Marginalisation of Women
Marginalisation is the powerlessness and exclusion experienced by a group, resulting from an inequality of control of 'resources and power structures' (Kenny 1999 p 22) within society. Feminism argues that woman are marginalised due the patriarchal structure of society (Andrews 200 p28). In an attempt to explore my own position in society as a woman, I have chosen to research the marginalisation experienced by women in terms of gender, class and age. I have taken a sociological approach to my research, which included a literature review of sociological papers written in relation to gender, class and age, and two interviews with a woman (who for the purposes of confidentiality, will be referred to as Sally), about how being a woman has affected her life experiences. By comparing the information given by Sally, to the previous research conducted by sociologists, I will identify examples of how women are marginalised in modern society, and reflect on these findings to broaden my own understanding of womanhood. Social Science is an area of study which 'attempts to explain social phenomena', such as marginalisation, by using systematic and scientific methods to analyse 'the social world' (Lucas 2004 p7). Sociology is a branch of
Marxist sociologists argue that a class becomes marginalised when they have no ownership or control of 'the means of production' (Haralambos, Van Kreiken, Smith & Holborn 1996 p13). Milkie (at el 2002) also found, both mothers and fathers felt the 'traditional division of labor' was unfair to women, and rationalised it as the woman's 'own over-involvement in their traditional domain'. Younger women are less exposed to age related life events such as marriage and parenthood, and such events are less consequential to men (Jacob and King 2002). Sally's account is consistent with the attitudes towards age found by McMullin and Marshall, and the findings of Jacobs and King (2002). These findings however, are contracted by Baxter and Western (1996), who in an Australian survey found that in general 'women are satisfied with the division of household labour' even though it is unequally divided. I now consider ageing a chronological process that occurs through the succession of live events such as marriage and parenthood. As women age their marginalisation also increases, as they gain more responsibilities through life events such as marriage and childbirth, while their physical capacity to handle increasing demands begins to decline. The first interview with Sally was driven by the stereotypes I had of women, therefore this affected the collection and analysis of the information given. A person's class is determined by their 'economic resources' such as 'income or wealth', and by the factors which conceptualize these resources, for example 'occupation, education and prestige' (Ferree & Hall 1996). Jacobs and King (2002) found that women over the age of twenty-five faced more age related barriers than women under the age of twenty-five, in completing tertiary education. In society inequalities between men and women have resulted from social structures being 'constructed in the interests of men' (Kenny 1999 p90). By using a 'gender perspective', Milkie (et al. Sally stated "its totally unfair being a woman, you're expected to do everything". Before carrying out this research, my understanding of age was only the physical effects of aging.
Common topics in this essay:
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Jacob King,
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,
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McMullin Marshall,
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events marriage,
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kenny 1999,
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Acceptance Essays
