· Unpacking the Gender System: A Theoretical Perspective on Gender Beliefs and Social Relations
Cecilia L. Ridgeway and Shelley J. Correll
Gender and Society, Vol. 18, No. 4 (Aug., 2004), pp. 510-531
Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.
Ridgeway and Correll: In addition to this horizontal dimension of difference, gender beliefs have a hierarchical dimension of status inequality. Men are viewed as more status worthy and competent overall and more competent at the things that “count most”. Women are seen as less competent in general but “nicer” and better at communal tasks even though these tasks themselves are less valued.
Lesley: I agree with what you two are saying. In today’s society men and women are struggling to find equality and to find a balance between who they are, and the roles they play. When you said the beliefs have a hierarchical dimension of status inequality, I thought that that is definitely true because for centuries both sex have suffered the situations of prejudice. For example, women were not allowed to vote for quite some time which caused inequality turmoil. Men were forced to serve their country in the multiple wars over the last hundreds of years even when they didn’t want to. But because they were men, it was required of them. In reply to what you were saying about competence though, I would have to agree but only to some extent. Yes, for quite a long time men were seen as the status worthy ones. They were assumed to be able to accomplish all things and if they failed in bravery, wisdom, strength, or anything else, they were looked down upon. Women have always been known as the soft spoken, submissive ones who are “nicer” like you said and better at communicating. This was true and still is today, but I feel that is has widely evolved with time and many women now are seen as more competent and men are known as warm and friendly, understanding emotions more than before. This has evolved from the media, politics, and just our nation changing with time.
Ridgeway and Correll: Given the cultural resources and power available to members of dominant groups, the descriptions of men and women that become inscribed in these simple, abstract, cultural categories are ones that most closely describe white, middle-class, heterosexual men and women, if anyone. These gender beliefs are hegemonic in that the descriptions of women and men they contain are institutionalized in the media, government policy, normative images of the family, and so on.
Lesley: I completely understand what you are saying about the dominant stereotypes. In America today, there are success factors it would seem. For people going to college and getting jobs and or trying to make it big in the music or film industry, you have to be talented, smart, and experienced. These qualifications do often go to people who are known as the “normal ones” and as you were saying, those are people who are white, middle-class, heterosexual women and men. Of course this is not exclusive but it would seem that all the men who have been our presidents or ran for the election would fall into these places. Even when Barack Obama introduced himself as a presidential candidate, some were stunned by the idea of having an African-American in the White House. I for one and not racist and think that color should never matter. When making way up the political or business ladder to become a governor or CEO of a multimillion dollar company, you rarely see gay or lesbian men and women who make less than $40,000 a year or such. Why do we have such stereotypes today? Well I also agree with how you were saying that those have greatly been influenced and institutionalized by the media and what society views as a “normal” family. You can see many television shows today portraying the perfect or not so perfect family life. It started out with old sitcoms such as “Leave it to Beaver” and slowly progressed into different family situations you may see on “7th Heaven” or “Family Matters” where mix-matched people share a house and their may not always be another parent around. On MTV today and other channels you can view all kinds of family lives that don’t follow the typical “normal” family pattern. Even though it seems rare to find that perfect family nowadays, it is still in our mindset to have that working father and loving, cooking mother who sends the children off to school and has dinner all ready when everyone returns home. Even though this image has pretty much faded in today’s world many still try to strive for this traditional lifestyle.
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I completely disagree with Ridgeway and Correll because I believe that both men and women are equally competent. I do agree that at in past centuries there was a hierarchy of inequality found in society, where men were viewed as more competent and women were viewed as weak due to the stereotyped traits of their gender. Men and women do have different things to bring to the table, however I do believe that they are both equally competent and status worthy not just in the business world but also in modern society.
I agree with Ridgeway and Correll's opinion here that white, middle-class heterosexual men and women are what are seen as the dominant force in society such as in the media, government, and in what is a considered a traditional family. However, I believe that even though this is the common behavior of society, it should not be like this. I believe in equal opportunity for everyone regardless of their race, monetary status, or sexual orientation. As a culture, we need to break out of this stereotype and begin to understand and accept the concept that there is nothing wrong with an African-American president or a gay individual running a multi-million dollar corporation. These categories that society have established are exactly as you have described it: abstract. There is no reason why any individual can be seen as the norm. There is no difference between a white, middle class family and say a Hispanic or African-American family. All these families are American and hold the same traditional family values as the stereotypical, middle American white family.
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