Sociology of Gender

1. Sociology of Gender • Two levels of social reality • Experiential (interactions) • Structural (institutions) • The characteristics of one level affect the status of the other level (and vice-versa) • Gender relations & inequality are good examples of this

2. Gender & Crime: Defining terms • The “Nature” of Gender • Distinction between sex, gender & sexuality • Sex – a biological reality (DNA, genitalia, hormaones, physiology) • Sex Category – • 2 category scheme: Male/Female • Not necessarily so • Gender – a social/cultural construct (Masculinity and Femininity) • Sexuality – One’s sexual identity/orientation (debate about origin) • Heterogender – a new idea that acknowledges how important sexuality is to the ways that gender is constructed

3. Gender & Crime: Defining terms The social construction of gender: “Doing Gender” concept (West & Zimmerman 1987) Gender accomplished in interaction with others “Accomplished” by providing cues that are consistent with normative expectations for masculinity and femininity Contextual Norm violations are “policed” Gender culturally understood as an “oppositional dichotomy” Doing gender means Creating differences b/t boys & girls and women & men that are not natural Using the socially constructed differences to reinforce the notion that gender (rather than sex) is “natural” or essentially derived. Multiple ways of doing gender even for the same sex

4. Social Construction of Gender Lorber: Significance of gender bending? Key point of film – gender (and for that matter sex category schema and sexuality) are social constructs Individuals – Gender means sameness Big element of identity and shared status w/ others Society – Gender means differences Compelled to gender identify gender-neutral persons Differentiation creates gender bending? Gender bending reinforces gender

5. Social Construction of Gender Lorber:Gender Ranking Difference usually is employed to advantage some and disadvantage others Feminism is threatening only because it critiques practices and institutions that support inequality Evidence for Gender Ranking? Family: Unpaid Labor (private spheres) Religion: Female Clergy/Pope? (origin stories?) Education:

6. Social Construction of Gender Lorber: Evidence for Gender Ranking Gov’t: Voting rights? Suffrage (19th Amend. - 1920) Elected Representatives: President? 63 ♀ in congress; 14 ♀ senators Economy: Occupational Segregation; Authority (CEOs); Salary: ~ 75 cents on the $

7. Social Construction of Gender Lorber: Components of Gender

8. Bringing it all together Lorber: Components of Gender Gender as… Process Creates the differences that define man and women Stratification Gender ranks men above women of the same race and class Structure Gender divides work in the home and in economic production, legitimates authority, and organizes sexuality and emotional life (Connell, 1987)

9. Historical Legacy of Gender Relations Restricting Women to the Private Sphere Justified by three appeals: Protection of women as a class: Moral (♀ as purer; ♀ as children) Physical (health hazards, esp. to justify exclusion from ♂ jobs) Motherhood: A woman’s place… Essentialist notions of parenting. Emotion work. Public sphere activities threatens the family. 3. Marriage: Historical reality that single women have possessed more freedom Disparate impact of marriage for ♀&♂’s lives ♀ role in the family has been used to successfully defeat lawsuits aimed at promotions policies that restrict ♀

10. Gender & Crime: Defining terms Gender and Power Relations Acker (1990) on Organizations & Gender Neutrality is “gendered” in the context of social organizations (schools, jobs, government, etc.) Organizational life is patterned and active in distinguishing between male and female: Division of Labor – jobs & tasks (sex stratification) Images & Symbols that reinforce gender difference (dress, speech) Interactions of workers (authority)

11. Gender & Crime: Defining terms Gender and Power Relations Sexism: Oppressive attitudes and behaviors directed at either sex Patterned: mostly directed at women Patriarchy: The Social, Legal & Cultural climate that values men and masculine over alternatives Based on a confusion over sex and gender

12. What is Feminism? An approach to thinking about society and social problems that recognizes that gender inequalities exist in society. In addition, feminists are committed to helping change society to promote gender equality 5 Tenets (derived from Daly and Chesney-Lind 1988 – see p. 13 in Belknap): Gender is not a natural fact – it is an outcome of social, political, historical and cultural forces. It is related to sex differences and reproductive capacities – but is not simply a reflection of these differences. (Sex, Sex category & Gender)

13. What is Feminism? 2. Gender and gender relations order social life and social institutions in fundamental ways. 3. Constructs of masculinity and femininity are not symmetrical (equal). They are based on the organizing principle of men’s superiority and social and political dominance over women. 4. Systems of knowledge reflect men’s views of the natural and social world: the production of knowledge is “gendered”. 5. Women should be at the center of intellectual inquiry, not peripheral, invisible, or appendages to men.

