Gender can be considered as the wide range of the characteristics which helps in bringing a connection as well as differentiating between the masculinity and that of the feminity. It is, however, to be noted that on the basis of the Gender, opportunities and the distinction are sometimes being implemented over the individuals. Grusky (2019), notes the fact that the males are being considered as the ones who are more powerful in comparison to the females, and thus, they are being given more privileges. For a better understanding of the subject matter like the Gender and the social inequalities, the life of Jane Austen will be taken into consideration. Jane Austen is one of the most popular English novelists. She is known for her six major novels which help in interpreting, critiquing and even commenting on the genre of her times at the end of the 18th century. Her writing helps in exploring the dependence of the women on marriage in the quest of social and economic security. Jane Austen was born on 16th December 1775 in Steventon. Her father George Austen was the rector of the Anglican Parishes at the Steventon and at the Deane. She has six brothers and one sister, and all them contributed much to her work. She and her sister Cassandra had the opportunity of open education, unlike the other women of her times. The aim of the paper is to understand the perceptions of Gender and social inequalities through life and the incidents faced by Jane Austen.
Gender can be described as the term which tends to refer to the social or the cultural distinctions which are being associated with that of being a male or a female. On the other hand, it can be noted that Gender identify can be considered as the extent to which one identifies as one being masculine or feminine. Researches show that it is through the interaction with the caretakers, socialization in the childhood, a gendered form of the work, peer pressure in the period of adolescence, men and women falls under the trap of the social construction in which the owner and the men act in accordance to the structured behaviour, attitude or the emotions in order to fit the society. In the period of 1600s, the synonym for the women was inferiority. The females were being expected to the functions of the household work while the men used to do the activities of the outer world. he further argues the fact that it was not expected that a woman would write a novel. It is because of this; Jane Austen has to hide her name and take the name of a male in order to publish her own novels.
Carter (2014), notes the fact that gender socialization is the procedure through which the individuals are being informed about the various number of the norms and the behaviours which are linked with the assigned sex. This is, however, conducted during the time of childhood and the time of the development. Family can be considered to be one of the most significant agents of the socialization because it acts as the centre of the life of the child. Strapko et al (2016), notes the fact that the division of the labour that lies between the men and the women leads to the creation of the roles of the Gender which in turn leads to the Gender-specific social behaviour of the individuals. Jane Austen, through her writing, tried to depict the life of the women of her times. It was being expected from women to totally depend upon the men for all sorts of the security and work “inside” the limits of the house. In this context, the concepts of Parson’s regarding gender roles can be taken into account. According to him, it is mainly because of the biological differences between the men and the women; there are natural social roles which both the men and the women must maintain. He further states that it is the role of the women to perform the expressive role and the nurturing role while the men should be performing the role of the breadwinner. Since, Jane Austen mocked at such society through her writings, after her death, her sister burnt some of the letters in order to avoid the embarrassment from the society.
Karl Marx is one of the significant theorists who wrote on Gender. According to his conflict theory, society can be described as the struggle for the purpose of dominance among the social groups who compete with one another for the resources which are scarce. However, in the perspective of the Gender, conflict theory can be well understood as the men trying to gain the power and the honour to the damage of women. Therefore, in order to gain the social power, they dominate upon the women consuming themselves to the “significant” and the women to be the “other”. the functionalist theory of the social stratification by Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore can also be considered to be very much significant here. According to the theory, social inequalities are very much beneficial for society because they provide advantages to the one who is in a powerful position. The theory further notes that it helps in the orderly maintenance of the society. Thus, in order to maintain their own power of the control, the women were being deprived of their financial independence and were limited within the chores of the house so that the men can enjoy their power and present their dominance.
Esra (2014), notes the fact that the masculinity and the felinity are mainly the traits or the characteristics which are linked with that of the males or the females. He further notes that the characteristics which are generally associated with the masculines are that of the strength, courage, independence and assertiveness. It is very much associated with power. The characteristics which are generally linked with femininity is that of the empathy, humility, sensitivity. Thus, in Jane Austen’s time, women were mainly seen as a burden who could find some form of identity only by marrying the rich. It was not expected for women in her times to write and even be equivalent to that of the men. Gymnich (2013), notes that people of her times were not even ready to accept “her” intelligence, for which they used to mock her and even treat as someone who is “mad” as she was different from the norms of the society which was constructed by them.
Reisner et al (2015), notes the fact that gender identity is one’s own sense of the self. It can correlate with the assigned sex of the person and can even differ from it. Though as per the norms of the society, the women must be subordinated and weak, Jane Austen became a distinct example of her times representing women with power and intelligence. She can be regarded as the bricolage identity, which possesses both the characteristics as of the men and the women which are distinct by society.
Gender inequality means that the men and the women are not equal, and hence their experiences will alter in accordance with it. Steiner (2015), notes that in the time of the Jane Austen, women were given less freedom in comparison to the man. Women did not even have the chance of going to the universities. Women were only connected to marriage.
The theory which is very much connected to Gender and the sexual inequality is that of the gender schema theory, which was being introduced by Sandra Bern in the year of 1981. The theory helps in understanding how people get gendered in society. The theory states the idea that the sex-linked ideas are very much maintained and even transmitted to the other members of the culture in Gender. Thus, the expectations that one has from a particular gender is already socially constructed and transmitted via social norms.
The women in the 19th century or during the period of the Jane Austen were considered to be the weaker sex. The ideal women were considered to be the angel in the house who supports her husband. They had no identity of themselves, and they were totally dependent on their male partners. Very few women had the opportunity to educate themselves. They were mainly expected to perform household functions. Presently, in the contemporary time, gender roles have evolved over the period of time. The gender-specific identities are very much prevalent in the present context. Jane Austen is one of the significant women who helped in evading the social constructs over the functions of the genders. She fought against the inequalities of both the men and the women in her times and helped in ensuring the society that one deserves equal rights irrespective of one’s own Gender. She is considered as one of the fifth women who helped in changing the world because she helped in bring a change of the ways in which the genders are being identified in society.
However, discrimination is still very much prevalent. The discrimination between the different Gender is very much seen in the workplace where the men are being favoured for the higher roles of the job. Though in the present context the women have stepped out from the limited cages constructed inside their house (in the time of the Jane Austen), they still have various challenges to endure and overcome to acquire the success.
Sexual harassment of women at the workplace, equal pay act, equal access to resource and services, the law on domestic violence and based on Gender are some of the laws which are there for the equal rights of the Gender.
In conclusion, it can be noted that Gender and social inequalities are very much connected. This was, however, prevalent during the time of Jane Austen or even beyond. Presently, though women have developed, there are still many hurdles to pass and overcome in the future.
References
Carter, M. J. (2014). Gender socialization and identity theory. Social Sciences, 3(2), 242-263.
Esra, E. (2014). Play, toys and gender socialization. Educația Plus, 11(2), 22-30.
Grusky, D. (2019). Social Stratification, Class, Race, and Gender in Sociological Perspective. Routledge.
Gymnich, M. (2013). Gender and narratology. Literature Compass, 10(9), 705-715.
Reisner, S. L., Greytak, E. A., Parsons, J. T., & Ybarra, M. L. (2015). Gender minority social stress in adolescence: disparities in adolescent bullying and substance use by gender identity. The Journal of Sex Research, 52(3), 243-256.
Steiner, E. K. (2015). Jane Austen’s Civilized Women: Morality, Gender and the Civilizing Process. Routledge.
Strapko, N., Hempel, L., MacIlroy, K., & Smith, K. (2016). Gender differences in environmental concern: Reevaluating gender socialization. Society & Natural Resources, 29(9), 1015-1031.
