Gender As Social Institution
Abstract
This article encourages sociologists to study gender as a social institution. Noting that scholars apply the institution concept to highly disparate phenomena, it reviews the history of the concept in twentieth-century sociology The defining characteristic most commonly attributed to social institution is endurance (or persistence over time) while contemporary uses highlight practices, conflict, identity, power, and change. I identify twelve criteria for deciding whether any phenomenon is a social institution. I conclude that treating gender as an institution will improve gender scholarship and social theory generally, increase awareness of gender's profound sociality, offer a means of linking diverse theoretical and empirical work, and make gender's invisible dynamics and complex intersections with other institutions more apparent and subject to critical analysis and change.
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Age meets the criteria of an institution compiled by Martin (2004).
“More importantly, however, age meets the criteria of an institution compiled by Martin (2004) from her review of the term's definitions and applications across the twentieth century.”
From Centering Age Inequality: Developing a Sociology-of-Age Framework (2022) · cites this paper as Martin 2004
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References 91 · Cited by 592
- Authors
- Martin, P. Y.
- Affiliations
- Florida State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Martin, P. Y.
- Venue
- Social Forces
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2004-06-01
- Volume
- 82
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 1249-1273
- ISSN
- 0037-7732 (ISSN-L)
- 1534-7605
- OpenAlex
- W2122995027
- Cited by
- 592
- References
- 91
- Citations by year
- 2026: 42 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 54 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 57 · 2020: 30 · 2019: 32 · 2018: 36 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 25 · 2015: 30 · 2014: 37 · 2013: 26 · 2012: 34
- FWCI
- 22.02
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Social Forces (publishedVersion)
- Project Muse (Johns Hopkins University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender and Feminist Studies
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Feminist Theory and Gender Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice
- Keywords
- social institutions, institutional theory, history of sociology, persistence through time, gender and power, gender identity, intersectionality, social theory
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