User:1990Ben/sandbox/draft1

This is my sandbox for my activist article draft

Original article: Social construction of gender

Key tasks:


 * change spelling to Australian English
 * lots of grammar corrections to make
 * lots of existing text needs citations
 * remove irrelevant information or perhaps link it to another page

[GOOD LIST - ALL DOABLE] Lead Section

 Original 

The social construction of gender is a theory in feminism and sociology about the operation of gender and gender differences in societies. According to this view, society and culture create gender roles, and these roles are prescribed as ideal or appropriate behavior for a person of that specific sex.

Some supporters of this idea argue that the differences in behavior between men and women are entirely social conventions, whereas others believe that behavior is influenced by universal biological factors to varying degrees, with social conventions having a major effect on gendered behaviour.

 Edit 

The social construction of gender is a theory about the operation and performance of gender, and gender differences in societies. This theory is most common in fields of feminism and sociology. According to this theory, society and it's culture creates gender roles. These gender roles are then prescribed by the society as the ideal or appropriate behaviour for a person of each sex, making them become enforced as social norms. Some theorists argue that behavioural differences between males and females are purely social conventions, while others believe these behavioural differences to be influenced by a combination of biological factors and and social conventions.

 Original 

Social constructionism
Main article: Social constructionism

The roots of the social constructionist movement in psychology are related to the criticism of the objectivism assumed by positivist/empiricist concepts of knowledge (Gergen, 1985). Among the most popular variations of the social constructionist theories is the gender role theory, considered by Alsop, Fitzsimons and Lennon (2002) as an early form of social constructionism. The focus on power and hierarchy reveals inspiration stemming from a Marxist framework, utilized for instance by materialist feminism, and Foucault's writings on discourse. Social constructionism, briefly, is the concept that there are many things that people "know" or take to be "reality" that are at least partially, if not completely, socially situated. For example, Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker writes that "some categories really are social constructions: they exist only because people tacitly agree to act as if they exist. Examples include money, tenure, citizenship, decorations for bravery, and the presidency of the United States."

The basic assumptions of social constructionism, as described by Marecek, Crawford & Popp, are:


 * 1) Social constructionism is a theory of knowledge. Social constructionism focuses on how meaning is created. Emerging from the criticism of objectivity, social constructionism challenges concepts of knowledge put forward by positivism, which postulates the externality of reality and that empirically-proved truths are mind-independent. According to Marecek, Crawford & Popp, knowledge is an "account of reality produced collaboratively by a community of knowers" Thus, social constructionism focuses on how meaning is created.
 * 2) Knowledge is a social product. According to Marecek, Crawford & Popp, knowledge is an "account of reality produced collaboratively by a community of knowers". Thus, social constructionists focus on how meaning is created and suggest that knowledge is not only a social product, but a product of a specifically situated society; various accounts of reality depend on place and time – in order to study knowledge as a social product, one has to historicize and contextualize the given description of reality.
 * 3) Power and hierarchy underlie social construction. This focus results in showing how individuals differ in status, entitlement, efficacy, self-respect and other traits based on the kind of interactions one is involved in and subjected to.
 * 4) Language is at the core of knowledge. Language is considered the building block of culture; it conveys meaning and creates the system of knowledge humans participate in. Ultimately, language has a huge influence on how humans perceive reality and, as a result, is the creator of this reality.
 * 5) Social construction is a dynamic process. Social constructionists emphasize the complexity of how knowledge is created in social interactions. Knowledge and meanings are not stable or constant; they are co-constructed in interactions with others, negotiated, modified and shifted. People are active in their perception, understanding and sharing of knowledge acquired from their social milieu. It is prudent therefore to consider this process when explaining the social construction of knowledge, including knowledge concerning gender.
 * 6) The individual and society are indissoluble. Social constructionists question the Western idea of an autonomous individual who can draw a clear line between the self and the society. According to social constructionism, individuals can create meaning only in relation to what they are exposed to in their environment. Paradoxically, the same individuals co-create the meanings that are available in this environment. Marecek et al. conclude therefore that the society and the individual are indissoluble and mutually constitutive.

Alsop, Fitzsimmons & Lennon also note that the constructionist accounts of gender creation can be divided into two main streams:


 * 1) Materialist theories, which underline the structural aspects of the social environment that are responsible for perpetuating certain gender roles;
 * 2) Discursive theories, which stress the creation, through language and culture, of meanings that are associated with gender.

They also argue that both the materialist and discursive theories of social construction of gender can be either essentialist or non-essentialist. This means that some of these theories assume a clear biological division between women and men when considering the social creation of masculinity and femininity, while other contest the assumption of the biological division between the sexes as independent of social construction.

