University Essay: Gender, Sexuality, and Sociological Perspectives

This essay examines gender and sexuality through a sociological lens, analyzing three everyday experiences: the gender pay gap, the division of household chores, and attitudes towards homosexuality. The essay explores how these experiences reflect changes in gender roles and sexual orientation over time. It applies feminist, Marxist, and postmodernist theories to interpret these experiences, highlighting the ongoing relevance of these theories in understanding contemporary social issues. The analysis reveals that while progress has been made in these areas, significant challenges remain, particularly concerning gender inequality and societal acceptance of diverse sexual orientations. The essay concludes by emphasizing the need for continued efforts to address these issues and promote greater equality and understanding.

Running head: GENDER AND SEXUALITY
GENDER AND SEXUALITY
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1GENDER AND SEXUALITY
As per the official report of Ons.gov.uk (2020), the gender pay gap in the nation of UK
among all the workers of the concerned nation for the year 2020 was 17.3% and this clearly goes
on to show the extent to which the evil of gender inequality is still prevalent within the
concerned nation. Zeeman et al. (2017) are of the viewpoint that the term ‘gender’ denotes the
sex of the individuals or for that matter the sex group, whether male, female or transgender to
which they belong. This as a matter of fact over the years had become an integral part of the
identity of the individuals over the years and had also contributed significantly towards the
present condition of the societal framework as well (Mehta 2019). On the other hand, the term
‘sexuality’ connotes the sexual feelings of the individuals, their sexual orientation, thoughts,
feelings and others aspects which they feel for the other people (Sundaram and Sauntson 2016).
However, at the same time it needs to be said that both of these terms have undergone a
significant amount of change in the present times and as a matter of fact it is seen that they are
considered to be coterminous with each other (Cuthbert 2019). More importantly, both of these
terms presently connote more the sexual act or the sexual orientation of the individuals rather
than their sex. In this regard, it needs to be said that the earlier concepts of gender and sexuality
were rather stringent and narrow in nature because of the societal roles that the women
performed however with the broadening of the role of women in society and also with the
developments in the fields of knowledge these concepts have undergone a change (Westwood
2016). Furthermore, these changes can be objectively explained through the usage of different
theories like Marxism, feminism, post-modernism and others. The aim of this essay is to
undertake an analysis of three everyday experiences as per the sociological aspects of gender and
sexuality.

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The constructs of gender and sexuality had undergone a significant amount of change
over the years and these changes manifest themselves when the present gender roles held by both
the men and the women are being taken into account. However, Fletcher et al. (2016) have
argued that it is true that significant changes have undergone in the fields of the gender and
sexuality and they have significantly improved the condition of both the men and women yet at
the same time it needs to be said that the situation is far from ideal. At this juncture, I would like
to mention a personal experience wherein I found that although both my uncle and aunt work in
a bank yet they are not being offered the same wage and there is a huge gap between their wages
despite the fact that both of them perform the same job role. In the relation, it needs to be said
that the idea of both men and women working together was almost unconceivable about one or
two centuries ago however presently it is possible (Ringrose 2016). However, the large wage gap
or for that matter the difference in the amount of wage which is being paid to men and women
for performing the same job clearly indicates that the changes which had taken place are not
adequate and still a lot of work needs to be performed. As discussed by Mulholland, Montagna
and Sanders-McDonagh (2018), the changes which had undergone in the gender and gender roles
also becomes apparent from the fact that presently both men and women perform the house
chores unlike the earlier times when only the women used to perform the household chores and
the men were supposed to be the bread-earners. As a matter of fact, in my own home I see that
both my mother and father together perform the household chores. However, as per an article of
Independent.co.uk (2020), more than 93% of the household chores are still being completed by
the women rather than the men. Thus, it can be said that despite the changes in gender and
gender roles there is still a substantial amount of work which needs to be performed in the
concerned area. Sundaram and Sauntson (2016) have noted that people in the present times show

