From Sex Roles to Gendered Institutions

Author(s): Joan Acker

Reviewed work(s):
Source: Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 21, No. 5 (Sep., 1992), pp. 565-569
Published by: American Sociological Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2075528 .
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 'B

GenderedInstitutions
From Sex Roles JOANACKER
to GenderedInstitutions of Oregon
University

Genderhas become,in thelasttwenty years, stillin process.In thisessay I explorethese

part of the everydaylanguage of social different definitionsof genderand what it
science, largely as a consequence of the meansto talkaboutgenderedinstitutions.
feministmovementand the accompanying Genderwas firstemployedto emphasize
intellectualeffortsto betterunderstand the thesocial and relationalnatureof differences
systematic and widespreadsubordination of between women and men in contrastto
women and theirdominationby men. Al- biologicaldifferences betweenthesexes. Sex
thoughthe termis widelyused, thereis no was natureand genderwas nurture.In the
commonunderstanding of its meaning,even languageof sociology,genderrolesreplaced
among feministscholars(Butler 1990). In sex roles, as genderrepresented moreaccu-
sociology,feminists began withone view of ratelythan sex the social construction of
gender,whichhas been graduallybroadened identitiesand roles dividingsocieties into
andchanged,although thenewerviewhas not women and men. Sex and gender were
totallydisplacedtheolderone. To arguethat interdependent, but clearly distinguished.
there are two views of gender within Genderwas social, thusvariableand subject
sociologyis, of course, to oversimplify a to change,whilesex represented theessential
complexdiscussioncontaininga numberof and unchanging physicaldifferences in hu-
different positions and overlappingview- man reproduction. An implicitcausal link
points.However,castingthesepositionsinto existedbetweensex and gender.
two views is, I believe,helpfulin highlight- Positinga cleardistinctionanda causallink
ing theemergenceof a new way of thinking betweensex and genderwas a usefultactic
about centralinstitutional processesin our for those feministsociologistswho took a
society. biosocialview of gender(e.g., Rossi 1984)
In theearlierusage,genderis another word and saw genderedbehavioras at leastin part
forsex or forwomen;thestudyof genderis physiologicallydetermined.Although the
the studyof women, sex roles, or both. contribution of physiologicaldifferences to
Gender,in thisview,is an areaor a field,but social behavioris not settled,for me and
one thatis peripheral to thecentralconcerns others, this distinctionbetween sex and
of sociology,of interestprimarilyto special- gender became problematic.Variationsin
ists. In thenewerusage, genderis theorized actions and feelingsamong both men and
as a basic principleof social structure and women, as well as similaritiesbetween
cultural interpretation (e.g., Scott 1986; womenand men, seemedtoo greatto allow
Acker1988). Ratherthanbeinga specialized tracingbehaviorto biologicaldifferences.
areawithinan accepteddomain,genderis the Anotherproblem had to do with the
patterningof differenceand domination meaningof sex. Sex signifiesdifferences
through betweenwomenandmen betweenfemale and male bodies, such as
distinctions
thatis integralto manysocietalprocesses. externalgenitalia,hormonalproduction, ova-
This way of theorizing gendercriticizesand ries and sperm.These differences definethe
challengesexistingframeworks, arguingthat binarycategoriesmale and femaleand serve
womenand genderrolescannotjustbe added as signs thatpersonsbelong to one or the
to existingtheoryand thattheoriesthatare other.Althoughthe categoriesare seen as
silentaboutgenderarefundamentally flawed. natural,thuspriorto socialinterventionin the
Thismoreradicalviewofgenderis partofthe formof gender,the identification of certain
ongoingdevelopment of feministtheoryand physical characteristics as the basis for
method;hence the elaborationof genderis categorizingpeople and the assignmentof

