managers making the ongoing marketing decisions. This has arguably been a massively overlooked factor in consumer research. The ultimate goal for consumer research should surely be to give a definitive course of action for a marketing department to follow in order to gain the maximum possible consumer penetration. By arguing this point, Szmigin and Foxall successfully demonstrate that the ideal form of consumer research must take account of both scientific, objective decision making factors as well as the subjective and emotional decision making factors, if it is to gain a detailed and inclusive understanding of consumer behaviour^[5]. There are arguably inherent positives and negatives to both approaches and these are discussed by Szmigin and Foxall, with varying degrees of conviction. Ultimately, however, the authors failed to reach a final conclusion as to which method offered the better approach and instead opted to conclude that a middle ground would be the best approach. In this paper, the question as to whether this conclusion is a true reflection of the position or whether the authors simply failed to find conclusive evidence and were thus forced to reach this conclusion due to the absence of any convincing suggestions to the contrary is evident^[6].

Interpretive v Positivism

The two different approaches under discussion are interpretative and positivistic, although it could also be seen as a debate between science and art^[7]. Similarly, positivistic consumer research is more commonly referred to as quantitative research and interpretative research is referred to as qualitative research. This is a direct reflection of the statistical importance of the positivistic approach. With the positivist approach, a large group of individuals is studied with an attempt to draw one conclusive set of statistics that explain all consumer behaviour. The focus is very much on the four Ps, namely product, price, place or location and promotion. In the positivist approach, the basis for the research is that the four Ps will be the underlying factors that will make up the decision making process for consumers. These are all objective factors and take little or no account of dealing with personal preferences as displayed by individual consumers. During this process, a hypothesis is drawn up which essentially sets out the claims which the research aims either to prove or disprove.

This positivist approach is heavily statistically based and the questioning of consumers will aim towards gaining figure based results that can be displayed in the form of graphs. Similarly, the reliability of the findings is tested by statistical methods including ascertaining the significance level of the data.

Whilst this method is seen as being potentially conclusive and providing statistical data that can be used in marketing techniques, it fundamentally misses the fact that humans behave in different ways even when faced with the same raw data. Different consumers will make different decisions and will place different relative values on the input factors detailed above. Interpretative research aims to take this factor into account. Research is focussed on a smaller group of individuals with the aim of mapping out consumer behaviour based on a range of more subjective factors such as those relating to cultural and sociological impacts^[8]. With this approach, however, the personality and subjective beliefs of the researcher are much more likely to have an impact on the results of the research. Personalities and subjective thoughts will naturally vary depending on the consumer’s values and, with this in mind, there is a serious question as to what value this type of research can offer to marketing professionals within a company. Without any statistical patterns of behaviour, it can be very difficult for marketing professionals to determine a set of trends that can be accurately relied upon^[9].

Interpretative Approach Analysis Based on Szmigin and Foxall’s Research

Szmigin and Foxall spent a large amount of their analysis considering whether the interpretative value has any merit and what it can offer in terms of additional value that this method offers the process of consumer research. Szmigin and Foxall recognised that papers relating to interpretative research are often seen as peripheral to positivistic research, offering little in the way of added value. This is, however, rightly discarded by the authors.

The paper explains the concepts that have been developed surrounding the use of interpretative research. One of the most formative of these concepts is that indicated by Thompson^[10], that interpretative research will come up with multiple possible worldviews rather than one individual ‘way of the world’, which was distinct from the positivistic approach. One of the central points determined by Szmigin and Foxall was that the interpretative approach accurately represented the complexities of human nature and that failure to consider this was a fatal flaw in the traditional positivistic approach^[11].

Interestingly, the approach taken by Szmigin and Foxall, on the one hand, recognised the absolutely vital elements that the interpretative approach bring to the phenomenon that is essential for the complete understanding of consumer behaviour, but also gives credence to the way in which this approach is too value laden and thus not entirely reliable as a source of information for marketing professionals. The weakness of allowing subjective and internal states of the consumers to be taken into account is widely accepted by Szmigin and Foxall, yet despite this, there is a refusal to write off this approach, entirely^[12].

One possible way of reconciling these opposing thoughts is that of considering the interpretative research methods as a way of ascertaining a range of several possible causes of action based on the range of potential consumer thought patterns from which positivistic research approaches can be used to narrow down the data into a more useful set of conclusions. It is this combination of the two approaches that Szmigin and Foxall focus on in reaching their conclusion. The approach, on the face of it, appears to be entirely logical given the data available.

A Further Look at Interpretative Research

Before simply accepting the proposition that the interpretative research approach offers additional supporting information to the more traditional approach, a greater analysis of the potential added value that can be obtained through the use of interpretative research is required. Klein & Myers^[13] argued that interpretative research is simply a way by which knowledge is obtained through consumer research. Rather than seeing interpretative research as a distinct method of conducting consumer research, it may be viewed as a way of filtering the information gathered through a set of cultural and social parameters. Interpretative research does not involve the pre-setting of parameters or any other variables; instead, it lets the social context influence the phenomenon.

It seems that the approach of combing the two theories is powerful, but not in the way that Szmigin and Foxall identified. A paper by Bruce Rowlands^[14] also explored the issue of the relative use of interpretative and positivistic approaches. However, in this case, it was concluded that the combination of the two approaches would be valuable but not simply because no conclusive conclusion relating to the choice of one over the other could be reached, but rather due to the fact that combining the two approaches can achieve the best of both worlds, in certain circumstances. In this case, it was held that the two approaches worked well together where the non constrained interpretative approach can be used within at least a certain set of boundaries (albeit loosely defined)^[15].

Critically, this paper recognised that the problem with interpretative research is that reaching a meaningful conclusion can be virtually impossible, in many situations. This is down to the potential width of results that such an untargeted approach can cause. However, in this paper it was concluded by Bruce Rowlands that this difficulty could largely be overcome by setting at least basic parameters to guide the research in the first instance to ensure a degree of control in the research process^[16].

By combining the findings of the Bruce Rowlands paper and that of the paper under current discussion, it is clear to see that there is at least some merit in the argument that the two methods can be successfully combined to offer rounded consumer research^[17].

Positivistic Approach Analysis Based on Szmigin and Foxall’s Research

It seems, from considering both the research as conducted by Szmigin and Foxall and other related research in the area, that it is generally thought that interpretative research methods have been developed to fill in the gaps of the positivistic approach. In order to explore this theory fully, the perceived weaknesses of the positivistic approach from the perspective of Szmigin and Foxall requires further consideration, as this will give a clear indication of the anticipated role of interpretative research methods. By establishing the weaknesses of the positivistic approach, it will then be possible to ascertain whether the use of interpretative research would indeed fill this gap and should, therefore, be considered as a means of offering a more complete consumer behaviour analysis^[18].

Szmigin and Foxall saw that there were several inherent weaknesses in the positivistic approach. Firstly, it was identified that the underlying assumption that there is one reality that does not change; this is clearly unrealistic with consumers in a constant state of flux with ever changing external and internal decision factors. True positivism also works on the assumption that all consumers will make purchasing decision based on entirely reasoned factors with absolutely no input from irrational desires and impulse purchases. This is an over-simplistic view of the way in which consumers actually make decisions. It is well recognised that consumers will often make purchasing decision based on entirely irrational desires and, therefore, certain data patterns will be entirely meaningless, if only rational decision factors are considered.

Szmigin and Foxall also recognised that in taking this concept of a single reality as encouraged by the positivistic approach, there is a danger that all other possible realities are excluded, thus potentially missing out other possibly valuable data sets.

These main weaknesses in the positivistic approach are argued by Szmigin and Foxall to be the reason that interpretative research methods are necessary in order to fill in these gaps. These weaknesses are so substantial that it is accepted by Szmigin and Foxall that a positivistic approach is so fundamentally flawed that it alone cannot produce any meaningful data for the eventual users, namely the marketing manager in the relevant organisation.

