Gender Citations in Sociological Theory

The Second Sex (1949) by Simon de Beauviour 

• Women are created, not born. Society socialises us to be women
• Reproduction and maternity constrains us, and allows men to take power, leading to patriarchy 
• Following on from this, abortion and birth control return power to women
• Women are defined by their relation to men (women, female, etc), leading to women being the 'Other' while men remain the blueprint for humanity

Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (1999) by Judith Butler 

• Promotes the questioning of labels for different identities, and what those labels say about us
• Sees 'normal' as a term that leads to real and material harm to individuals (especially those who do not fall under the societal understanding of the category of 'normal') (gives a practical example of this - if heterosexual is 'normal' than that makes being gay societally seen as 'abnormal', purely because we define heterosexual as the norm)
• For Butler, neither sex nor gender actually exist. Both are societal constructs
• Would like us to abandon what she sees as unnecessary and harmful binaries, not only that of gender itself, but also of sexuality, pronouns, etc
• We act as we are required to act, not as we really are. In this way, our actions and identities are described by Butler as being performative, they are not intrinsic but societally imposed and responded to
• Thinks we are much too focused on the difference between male and female, and just on male and femaleness in general

Choo, & Ferree. (2010). Practicing Intersectionality in Sociological Research: A Critical Analysis of Inclusions, Interactions, and Institutions in the Study of Inequalities. Sociological Theory 

• There are three types of intersectionality:
• Group-centered intersectionality (need to center the perspectives of marginalised groups)
• Process-centered intersectionality (need to understand the way in which different forms of maginalisation interact with each other and combine)
• System-centered intersectionality (need to understand how systematic and societal processes lead to marginalisation, and how the system can lead to some being privileged over others)

Gender and Power: Society, the Person, and Sexual Politics (2003) by Raewyn Connell

• The idea of normality is a problematic one, and it impacts people's ability to be comfortable in their identity, and why some identities (heterosexual, male) are priviliged over others
• Wants to integrate gender and sexuality into current systems of power and privilege, in terms of academic frameworks and understanding
• Provides a useful, historical summary of gender and queer theory

The…