Download Chapter_12 - HCC Learning Web

Chapter 12
Gender
Lecture PowerPoint
© W. W. Norton & Company, 2008
Mars and Venus

Feminism



2
An intellectual, consciousness-raising movement based
on the idea that women and men should be accorded
equal opportunities and respect
The movement’s chief goal could be described as getting
people to understand that gender is an organizing
principle of life
Gender structures social relations on unequal ground,
thus power is fundamentally at play when we talk about
gender differences
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Mars and Venus



3
Sex is the natural or biological differences that
distinguish males from females.
Sexuality refers to desire, sexual preference, sexual
identity, and behavior.
Gender is a social construct that consists of a set of
social arrangements that are built around sex.
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Sex: A Process in the Making

4
The study of gender involves looking very closely
at the relationship between nature and nurture,
and not assuming that one overshadows the other or
that there is a clear line separating the two.
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Sex: A Process in the Making

5
It is common to think that there are only two
sexes—male and female—and that all people fall
into one group or the other, and indeed this is a way
of imposing order in a chaotic world. But there is
evidence to suggest that we need to embrace a more
expansive definition of sex, one that goes beyond
two rigid and distinct categories.
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Sex: A Process in the Making

The ancient Greeks thought that there was one
body, the male body, and that the female body was
its inversion. This notion endured until the mideighteenth century.

Essentialism and biological determinism assign
gender and explain gender differences purely in
terms of natural or biological attributes.
6
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Sex: A Process in the Making

Are females/males different biologically; how
do we all begin in the early stages of a fetus?

Should we be more tolerant to individuals
born neither male/female?
7
Sex: A Process in the Making

Bases of biological sex

Hormones



DNA





8
Estrogen
Androgen: testosterone and androsterone
XY
XX
XXY
Primary Sex Characteristics-necessary for reproduction
Secondary Sex Characteristics-not necessary for
reproduction
Sex: A Process in the Making
Male: XY, Androgen,
penis, testes, hairy
body, muscular
Opposite sex, only two
biological sexes?
9
Female: XX,
Estrogen, vagina,
ovaries, breast, hips
Sex: A Process in the Making
Is there a dividing line? Are
men and Women opposite,
different, unrelated?
Female: XX,
Estrogen, vagina,
ovaries, breast,
hips
Male: XY, Androgen,
penis, testes, hairy
body, muscular
Is the binary model used by
doctors representative?
10
Sex: A Process in the Making
Male: XY, XXY,
Androgen, penis,
testes, hairy body,
muscular
Intersexed: XY, XX,
XXY, penis, vigina,
ovaries, testes,
breast, hairy body,
hips, muscular
Female: XX, XXY,
Estrogen, vagina,
ovaries, breast,
hips
1. NO dividing line between males and females, NOT opposites but part of a
continuum, NOT opposite ends but gradual differences from biological similar
tissue.
2. Intersex is a natural biological phenomenon. How do we recognize it, just one
new category called intersex like above?
11
Sex: A Process in the Making
How many categories would be necessary to represent biological sex? How
would categories be defined, who would make those decisions?
Male
Male Pseudo
Intersexed
Intersexed
Are there still gray areas?
12
Female Pseudo
Intersexed
Female
Gender: What Does It Take To Be a
Woman (or a Man)?

13
We can expand our understanding of gender differences by
examining other cultures to see how they construct gender
(cross-cultural analysis) and by looking back in history to
see how ideas about gender have changed.
 Some theorists claim that there is a hegemonic
masculinity in society today—an ideal notion of a man
that is so dominant, people aren’t even really aware of it.
 However, the notion of the ideal man has changed over
time, once again proving that gender is not a rigid,
unchanging category.
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Gender: What Does It Take To Be a
Woman (or a Man)?

14
Gender roles are sets of
behavioral norms assumed to
accompany one’s status as a
male or female. However,
there is much evidence
showing that gender roles
have more to do with social
status than biology.
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Gender: What Does It Take To Be a
Woman (or a Man)?

Gender roles, or behavioral norms assumed
to accompany one’s status as female or male,
vary over time and from place to place.