A Wider Look at the Positivistic Approach

The positivistic or quantitative approach to consumer research is regarded as the traditional approach to consumer research; therefore, there is considerably more research available on the potential weaknesses to this area of research. Martin Callingham^[19] stated that the main weakness in the use of qualitative approach is that, although input factors can be analysed against the actual outcome, there is no way, through using this direct data to ascertain whether the input factor was the actual cause of the witnessed outcome^[20]. For example, if a company runs an advertising campaign and sees sales increase, the positivistic approach will show the statistical increase in sales, but will not show that it was the advertising campaign that drove this increase. The rise in sales will not necessarily be down to the advertising campaign; it could be down to a range of other cultural or social factors^[21]. This failure to link cause and effect is the cited reason for the need to enhance the traditional positivistic approach^[22].

Quantitative research is entirely science based with the emphasis on objectivity reliability and generalisations. Whilst this is clearly desirable in the field of research, consumer behaviour simply does not fall neatly within this scientific approach. There is positive value to be had in this approach, particularly when the aim of the research is to link directly some factor with base line results; it is both unbiased and objective with no values being derived from the researcher themselves. Despite this, the positivistic approach is clearly limited. Any variable that is not part of the model is totally disregarded and, as such, it is limited in its findings to the variables that are laid out in the original model^[23]. Any fluidity of consumer behaviour will not be captured, which is an essential part of any consumer research project. It is this weakness that the use of interpretative research aims to manage and deal with by adding value to the overall research project^[24].

Summary of Findings

The need to expand upon the traditional positivistic approach has been clearly recognised by Szmigin and Foxall. The paper recognises that there are inherent weaknesses in both approaches to consumer research which render the use of one research method to the exclusion of the other, ineffective^[25]. However the paper has been slightly unsatisfactory in the way in which it reaches this conclusion. The approach taken by Szmigin and Foxall involved the consideration of the weakness of both methods and, having concluded that both methods have fundamental flaws, it was then decided that the only possible solution was to use a combination of the two. This conclusion is agreed with; however, a slightly more positive approach to reaching this conclusion would have been welcome^[26].

Other research papers have taken a more pragmatic approach by considering the difficulties and weaknesses with the traditional approach and then looking positively at whether or not the interpretative approach can suitably fill the gaps in a way that would improve the nature of the consumer research^[27].

The weaknesses in the traditional approach of failing to consider discarded variables and of failing to link the cause and effect of behaviour have been duly noted by Szmigin and Foxall. Where the analysis falls down is that they do not then go on to consider fully how the interpretative approach could deal with these issues. It would seem, therefore, that by pulling together all of the relevant research in this area using an interpretative approach predominately yet with at least the basic controls such as those suggested by the positivistic approach, the best of both worlds will be achieved and the most comprehensive consumer research can be undertaken^[28].

In summary, therefore, Szmigin and Foxall have reached the correct conclusion as to the importance of combining the two approaches, but the way in which this conclusion was reached could have been achieved in a more positive fashion rather than it being a default position which is what appears to have been the case with Szmigin and Foxall.

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‘A position of ‘strategic essentialism’ is important in ensuring that gender inequalities are reduced’. Discuss with reference to the evolution of feminist theory and action in the Global South.

A central issue in feminist debates over essentialism is whether there are any shared characteristics common to all women that unify them as a social group – other than their biological and physiological predispositions. Many feminist theorists of the 1980s and 1990s (Scott, 1988; Fraser, 1989; Spelman, 1990) rejected essentialism on the grounds that human phenomena cannot be reduced to essentialist monolithic categories, and that universal claims about women presuppose an essential ‘womanness’ (Spelman, 1990) that all women share, despite the racial, class, religious, ethnic and cultural differences among them, emphasizing instead questions of difference and identity. Essentialism was presumed to be a negative aspect of feminism:

”One use of a theory of discourse for feminist politics, then, is in understanding social identities in their full socio-cultural complexity, thus in demystifying static, single variable, essentialist views of gender identity.” (Fraser, 1991, p. 99).

”To maintain that femininity predisposes women to certain (nurturing) jobs or (collaborative) styles of work is to naturalize complex economic and social processes and, once again, to obscure the differences that have characterized women’s occupational histories. An insistence on differences undercuts the tendency to absolutist and essentialist categories.” (Scott, 1988, p. 47).

At the same time, an anti-anti-essentialist argument was raised (Stone, 2004), arguing that anti-essentialist claims denied women the motivation to work together as a collectivity. Within this current, strategic essentialism has been an influential strand. While it recognizes that essentialism is descriptively false as it denies the real diversity of women’s lives and social situations, it defends essentialist claims in the sense that they are politically useful (multilateral organizations such as the United Nations tend to treat women as if they comprise a unitary group) and socially influential. This argument is especially relevant regarding (women’s) social movements, which many believe require a deep notion of shared position and identity. Oppressed groups can deploy essentialism strategically as it enables them to organize common forms of identity and sustain a sense of solidarity. Throughout this essay I will use case studies from the Global South to argue that the emphasis on commonalities is especially useful when tackling gender inequalities, but that the possible solutions must adapt to local conditions (taking into account a country’s history and culture), and that the ideological neoliberalism has played an important role in fragmenting the representation of women as a homogenous unit of analysis.

Mohanty (1998) argues that western feminist scholarship has produced an image of third world women as a homogeneous and powerless group, often represented as victims of particular socio-economic systems (women as victims of war crimes, women as refugeesaˆ¦), on the basis of a shared oppression. The focus should instead be on the common differences (the common experience of social exclusion, for instance) as the basis for solidarity and collective mobilization, which are achieved through an active engagement with diversity. Issues like poverty and (gender) inequality require collective bargaining despite the involvement of actors polarized along caste, class, gender, linguistic and ethnic lines (Emmerij et al, 2009), as is the case in the case study that follows. The Sangtin (literally meaning friendship in Awadhi, a language spoken in parts of Uttar Pradesh) writers, a group of seven female village-level NGO activists from the hierarchical state of Uttar Pradesh, in India, put forward a collective critique against institutional patriarchies, thus enacting a politics of solidarity among themselves, despite the differences within women’s collectives – the activists come from diverse caste and religious backgrounds. Their critiques are directed at Nari Samato Yohana (NSY), a donor-funded NGO and a World Bank Initiative that works to empower poor rural women. The writers highlight the paradoxes of NGO politics as these organizations can be both empowering in theory (through the encouragement of grassroots activism) and elitist in practice (in the form of donor-driven priorities and evaluations). They analyze processes of hierarchical character of donor-driven women’s empowerment organizations that often disregard rural women’s knowledge and expertise. Women’s NGOs in Uttar Pradesh are being increasingly pressured by funding agencies, which attach no value to grassroots work until that work is measured by the standards of the funders. Furthermore, these NGOs that are aiming to empower poor women in rural communities are staffed and dominated by Hindu and upper-caste grassroots workers, while rural-based, less formally educated workers find themselves at the margins of institutional spaces, with little say on the running of the organization (Nagar & Sangtin Writers, 2006). More generally, the activists challenge the popular perception that NGOs are potential agents for diffusing development and enabling empowerment, because hierarchical processes within NGOs can impede their stated goals of empowerment, class differences reinforced through the hierarchical structures of NGOs (male- and upper-caste-dominated). Thus, the Sangtin writers are not mere victims of the hierarchical processes – as Mohanty would argue they are represented by some western feminist texts – as they resist and challenge.

