Gender is not a biological given but a social construct. Social norms and values assign different roles, behaviors, and characteristics to men and women, creating a hierarchical order that privileges men, reinforced through language, symbols, and daily rituals.

The concept of 'habitus' explains how gender order is unconsciously internalized. Habitus represents the totality of dispositions, perceptions, and behavioral patterns acquired through socialization, which unconsciously reproduces power structures of male dominance.

Male dominance is maintained through 'symbolic violence' - not through physical coercion but through the unconscious acceptance of power relations by the dominated. This makes male dominance appear as a natural order.