14. Backlash & Myths about Feminism • Feminists are not objective • Feminism is only concerned with women • There is only one “true” feminism

15. Backlash & Myths about Feminism • Feminists are not objective Are non-feminists objective? What is objectivity? Is it possible? 2. Feminism is only concerned with women Masculinity studies • There is only one “true” feminism A variety of feminisms: Liberal-feminists vs. Critical feminists Varieties of Critical Feminists: Marxist Feminists, Socialist Feminists, Radical Feminists, Postmodern Feminists

16. What is criminology? • Criminology is a science focused on the study of crime, law and responses to crime. • Criminologists • Construct theoretical explanations for crime • Pose research questions • Develop hypotheses • Test their theories • Collect data using a wide variety of research methods • MUCH of criminology is POSITIVIST

17. The Modern Era of Criminology • Classical Criminology • Positivist Criminology • Sociological Criminology • All 3 eras continue to influence criminology (and crime policy) today

18. Feminist Criminology • Concerned with explaining the impact of gender in traditional areas of inquiry about crime and the law • Concerned with the experiences of women as central • Likely to employ a wider variety of techniques to gather information about crime and women’s experiences. • Epistemology • Research on rape as an example

19. Feminist Criminology • What do we know about the extent of rape? • Most rapes go unreported (about 2 out of 3) • Accurate estimates are difficult. Why? • Victim stigma and blame • Offender/Victim relationship • Concern about treatment as victim in the CJS • Up to 70% of women forced to have sex fail to recognize their experience as rape • This is a reflection of a patriarchal culture that impacts the way that the law and the criminal justice system operates • Between 15% and 30% of U.S. women will be raped in their lifetime • Of the rapes that get reported to police, only 15% to 30% end in the conviction of the rapist, and only half of those result in a sentence of more than 1 year in jail.

20. Feminist Criminology & Epistemology None of this factual “objective” data tells us anything about the experience of rape. For example, • Why do so many men in our society rape? • Why do trusted friends and romantic partners rape? • Why do so few women recognize sexual assaults as criminal? • Why does the criminal justice system treat rape victims with suspicion? • How has the law impacted the ways we define rape and protected men from blame in the process? • How has the criminal investigation procedure limited our understanding of sexual assault and rape?

21. Feminist Epistimology • Questions the general faith in the objective and scientific method of research as a source of truth. • There is not a single feminist research method but a feminist perspective on the research process that includes choosing topics that illuminate issues of gender and treating research as a collaborative process with the subjects. • Feminist research should be part of a strategy for social change. For example… • Calling attention to the harms of allegedly “gender neutral” policies toward women • Challenges criminal justice policies based on stereotypes of masculinity and femininity

22. Defining Crime • What is Crime? • Violations of Morality • Violations of Norms • Violations of the Law • Acts that represent an intersection of all 3 are judged the most severe

23. A Brief Sociology of Law Legal Classifications of Crimes • Mala in se vs. Mala prohibitum • Criminal vs. Torte (Civil) Law • a public wrong? • state vs. private party action • incarceration vs. monetary damages • fines to state vs. fines to private party • standard of proof • Administrative (regulatory) Law • Felony & Misdemeanor • How is law made? • Legislation • Court Decisions

24. A Brief Sociology of Law Who makes the law? Think back to our discussion of Institutions… - Wealthy, white, heterosexual men are overrepresented in all facets of the legal system. - The system is directed toward the protection of individual and corporate wealth and power. • Feminism (and democratic ideals) suggest: • Different perspectives and experience are desirable • Increases fairness in the law as it is conceived, enacted & administered

25. Assumptions underlie the criminal law? Classical criminology assumes that people have free will. Punishment  Deter crime. Positivist criminology argues biological & social factors predispose to crime. Punishment  Rehabilitation. Varieties of Critical Criminology Critical criminology, Critical Feminist Criminology, Critical race theory One’s perceptions of the causes of crimes influence the definition of solutions, whether punishment, rehabilitation, or treatment.

26. How does the law impact women? • Historically a married woman had no legal identity separate from her husband and her status was determined by her relationship to men. • Traditionally men were not held accountable for crimes against women, such as rape and domestic violence. • The law has often been used to restrain women’s reproductive choices – sex education, birth control & abortion laws do not have an equal impact on ♂ & ♀. D. Women’s full rights as human beings are still not recognized.

27. Why is Feminism important to Criminology? Because Criminology – like most disciplines – is Androcentric. What is Androcentrism? • Focusing solely on the experiences of men. • Assuming the men’s experiences describe the human experience • This is what Belknap calls the “invisibility of women” in criminology.