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a higher amount of acceptance towards the varied sexual orientations of the individuals unlike
the earlier times wherein the homosexuals were persecuted for their sexual orientation or sexual
preferences. In this connection, I would like to say that I myself have many friends who are gay
and lesbians and are being able to lead a peaceful with no persecution or objection from anyone.
However, at the same time it needs to be said that the large number of anti-homosexual
movements which are being organized even in the present times and the fact that homosexuality
is still illegal in many nations goes on to show that actual development in the concerned field had
still not been achieved. To sum up, these personal experiences which I have highlighted clearly
indicate a substantial amount of change or for that matter development had taken place in the
cannon of gender and sexuality yet the contradictory evidences suggest that the situation is far
from ideal and therefore a great amount of work still needs to be performed.
The changes that had taken place in the constructs of gender and sexuality and also the
prominence that these two concepts hold in the lives of the common people become apparent
from the large number of theories related to the same that had been formulated over the years. In
this connection, it needs to be said that three of the most important theories which are presently
being used for the analysis of the different instances related to gender and sexuality are
feminism, Marxism and post-modernism. Roberts and MacCallum-Stewart (2016) are of the
viewpoint that one of the most important precepts of the theory of feminism can be attributed to
the fact that both men and women are equal and because of the subjugation that the women had
to face over the years advocacy needs to be done for their empowerment. An analysis of the first
experience that I highlighted through the usage of this theory clearly reveals the fact that the
women are still not considered as equal to men in the different workplaces of the nation of UK
despite performing the same volume of work. This clearly goes on to show the dire need for

4GENDER AND SEXUALITY
advocacy which needs to be done for the empowerment of women and thereby help them to
attain the social position which is on par with male members of the society. According to
Hillyard (2016), the theory of Marxism views the social relationship among the individuals or for
that matter the class struggle the resultant effects of the labor that they perform within the
societal framework. As a matter of fact, the branch of Marxist Feminist focuses on the manner in
which the women have been oppressed over the years by the men through the systems of
capitalism and thereby considered as the personal property of men (Nynäs 2016). This theory can
be used to adequately explain the second experience that I highlight in the above paragraph. As
per this theory, the women over the years had to perform the household chores since the men
were wealth holders or the wealth earners within the family and thereby the women who did not
earn any wealth were subservient to the men and thereby had to perform the secondary jobs like
the household chores as per the wish of the men (Rojas-Salas, Vargas and Rothblum 2016).
Schaub, Willis and Dunk-West (2017) are of the viewpoint that the post-modernist theory can be
seen as a sociological inquiry into new domains or vistas and thereby associated with the
exploration of the gender, gender roles, sexuality, social identity and other important concepts by
the individuals. The third experience which I mentioned can be explained through the usage of
this particular theory as the effective exploration of sexuality as well as sexual identity by the
individuals. This is important since unlike the earlier times when the individuals were content
with structured gender and sexuality presently they exploring new vistas or domains and this is
even being accepted by others as well. The above analysis of the three experiences through the
theories of feminism, Marxism and post-modernism clearly indicate all of them are related to
changes that gender and sexuality had undergone over the years.

5GENDER AND SEXUALITY
The first incident that I discussed is related to the aspect of gender pay gap which as a
matter of fact is directly related to the aspect of gender inequality that the women still had to face
within the societal framework. Fletcher et al. (2016) are of the viewpoint that despite the
achievements attained by the women in the present times be it in the educational world,
professional world, personal life and others they are still not considered to be on par with the
men and thereby not being paid the same amount of wage that the men are being paid. It is
precisely here that the theory of feminism becomes important since it not only argues that both
men and women are being but also argues for adequate amount of advocacy for the improvement
of the condition of the women (Zeeman et al. 2017). In this connection, it needs to be said that
the gender pay gap is presently declining and it is likely that if adequate advocacy is being done
it would completely become obsolete. On the other hand, the basic issue behind the second
experience which had been highlighted in this paper can be attributed to the fact that the men
over the years have considered women as their personal property. Thus, according to the
Marxism theory, the men also exploit the women and make them perform the household chores
without themselves doing any of those just like the capitalists make their workers perform all the
chores. More importantly, as per the Marxism theory this particular situation can easily be
overcome if the women also become a part of the system of capitalism rather than merely being a
commodity for the men. This finds evidence from the houses in which the women do fulltime
jobs, the men members of the same are likely to indulge in household chores in comparison to
the ones wherein the women merely stay at home (Mulholland, Montagna and Sanders-
McDonagh 2018). The last incident is related to the issue of sexuality and as a matter of fact it
had been seen that individuals in the earlier times did not come forward with their homosexuality
because of their fear of persecution. However, presently as per the precepts of the post-modernist

