2 Page Reflection Paper on "Gender"
Chapter 11
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Gender
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Consider the narrative of Malcom and Maria at the beginning of Chapter 11
Is the difference due to sex?
Should we be concerned?
Is change needed?
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Malcom and Maria
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Sex refers to biological characteristics based on genitalia, hormones, and chromosomes
Gender refers to the socially defined meanings or characteristics (masculine, feminine)
Gender statuses: positions in the social structure based on gender
Gender socialization: the process by which people learn ideas about gender
Gender norms: societal expectations for behavior based on one’s gender status
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
The Sociology of Gender: The Basics
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Gender identity: one’s feelings of being a girl/woman, boy/man, or some other gender
Most Americans are cisgender
A small percentage of the U.S. population identify as transgender
To achieve congruence between one’s body and gender identity, transgender people may change their name, hairstyle, or clothing
Some transgender people may change biological aspects of their bodies
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
The Sociology of Gender: The Basics
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Gender fluid
Gender expression shifts easily between masculine and feminine
Gender display
Most people display gender through their actions
Clothing, walk, and talk
“Doing” gender
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
The Sociology of Gender: The Basics
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People who identify or express gender in nonconforming ways may be called genderqueer
Since Americans are socialized within a binary gender system, this can be hard to understand
Gender is a social construction
People create gender-related beliefs, norms, and practices through their interactions
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
The Sociology of Gender: The Basics
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Hunting and gathering
Survival based
Both sexes must participate equally
Agrarian--beginning of sex specific tasks
Strength required to operate farm equipment
Beginning of private property and the passing of wealth
Separate spheres
Men in the field and marketplace
Women--domestic and children
More children required to keep the farm household running
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
History and Background
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Industrial
Primarily adult and male labor
Tiered wages and unionization defined ideal worker
Family wage
Ideal family--myth or reality?
WWII major shift to women in traditional male workplaces
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
History and Background
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Suffragists
Declaration of Sentiments 1848
Demand right to vote and own property
Attempt to expand value beyond childcare
Women’s Liberation Movement
Doldrum Period 1945–1960, women in home with modern conveniences
Stigma of the unmarried woman
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Movements for Gender Equality
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1960s movements
Equal Rights Amendment (did not pass)
Equal Pay Act
Affirmative Action for Sex Executive Order
Title IX and Educational Equity Act
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Movements for Gender Equality
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Changing laws regarding use of birth control, no fault divorce, marital rape, and domestic violence
Birth of feminism
Cultural feminism
Change values and norms associated with the positive view of masculine traits and the negative view of feminine traits
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Movements for Gender Equality
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Gender reform
Equal treatment of men and women
Gender resistant
Attempt to change traditional societal views on what constitutes positive societal norms
Gender rebellion
Humans can choose their own forms of productive work, relationships, life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness without regard to their gender, race, or any other characteristic
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Three Types of Feminism
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Postmodern and Postindustrial
Multiracial woman--other factors separate needs of women (age, class, race, etc.)
Womanist (Walker) --“Womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender”
Gender rebellion--attempt to reconstruct gender
Cisgender--match of sex and gender
Non-cisgender--where sex and gender do not match
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Movements for Gender Equality
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Institutional sex discrimination
Sexual harassment and assault in the military
Reproductive rights and freedoms
Double bind
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Recent Trends and Issues
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Masculine activities are more valued, thus women who engage in them can do so with limited stigma; the reverse is not necessarily true
Modern sexism
Failure to achieve is the fault of the individual
Men may achieve faster in traditional female occupations than women do in traditional male occupations
Pink collar
Glass escalator
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Sexism and Discrimination
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Masculine activities are more valued, thus women who engage in them can do so with limited stigma
The reverse is not necessarily true
Men may achieve faster in traditional female occupations than women do in traditional male occupations
Pink collar and glass escalator
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Sexism and Discrimination
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Gender socialization
Process by which boys and girls are taught expectations for appropriate gender behaviors
Gender scripts
Gender-based verbal expectations
Physical attractiveness more important for women than men
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Acculturation
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Education is equal
Women majority of college attendees
Political power
More women vote but not as represented as office holders
Jobs and income
Improvement but some gap remains
The extent of the gap and its causes are of controversy
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Secondary Structural Assimilation
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Contact hypothesis applies
Contact generally reduces negatives across the spectrum
Access to networks of power
Homosocial reproduction
White men have greater access to informal networks of power than does any other race/gender group
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Primary Structural Assimilation
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The size of the gender income gap varies by racial and ethnic group
Systems of gender inequality and oppression are not the same for all women
The quality and nature of gender privilege is not the same for all men
Women of all groups and social classes face considerable resistance to further progress
We should not let our celebration of progress in some areas blind us to the barriers that remain throughout the social structure and across the life course
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Implications for Dominant-Minority Relations
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