Читать книгу Sociology - Anthony Giddens - Страница 51

Like functionalists, sociologists using conflict theories emphasize the importance of social structures, advancing a comprehensive ‘model’ to explain how society works. However, conflict theorists reject functionalism’s emphasis on consensus. Instead, they highlight the importance of social divisions and concentrate on issues of power, inequality and competitive struggle. They tend to see society as composed of distinct groups, each pursuing its own interests, which means the potential for conflict is always present. Conflict theorists examine the tensions between dominant and disadvantaged groups, looking to understand how relationships of control are established and maintained.

Both Marx and later Marxist approaches have been highly influential in conflict theory, though it is important to note that by no means all conflict theories are Marxist. Feminism, for example, is a form of conflict theory which concentrates on gender inequality – the unequal situation between men and women that exists in most societies. For some feminist theorists, gender inequality is more significant than class-based inequality and has a much longer history. Male domination of society continues even today, though women’s political activism has made an impact in many areas of life, bringing about a measure of equality (Abbott et al. 2005).

As a conflict perspective in sociology, feminism draws attention to issues that sociologists previously ignored. In particular, feminist research and theorizing look at the micro level as well as the macro world of large social structures. For example, feminists have studied unequal gender relations in domestic situations and other ‘private’ spheres of life (such as sexual relations), a controversial move in the 1960s and 1970s (Rahman and Jackson 2010). Feminists have also carried out research into the use of gender stereotypes and language in interactions, pointing out and challenging many taken-for-granted ‘malestream’ assumptions (favouring men over women) built into the structure of how we describe and think about the world. We can see this in numerous everyday words and expressions, such as chairman, mankind (to discuss humanity as such) and man-made. This is a simple illustration of the myriad ways in which women’s subordinate position in society is reflected in the unacknowledged male domination of language itself.

Feminists do not ignore the macro level either. Feminist studies have shown that gender inequality is embedded within modern social structures such as legal systems, education and schooling, government and politics, and many more. Similarly, in order to demonstrate the extent and scope of gender inequality, feminist work has made use of official statistics and examined patterns of change over long time periods. Feminist theorizing has continually developed into new areas and types of theory, and these are covered in more detail later in the book.

Feminist research and theorizing can be found throughout the various chapters of the book, but there are significant discussions of feminist theory and its development in chapter 3, ‘Theories and Perspectives’, and chapter 7, ‘Gender and Sexuality’.