The role of global initiatives and institutions in addressing gender inequalities is significant. Although the UN Decade for Women and the four global women’s conferences held in Mexico, Copenhagen, Nairobi and Beijing between 1975 and 1995 did not find as much common ground between women worldwide as anticipated, the conferences elevated gender equality to the center of the global development agenda and internationalized the issue of women’s equality (”unless development is engendered, it is endangered”). The consensus was that women should lead development rather than the earlier view, in which women were seen as being affected positively or negatively by economic development policies, and were integrated into the development process as victims. Both views, however, assume that all third world women have similar problems and needs. Despite this shift in the development discourse that has moved women from the periphery to the center and acclaimed them as the holders of solutions to global problems, the poverty of the world’s women has increased and intensified. Global economic and political processes (i.e. globalization) have exacerbated economic, racial and gender inequalities. Jain (2005) points to a restlessness within the women’s movements that has led to a partial failure of the movement to reach the ‘next stage of development’. Differences – of location, race, class, sexuality, and religion – have at times been emphasized at the expense of the commonalities that can build strength to move forward. It is important to emphasize, however, that the existence of gender inequalities have radically different, historically specific explanations as the next case studies will show. Thus, superficially similar situations cannot be treated as identical. Furthermore, as Lourdes Arizpe argues, the construction of gender in every society is a cultural phenomenon. The way in which these differences are constructed will depend on the culture of every society, and it is through the use of cultural analysis that gender inequalities can be understood (Arizpe, cited in Jain, 2005). The case studies (based on Chant & McIlwaine, 1998) involves analyzing the challenges women face in two very different countries – Malaysia and Zimbabwe – and to specifically see how gender inequalities need to be tackled and addressed in each case.

On one hand, Malaysia has experienced high levels of economic growth in the last few decades, mainly due to export-oriented industrialization. It is an ethnically heterogeneous and pluralistic society. Social indicators reflect relatively high levels of human development, but when these are differentiated by gender it appears that men have made greater gains than women in most areas. The adult literacy rate among women is 75.4% compared with 87.8% among men. In terms of political participation, in 1994 women represented only 10% of seats at local and parliamentary levels and 7% of ministerial posts. Employment opportunities have increased and diversified in the context of rapid industrialization, but the ethnic Malay have been granted preferential access to opportunities. On the other hand, Zimbabwe is an ethnically homogenous country, in a transition from a white-dominated British colony to a democratic black republic. Although the government has focused on post-colonial restructuring and nation-building, gender issues have not been entirely sidelined. Women were of significant importance in the liberation war for Zimbabwe, by proving food, shelter, clothing and paramedical and intelligence services. Their active participation led to the new independence government to take active steps towards gender equality by setting up, in 1981, a Ministry for Community Development and Women’s Affairs (MCDWA). Zimbabwe is still a predominantly rural country, with only 30% of its population residing in urban areas in 1992, and remains a patriarchal society. In the case of Malaysia, women’s issues are then seen through the lens of political representation, and addressing gender inequalities should be put in the context of ethnic inequalities. A specific solution would be to introduce quota systems to increase the number of women in political office and to enable women to fully participate in and influence decision-making. In the case of Zimbabwe, land access for women is a major problem given the patriarchal nature of society where most of the land parcels are owned by men. As such, land redistribution should be incorporated into the debate on how to reduce gender inequalities. A country’s history, culture and ethnic diversity, among others, should be taken into account when addressing gender inequalities, because while women might share a common experience of oppression -whether in Malaysia or Zimbabwe – the specific policy measures needed will vary significantly.

Women in the Third World have had to bear the brunt of globalization – this is not an essentialist claim, but a generalization based on statistical evidence. Poor women are hardest hit by the degradation environmental conditions, wars, famines, privatization of services and the dismantling of welfare states (Mohanty, 2003). The structural adjustment programs many poor countries have had to adapt in order to receive loans from the international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have disproportionately squeezed women out of public sector employment, for example. Amy Lind’s (2002, 2003) research on Ecuador, however, challenges monolithic and globalized representations of women as victims of the globalization process, which have been made more difficult by a shift to neoliberalism and local women’ organizations – most of which of a working-class and rural in nature – becoming the new targets of development policy. Since the early 1980s successive Ecuadorian governments have received loans and implemented IMF/World Bank inspired structural adjustment programs (SAPs), which have had gendered impacts in the economy. These neoliberal policies affect women differently, the impact of which depends largely upon women’s class, race, ethnicity and geographical location. As stated above, women in general have tended to lose out in this process, but this is particularly true for poor, rural indigenous women. Some women (especially women working within the state) have gained as a result of privatization policies and decentralization.

Neoliberalism has had two opposing effects. On the one hand, it has provided the framework under which diverse political movements and actors have converged to challenge and reflect dissatisfaction with the neoliberal economic model and the lack of democratic progress under Abdala Bucaram Ortiz’s presidency. A visible women’s movement emerged as women activist in political parties, NGOs, rural and community based organizations, in political parties and in human rights organizations became increasingly frustrated with their marginalized roles under the new politico-economic system. They all invoked a form of strategic essentialism in an attempt to challenge the state and remake the nation in order to give women a greater voice in state policy affairs, and participated in the national strike leading up to President Ortiz’s removal from office. At the same time that women (as a unitary group) were rising to challenge President Ortiz’s policies, neoliberalism has exacerbated the differences between the women movements and fractured them. In the neoliberal context, economic and social disparities between women working with the state (state feminists) and poor, rural indigenous women who are the targets of state policies have become more apparent. This may contribute to a further fragmentation of a unified feminist movement, Lind (2003) argues, which is now characterized more by separate struggles than by any unified notion of a social movement, in the process of becoming a remnant of the past. Since neoliberalism positions women as clients for the state’s resources they are positioned in competition with each other for such resources. In short, while there is overlap between all the feminist strands, there is growing disagreement between feminist policy makers and activists regarding where women fit in the development arena, and whether there speak with a single, or multiple, fragmented voices.

In conclusion, essentialist and anti-essentialist positions are located at the extreme ends of a spectrum. Addressing inequalities from these extremes does not represent a viable position. In order to move away from the essentialist/anti-essentialist dichotomies it is important to understand women not as completely different from each other, and at the same avoiding to assimilate them into a single dominant identity. Therefore, ”we need to look to the middle ground between essentialism and gender skepticism to find ways of talking about women that neither do violence to our diversity, nor represent us as inconsolably different” (Heyes, 2000). Furthermore, women should neither be portrayed as victims to be rescued or heroines that hold the key to lift their countries and communities out of poverty. These ‘extreme’ stances do not help in understanding the solutions that are needed to address women discrimination and inequalities. It seems that the best way forwards is for the struggle for gender equality to be channeled at various levels and through a variety of initiatives – from the involvement of local women’s groups, to NGOs at local, regional and international levels, governments and multilateral institutions – and by not homogenizing their experiences. There will always be a framework of collective solidarity through which women can address the issue of gender inequality.

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People who are stigmatised as socially and morally unacceptable will have a tendency to turn to further rule breaking in the future. Discuss using one or more of the major sociological theories covered in the module

Stigma theories explain the exclusion of stigmatised person’s from normal social interaction. The author will focus on the social reaction theory (also known as labelling theory) and how influential sociologists have developed different theories. By examining how the labelling theory is applied to chronic illness and deviance. Therefore, the reader will understand. The reader will understand how people who are stigmatised as socially and morally unacceptable will have a tendency to turn to further rule breaking in the future. The author will look at the works of Edwin Lemert and Howard Becker’s theoretical concept of labelling. Also, Erving Goffman and his study on stigma and the management of self followed by an example of Scrambler theory on epilepsy and finally looking at some of the coping techniques given by Goffman. But firstly, we need to understand exactly what the term stigma means.

The term ‘stigma’ was initially used to refer to bodily signs burnt or cut into the body to distinguish, criminals, and social out-casts as “contaminated” people, Goffman (1968). Also, Goffman defines stigma as difference between a virtual social identity – that is the stereotyped imputations we make in everyday life and actual social identity- that is those attributes which an individual does actually process. According to Goffman stigma is a special kind of relationship between attribute and stereotype and it is the process by which the reaction of others spoil normal identity.

In demonstrating the sociological ideas such as the interactionism theory of deviance by Becker (1963), stated that Social groups create deviance by making the rules and apply those rules to particular people and labelling them as outsiders. Becker then examined the possible effects upon an individual of being publicly labelled defining an individual as a particular kind of person. However, a label is not neutral: it contains an evaluation of the person to whom it is applied. It is a master status in the sense that it colours all the other statuses possessed by the individual. For instance; if an individual is labelled as a criminal, mentally ill or homosexual, such labels largely override their status in which people see them and respond to them in terms of those labels, and tend to assume they have the negative characteristics normally associated with such labels.