565

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566 SYMPOSIUM
individuals to suchcategoriesis an evaluative advantageand theirexploitationof gender
social process.In everydaylife, the assign- differences as withmale workers'collective
mentto a categoryis usuallymade on the creationoftheiridentities as menandworkers
presumption ofbiologicaldifference basedon or femaleworkers'identification withtheir
observabledressand behavior,as West and domesticroles. Methodologicalimplications
Zimmerman (1987) pointout. Social under- follow fromthis sort of conceptualization;
standingsaboutgenderdifference thusenter qualitative andhistorical studiesarenecessary
into sex categorization.Sex derives its to comprehendconcretepracticesand pro-
meaning from gender: sex collapses into cesses.
gender. This is not to argue that sex, Othercomplexities have contributed to the
sexuality,and thebodyare unimportant, but emergingunderstanding of gender. Cross-
thattheyareexperienced, becomecomprehen- culturaland historicalstudies,as well as the
sible,through social practicesand processes; workof womenof color(e.g., hooks 1984),
theyare constituted throughgenderand, at criticalof the universalizing and essentializ-
thesametime,helpconstitute gender. ing tendenciesin the writingof white,
The disappearanceof the clear distinction middle-classfeminists, have illuminated the
betweensex andgenderalso erasesor at least diversity and historical-cultural specificityof
attenuates theimplicitcausallinkbetweenthe women'sexperiences andgenderrelations, as
two. The problemsin distinguishing between well as theimpossibility of accountingforthe
gender and sex, althoughnot completely situationsof minoritywomen in a role/
resolved,are one indication of thecomplexi- identity perspective.Class experiencesalso,
ties thatemergedas feminists triedto deal quite obviously,contributeto differences
theoretically withthepreviously unexamined betweenwomenas well as to differences in
processesof thesubordination of women. relationsbetweenwomenand men,whilethe
The notion of gender (or sex) as a genderdivisionof laboraffectstheway that
characteristic of individualsor as a social class processesfunction (Crompton andMann
category,which is relatedto the idea of 1986). In addition,lesbianfeminists pointed
genderas role and/oridentity,was easily to theheterosexual assumptions embeddedin
adaptedto conventional modelsof investiga- thenotionof genderroles.Focusingon roles
tion in whichtheorieswere testedthrough and identities tendedtowardcreatingnorma-
examiningthe relationshipsbetween vari- tive models that proved to be much too
ables. Gendercan be used as an independent narrow to accommodatethe diversityof
variable.For example,researchers studying women's experiences.Moreover,questions
wage determination add theworker'sgender, about power and dominationcould not be
or the proportion femalein variousoccupa- adequatelyaddressedfromwithina sex-role
tions,as a variableto a listof othervariables perspective (Staceyand Thorne1985).
thoughtto determinethe outcome-wages. Early effortsto resolve the conceptual
Alternatively, populationsare oftendivided problemof multiplediversities and formsof
intotwogroups,femaleand male,whichare oppressioninvolvedpositingdifferent dimen-
then compared on an aspect of gender sions of domination-race,class, gender,
roles-for example,the distribution of time ethnicity,forexample,although thelistcould
spenton householdresponsibilities. go on to sexual orientation, disability,and
Researchin this traditionis valuable as age. The idea of formsor dimensionsof
documentation of such thingsas differencesdomination calls attention to differencesand
inthesocialconditions ofwomenandmen,in complexity butdoes notsolvetheproblemof
the distribution of work betweenthem,in putting themtogether in a coherent accountof
theiraccess to rewardsandprotections. Butit individualexperienceor socialprocess.These
is necessaryto go beyondgenderas category, dimensionsof dominationor discrimination
social role,or identity in orderto understand are neither obviouslydiscretenorstructurally
how gender differentiation and women's analogous.Class relationsdo notfunction in
disadvantage are produced.For example,the the same way as gender relations;race
processescreatingand maintaining sex segre- relationsare stillanothermatter.Yet all of
gationare complexand varywithtimeand thesecome together in cross-cuttingwaysfor
place (e.g., Cockburn1985), havingas much particular individualsand at particular histor-
to do withemployers'calculationsof their ical moments(Andersenand Collins 1992).

