Paradoxes of Gender by Lorber Judith

This article questions the underlying gender presumption held by most people.


In the article, Lorber expresses the opinion that gender is a social construct that is open to organization, human agency, and interpretation. According to the Lorber, given its importance and effects, gender is an institution that may be likened to family, the economy, and religion. Lorber does examine several gender paradoxes in the article. She makes the point that while there are various relationships and sexual activities, people exclusively talk about the two opposite sexes. Lorber contends that the concepts of the two sexes and genders in Western society are unaffected by transsexuals, transvestites, and hermaphrodites (Lorber 17).

Lorber's view on gender roles in modern society


Lorber describes that men affect the cultural image of women and many women attach significance on how men view them. Women in the modern society are expected to bear children and act as home caretakers along with carrying out the other domestic works. Evidently, there are few women in authority compared to men and women have not benefited from the social revolution. Lorber contends that the entire aspect of gender in the modern world is driven at maintaining structured gender inequality. The whole point of gender inequality is embedded in being viewed as sexual partners, emotional nurtures, childbearing, and subordinates class. From the article, Lober envisions a society that could promote equality which does not divide itself on the grounds of racial, ethnic, gender, and social classes (Lorber 34). The article also adds significantly to the historical context in bringing the ideas of gender at home. The paradoxes present a brilliant contribution of concepts of western society on gender in a clear, lucid, and unarguable way. She gives a compelling rationale to various puzzling paradoxes of sex and gender relations.

The Egg and the Sperm


Martin’s document denotes how social constructions of stereotypes are pivotal to the perception of the world that surrounds people. Martin explains the way in which culture is vital in shaping the manner in which the biological scientists elucidate the discoveries they make in the natural world. The author makes an examination into the scientific accounts of the reproductive technologies and describes that gender stereotypes are fundamentally concealed in the scientific biology language. Martin makes an analysis and represents the egg and the sperm noting a critical contrast of every reproductive organ. According to him, the sperm is typically described to be a reproductive organ superior to the egg. The egg is viewed to be a degenerate and weak reproductive organ (Martin 487). The article also describes that the egg depicts behaving in a female manner while the sperm behaves in a masculinity way. Undoubtedly, the explanation given concerning the two reproductive organs evidence the typical gender stereotypes which remain to influence the society.

Socially constructed stereotypes and their impact on understanding nature


Besides, the implementation of social imagery on nature representation does lay a solid foundation for reproduction of similar imagery as natural explanations of social phenomena. Additionally, the implementation of socially constructed stereotypes in natural science acts as a powerful message that suggests that the ideas are natural and far beyond any alteration. Undisputedly, the constituents of natural science do carry a given value in the current world. The two genders have adapted to occupy their defined space in the society in different ways. According to Martin, the little subconscious actions done by the genders indicate the internalization of stereotypical notions. For instance, the article denotes that the stereotypes of gender could be influential on the sensory perception. This is evident from the sense of touch which has significantly been developed according to association with gender. The female gender is symbolized with soft touch and men are associated with roughness. Sound sensory perception is also related to gender with loud and harsh sounds connoted to men while soothing and soft sounds associated with female gender (Martin 500). The implementation of gender-specific stereotypes would culminate in social consequences and paint a projection of the cultural imagery which influences the understanding of nature and the world and people’s influence on behaviors and actions that seem to be natural. It is thus fundamental for one to become aware of the socially constructed imagery existing in the society.

Works Cited


Martin, Emily. “The Egg And The Sperm: How Science Has Constructed A Romance Based On Stereotypical Male-Female Roles”. Signs: Journal Of Women In Culture And Society, vol 16, no. 3, 1991, pp. 485-501. University Of Chicago Press, doi:10.1086/494680.


Lorber Judith. “Paradoxes Of Gender”. Contemporary Sociology, vol 24, no. 3, 1995, p. 337. SAGE Publications, doi:10.2307/2076487.

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