Therefore, since individuals self-concepts are largely derived from the responses of others, they will tend to see themselves in terms of the label which produces self- fulfilling prophecy whereby the deviant identification becomes the controlling one.

Becker identified possible stages in this process; Firstly, an individual is publicly labelled as deviant. This may lead to rejection from many social groups such as family and friends, loss of employment and possibly be forced out of their neighbourhood.

Secondly this may also encourage further deviance; for example; drug addicts may turn to crime to support the habit since respectable employers refuse to give them a job. And thirdly the official treatment of deviance may have similar effects in which they have difficulty finding employment and are forced to return to crime for their livelihood. Becker stressed the importance of public identification of the deviance label that can lead to further deviance and can even change individual’s self concept so that they came to regard themselves as deviant for the first time.

However, interactionism has been criticised on definition of deviance. Lemert and Becker argued that deviance was created by the social group who defined acts as deviant. Young, et, al (1973), however, claimed that this view was mistaken to them most deviance can be defined in terms of the actions of those who break social rules, rather than in terms of the reaction of a social audience. Furthermore, interactionism is deterministic it assumes that, once a person has been labelled, their deviance will inevitably become worse. The labelled person has no option but to get more and more involved in deviant activities and it fails to explain why individuals commit deviant acts in the firs place.

On the other hand, the example of mental illness, Goffman (1968) suggested that people who are labelled mentally ill it’s in the interest of others to label them so. For example Esterson’s (1964) found a families claims that their daughter is suffering from schizophrenia but when he studied the home circumstances, he found that the parents had flatly refused to accept that their daughter was growing up and had themselves acted in bizarre and whispering behind her back and spying on her.

The daughter was experiencing the behaviour which parents claimed she had invented by imposing a definition of mental illness on their daughters actions and they successfully prevented her from gaining independence. As a result, Goffman (1968) stated that once someone is labelled as mentally ill, then others treat them differently. In this sense whatever actions the person undertakes will be evaluated with the knowledge that the person is mentally ill and therefore what they say or do cannot be taken at face value.

However, Gove (1982) argues that labelling theories approaching mental illness are both overstated and largely incorrect. Rejecting the view that most people respond to mental illness negatively, arguing instead that people around the mentally ill person are supportive for instance; family members and friends sometimes support their mentally ill patient.

Nevertheless, Helman (1986) found that illness with a negative moral label attached to it, such as lung cancer and obesity. The person who suffers from such a disease is regarded as blameworthy because aspects of their chosen lifestyle which are believed to have caused the disease. For example AIDS is linked to sexual activity, lung cancer to smoking and obesity to over eating and lack of exercise.

These images of illness can have a powerful effect upon how people with disease see themselves and how others see them. They may feel guilt for actually having the disease. Therefore, the resulting shame and the sense of being different and inferior have been examined by Goffman (1968) who suggested that certain people who have undesirable differentness are stigmatized by others and regard them as tainted and discounted.

One of the major types of stigma relevant to the sociology of health and illness is physical deformity. Goffman distinguishes between a discrediting stigma such as a clear visible disfigurement or disability and a discreditable stigma where the negative undesired difference is not obvious and the person has the possibility of hiding it.

People who have discrediting attributes according to Goffman deal with their potential difficulties day to day interacting with others through impression management. This lowers the chances of humiliation or other problems. One of the techniques used is covering for example; the person will engage in most normal activities, but will seek to minimize the impact of their stigma by conforming as much as possible to standard norms of behaviour. People with discreditable attributes can seek to hide their attributes and avoid stigma, or undertake information management for example; controlling what they tell others. The two main strategies for the person with discreditable attributes are passing and withdrawal. Passing is seeking to hide the discreditable attribute and withdrawal is when the person withdraws from social contact wherever possible. For instance; this could affects for instance people living with HIV in two ways. firstly, it has been linked to delays and/or avoidance of care seeking because of fears of further stigmatisation, while others seek carer to avoid chance meetings with neighbours, friends or other associates

Scrambler (1986) used Goffman’s concept of stigma to study people with epilepsy. In which they made distinctions in the concepts of stigma by distinguishing enacted stigma and felt stigma. (enacted stigma) refers for instance to discrimination against people with epilepsy on the grounds of their perceived unacceptability or inferiority. Felt stigma refers principally to the fear of enacted stigma but also encompasses a feeling of shame associated with being epileptic.

However, People will respond negatively to those with epilepsy (enacted stigma) and

Individuals with the disease have found ways of managing it (felt stigma). Scrambler,

Suggested that people will respond in at least four ways to felt stigma

Firstly; Selective concealment – is when people do not tell the majority of those with

whom they interact in the work place or leisure activities, schools and so on. Usually

people follow a plan of disclosure, under what circumstances they can hide their

illness and in what situations they should let others know. Second is Covering up –

the discreditable condition and keeping it secret. This runs a risk of being exposed.

Third is condemning the condemners where people challenge the enacted stigma often through political action and lastly, Medicalizing their behaviour to evoke sympathy.

However, Charlton (1998) criticized these approaches to understanding stigma, at least when applied to disabilities. He suggests that the reality for disabled people across the world is that they are poor as result of being excluded form decent employment, as well as because of stigmatizing attitudes.

In conclusion, looking at the sociological evidence of people who are socially stigmatised, the reaction theories, such as deviance and labelling attached to the mentally ill, epilepsy and chronic illness is that once a persons known to have the label attached to them, they feel contaminated in their community in which leads to further behaviour. Moreover, Goffman offered ways of coping in which people hide their identities as result of fear for disclosure and reaction from society. However, the sociological evidence is that people who are socially stigmatised fear more the reaction of society than the actual condition.

How Stereotypical Gender Characteristics are Shaped by Society

Generally, when comparing the differences between males and females, you immediately think of their biological body parts. However, there is another way to differentiate males and females; by their behaviours. Males and females are commonly associated with opposing characteristics. That is to say, men are generally seen as being more aggressive while women are associated to being more nurturing (Shaw, 150 class lecture, Oct 19). What is it exactly that creates this difference in behaviour? Some sociologists suggest that it is due to biological factors. However, I believe that these differences in behaviour are the result of society’s influences. The social process known as gender socialization is established in early childhood and further developed and supported throughout life (Shaw, 150 class lecture, Oct 19). At an early age, you are introduced to gender differences by your parents. Throughout your childhood and adolescence, these gender roles are supported by the media, the schools and your peers. If you consider some of the other cultures in the world you will notice that the behaviours of the males and females there aren’t the same as what we expect here in North America (Haaland & Schaefer, 2009). I believe that gender isn’t defined by one’s biological sex but rather the stereotypical behaviours that are constructed by society. In this essay, I will be addressing a few important agents of socialization and their impact in constructing these stereotypical gender roles.

Parents: The first agent of socialization

From the moment you entered this world, your parents applied social and cultural stereotypes about femininity and masculinity on to you (Haaland & Schaefer, 2009). They did so by pre-selecting the colours of your room, your wardrobe, the toys you play with and when you were old enough, they designated certain chores for you to do (Peters, 1994). All these factors played a crucial role in the gender socialization process. For all you girls, your parents probably gave you a pink room, made you wear dresses and gave you dolls and easy-bake ovens to play with. They probably described you as being “pretty”, “cute”, “sweet” or “angelic” rather than being “tough”, “rugged” or “strong” (Haaland & Schaefer, 2009). In a study about the distribution of chores at home, the boys were more likely to end up with maintenance, yard and car work where as girls were more likely to be given housework like laundry and dishwashing (Peters, 1994). Because of this designation, boys and girls grow up performing the tasks that they are more familiar with.

When you consider the types of toys that parents buy for their children, you will notice a general trend. Boys tend to get cars, trucks, building blocks and action figures (Martin, 1998). The toy cars and trucks establish an early interest in vehicles. The building blocks emulate construction work and architecture. The action figures not only suggest physical play but they also illustrate the ideal body image of men. If you look at the male action figures these days, they all illustrate exaggerated muscular characteristics (Haaland & Schaefer, 2009). It is likewise for the girls. However, instead of getting cars and blocks, they get Barbie dolls and baby simulation dolls. The Barbie dolls had equally exaggerated body images. They left the impression that girls needed have ultra thin figures (Haaland & Schaefer, 2009). These toys all served a common purpose of establishing what it means to be a “boy” and a “girl”.