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 SYMPOSIUM 567
Some way of capturingthe forceof gender In myview,thisfundamental dividecan be
withinthesecomplexities was needed. conceptualized, forour typeof society,as a
Feministempiricalworkadded stillother differentiation betweenproduction and repro-
complexities(e.g., Bose and Spitze 1987; duction,which is also an organizationof
Reskin and Roos 1990). An enormous gender.The terms"production"and "repro-
researchliterature,producedsincethebegin- duction"havebeeninterpreted in a number of
ning of the 1970s, shows that gender different ways. I use themto denote,in a
divisions and patternsof power, while generalsense,thedivisionbetweenthedaily
extremely diverse,existwhereverone looks. and intergenerational reproduction of people
Genderis ubiquitous,as the wide-rangingand the productionof materialgoods, or
subjectmatterof the books reviewedhere commodities,in capitalist societies. The
indicates.Again, genderroles and identities transferof many reproductivetasks from
providedtoo narrowa frame. unpaid work to paid work only shiftsthe
In theemergingconceptualization, gender locationof thislaborbutdoes notaffectthe
standsforthe pervasiveorderingof human genderdivide. In industrial capitalistsocie-
activities,practices,and social structuresin ties, production is privilegedover reproduc-
termsof differentiationsbetweenwomenand tion. Business and industryare seen as
men. These activitiesand practicesalways essentialand the source of well-beingand
have symbolicsignificance,and, as Joan wealth,whilechildren, childcare,eldercare,
Scott(1986) pointsout,genderis a pervasive and educationare viewed as secondaryand
symbolof power.In thisapproach,genderis wealthconsuming.Although"thefamily"is
a process, not a characteristic of persons, idealized,reproduction, thedomainof female
although, of course, the assignmentof responsibility,is relativelyinvisible and
persons to gender categoriesis a central devaluedunlessit failsto function, whenit
aspectof theprocess.Genderdoes notexist maybecomethefocusof criticism. However,
in a setofrelationsthataredistinctfromother reproduction is absolutelyessentialto the
relations,suchas thoseofclass orrace,butas functioning of all institutions, which must
partof theprocessesthatalso constitute class have an adequatesupplyof membersin order
andrace,as wellas otherlinesofdemarcation to exist. Moreover,institutional structures
anddomination. Sexualityandthecreationof wouldhave quitedifferent formsifreproduc-
sexualmeaningsare complexlyimplicatedin tion were not cordonedoff in a separate
theseprocesses. sphere.They would have to organizewithin
The term "genderedinstitutions" means theirboundarieschildbirth, sexual activities,
that gender is presentin the processes, sleeping,eating,and otherdailymaintenance
practices,imagesand ideologies,and distri- activities.
butionsof power in the varioussectorsof The divide between reproductionand
social life.Takenas moreor less functioningproduction constitutes thegendered understruc-
wholes, the institutional structuresof the tureof society'sinstitutions. This divide is
UnitedStates and othersocietiesare orga- perpetuatedin institutional processes that,
nizedalonglinesofgender.The law, politics, except for the familyand certain "total
religion,the academy,the state, and the institutions," areorganizedon theassumption
economy,areascoveredin thereviewsbelow, thatreproduction takes place elsewhereand
areinstitutions developedbymen, that responsibility
historically for reproduction is also
currently dominatedby men, and symboli- locatedelsewhere.To investigate thecreation
cally interpretedfromthe standpoint of men andre-creation ofthegenderunderstructure, I
in leadingpositions,bothin thepresentand thinkit is necessaryto look at organizational
historically.These institutions have been practices,the sites of concreteinstitutional
definedby theabsenceof women.The only functioning(Acker 1992). Processes and
institutionin which women have had a practicesofdifferent typescan be analytically
central,defining,althoughsubordinate, role distinguished, althoughthey are inherently
is the family.In spite of many changes connectedelementsin ongoingsocial life.
bringing womenintoall institutions, and the Some areobviousandopen;othersaredeeply
reclaimingof women's historythat shows embeddedand invisible.
theirearlier important participation,males Firstin a listof genderedprocesses,which
stilldominatethecentralinstitutions. are at thesametimeclass andraceprocesses,

