Aminah Karim Essays - Gender Studies, Feminism, Gender, Structure

Aminah Karim SOC 121-099WB Professor Behn January 13, 2016 Power is the ability to influence others. Anyone can have power. There are many different ways to have power. You can have power through persuasion, charisma, law, political activism, and coercion. It comes as a result of social relationships or whom you know. On the other hand, authority is power that is perceived by others as legitimate and that is structured into specific social instructions. Authority can come from a person or group that exercises power but believe that their power is legitimate. An example of authority would be a king or queen. They have authority because they control what goes on in their kingdom. The institution that embodies the official power system is the state. The state refers to all of the institutions hat represent official power and authority in society. Institutions that represent the state are the government, military, courts, police, and the law. All of these social institutions are male dominated institutions. Feminists see the state as a gendered institution. There are two primary theoretical models that have been used to explain how the state operates. First is the pluralism model. This model says that the state tries to balance out the different interest groups in society. Examples of interest groups are the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Planned Parenthood, and the National Organization for Women. The other model is known as the power elite. In this model, a powerful ruling class controls the action of the state, such as the executive branch in the government and the military. There is a strong alliance between the government and corporate businesses. This means that the government makes all large decisions that have to do with major corporations. Feminists argue that the state only reflects on men's interests, not only because men make up a majority of the groups, but also they are the leaders of most of the major interest groups that influence the workings of the state. The study of law is extremely important in feminist analysis. Women feel that the law is both a source for the denial of women's rights and one of the categories that women have wanted to address women's equality. Women's positions in the law have changed juristically over the years, but are still small. Some laws provide equal treatment for men and women. We all know that doesn't exist. The government tries to justify for this by using the rape law. This is the law where women most likely have all of the power. You are not even allowed to bring up a women's past sexual history during her rape case. Somehow while a woman is on trial she is still sexualized. Feminists study of the law have criticized the gender basis of the law. Gender gap refers to the differences in womens and mens political behavior and political attitudes. Women are more likely than men to hold and support liberal views. Women are also more likely to vote as democrats. The gender gap is the widest involving something like gun control. Of course most women are going to agree with gun control because they are going to want peace. Women can change their standing in the law by trying to increase their representation in the government. If they do this, there will be more equal opportunities for women. Women tend to be mostly associated with education, health, and welfare. If women were active in all areas instead of focusing on a few main important issues, they could change their standing.