Parents also had control over what movies and TV shows they wanted their kids to watch. This leads to the next agent of socialization; the media.

The Subtle Messages Expressed by the Media

The media has a very strong influence in gender socialization. When I say the media, I am referring to Disney movies, Saturday morning cartoons and video games. Disney movies were a huge part of every childhood. In a video regarding the gender stereotypes portrayed in Disney films, men and women were commonly portrayed in regards to their stereotypes (Shaw, 150 Lecture). That is to say, men were all illustrated as brave, muscular, aggressive people who always save the day with physical violence. Women were portrayed as being thin, delicate, helpless people who always needed to be saved by the males. Children are very impressionable, so of course they will want to be just like their favourite Disney characters. How will they go about doing this? By emulating these stereotypical behaviours.

Cartoons and video games only help to support these stereotypes (Dietz, 1998). In cartoons and video games, you are more likely to see male protagonists who save the day. Also, you are very likely to see females either as the support character who cheers on the male protagonist on his goals or as the helpless damsel in distress. Video games are no different. Take the Mario brother for example. Here you see two male heroes who have to save a princess from a monster. Movies, cartoons and video games are all the same in the sense that they either lack representation or misinterpret females (Butler, Ciccone, Petrin, Rawlings, & Yi, 2002).

Peer Pressure and the Hidden Curriculum

The next major agents of socialization are the peers and the school. It is through the parents and media that the gender roles are learned. It is at school with teachers and friends that these gender roles are reinforced. In the study conducted by Martin (1998), she observed the daily behaviours of pre-school students. Martin noticed that the boys tended to play with building blocks where as the girls liked to play dress up. When it came to clothing, boys wore primary colours, black, green and orange (Martin, 1998). Girls were commonly seen to be wearing pink. It was observed that about 61% of the girls in the class were wearing pink and roughly 25% were wearing dresses. The girls were frequently complimented by the teacher as looking very pretty and cute (Martin, 1998). Another aspect that Martin examined was the typical sitting behaviour of the children. This was classified as being either relaxed or formal. It was observed that 80% of the boys sat “relaxed” while 82% of the girls sat in a “formal” manner (Martin, 1998). Martin also noticed that the teacher reinforced formal sitting behaviour more strongly for the girls than for the boys.

Not only were the teachers supporting appropriate gender behaviours but fellow peers were as well. In this situation, one little girl wearing a dress-like shirt is leaning her body over to create a “tunnel”. As she leans, her shirt rises up exposing her back. This is when another female student comes and pulls the shirt back over her bare skin and gives it a pat to keep it in place (Martin, 1998). This illustrates two things: one of them is that fellow peers reinforce the “appropriate” gender behaviours and that these “appropriate” behaviours are already imbedded into children at a very young age.

These “appropriate” gender behaviours are continually followed and further developed throughout elementary, secondary and post secondary. In an experiment conducted on university students (Haaland & Schaefer, 2009), students were asked to behave in ways that they regarded to be violating gender norms. Even at the university level, these students identified the same associating gender behaviours as they would have in their childhood.

Cultural Differences Lead to Differences in Gender Behaviours

Although you may believe that all males and females act as we expect them to, you are not entirely correct (Haaland & Schaefer, 2009). Gender behaviours vary from culture to culture. An anthropologist by the name of Margaret Mead explains her findings in favour of gender socialization. If biology did in fact determine the differences between the sexes then cross-cultural differences, like the ones that Mead encountered, should not exist (Haaland & Schaefer, 1998). In her studies of three different cultures in New Guinea she noticed that the behaviours of the males and females differed quite significantly (Haaland & Schaefer, 2009). Mead describes the typical behaviours of the three cultures:

“In one [the Arapesh], both men and women act as we expect women to act-in a mild parental responsive way; in the second [the Mundugumor], both act as we expect men to act-in a fierce initiating fashion; and in the third [the Tchambuli], the men act according to our stereotypes for women-are catty, wear curls, and go shopping-while the women are energetic, managerial, unadorned partners.”

As we can see, the different cultures are a crucial factor in determining the differences in behaviours between the sexes. If males and females were biologically meant to act and think in a certain way, then there wouldn’t be so much variation between cultures.

Conclusion

In North America, we have the perception that males need to be aggressive, macho and muscular while females are thinner, smaller and more nurturing. These perceptions are taught to us at an early age and are reinforced throughout our lives. Starting from childhood, we begin to learn about and emulate these gender behaviours. With the help of our parents, Disney movies, toy figures, school and peers, these gender behaviours are more strongly embedded into our minds. Gender differences are constructed by society’s influences. Mead clearly observed the presence of cultural conditioning and its effects on the three different cultures in New Guinea. Although our sexes are biologically defined, the way we associate our behaviours and characteristics are not. Our socialized genders are defined by the culture and society that surrounds us.

Bibliography

Butler, A., Ciccone, A., Petrin, M., Rawlings, T., & Yi, W. (2002). Gender Role Socialization and Inequality. 360-361. Retrieved from http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/CASAE/cnf2002/2002_Papers/rtbutler_a&etal2002w.pdf

Dietz, T. L. (1998). An Examinationof Violence and Gender Role Portrayals in Video Games: Implications for Gender Socialization and Aggressive Behaviour. Sex Roles. (38). 425-442. Retrieved from http://springerlink.metapress.com.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/content/r326135512365r40/fulltext.pdf

Haaland, B., & Schaefer, R. T. (2009). Sociology: A brief introduction. (3rd Canadian Ed.). Canada: McGraw-Hill.

Martin, K. A. (1998). Becoming a Gendered Body: Practices of Preschools. American Sociology Review. (63) 494-511.

Peters, J. F. (1994). Gender socialization of adolescents in the home: research and discussion. Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2248/is_n116_v29/ai_16477249/

When somebody mentions the word ‘feminism’ it often sparks stereotypical ridicule surrounding unattractive women who can’t get a man, mainly stirred up by subjective political publishing. In reality what was achieved by feminists throughout the 19th, 20th and 21st century has paved the way for a more intellectual and emotional acceptance of women in modern society. When we discuss the subject of feminism we automatically begin to consider the work of radical, Marxist and liberal feminists, but in order to understand the thoughts and feelings of this enlightening subject we must observe the work of not only feminists but other theorists, in an attempt to analyse the changing views of women from the 1960s onwards. The start of the sexual revolution remains prominent within our discussion, and throughout this essay we will refer to academic material in an attempt to educate ourselves on the thoughts and theories of the changing sexuality of women from the first wave of feminism onwards.

landmark book the second sex offered women an existential and intellectual framework where by women could break down the barriers of social conditioning and take control of their own lives and sexuality, her famous words ‘one is not born a woman, one becomes one’ offered an iconic phrase which would help support the movement of the sexual revolution of the 1960s.

The sexual politics which took place throughout the 1960s and 1970s cannot be discussed without talking about the highly publicised second wave of feminism. The combination of student protests and medically prescribed contraceptives made it possible for women to own their own sexuality and move away from the confinement of sexual pleasure in the boundaries of a heterosexual marriage (Escoffier, 2003). The previous century has been that of a bourgeois one, where sexuality was held on the strict basis of a heterosexual family (Ollman, 1979). Marxist writer William Reich offered a revolutionary sexual radicalism which argued that capitalism sexually repressed the masses in the interest of its exploitative goals (Ollman, 1979).

Betty Friedan (1963) is often referred to as the ‘mother of the movement’. When her book the feminine mystique was published in 1963 she discussed the roles of women in industrial societies, whose main aim was to fulfil the stifling role of homemaker; for women these traditional roles were often deemed unsatisfying: emotionally, intellectually and also sexually, as she quoted “no woman gets an orgasm from shining the kitchen floor” (Women’s History, 2011). Betty Friedan (1963) was also noted for criticising Freud’s theory known as ‘penis envy’ along with feminist writer

Karen Horney (Hichcock, 2005). Horney describes how it is men who are adversely affected by their inability to bear children, she referred to this as ‘womb envy’, and Freud saw Horney’s theory as being a striking example of her own personal penis envy (Hitchcock, 2005). Horney and other feminist theorists have gone on to describe Freud’s work as condescending and distorted surrounding his opinion of women being inferior to men (Hitchcock, 2005).

