Gender

1. Gender (or what society thinks about those pesky genitalia)

2. Gender • The social construction of gender • Sociological perspectives on gender • Sexism and sexual discrimination • Women in the U.S. workforce

3. Social Construction of Gender • Sex: the biological characteristics associated with men and women • Gender: the social expectations associated with masculinity and femininity • Gender roles: expectations regarding proper behavior, attitudes, and activities of males and females • We socially construct our behavior to create or exaggerate male-female differences • U.S. focuses on “masculine” and “feminine” characteristics

4. Gender Role Socialization • Homophobia: fear of and prejudice against homosexuality • Adults, older siblings, mass media, religious institutions, and educational institutions exert important influence • Parents are normally the first and most crucial agents of socialization • Women and men’s gender roles are created in part by identifying with females and males in families, neighborhoods, and in the media • Women experience a mandate to marry and become mothers

5. Gender Roles in the U.S. • Society defines men’s roles in terms of economic success • Brannon and Doyle: male gender role • Antifeminite element • Success element • Aggressive element • Sexual element • Self-reliant element • Increasing numbers of men in U.S. criticized restrictive aspects of traditional male gender role • Multiple masculinities: men play variety of gender roles, including a nurturing-caring role and effeminate-gay role, in addition to traditional gender role of dominating women

6. Cross-Cultural Perspective • Anthropologists have documented highly diverse constructions of gender that do not always conform to out own ideals of masculinity and femininity • There appear to be no innate or biologically determined gender roles for men and women

7. Functionalist Perspectives on Gender • Contributes to overall social stability • Instrumentality: emphasis on tasks • Expressiveness: maintenance of harmony and internal emotional affairs of family • Dividing tasks between spouses was functional for the family as a unit

8. Conflict Perspectives on Gender • Functionalist approach masks underlying power relations between men and women • Relationships between females and males are traditionally one of unequal power • View gender differences as reflection of subjugation of one group (women) by another group (men)

9. Feminist Perspectives on Gender • Engels argued women’s subjugation coincided with rise of private property • Many contemporary theorists view subordination as part of overall exploitation and injustice inherent in capitalist societies • Matrix of domination: convergence of social forces that contribute to subordinate status of poor, non-white women • Intersectionality

10. Interactionist Perspectives on Gender • Tend to examine gender stratification on micro level of everyday behavior • We “do gender” by reinforcing traditionally masculine and feminine actions • Clothes, expressions, the way we talk • Continuing investigation of role of gender in cross-sex conversations (crosstalk)

11. Sexism and Sexual Discrimination • Sexism: Ideology that one sex is superior to the other • Individual acts of sexism and institutional sexism occur • Sexual Harassment: Behavior that occurs when work benefits are made contingent on sexual favors or when touching lewd comments, or the appearance of pornographic material creates a hostile environment in the workplace • Generally occurs between men and women • Sexually harassment also often happens to homosexual men and women

12. Women in the U.S. Workforce • Gender bias limits women’s opportunities for employment outside of home and forces them to carry disproportionate burden inside the home • Increased labor force participation • Glass ceiling • Clear gender gap in the performance of housework, although differences narrowing • Second shift: work outside the home followed by child care and housework • Triple shift: