Four Sociological Perspectives

Introduction
Throughout my sociology class, I have learned the elements of culture, socialization, and social structure through the comparative lens of contemporary sociological perspectives. The contemporary sociological perspectives include functionalist, conflict, feminist, and symbolic interactionist. I am going to use these four sociological perspectives to analyze an aspect of social identity relative to social interaction such as gender. Gender are learned attitudes and behaviors that characterize women and men (Benokraitis, 2015).
Functionalism
The first contemporary sociological perspective is functionalism. Functionalism maintains that society is a complex system of interdependent parts that work together to ensure a society’s
A woman (typically a wife and mother) plays an expressive role; she provides the emotional nurturance that sustains the family unit and supports the father/husband” (Benokraitis, 2015). This statement explains that both roles are complementary and the husband and wife are expected to know their role. The traditional family per a functionalist consists of a husband who is expected to work hard throughout the day, while the wife prepares everything for the family and supports him. I agree that a man and woman have very important roles but I believe they should be equally balanced. I was taught the roles on functionalism first hand. My father was a very firm functionalist, which influenced our social interaction. Social interaction is a process in which people take each other into account in their own behavior (Benokraitis, 2015). He worked forty hours a week while my mother worked from home and cared for the house, my father, and I. I do believe it was the key cause for tension in our family. My father was
Feminist theories examine women’s social, economic, and political inequality (Benokraitis, 2015). Feminists agree that the inequality of gender is both in the workplace and at home. Although, they believe that women’s vulnerability plays a key role in gender inequality. “All feminists (female and male) agree on three general points: (1) men and women should be valued equally; (2) women should have more control over their lives; (3) political, economic, family, and other institutions can reduce gender inequality” (Benokraitis, 2015). Men and women can be feminist, and they believe that gender equality is crucial. They also believe that women need more control, but it will take all of society to help the gender roles become equal. I do not consider myself a feminist, although I do share similar beliefs. I am very passionate about accounting, and I am currently pursuing a degree in this field. I have reached out to local certified public accountants in my area, most of which were men. Many the men were very polite and explained the best route to achieve my career. While a few did not take me serious because of my gender, one man took me by surprise. He persuaded me to look elsewhere for a more “woman friendly” job. He said that an accountant works too many hours to care to a family. I politely took his advice, and will continue to use it to push me further to my goal. I still interact with this