Many feminist writers gained a high level of interest in the work of Foucault (1978) whose work is highly prevalent when discussing sexuality of the 1970s and power (Hekman, 1996). Foucault (1978) argued that sexuality was ‘regulated and controlled’. His theory of the body and sexuality has allowed feminists to appropriate it due to the consequences of drawing a distinction between sex and gender, which allows us to challenge the idea that a women’s biological make up is her social destiny (Foucault, 1978). The views of sexuality altered greatly from the 1960s onwards. It was a period of high criticism of the conventional heterosexual practices of sex, and the liberation of gay men and lesbians meant there was a positive control of identity (Escoffier, 2003). The gay liberation challenged the essentialist view of the ‘natural sex’, however for many gay and lesbian activists sexual exploration was not the only goal; the importance was recognition for the need to change. Essentialist theorists argue that sexuality has a reproductive function and how vaginal intercourse is seen as ‘the sex’ (Duggan, Hunter, 1995).

By observing Foucault’s (1978) literature the ‘history of sexuality’ we can see an anti-essentialist account of the sexual body. Foucault (1978) argued that the construct of the ‘natural sex’ functions in order to disguise the productive operation of power in relation to human sexuality. Based on Foucault’s (1978) work, Judith butler (1990) discusses that the notion of ‘natural sex’ naturalises the regulatory idea of natural heterosexuality which then goes on to reinforce constraints on sexuality. McNay (1992) outlines how Foucault’s history of sexuality “exposes the contingent and socially determined nature of sexuality”. McNay (1992) argues that this frees the body, allowing the breakdown of heterosexuality and the emergence of new realms of pleasure.

Much of the debates surrounding sexuality during the 1960s and 1970s were viewed as having a large emphasis of the theories of pleasure and power. On the way into the 1980s the importance for feminists shifted onto the subject of the degrading acts towards women through the process of sado-masochism, pornography and prostitution (Strud, 2010). Feminists have been noted for arguing that pornography works in the exploitation of women which in turn contributes to the male objectification of women and sexism (Strud, 2010).

A prominent figure in the anti-pornography movement was Andrea Dworkin, a feminist who aligned herself with the far-right movement (Strud, 2010). Dworkin and her fellow radical feminists characterised pornography as an industry of damaging abuse, and frequently discussed prostitution as a system of severe exploitation (Strud,

2010). Dworkin also suggested that heterosexual intercourse is a key factor in the subordination of patriarchy (Strud, 2010). Third wave feminists known as lipstick feminists made attempts to reclaim sexual power (Duggan, Hunter, 1995). They argued that dressing provocatively and maintaining sexual allure empowers women, it is also suggested that these feminists did not see a conflict between stripping, exhibitionism, girl-on-girl displays or pornography with feminism (Duggan, Hunter, 1995).

A criticism of the third wave is often how it came about. The first and second wave are acknowledged as coming from a period where the main aim at hand were women’s rights, it was a period where politics were intertwined with culture (Agger, 1992). The third wave which is also refereed to as the ‘feminist sex wars’ rose from the popular culture of punk rock, consumerism and the birth of modern technologies and outlets such as mobile telephony and the internet (Agger, 1992). It has been discussed how there is often tension between the second and third wave of feminism due to the methods used to gain attention for important causes. However when these are observed we can elucidate that the methods used, such as lipstick feminists sexual allure or Riot Grrrl bands political anarchist lyrics, they can be deemed appropriate for the fast chaning modern culture of the 1980s and 1990s (Leonard, 1997).

“Some people think little girls should be seen and not heard, but I think Oh bondage up yours”, lyrics sang by Poly Styrene of X-Ray Spex (1977), one of the female punk rock bands who were part of the feminist anarchy movement. As can be observed by

many of the lyrics of such bands, there is a level of sexual empowerment in the female youth of the 1980s and 1990s. Riot Grrrls were seen to not meet the needs of all women, mainly due to the white middle class youth orientation (Agger, 1992). Riot Grrrls were seen to succeed in the overturning of the male hegemonic punk culture, “Turn the tables with our unity- They neither moral nor majority – Wake up and smell the coffee – Or just say no to individuality” quoted by L7 (1992), this supports the sense of community felt among young girls, who felt a sense of alienation from mainstream culture (Leonard, 1997).

A prominent band in the Riot Grrrl movement was Bikini Kill (1998), there powerful, political and sexual songs featured heavily in the popular culture of American youth feminism, with lyrics such as “Just’ cause my world, sweet sister, is so fucking goddamn full of rape – does that mean my body must always be a source of pain”. Christine Hoff Sommers (1994) discusses women who have betrayed feminism, she talks about an article written by Roiphe in the New York Times Sunday Magazine. In the article Roiphe accuses feminists of defining rape “to include any kind of sex a woman experiences as negative” (Sommers, 1994). This could be seen as challenging for feminists who were attempting to educate girls that sex without their consent constitutes as rape. Although Riot Grrrls did not achieve any radical changes for women, they were seen to make differences on a more individual level, supporting the female youth on issues such as sexual abuse and rape, which are seen as important factors in the subject of female sexual empowerment (Agger, 1992).

Duggan and Hunter (1995) discussed that the controversial ‘sex wars’ which focussed on debates surrounding “political and cultural battles over sexuality” in the 1980s and 1990s, also characterised key feminist debates of the second wave. The false stereotypes of feminists such as anti-male, fat, humourless, bra-burning were seen to be actively challenged in the third wave (Hollows, Moseley, 2006). It is also discussed that some of what is currently referred to as ‘third wave feminism’ is indistinguishable from popularised atheoretical post feminism; Michelle Goldberg (2001) describes this as ‘shopping and fucking’. We can observe by this that where third wave feminists viewed their actions as being methods of sexual control politically and culturally, early theorists and feminists conduced their behaviour was un-intellectual and made important issues void by allowing them to revolve around hotter-sex, designer shoes, intimidating clothing and expensive make-up (Hollows, Moseley, 2006).

The acknowledgement of theorists and feminists has allowed us a deeper insight into the views of sexuality from the 1960s onwards. What is interesting is how different feminist theories began to differ in aims on the way into the 1980s. The common aim had been to liberate women from the societal constraints, not only in public places but also in the privacy of their own home. There remained however a range of strong views surrounding heterosexuality and the mystery of the ‘female orgasm’, with the liberation of gay men, lesbian women and straight women sexually, the traditional theories, such as essentialism were challenged. The changes made by feminists cannot be denied, changes that span over decades and in some cases centuries, it is easy to

take for granted the sexual freedom that can be experienced by women in modern society, however when we observe feminist history we can begin to understand the sacrifices that have been made on behalf of women and the empowerment of female sexuality. This is their legacy.

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Gender stereotypes are associated with the phenomenon of female employment in specific job types. This paper in general looks at the nature of stereotyping. Many researchers have documented this issue in their works and hence this paper goes a mile to look at this phenomenon of stereotyping in countries of Africa, Asia and South Africa.

It surveys the relevant materials documented on this topic. This presentation will look at the reviews of existing measures on gender stereotyping. This presentation goes a mile further to detail the dynamic concept of gender stereotyping and tries to suggest measures brought in by developing countries can be accommodated. Lastly these presentation analyses the aspect of stereotyping of occupations in the developing countries.

Documented evidence of gender stereotyping has been done with many writers and researchers all of them giving vital reasons as to why discussion of occupational segregation on labor market at large. This has been done by many including Hakim (1979), Elia (1988), Anker (1998) and Reskin & Hartmann (1986)

Occupational isolation occurs when different people participate in different kinds of occupations and there exists rigidity in the mobility of groups or people from one occupation to another. This presentation looks majorly at such occupational segregation which occurs along gender lines. We often find occupations which are termed ‘male’ or ‘female’ specific. Women and male workers have been divided and consideration for jobs in each gender group is segregated. Female candidates are not considered for male prioritized jobs and the same for the women. Less demanding and less paying jobs are left for women while men compete for the well paying through which the issue of gender isolation is widely brought out. This kind of segregation reduces efficiency and this is the point where gender stereotyping is evident.

