Introduction
Gender inequality is referred to as the unfair treatment of a person grounded on their sex, whether male or female. In other words, gender inequality can be said to be the discrimination of a person in various areas of life because of the gender they have and according to the societal treatment of a particular gender. There are so many reasons as to why gender inequality occurs, as explained by different researchers and theorists. A few of the leading causes of gender inequality among the people are the perception of a particular gender by the society, the roles associated with a specific gender, the biological differences of the genders, among other things (Newton). Social interaction or gender socialization has a significant impact on the life of an individual. It contributes a lot to what happens in the presence of that particular person, either male or female. It is known to be the primary cause of gender inequality, and the social theory explains this in a better way. An important question to consider is how does the social theory describe gender inequality?
Social Theory
The social theory is the theory that explains the interactions of the societal people of all ages and the impact of that interaction on the perceptions and daily lives of the members of the society. Every society has got certain norms, beliefs, and practices that are followed and cultivated from generation to another for continuity. When a boy or a girl is born in any community, there are specific roles and expectations assigned to them immediately the first people notice that they are of the male or female gender. As they grow up in that community, they begin to understand their gender in different ways (Treas). The male children and the female ones have very different ways of behavior, and the gender much dictates this. However, the reason as to why the gender has got a lot to determine in the actions, livelihood, and behavior of any individual is because of the ideas that have been fed into the minds of these children right from childhood.
For example, in the case of Brenda, who was a twin brother to Brian, she has been made to assimilate the female characteristics and behavior by the parents as a result of the surgery that had been messed up during circumcision. However, the people who knew that Brenda had been born a boy initially had a percentage of contribution to his going back to live as a male and even getting married and adopting children. “Psychologist John Muney convinced the twins’ parents that it would be best to reconstruct Bruce's genitals as a female" (Newton). This quote shows the influence that society has on gender matters and the impact that this brings on the victims. The social interaction with other people would have made Brenda feel that she was not worth living as a female, yet she had been a male twin to Brian. If maybe she would have continued to live as a female and Brian as a male, it would have been evident that the parents and the societal people would treat each of them in different ways.
The socialization concept of the members of the society explains how the people in society contribute to gender inequality among the people. There are some genders which are treated as superior and others inferior. When a child grows with the feeling that they are inferior or superior to those of the other gender, the result is that there will be discrimination of one gender by another (Padavic et al). This has been the case in so many countries of the world, with the female gender being treated better than the males. Others treat the males with respect than females since they recognize men as the superiors. Therefore, according to the social theory, the society members have a significant role that they play in causing the gender discriminations and inequality among themselves because their cultures, norms, beliefs, and practices are the ones that dictate in a significant way how one grows, behaves and how others treat them in various fields.
Gender inequality has been rampant because of this impact of society, and it is one of the most challenging things to control. It will only be controlled if there is any way that can be used to counter the efforts of society to influence children about gender roles and expectations right from childhood.
Conclusion
Many theorists have discovered that it would be hard to solve the problem of gender biasness and inequality since it is a problem rooted in society. From the social upbringing and conceptualization of the young children, till they become adults, the cultures and norms of their communities have the whole influence. The world would become a better place with this big inequality problem having been dealt with and eradicated. However, the correct measures to be taken to handle it are still not yet known. Socialization in the communities contributes to the effect of inequality in so many direct and indirect ways.
