Lorber argues that society needs a labeling of people in order for it to function. For it to run, there must be a category that will function within society, "otherwise, we feel socially dislocated". This separation of gender, race, creed, what have you, is integral for our society to function. For example (economy-wise), a young woman is worth more (in terms of life insurance) than a young man's. Why? Because there are scientific studies that prove that women live a more healthier, longer life than men. To have a higher insurance return for a woman's life, over man's exemplifies how structured and separated our society is. Why? Well, for starters, the study on women and men, as opposed to human - or just people signifies already a separation between the two sexes. Then you have this comparison between the two sexes - not a perfect comparison, mind you, since all men and women live different lives and therefore have different lifestyles, and ultimately different life expectancies. To categorize people into such strata creates a hierarchical, if not, gendered society - which is our society today.
Gender inequality exists everywhere - it may be subtle, it may be obvious - but it's there. Lorber gives examples of the social dominance of "men". She fails to give examples of where women are dominant in society. Nursing, secretaries, clerks, elementary/middle school teachers, supervisors... (http://bit.ly/bMNX4a). Granted, these wouldn't be considered as prestigious as government positions, but there are powerful women that are in government positions throughout the world. The current Chancellor of Germany is Angela Merkel, the current President of Switzerland is Doris Leuthard, the head of Great Britain is Queen Elizabeth II, the President of Finland is Tarja Halonen, etc (http://bit.ly/8mZKCJ). Lorber gives an example of cultural productions are gender biased. Unfortunately, she mentions it in passing and does not give specific examples, but she does, at the end of her article, quote Helene Cixous, a French feminist. Cixous writes, in "The Laugh of the Medusa", that the world of literature is dominated by men. She, however, seems to embrace this gender separation to write that women should fight male repression and the invalidation that women face as a result of male dominance (in literature). Without this socially constructed idea of "gender", Cixous would not have been able to write her piece about women fighting male dominance. "Men have committed the greatest crime against women..." she writes, "They have made for women an antinarcissism!" (Cixous, "The Laugh of the Medusa") That's a pretty hard accusation...
- Michael Koh
Lorber wrote this piece in the 1980s, so some of the claims she makes may be a bit dated. However, her essay is still considered to be one of the classic texts analyzing gender as a social construction.
ReplyDeleteThough you mention a number of occupations in which women are dominant, are these occupations that are generally held in high regard within society? Do women ever dominate in society's most prestigious occupations?
Lorber seems to suggest that differentiation on the basis of gender is necessary for society to function, however, as opposed to a hierarchical system we could have one in which men and women (and other genders as well) are different but equal.