Women are concluded in thoughts to be house wife and many still have the generalization that women will still transfer the way they work in the house to the job place. This has lead to differential in wage payment forcing women to be paid in the lower rated jobs while men are paid heavily in the state of high income jobs.

Thus, we view a subtle difference between segregation and stereotyping. Occupational segregation exists when men and women are differently distributed across occupations to a degree greater than is consistent with their overall shares of employment, irrespective of the nature of job allocation. Stereotyping is the phenomenon when the occupational segregation persists, maintains itself, and for a period of time continues to enrich itself fully between people. It is a concept that keeps on changing and full of life as compared to segregation which is static in a way. Stereotyping prohibits people to continue doing a job in the same group without changing a vice that has left female workers in a low class as compared to their counterparts. At this point the women remain in a poor state whereas men continue to prosper by advancing in other fields that require resources or opportunities that result out of occupation of such high cadre in the society.

A consensus has been yielded that globalization policies in developing countries have devalued the traditional set up of female work which include agriculture in particular agro based and small scale production. This has displaced women form this form of occupation to certain newly created job types. Facts prove also that women specific income and development projects do not receive the same funding of resources and attention hence leading to the concentration of women in marginal economic sectors. For sure concentration of women laborers has risen in ill paid and low skilled jobs living their counterparts in much higher paying jobs. Experiences from East European transition economies also reveal the fact that there is preponderance of over-employment of female labor force in certain employments. These are the jobs with longer working hours, shorter retirement rates, and lower wages. International labor organization studies on women in the labor market disclose the occupational segregation and the employment problem of the women in transition economies. Absorption of female workers is high in the informal sector activities in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Statistics from South American nations like Brazil, Jamaica and many others show that female laborers are strenuous in low-skilled job groups (Vickers, 1991).

Displacement from original spheres of activities for both genders have combined with increasing concentration of female labor in marginal activities like being employed in minimal works at the tail end of the production process in companies. Through this globalization has brought in indirect form of occupational segregation into gender types

The simplest measure of occupational segregation has been the sex ratio of the workers employed in the various occupations. If there exists q occupations indicated by ‘x’. Mx and Fx indicate respectively the number of male and female workers in the xth occupation, then Sx = Fx/ Mx indicate occupational segregation ratios. Higher Sx means that the particular occupation ‘x’ has more concentration of females relative to males. Degrees of gender segregation has been defined in order of ascendance of the measure =Sx. Higher values and lower values of the indicator helps to categorize the occupations as exclusively men (EXM), mainly men (M), mixed (MF), mainly women (F) and exclusively women (EXF). This gauge has been used by many researchers successfully (Reskin & Hartmann, 1986) to approximate the extent of segregation in different nations across occupations and also across jobs. Occupations are defined as aggregates over the cluster of jobs belonging to the occupation. Empirical data has shown that occupational segregation can smoothen out the extent of segregation across job types. So sometimes segregation across job types reveal the segregation across occupations. Whatever may be the extent of desegregation, this measure of segregation suffers from the absence of relativity as this does not measure relative concentration of females compared to males in the occupations. Several other models are available but all with an objective to illustrate discrimination against gender.

Occupational isolation is thus the main precondition for existence and generation of gender stereotyping. Since it is difficult to get together similar data of worldwide distribution of occupational gender distribution, the work of identifying the emerging stereotype work zones worldwide still remains. However, one can get a feel of the trouble from the data laid done in tables below. The practical figures regarding earnings differential of female and male workers can be taken to be an indication of occupational segregation.

This problem is an unrelenting one and also a developing one mostly in the developing countries and the transition economies. The process of globalization has also brought in new occupations and job types in the third world countries. This vice itself as a reinforcing process to create gender stereotypes. There is need to identify areas of existing and emerging stereotypes so that necessary actions can be taken to prevent such labor market rigidity.

What professions are considered exclusively for men, and what are professions typically for women. Is being a nurse a profession solely for women? Answering these questions, we, as a rule, are guided by personal experience and judgments of the people surrounding us. No wonder that, arguing on this topic, we often come across stereotypes.

As an example for, so-called «female professions»: teachers, baby-sitters and nurses can be given. On the basis of deep social norms and rules in society gender culture was created which for centuries made and reproduced the relations between men and women as a hierarchical, unequal, and subordinated relationship. However, there are cases when; on a modern labor market; runs against the certain ides of gender accessory of a given profession.

Stereotypes are formed within a culture. The established stereotypes act as norm for men and women. In the European countries the distinction between gender professions are becoming less and less appreciable, but, even now, in Third World countries there is a big difference between men’s and women’s professions. Men are considered “active”, (making the actions, solving problems, aggressive), and women are “communicative” (passive, emotional, not interested of business, and relationship between individuals).

Existing stereotypes of images of men and women operate as a magnifying glass, and the distinctions between men and women are emphasized in a much bigger degree, then they actually are.

Women are motivated on achievements differently because men and women at the heart have different things that motivate them.

The purpose of this study is to analyze all aspects and factors of motivation for male and female nurses. You might ask: Why is it important to study a nurse’s job for men and women? What does this study have to contribute? What are the benefits of knowing the causes of Gender differences in motivations? There are no small professions, all professions are important. It can contribute to equality in the workplace and ensure the same opportunities for people of equal experience regardless of gender. The benefits of knowing the cause is that once the causes are found a resolution can be made to make the workplace better and fairer to everyone.

Understanding and acceptance of the fact that each person, regardless of his gender is equal helps understand their identity, with the set of psychological qualities and properties, a muscularity and feminism ratio in mentality, will allow each identity and society as a whole to become more productive, developing and harmonious.

Purpose Of The Study

According to Dictionary, the motive (from Lat. Translate as motion, push) “is a combination of methods to explain and justify the actions of man” (Dictionary, 2010). There is a stereotype that men are giving more importance to winnings and excellence than women, and women often are not building career future plans; therefore, women motives to achieve a goal are lower. Although, in the large amount of women who are employed in female-dominated team in professional activities, such as teaching or nursing, achievement motivation is quite high. These features lead to conclusion that gender differences in an achievement motivation should be considered according with the type of goals. It is obviously that based on education the relations between performance and motivation to achieve higher goals is made compare between men and women. (Pavlovich, 2003)

According to scientists of Kazan (1977), the need for the achievements of women is not much higher than in men. However, not all scientists share this opinion; according to paper by Macek in 1973, it was shown that in detail review of motivations, male’s motivations compare with female’s motivations was stronger.

There are several points of view that affect the motivation achievement into both genders. The first is that women are motivated to achieve different than men. The second is that men and women are motivated by different needs. Emotional needs for women are more important than a goal achievement. The third point, that men and women have different degrees in a motivation achievement and implement them in various activities (Pavlovich, 2003).

If to consider the different motives in educational activity, males tend to acquire knowledge and profession, and female guide to receive a diploma (Nilsson, 2008).

The motivators are factors that influencing the decision, such as how and what needs should be satisfied. As a rule, men are more often named a valuation of own capabilities as a motivation factor, and women rely on people perception, for example, the choice of cloths.

During human behavior motivation, the person is guided by the values aˆ‹aˆ‹that he or she has accumulated during his life and perception. It is difficult to give a scheme of values differencesaˆ‹aˆ‹ because a different age and social status are required different values, but some examples can be said obviously. There are aesthetic, social, and spiritual values in the first place for women, and there are theoretical, economic, and political values for men, which can be tied to the practical success and the desire for power. However, in recent times, the values for men and women aˆ‹aˆ‹have changed a lot. Already, there are a health, friendship, and family life in the first place for men and women. A favorite job and pleasant free time are equal in value. It happens that men choose the social and family life instead career. For women, education and diploma began to dominate over the public. Thus, the traditional view of values for men and women are disappeared.

