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Chapter 1: Structuration Theory and Gender Identity

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Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
This chapter is in the book Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
One Step FOrward, twO StepS Back: changing wOmen, changing SOciety— 10 —Chapter 11. Structuration Theory and Gender IdentityThe basic domain of study of the social sciences, according to the theory of structuration, is neither the experience of the individual actor, nor the existence of any form of social totality, but social practices ordered across space and time. Human social activities, like some self-reproducing items in nature, are recursive. That is to say, they are not brought into being by social actors but continually recreated by them via the very means whereby they express themselves as actors. In and through their activities agents reproduce the conditions that make these activities possible. (Giddens, 1984, p. 2).1. The Structuration ProcessAccording to Anthony Giddens, “Society only has form, and that form only has effects on people, in so far as structure is produced and reproduced in what people do” (Giddens and Pierson, 1998, p. 77). The Structuration Theory proposed by Giddens (1984) in The Constitution of Society1 examines how the social context influences individuals, and how individuals attempt to change the social context. Giddens’ Structuration Theory provides a balanced framework, attempting to deal with the influences of structure and agency equally, and attempts to reconcile the theoretical dichotomy of agency/structure (which relates to the micro/macro, subjective/objective dichotomies).2 It focuses on the existence of the individual in a way that will match the concepts of social systems, their institutions, societies and cultures. Systems are “patterns of relations in groupings of all kinds, from small, intimate groups, to social networks, to large organizations” (ibid, p. 131). In this respect, systems are the patterns of conduct, the repeated forms of social action, or the “enduring cycles of reproduced relations” (ibid, p. 131).Giddens defines structuration as “the structuring of social relations across time and space, in virtue of the duality of structure” (1984, p. 376). According to this view, agency and structure are not two separate concepts or constructs, but are two aspects or dimensions of social action. At the core of Giddens’ Structuration Theory are three basic assumptions. First, social life is not the sum of all micro-level activity, and social activity cannot be
© 2019 Academic Studies Press, Boston, USA

One Step FOrward, twO StepS Back: changing wOmen, changing SOciety— 10 —Chapter 11. Structuration Theory and Gender IdentityThe basic domain of study of the social sciences, according to the theory of structuration, is neither the experience of the individual actor, nor the existence of any form of social totality, but social practices ordered across space and time. Human social activities, like some self-reproducing items in nature, are recursive. That is to say, they are not brought into being by social actors but continually recreated by them via the very means whereby they express themselves as actors. In and through their activities agents reproduce the conditions that make these activities possible. (Giddens, 1984, p. 2).1. The Structuration ProcessAccording to Anthony Giddens, “Society only has form, and that form only has effects on people, in so far as structure is produced and reproduced in what people do” (Giddens and Pierson, 1998, p. 77). The Structuration Theory proposed by Giddens (1984) in The Constitution of Society1 examines how the social context influences individuals, and how individuals attempt to change the social context. Giddens’ Structuration Theory provides a balanced framework, attempting to deal with the influences of structure and agency equally, and attempts to reconcile the theoretical dichotomy of agency/structure (which relates to the micro/macro, subjective/objective dichotomies).2 It focuses on the existence of the individual in a way that will match the concepts of social systems, their institutions, societies and cultures. Systems are “patterns of relations in groupings of all kinds, from small, intimate groups, to social networks, to large organizations” (ibid, p. 131). In this respect, systems are the patterns of conduct, the repeated forms of social action, or the “enduring cycles of reproduced relations” (ibid, p. 131).Giddens defines structuration as “the structuring of social relations across time and space, in virtue of the duality of structure” (1984, p. 376). According to this view, agency and structure are not two separate concepts or constructs, but are two aspects or dimensions of social action. At the core of Giddens’ Structuration Theory are three basic assumptions. First, social life is not the sum of all micro-level activity, and social activity cannot be
© 2019 Academic Studies Press, Boston, USA

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents v
  3. Introduction 7
  4. Chapter 1: Structuration Theory and Gender Identity 10
  5. Chapter 2: Historical Perspective: The Conditions that Shaped Women’s Inferiority 22
  6. Chapter 3: Maintaining Women’s Inferiority 47
  7. Chapter 4: Feminism Changes the World 85
  8. Chapter 5: Changes in Israeli Society since the 1980s 114
  9. Chapter 6: Consequences for Women 153
  10. Chapter 7: Where to? Conclusions and Extrapolations 188
  11. References 223
  12. Index 291
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https://doi.org/10.1515/9781618110770-002

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents v
  3. Introduction 7
  4. Chapter 1: Structuration Theory and Gender Identity 10
  5. Chapter 2: Historical Perspective: The Conditions that Shaped Women’s Inferiority 22
  6. Chapter 3: Maintaining Women’s Inferiority 47
  7. Chapter 4: Feminism Changes the World 85
  8. Chapter 5: Changes in Israeli Society since the 1980s 114
  9. Chapter 6: Consequences for Women 153
  10. Chapter 7: Where to? Conclusions and Extrapolations 188
  11. References 223
  12. Index 291
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