Gender Identity: Defining Masculinity & Femininity - Essay Sample

Introduction

The concept of sex underscores the psychological or physical differences between males and females, including both primary and secondary sex characteristics like reproduction and muscularity, respectively. Gender, on the other hand, underlies the social or cultural distinctions that are in close association with being either male or female a one identifies himself/herself with being masculine or feminine through gender identity. The functionality perspective on gender juxtaposes the existence of gender inequalities in the quest for the creation of a division of labour, or the social system that a specific segment of the society would be responsible for various labour division acts. The conflict theory, on the other hand, underscores the struggle for dominance among scarce resources and in the context of gender, men attempt to assert their dominance through the maintenance of power and privilege at the expense of women. In the realm of conflict theory perspective, gender would, therefore, underlie men's support of power thus appearing as the dominant group as women subordinate hence resulting to social problems prevalently when the dominant group exploits the subordinate one. That thereby calls for a need for the balance of power between the two genders.

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Functionalist Theory of Gender v Conflict Theory of Gender

In the article on the witches, the functionalist perspective theory on gender underlies the existence of inequality as an efficient way of a social system, coupled with the predefined roles of gender that are complimentary. That can be viewed in the spheres of men providing for homes women take care of homes, thus making gender function as societal stability as a whole. The article on the witches relates well on the same, women were autonomous healers who were responsible for the representation of not only the empirical approach but also a humane approach in healing. The male, on the other hand, clung to untested professional doctrines and ceremonial practices. Again the article on the witches, the conflict theory may result in problems that are created when the subordinate group exploits the auxiliary thus comparing the two genders with the bourgeoisie and the proletariat since women are considered to have fewer powers than men who maintain control over resources. The article on the witches underscores the suppression of women's health workers owing to the rise of male dominance in professionals resulting in changes in medical science hence resulting in failures of women in taking healing work.

In the article, in the spheres of conflict theory, the struggle stakes were high following both political and economic monopolization of medicine as the male-dominated and took control; of the institutional organization. The female healers were suppressed by the medical establishments owing to the political struggle, thus resulting in sex struggle. Women's status in society has resulted in the rise and fall of women healers who are continuously attacked because they are women. Despite the political battle for male dominance on health, women healers remained people's doctors, and their people remained a subculture of the people and thrived admits the rebellious lower class movements. Male professionals on the other hand ere portrayed a both medically and politically ruling class, and their interest became advanced to the foundation of the philanthropist, universities and law thereby owing their victory to the ruling class interventions. Additionally, women witches and lay healed were suppressed through burning and creation of new male medical professions under the patronage and protection of the ruling class. Women formed 85% of those who were executed as witches, stemming from older women, young women and children (Enreinrech, &English, 2012).

A primary theory that suppressed the women's traditional healers and witches was the medical interpretation s that viewed the witch haze in the realms of mass hysteria outbreaks that lacked explanations. The ruling class, in asserting male dominance as male medical professions saw witch haze as a pandemic that caused not only collective hatred but also panic cast on images. That was coupled with the viewing photos as insane, resulting in witch hunts and subsequent execution by church and state. Men, therefore, dominated the field of medicine and healing from women, a struggle that involved both the church and the state, coupled with spurious categories in the invalidation of women healers as come considered them as superstitions and witches thereby leading to their destruction and killing through burning.

Examples on How Women Were Silenced

European colonial domination and contact, geared by cross-cultural embodied relations, informed the first instance in which women were silenced. That delved into the sphere of women's dilemma to express their views owing to lack of confidence, coupled with their inability to speak English since they were not given many considerations in the academic realms. That subsequently led to their improvement and marginalization in society (Moore,2018). Women, for instance, Aboriginals women were known for their endurance, creativity and visionary, albeit they were not recognized for their roles and remained silenced, no wonder many writings focused on the male as only a few reflected on women. Women's determination in counterbalancing the bias as always thwarted by the domineering male attitudes, thereby informing women's exclusiveness in the academic discourses. The aspects of women's lives, therefore, remained hitherto absent in the historical records following their invisibility(Moore, 2018).

Another instance in which women were silenced was in the article of The Birth of American Gynecology whereby after the ban on American born slaves, there was more interest in increasing the number of slave births by slave owners in the United States (Owens, 2017). That meant that women were subjected to frequent delivery owing to the development and expansion of reproductive medicine, making the black women to be held bondage in the quest of reproducing more slaves. That indicates that women were used as guinea pigs in the pursuit of culling the best out of her womb in enlarging the slave population as the slave women who were unable to give birth were loss to their masters. With time, bearing children by black women as considered a measure of success as for the women who were enslaved as some slave owners even gifted the women for giving birth. With the increased birth rates or black women, midwifery s performed b both male and female white doctors. Despite midwifery being women' domain for centuries, American doctors masculinized gynaecological medicine through the creation of institution, coupled with the cultivation of pedagogical approaches for men to work exclusively on the bodies of women (Owens, 2017). Men's entrance into the women terrain and men's access into reproductive medicine, coupled with formalizing medicine silenced the women midwives at that time.

The Theory of Hegemony and Orientalism

Hegemony underscores the acceptance of the ideas of those who rule by the ruled, albeit it may not have benefits to the governed. Some hegemonic beliefs may be oppressive to the rule like in the case male dominance asserted on women as the latter are silence even the arenas of their specialities like midwifery may be harsh to them. Orientalism theory, according to Edward Said underscored the Western attitude view on the on Eastern societies as inferior, exotic and primitive based on the Western's rationalism on the Eastern world's imperial conquest. In Said's orientalism, the West appears to dominate the East in the spheres of Politics, economics, culture and social aspects (Said, 2014). In the readings, perfect examples or orientalism is the women healers invalidated and considered as witches and superstitions, leading to their destruction and subsequent oppression of women. In American gemology article, the way of seeing nonwhite women also extended to slavery since they were viewed as genie pigs by producing the best out of their wombs to increase the number of slavery as those who were unable to give birth was considered as liabilities to their owners.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, sex and gender in a comparative perspective can be understood through conflict and functionalist theories with the former underlying the struggle for dominance among scarce resources with men asserting theory dominance through maintenance of privileges and power at the expense of women. Functionalism, on the other hand, juxtaposes the gender inequalities resulting in the division of labor. Women have been viewed to be the weaker gender over the years as men attempt to dominate event the fields that women dominated like midwifery with the support of the church and the state.

References

Ehrenreich, B., & English, D. (2012, June).Witches, Midwives, And Nurses: A History ofWomen Healers. Femisnters-Radicals. Retrieved from https://www.feministesradicales.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Barbara-Ehrenreich-and-Deirdre-EnglishWitches-Midwives-and-Nurses-A-History-of-Women-Healers.-Introduction.pd

Said, E. (2014, December).Orientalism. Political Shakespeare. Retrieved fromhttps://sites.evergreen.edu/politicalshakespeares/wpcontent/uploads/sites/33/2014/12/Said_full.pdf

Moore, J. (2018).Women Tell their Stories: Learning to Listen to First Nation Voices. OralHistory Society. 46(1):102-110.Retrieved fromhttps://www.jstor.org/stable/44993460?seq=1

Owens, D. (2017).The Birth of American Gynecology. University of Georgia Press. Retrievedfrom https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1pwt69x