Gender
Main article: Gender

Gender, according to West and Zimmerman, is not a personal trait; it is "an emergent feature of social situations: both as an outcome of and a rationale for various social arrangements, and as a means of legitimating one of the most fundamental divisions of society." Historically, the term gender was adopted as means of distinguishing between biological sex and socialized aspects of femininity and masculinity. Moreover, gender was considered achieved and more or less stable after it is acquired in early childhood. Contemporary constructionist perspective, as proposed by Fenstermaker and West, proposes treating gender as an activity ("doing") of utilizing normative prescriptions and beliefs about sex categories based on situational variables. These "gender activities" constitute our belonging to a sex as based on the socially accepted dichotomy of "women" and "men". It is noted, however, that these activities are not always perceived (by the audience) as being either "masculine" or "feminine", they are at constant risk of being assessed as more or less "womanly" or "manly"; ultimately, any behavior may be judged based upon its "manly" or "womanly" nature. "Doing gender" is in fact based on these interactions that are constituted of ongoing assessments in various situations. This in turn points to the situational nature of gender rather than its inherent, essentialist and individual nature.

 Edit 

These two sections could easily be reduced to a short summary. Perhaps a section titled "definition of key terms".

A link can also be placed to take the reader to the page on "Gender" and the page on "social contructionism"

 Original 

Gender roles
Gender roles are often centered around the conceptions of femininity or masculinity.

Empirical investigations suggest that gender roles are "social constructs that vary significantly across time, context, and culture". Ronald F. Levant and Kathleen Alto write:"A recent synthesis of meta-analytic studies of gender differences provides strong evidence for a social construct understanding of gender. Ethan Zell and colleagues examined more than 20,000 findings from 12 million participants comparing men and women on topics ranging from risk-taking to body image. The authors found that the majority of effects were very small to small, indicating far more similarities than differences between genders."A study in 2017 found that health risks are set by the behaviors that are instilled in males and females by the time they're 10 or 11.

Gender roles, according to Berkowitz, are an acceptance of social construction as it pertains to gender and the roles we perform. "The gender order is hierarchical in that, overall, men dominate women in terms of power and privilege; yet multiple and conflicting sources of power and oppression are intertwined, and not all men dominate all women. Intersectionality theorizes how gender intersects with race, ethnicity, social class, sexuality, and nation in variegated and situationally contingent ways".

The constructionism of gender and stereotyped roles can be examined through a given environment. A certain gendered patriarchy turns abstraction into material reality. This reality is negotiated into each interaction we have. For example, based on a simulation discussed in “Walk Like a Man, Talk Like a Woman”, the simulation used “demonstrates the social constructiveness of gender, maintaining that gender should be conceptualized and portrayed as a process, system of stratification, and social structure”. The perceptions of the social world in which these students view the world around them is as an “objective reality rather than as a product of human interaction and interpretation that is institutionalized and transformed over time”. One of the most powerful notions that this simulation encourages is teaching from a constructionist perspective that requires instructors to “challenge perceptions by requiring students to unpack the “hows and whys” of sociological phenomena”.

 Edit 

Gender roles

Gender roles are often centred around conceptions of femininity and/or masculinity


 * Define these terms concisely and perhaps link them to specific pages on femininity and masculinity

Levant and Alto (2017) suggest that gender roles are "social constructs that vary significantly across time, context, and culture" [8]


 * remove indented section as the study is linked

A 2017 study (find reference and add it in) found that the gender related behaviours instilled in males and females by age 10 - 11 may induce health risks in adolescence. Such health risks for girls include sexually transmitted diseases, young pregnancy, and exposure to violence. Health risks for boys include higher risk of substance abuse, suicide, and shorter life expectancy.

According to Berkowitz (reference), gender roles are created by an acceptance of social construction. "The gender order is hierarchical in that, overall, men dominate women in terms of power and privilege; yet multiple and conflicting sources of power and oppression are intertwined, and not all men dominate all women. Intersectionality theorizes how gender intersects with race, ethnicity, social class, sexuality, and nation in variegated and situationally contingent ways".


 * potentially remove this quote, questioning it's relevance
 * is intersectionality relevant, try to keep the article specific to gender roles and social construction of gender roles, perhaps the point of the quote is to say how race, ethnicity, social class, sexuality can influence the perceived gender roles within a society

The construction of stereotyped roles based on gender can be examined through a given environment. A certain gendered patriarchy turns the abstract into reality and this reality is negotiated into our interactions. For example, the simulation used in “Walk Like a Man, Talk Like a Woman” (reference), “demonstrates the social constructiveness of gender, maintaining that gender should be conceptualized and portrayed as a process, system of stratification, and social structure”. The perceptions of the social world in which these students view the world around them is an “objective reality rather than a product of human interaction and interpretation that is institutionalized and transformed over time”. One of the most powerful notions that this simulation encourages is the requirement of instructors to “challenge perceptions by requiring students to unpack the “hows and whys” of sociological phenomena”.


 * This section needs a lot more research into gender roles put into it. The current research existing here seems odd and could potentially be removed all together.
 * Research sociological journals for information on gender roles and add to this section
 * This is a key part of this article

Other edits planned:


 * Distinguish the difference between sex and gender
 * remove sections on sexual orientation but have a brief paragraph on how gender performativity may influence sexual orientation

'''[you seem on the right track to me. The edits planned make sense. I can't see any citations or anything here so can't comment on those].'''

Edit

I have made the decision to remove nearly all of the rest of the article. A lot of the information in the remainder of the article gets off on a tangent, and in my opinion, is not relevant. I will edit the section on gender identity and add a larger bit on gender performance/preformativity as this seems the most important and appropriate part of this article.