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568 SYMPOSIUM
are the overtdecisionsand proceduresthat knowingwhich gender categoryto place
control,segregate,exclude, and construct oneself in, is not necessarilyan adequate
hierarchies based on gender,and oftenrace. guide. Whatare appropriate femaleor male
Sometimesthesearequiteconsciouspractices demeanorandbehaviormaybe verydifferent
thatexcludewomenor minorities or include in politicsthanin religiousinstitutions, for
themin segregatedroles,but theymay also example.Genderis an ongoingaccomplish-
ostensiblyhave nothingto do withgender. ment(West and Zimmerman1987) thatalso
Violence or implied violence is oftenin- contributesto the maintenanceof other
volved (MacKinnon 1983). For example, aspects of genderedinstitutional processes.
politicaland legal practicesstillprotectmen Propergenderedpersonasalso varyby class,
who sexuallyharassor evenrapewomen. racial,and ethniclocation.
The construction of images,symbols,and Seeing social institutionsas gendered
ideologies that justify,explain, and give providesa criticalperspective forsociology,
legitimacy is a secondgendered in whichthe relevantquestionbecomesnot
to institutions
process.Imagesof whatConnell(1987) calls whyare womenexcludedbutto whatextent
hegemonicmasculinity pervademanyinstitu- have the overall institutional structure, and
tionalareas,includingthemilitary, business, thecharacter of particular institutional areas,
academia, and politics.The leader and the been formedby and through gender?Would
successfulorganizationitselfare oftenpor- therebe a military establishment, a stateas
trayedas aggressive,goal oriented,competi- we knowit,or a capitalisteconomyifgender
tive,efficient,butrarelyas supportive, kind, were not an organizingprinciple?How are
andcaring.Thisgenderedrealityis obscured, men's interestsand masculinityof certain
however,in theways thatinstitutions, other kindsintertwined in thecreationand mainte-
than the family, are conceptualizedand nanceofparticular institutions,andhowhave
theorized ingender-neutral terms.Understand-the subordination and exclusionof women
inghowtheappearanceofgenderneutrality is beenbuiltintoordinary institutionalfunction-
maintainedin the face of overwhelminging? The books reviewed here, in their
evidenceof genderedstructures is an impor- diverse ways, contributeto the ongoing
tantpartof analyzinggenderedinstitutions.projectof mappingthe genderedhistoryof
One conceptualmechanism is thepositingof institutions and chartingtheirgenderedpat-
an abstract, generalhumanbeing,individual, terns.
or workerwho apparently has no gender.On
closer examination,that individualalmost
alwayshas thesocial characteristics of men, References
butthatfactis notnoted(e.g., Pateman1988; Acker,Joan.1988. "Class, Gender,andtheRelationsof
Smith1987). Analysesofgeneralinstitutional Distribution." Signs 13:473-97.
processes oftenbecome analyses of those . 1992. "Gendering Organizational Theory." In
carried out by and affectingmen. Such Gendering OrganizationalTheory,editedby AlbertJ.
Mills and Peta Tancred.London:Sage.
feministcritiquesof knowledgereveal an Andersen, MargaretL. and PatriciaHill Collins. 1992.
organizationof gender that is much less Race Class, and Gender.Belmont,CA: Wadsworth.
obvious than the more blatantimages of Bose, Christineand GlennaSpitze,eds. 1987. Ingredi-
masculinity, but one thatsupportsand gives entsfor Women'sEmployment Policy. Albany:State
depthto thoseimages. University of New YorkPress.
A thirdanalyticview focuseson processes Butler, Judith.1990. Gender Trouble. New York:
Routledge.
ofinteraction. Interactionbetweenindividuals Cockburn,Cynthia.1985. Machineryof Dominance.
and groupsis the mediumformuchinstitu- London:PlutoPress.
tionalfunctioning, fordecisionmakingand Connell, R. W. 1987. Genderand Power. Stanford:
image production.Here, people replicate StanfordUniversity Press.
Crompton, Rosemaryand MichaelMann. 1986. Gender
gender;they"do gender"(WestandZimmer- and Stratification. Cambridge,MA: PolityPress.
man1987)as theydo theordinary workofthe hooks, bell. 1984. FeministTheory:From Margin to
institution. Center.Boston:SouthEnd Press.
Fourthare theinternal processesin which MacKinnon,CatharineA. 1983. "Feminism,Marxism,
individuals engageas theyconstruct personas Method and the State: Toward FeministJurispru-
dence." Signs8:635-58.
thatareappropriately genderedfortheinstitu- Pateman,Carole. 1988. The Sexual Contract.Cam-
tionalsetting.Genderidentity, in thesenseof bridge,MA: PolityPress.

