Women and Men (Sumblog10)

Parsons had three goals when developing his theory about the ways in which society and individuals are structured. He wanted his theory to enable relationship comparisons between cultures, be relevant to action frames and references, and be relevant to all social systems. He then laid out 5 pattern variables which are affectivity - affective neutrality, diffuseness - specificity, universality - particularism, achievement - ascription, and collectivity - self-orientation.

Personally, I find the way Parsons analyzes society to be intriguing and with many insights. However, I thought some of the examples he gives of these pattern-variables (particularly affectivity - affective neutrality, and diffuseness - specificity) to be somewhat ethnocentric. He first claims that newlyweds should expect a considerable amount of affection. Then he states that closer relationships lead to more expectations and demands while a more limited relationship has fewer expectations. I think these examples are appropriate for certain social systems but not others. For example, this applies well to the typical American marriage, but not to arranged marriages in Pakistan and other similar cultures. In certain cases, a newlywed bride in an arranged marriage should probably not expect a considerable amount of affection AND it could be considered a limited relationship that exhibits a significant amount of demands and responsibilities on her.

I found Parsons discussion on kinship systems and their influence on sex roles to be very interesting as well because it provided me with a new angle to analyze society since I am not inclined to look at it in such a way. However, I think that Parsons is writing about some seriously old ideas that just are not as applicable today as they had been in the past - “feminist emancipation”, and the roles of men and women in general. Sex roles and expectations have been dramatically changing.

The following image is an award-winning poster from the non-profit organization Posters for Tomorrow competition on Gender Equality Now. I chose it because of how depicts gender stereotypes in an artistically appealing way that alludes to old scientific graphs/charts. At the bottom it reads “Gender equality is, first and foremost, a human right. Women are entitled to live in dignity and in freedom from want and from fear.” I wish it said - “Women and Men”. <<Song Link - Enjoy!