If to look on money as values, women more than men are impacted by opinion that incomes are influenced by hard work and abilities. Women evaluate money as a tool of buying things; for men, it is a tool of power; therefore, men rarely feel depression, anger, or helplessness without money (Pavlovich, 2003).

In consideration of the differences of interest among men and women, it can be noted that men are interested in solving problems, and women are more interested in making relationships. In general, men interests range is wider than women. Differences in the interest are determined some of the male benefits: the breadth of thinking and outlook, the objectivity of a great generalization. However, there are also disadvantages: low domestic adaptation, less pragmatic.

If to consider the interests of the activities, the women often will do activities that are already known (the interests of domestic and household), and men will do activities that have not done before (scientific and technical).

The study focuses on finding reasons of men and women motivation. As a method of studying the problem, literary studies will be used: papers, publications, and books. In the basis, more than 10 medical articles will be taken that include studies to determine the causes of the workplace motivation, the percentage behavior of positive to negative motivation, the causes to being a nurse among men, and the reasons for dismissal from the workplace.

Significance Of The Study

The studies of nurse’s motivation have long been popular topic. Because the nursing importance include: taking care of patients, performing diagnostic and treatment activities, and the amount of nurses is bigger in two times than doctors amount; it is important to create conditions for a motivated health care personnel.

Nursing profession has traditionally been viewed as prompted by internal motives; however, it is just one of the stereotypes. One more stereotype is that a nursing is a female profession, but, nowadays, men are taking this job more often.

The first mentioned about intrinsic motivation was made by Deci, E., in his concept of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is understood as a desire to perform the activities for awards, which is included in these activities. For a person with an internal motivation, it is important to be independent, acting in accordance with their internal motivation, not controlled externally.

Employee’s motives that encourage them to engage in employment may vary significantly.

In the paper, Butenko (2011) proposed to use a typological model of work motivation that is built at the intersection of two disparate axes: “motivation to achieve or avoid” and “active and constructive or destructive and passive labor behavior.” The author suggests four basic types of achievement motivation: instrumental, professional, patriotic, and a master’s opposite named the election. The most marked motivations on the medical staff are getting material goods, strengthening of social relatives, professional development, social security, altruism, and compassion. Also, in Butenko’s study (2011), a model of work motivation of medical staff called a “model of parallel type of motivation” is introduced. This model is based on an analysis of the psychological portrait of the individual. The model is emphasized three groups of doctors: “stability” of 51-63% of all medical staff, “energy” 24-28% of the staff, “creativity” of 9-16%. This method is proposed for clearly understanding of the work of employee’s stimulation.

In the Butenko’s (2011) article was proposed to divide motivation in factors.

The first factor is a bipolar; where, there is a variety of vectors, on the one hand, it is an “instrumental” and, on the other hand, it is “Money” and “Relationships.” This factor shows the focus on the spiritual satisfaction or interest. General Nurses are people who are more interested in status or social significance than money bonuses, or useful relationship, or patronage, and usually it is women.

The second factor also is a bipolar where, on the one hand, is “Recognition” and “Managers” and on the other side is a “Health”. The content traits of this vector are equal to the previous one, but in the first case the speech was about material motives, and, in the second case, the main point is about social component. In other words, social needs are more important for nurses. The goal of these workers to safe outputs for intellectual and physical resources and avoid novelty and warnings. On the other hand, nurses who aspire to independence, leadership, and career growth, have ambitions and the high demand for public praise. In addition, women and men may be equally related with this factor.

The third factor describes the employee’s interest in the content and process of work, motivation of creative expression and self-realization, readiness to perform monotonous work.

After separation factors into motivators, according to the Butenko’s article, the identification of motifs is not difficult.

If employers do not properly motivate their employees, no one will want to do their work on time, and in a hospital this can lead to the death of the patient. High stress and high workload affect the incentive to work. Therefore, the correct motivation may cause personnel not only work but also to carry out its work properly. This article by Bradford (2009) gives an idea of the most significant motivations for health care workers of both sexes: Recognition for a job well done, Food, Continuing education, Birthday cards, Team building, Communication, Respect.

Use at least half of them and it will lead to a good mood in the employee’s workplace and increase his awareness of the importance of the job. In the article by Sherman (2006) it was noted that the use of a communication strategy between nurses and nurses from different generations can help to overcome the bias it is also important to ensure that messages are clear, to avoid risk of errors that comes with communication failures. Different generations of nurses are using different forms of adverse communications from a simple conversation to electronic massages, so it is important to consider all this in motivation. Men are not prone to have long conversations with colleagues and reported in the phone, but they are also dependent on the exchange or board of another colleague. The article by McCabe (2005) points out other equally important motivators for work: the reward for work, protection of personnel. In this paper, the reward for work was the most popular factor, 94 percent of the total, the protection of workers amounted to only 57 percent. You can see that among the respondents, women were in need of more protection than men.

Intrinsic motivation is clearly visible in the intern staff. The article by Bartzak (2010) states that “self-motivated learning experiences can transform into a way of life once motivation and a reflexive learning process are in place: learning, experiential context, reflection, application to new experiences”. Organizational processes that incorporate this natural, lifelong approach increase the self-learner’s motivation toward learning, and ultimately build the nurse’s practice for the benefit of persons receiving care.

The aˆ‹aˆ‹Toode’s (2011) article makes a literary analysis of the existing articles to this day and identifies types of motivations, such as: nurses have been motivated by good collaboration between the nurse and the healthcare team, by social support inside the team and by positive team spirit in the ward. As regards to working culture, professional contacts and the nurse’s status as an equally valued health professional in a team appeared to be important motivators for nurses. Another important motivating factor was the high autonomy especially with regards to decision-making. The latter appeared to be extremely important in such situations where the job demands were high and there was insufficient information for planning new or ongoing activities (so-called environmental uncertainty), intensive care units being a case in point. Furthermore, nurses are motivated by opportunities to learn, such as sharing their knowledge with physicians and getting supervision, even argued that nurses associate specific patient populations with possibilities to get extra training, seeing them as job motives that make their work more interesting.

There are several barriers for men, who would like to become a nurse, such as gender stereotyping, low wages and lack of career growth. For many decades patient care was considered a low-skilled and low-paid job, in its specifics more suitable for young women (Pavlovich, 2003).

Society has long regulated gender roles and the gender shape of its members. In every culture, every era there are canons of normative masculinity and femininity.

Gender role: a set of specific sexual patterns of behavior that are expected from men and women. That is not a man meets a certain model, and the company requires him to play this role.

In society there are stereotypes about any topic. And some of them are not just based on prejudices and superstitions. These are all too common gender stereotypes that exist today. It is believed that the discrimination in the professional field only applies to women, but since Eton. Society allows a man to freely choose the activity, but society does not give the right to choose the areas traditionally considered “female” (such as a kindergartener, nurse, etc.). The Company monitors the absence of men in this area, setting an extremely low wages in this industry, as well as for the men is an important factor. And the society punishes “apostates”, raising them to laughter, questioning their masculinity, alluding to sexual inadequacy (Coleman & Roth, 2008).

The Company controls a man by threatening to discredit his “credibility.” Stereotype assumes that men cannot be as good as a woman to be careful and patient, gentle and compassionate, diligent and attentive. Stereotype dictates that men are poor performers, women are required to performing and serving activities (education, health, trade, social and domestic sphere), for men instrumental scope, technique, creativity and leadership, as well as heavy physical work is more suitable.

Modern women have mastered all professions, and can work anywhere. But the only barrier to the work of a nurse – is the emancipation of women. In today’s world, women are no longer content with the little. They are no longer satisfied with a small salary, low status, and a lack of career growth. In earlier days their main goal was to get married and have children, but now this is pushed aside. Women tend to be independent, earn more. But the work of nurses is not paid high enough. If you take this same area, work in medicine, the doctor’s job much more interesting more varied and has higher wages. More and more women are working in politics and in other places that used to be counted as too complex for women.

There is also the social stereotype that the nurse’s profession is not socially significant and promising.