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Reskin, Barbara F. and Patricia A. Roos. 1990. Job
Queues, Gender Queues: Explaining Women's Inroads
into Male Occupations. Philadelphia: Temple Univer-
sity Press.
Rossi, Alice. 1984. "Gender and Parenthood." American
Sociological Review 49:1-19.
Scott,Joan. 1986. "Gender: A UsefulCategoryof Historical
Analysis." AmericanHistoricalReview 91:1053-75.
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Smith, Dorothy E. 1987. The Everyday World as
Problematic. Boston: NortheasternUniversityPress.
Stacey, Judithand Barrie Thorne. 1985. "The Missing
Feminist Revolution in Sociology." Social Problems
32:301-16.
West, Candace and Don H. Zimmerman. 1987. "Doing
Gender." Gender and Society 1:125-51.

Does Women's JILL QUADAGNO

ParticipationMatter? Florida State University
Women,the State, and Welfare,edited by Linda Gordon. Madison:
Universityof Wisconsin Press, 1990. 311 pp. $35.00 cloth. ISBN:
0-299-12664-1.
EngenderingDemocracy, by Anne Phillips. UniversityPark: Pennsylvania
State UniversityPress, 1991. 183 pp. $28.50 cloth. ISBN: 0-271-00783-4.
$13.95 paper. ISBN: 0-271-00784-2.
In the late summerof 1989 I sat in the women can only be reached by acknowledg-
conferenceroom of an eleganthotel over- ing gender differences.Yet for Phillips such
lookingthe Norwegianfjords.Delightedto acknowledgmentis merelya necessary,though
be in thisenchantedsetting,I listenedas the transitional,phase toward a society in which
gathering of prominent,predominantly male genderbecomes irrelevant.
pummeledthefeckless
welfarestatetheorists For the transitionto a gender-irrelevant
so-
hereticPeterBaldwin fordaringto suggest ciety to occur, women must firstbecome full
thatthe postwarSwedishwelfarestatewas participantsin politicallife,a goal thathas been
createdby middle-classreformers, not by a achievedratherremarkablyin theScandinavian
unified working-classmovement.Feeling countriesbut not even approximatedin other
somewhatlike an anthropologist happening Westernnationssuchas theUnitedStates,where
upon an exotic male-bondingritual, I only 2 senatorsand 28 out of 435 membersof
scanned the room to see whetheranyone theHouse of Representativesare women. What
else wonderedwhyeveryonewas so worked kind of democracyis this?
up over theseremoteevents.My eyes fell Certainly, it is a democracy in which
upon Robin Stryker,one of the few other women are underrepresentedin national
women in the room (and the only other politics. But does acceptingthe objective that
American woman present). Robin and I women should be representedmean accepting
were there,I suspected,because the previ- the argument that political leaders should
ous yearFrancesFox Pivenhad made a fuss "mirror"those theyrepresent?If it does (and
aboutwhyso few womenwere invitedto a what other conclusion can one draw), then
conference devotedto thesubjectof poverty how do we reach this goal? Here Phillips
and inequality.So here we were. Yet did vacillates. On the one hand, quotas (the only
our presencematter? mechanismforimplementinggroup represen-
Thatsubject,ofwomen'srepresentation, is tation) work. The Scandinavian countries
a centralthemeof Anne Phillips's timely provide the example par excellence of how to
book EngenderingDemocracy, which ex- move women into elected offices througha
betweenfeminist
ploresthe intersection and quota system. Quotas make Phillips uneasy,
democratictheory.At odds withtraditional however, because they contradictfundamen-
democratic whichpresumesa nongen- tal principlesof representation.Nor is Phillips
theory,
Phillipscontends ready to abandon the traditionalwisdom of
dered,abstractcitizenship,
that genuine equality between men and democratictheory,thatelected officialsrepre-

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