Sex Gender And Society

Sex, Gender, and Society by Ann Oakley was first published in the year 1991. The book is based on gender education within a community. In the article, Oakley discusses how the question of sex and gender are considered within the society at the same time evaluating how different people perceive the subject. The central theme of the book is to assess what different sexes are in the community — at the same time, establishing what makes them different from one another. She applies biological knowledge on animals as she tries to uncover what the difference is between distinct sexes.

She notes that the question of gender has been raised over several decades to find out what makes one feel entitled or a member of a particular gender. She goes ahead to say that people in a community are the same however, most societies have stereotyped the subject which creates a big gap between the two genders in that they appear as two different groups who have to fight for everything.

Societies have deviated the issue of gender way too long in that every community has its way of defining things, thus the source of confusion among most individuals. Most cultures are conditioned by history to think from a particular perspective, which makes changing the notion challenging. To make the matter worse, none of these groups have taken steps in making the situation bearable to all. The main aim of Ann Oakley is to create an informative society whereby people will not have to fight over the question of gender and sex.

Social Institutions

Social interaction and structure create the basis under which community functions within (Amadiume, 2015). Various fundamentals are required in the society set up. Most organizations are based on specific activities which act as a binding factor for the group to coexist. There are various beliefs as well, which are carried on in diverse cultures and usually determine the number of things in these societies. In the article of sex, gender, and society, Ann Oakley points out that the organization has been the primary cause of the misconception on various genders and sexes. Many communities have their way of viewing the subject, which creates a lot of confusion among people.

As a result, there has been a wide gap between men and women for they are made to appear as different groups. Culture has swayed people’s thoughts in a way that is difficult to change. As a result, social interaction has reduced at the same time, creating a significant lift in the way the social structure is supposed to look like. The current social structure spells doom for the future of the societies as seen in different social institutions. Maintaining stability in institutions that sexually divide is difficult. As Oakley notes, the community has not done much in trying to change this social phenomenon. Institutions do not treat their members equally, and neither are they given the same chances courtesy of their gender. As a result, the core values of these institutions is lost in the process.

Impression Management

This is changing the perception in which the society has created on various groups. People have been fed with various forms of information in that they tend to create a certain perception on others. As noted earlier, society is responsible for what people perceive about others. As a result, the impression that certain people create should be eliminated because, at the end of the day, their judgement is based on a perspective that has been created in their minds over and over which controls the way they see things. Impression management means developing a society in which people see things in a different way rather than what they have been made to think. By this, people will be in a position to think more positively thus eliminate the gap that has been created in the society based on genders.

Conclusion

Social imbalance, as seen in the case of sexes and gender, has caused more harm than benefit to society (Amadiume, 2015). It is high time people work together to change this misconception. As Ann Oakley notes, men and women should not be viewed as a different group. This will enhance equality even among institutions; hence, cases of sidelining one group will reduce eventually. Societies should also play a role in changing all mythical misconceptions that have been passed on to generations.