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theory, the developments in the field of knowledge and society had broadened the mindset of the
people and thus they are not only being encouraged to explore their sexuality but come forward
with the same. More importantly, in order to extent their support it had been seen that many of
the nations have even legalized homosexuality as well and these people are being offered the
chance to lead a peaceful as well as a happy life (Page 2016). To sum up, the different issues that
the world is presently facing facing like gender pay gap, sexuality and others can be effectively
resolved if adequate theories are being used and also effective measures are being undertaken for
the resolution of the same.
Gender and sexuality is a complex field and the above mentioned issues related to the
same that the world is facing presently clearly indicates that still a significant amount of work
needs to be done in the concerned field. Sundaram and Sauntson (2016) are of the viewpoint that
the changes which have undergone in the fields of gender and sexuality become apparent when
the condition of women and the homosexuals of the present times are being compared with those
of hundred years ago. For instance, a century ago the women were considered a personal
commodity meant only for the pleasure of the men and also for reproduction (Ringrose 2016).
However, presently it had been seen that although the women are still not considered equal to
men yet they are no longer being considered to be the personal property of men (Westwood
2016). As a matter of fact, they are being given the freedom to undertake education, pursue a
career of their own choice, create an identity of their own, no longer had to perform all the
household chores and other which are things that the women in the earlier times did not enjoy
(Roberts and MacCallum-Stewart 2016). However, at the same time it needs to be said that the
situation is not far from being ideal and still a lot of work needs to be done to empower the
women. For example, despite performing equal amount of work the average women in the nation

7GENDER AND SEXUALITY
of UK are being offered 17.3% lower wage than the average working men (Ons.gov.uk 2020).
Furthermore, it is seen that less than 7% of the men of the nation of UK perform household
chores in comparison to the 93% women of the concerned nation who regularly perform
household chores (Independent.co.uk 2020). More importantly, when it comes to sexuality as
well it is seen that no significant inroad have been made till now. In this connection, it needs to
be said that the UK government passed the “Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill” (2013) which
gave permission for same-sex marriage in the concerned nation yet the religious outlook of the
UK people had made it very difficult to embrace homosexuality (Page 2016). This in turn is one
of the most important reasons for the different kinds of issues that the homosexuals had to face in
the concerned nation.
To conclude, the constructs of sexuality and gender form an integral part of the lives of
the individuals and to a great extent denotes their identity as well. More importantly, it had been
seen that these two constructs had undergone a significant amount of changes over the years and
the individuals related to both the genders, especially the women, do not have to face the issues
on the score of their gender that they faced in the earlier times. However, at the same time it
needs to be said that despite these changes and the different policies formulated by the national
governments there are various issues like gender pay gap, sexual orientation acceptance issues,
the hesitation of the men to perform household chores and others which hindering the creation of
a gender equal world. Thus, it becomes important for the authorities to take the help of different
kinds of advocacy which will facilitate the cause of women empowerment, the empowerment of
the individuals with gay or lesbian orientations and others. These aspects of gender and equality
become apparent from the above analysis of the same in the particular context of three personal
experiences.

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9GENDER AND SEXUALITY
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Appendix 1
Evidence related to gender pay gap
Evidence related to household chores

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Evidence related to Homosexuals

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