Structural Functionalist And Conflict Theory Analysis

Throughout history, women have been discriminated against in numerous ways that have contributed to the many challenges they face on a daily basis. From lacking legal rights to being thought of as having inferior intelligence, women have always been viewed as being second to men. However, “American society has come a long way in recognizing and protecting women’s humanity and human rights,” (Newswise, 2017). This statement is valid, as within the past 100 years, women have gained the right to vote, gained equal rights, and gained equal pay through the Equal Pay Act passed in 1963, which “Promised equitable wages for the same work, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin or sex of the worker.” (Milligan, 2017) While it is true that,

According to the structural-functionalist perspective, “Preindustrial society required a division of labor based on gender. Women, out of biological necessity, remained in the home performing functions such as bearing, nursing, and caring for children.” (Mooney, 2015) In return, men were responsible for providing the necessities for their family including food, water, clothing, and shelter, since they were physically stronger and capable of being away from home for extended periods of time. Basically, structural functionalists claim that gender roles stem from the necessity to establish a division of labor that will help in both running the household fluidly and contributing to the overall stability of society. According to this theory, boys and girls were raised differently and accordingly in order to meet these gender roles, with girls being taught to be more expressive and boys being taught instrumentality. Over time, these gender roles became the normal way of life and developed into societal norms, and although in today’s society women are plentiful in the labor force, these gender roles still have influence today. However, since the end of the industrial period, this perspective is relatively inaccurate for describing gender roles today, since many women are now working full time in the labor force and many men

“Instructors” of gender roles include parents and other family members, schools, other social institutions, and media sources. Basically, boys and girls discover the meanings that are associated with their gender roles, whether it is masculinity or femininity, through both education and observation. Besides learning gender roles from peers and social institutions, life experiences also play a huge role in teaching societal definitions of being masculine or feminine, and it is up to the observer on how to interpret them. The symbolic interactionist perspective also tends to be consistent with the feminist theory, which states “Conceptions of gender are socially constructed as societal expectations dictate what it means to be female or what it means to be male.” (Mooney, 2015) As both women and men learn the socially constructed definitions of what it means to be male and what it means to be female, they then begin to incorporate them into their decision-making, and thus begin making decisions that reflect these definitions. For example, in middle school and high school, girls and boys tend to participate in activities or