Understanding Theories: Explaining the Social World

What is a theory? A theory is a system of ideas intended to explain something. Theories can be used to help understand the social world. There are many theories that point out how gender operates the world. In chapter we will see how theories are used to address gender in our society. Sex roles, doing gender, and intersectional feminist theory addresses gender in the following ways.

Sex role theory helps us understand gender because sex role, is when some set expectations are attached to a particular sex category (Robyn Ryle, p.

30). For example, according to American society the role of a women is to be the caregiver of them home, the one who is supposed to nurture while the men are provider of the family. The theory of sex roles addressed in this example because expectation such as being he caregiver and the provider of the family are attached to one particular gender. The difference between men and women were explained using the terms instrumental versus expressive.

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Instrumental is goal and task oriented, which is how men were thought to be (Robyn Ryle, p. 31). On the other hand, women were inclining to be more towards interaction with another pepe or expressive (Robyn Ryle, p.31). When some expectations like the women being the caregiver and men the provider society was faced with a dysfunction. As sex roles develop under functionalism it became something that was internalized and then men and women carried with them inside their heads (Robyn Ryle, p.32). Dispositions such as this one influenced how they thought and acted in situations.

For example, we perform the student role in classrooms, but we do not perform that way when we hang out with friends (Robyn Ryle, p.32). We put on takeoff social roles when we seem is necessary and it adapts to our environment. In contrast a master status is something we can not put on or take off when we seem fit in the situation.

Doing gender in the other hand is gender performance, it is constructed through interaction. Doing gender is informed by a particular approach called ethnomethodology which is the study of folkways (Robyn Ryle, p. 38). The perspective of doing gender is that sex is produced socially rather that existed objectively as real biological (Robyn Ryle, p.39). Ethnomethodologist use the breaching experiment to engage in specific situations and context. A breach is a disruption that requires and explanation because it does not fit into a story that is being told. For example, women are expected to smile more according to the American norm even to people they might not know. A flaw to this norm is that smiling more than men will not always work for each situation and context. Another perspective of doing gender rather than following rules is your actions being accountable as feminine. An example of accountability can be the way we talk, walk, or even sit. Doing gender is demonstrated here because the way we react to situations or our performances in activities are accountable to a performance gender. Accountability means we gear our actions with attention to our specific circumstance (Roby Ryle, p. 41). Also, even if behavior we engage is does not conform gender norms if it can be viewed as gendered you interacts will judge it accountable as a performance of gender (Robyn Ryle, p.41). Another important aspect of doing gender is that gender is inherently interactional. Actions can be made accountable, but accountability is a product of social interaction. Gender is defined not just by performance but, as that performance combined with its accountability. We can find gender in the intersections of what we do and if other think it is accountable as gender (Robyn Ryle, p.42). Agnes was raised as a boy but then changed her sexual identity to female. In order for her to become a woman she needs performed a set of, behaviors that can be held accountable for a woman in her particular context and culture. Gender inequality is accomplished with allocation. Allocation is a way decision get made about who does certain things, who gets what, who makes the plans and who gives orders (Robyn Ryle, p.42). For example, when men change the topic of the conversation with women when it isn’t a masculinity topic they achieve allocation. In this way men are achieving a performance that is accountable of masculinity.

Lastly, the theory of intersectional feminist means that different kinds of prejudice can be amplified in different ways when they are put together, they overlap. Gender is considered separately from other big issues like race, ethnicity, class, or sexuality. For example, a white women questions why they get paid less than man, but a women of color questions why she gets paid less than man and why she gets paid less than white women. The problem of a white women is not the same as a woman of color. In the intersectional feminist theory problems such and gender and race intersect to cause a bigger problem. Feminism is believed that it is equality of all women, but we sometimes fail to see that not all women experience the same social issues. There is a distinct white, middle class, and heterosexual bias in theorizing about gender. This occurs because many of the persons that have the resources to theorize about gender are those in positions of privilege because of their race, nationality, class, or sexual orientation.

In conclusion, theories like doing gender, sex roles, and intersectional feminist address gender in different ways. The way we respond to certain situations can be accountable to our assigned gender even when we do not realized it.