Judith Lorbers Night to His Day
Read Judith Lorbers “Night To His Day: The Social Construction of Gender.” A chapter from her book titled Paradoxes of Gender published by Yale University Press in 1994.
The author claims that, although gender is often assumed to be natural, it is an all-encompassing social institution that has power over people. Gender is (1) a process that humans create; (2) a stratification system that ranks people; and (3) a structure that organizes life. She goes on to explain people are socialized through parenting practices and life experiences that teach us how to act, through legal and social rules enforce this socialization both symbolically and through stratification, and through cultural rituals and other rewards that are provided for those who “do gender” appropriately.
In at least 500 words, respond to the one or more of the following prompts. Use the reading of Night to His Day to substantiate your points.
What is meant by the social construction of gender? How is gender socially constructed in everyday life?
What does Judith Lorber mean when she says that people do gender? Why is doing gender important?
Lorber says that it does not matter what men and women actually do; it does not matter if they do exactly the same thing. The social institution of gender insists only that what they do is perceived as different. Explain what she means by this statement and give an example.
