Sociology of Gender

The sociology of gender studies how gender is socially organized and produced — as identity, interaction, and institution — and how it structures inequality.

Scope

It covers the social construction of gender, the gendered division of labour, gender and work and family, masculinities, and the reproduction of gender inequality.

Core questions

• How is gender socially produced?
• How does gender structure work and family?
• How is gender inequality reproduced?
• How do masculinities and femininities vary?
• How is gender enacted in everyday interaction?

Key concepts

• Doing gender
• Gender as structure
• Hegemonic masculinity
• The second shift
• Gendered division of labour
• Gender inequality

Key theories

Doing gender

West and Zimmerman reconceived gender as an ongoing accomplishment of social interaction rather than a fixed trait.

Gender as social structure

Connell theorized gender as a structure of power relations and developed the concept of hegemonic masculinity.

The gendered division of labour

Hochschild documented women's 'second shift' of domestic work atop paid employment.

History

Building on second-wave feminism, the sociology of gender developed the 'doing gender' interactionist approach (West-Zimmerman), structural theories of gender and power (Connell), and research on work, family, and the gendered division of labour (Hochschild).

Debates

Is gender an individual trait or a social structure?

Whether gender is best understood as an attribute of persons or as an interactional accomplishment and institutional structure.

Key figures

• Candace West
• Don Zimmerman
• R. W. Connell
• Arlie Hochschild

Seminal works

• west-zimmerman-1987
• connell-1987
• hochschild-1989

Frequently asked questions

What does 'doing gender' mean?

The idea that gender is not something one has but something one continually produces through everyday social interaction.