Dominant definitions of femininity are always
changing, as are notions of masculinity.
15
The Woman Question

16
A wide range of theories and approaches have been applied to
the study of gender, including structural functionalism,
psychoanalytic theory, conflict theory, microinteractionist
theory, postmodern theory, middle-range theories, and ideas
from black feminists.
 Each perspective has contributed to our understanding of
gender differences and gender roles, and no doubt other
theories or approaches will emerge in the future.
 When assessing these various approaches, it is important
to ask how useful each one is for explaining people’s
experiences and behavior.
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
The Woman Question

17
Structural Functionalist Approach of studying
gender:
 Assumes that gender differences exist to fulfill
necessary functions in society
 Doesn’t allow for the possibility that other
structures could fulfill the same function or for
the fact that structures change throughout history
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
The Woman Question

18
Psychoanalytic Theories of studying gender:
 Focus on individualistic explanations for gender
differences as opposed to societal ones
 Inherent in these theories is the notion that there
are natural differences between men and women
that dictate how they behave
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
The Woman Question

Socialist feminists argue that all social relations,
including relations between workers and the
owners of the means of production, stem from
unequal gender relations.

Social constructionists argue that gender is a
process in which people participate with every
social interaction they have.
19
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
The Woman Question

20
Black Feminists
 Pointed out that gender doesn’t function in a
vacuum and that gender studies must take into
account that there is no single category of
women or men
 Indeed some women are not only more
privileged than other women but are even more
privileged than some men
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
The Woman Question


21
Postmodern theorists question the whole notion of
“woman” as a separate, stable category and question
the value and appropriateness of Western scholars
applying their cultural logic to the study of nonWestern societies.
Middle-range theories may be the most useful in
addressing the complicated subject of gender because
they connect people’s day-to-day experiences to larger
social forces.
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Conflict Theories



22
The intersection of capitalism and patriarchy
make women economically dependent on
men.
Gender is the product of interaction, not a
fixed identity.
Black feminists have contended that early
feminism was by, for and about white middleclass women.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Conflict Theories

Postmodern Theories


Middle-Range Approach

23
Distinct categories of males and females, or biologic, is a uniquely Western perspective.
The social and personal always depend on each
other.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Sociology in the Bedroom

Much like gender differences, sexual practices vary across
time and place, which supports the notion that sexuality is
as much a social construct as gender is.

Some feminists see sexuality as an expression of the
unequal distribution of power between men and women and
argue that women don’t really choose heterosexuality but
have it imposed on them by a male-dominated society.
24
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Sociology in the Bedroom

Homosexual, which refers to the social identity of a person
who has sexual attraction to and/or relations with people of
the same sex, is a concept or identity that emerged in the
mid-nineteenth century.

Michel Foucault relates the emergence of the homosexual
identity to the development of states and scientific
disciplines and a desire in both arenas to monitor and
categorize people and behavior. Foucault also introduced
the notion that self-surveillance is a form of social control.
25
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Growing up, Getting Ahead, and Falling Behind



26
Studies show that gender inequality is rampant in
schools.
Boys and girls are treated differently by teachers
and there are different expectations for their
behavior and performance.
The textbooks and other materials used in schools
often reinforce gender stereotypes.
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Growing up, Getting Ahead, and Falling Behind

27
While women are a
significant part of the
workforce today, they still
face many challenges in the
working world, including
unequal pay, sexual
harassment, sexism,
tracking to certain kinds of
jobs, the “feminization” of
jobs, the glass ceiling, and
more.
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Growing up, Getting Ahead, and Falling Behind

28
When women do obtain positions that are typically
dominated by men, they face enormous pressure.
 There is a sense that all women will be judged
based on their performance, and they are often
caught in a Catch-22 with regard to their behavior.
 If they “act just like a man,” they are seen as
unfeminine and somehow unattractive; if they
exhibit more feminine qualities, they are seen as
“not tough enough.”
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Growing up, Getting Ahead, and Falling Behind

29
Men working in femaledominated fields don’t seem to
face the same scrutiny and
challenges. In fact, studies show
that such men advance more
quickly (on the “glass escalator”)
than their female counterparts.
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Growing up, Getting Ahead, and Falling Behind

30
“Opting out” refers to a perceived trend among
mostly middle-class women of leaving the
workforce to be full-time wives and mothers, in
large part because of frustrations with the many
obstacles they face on the job and the sense that
they can find fulfillment in the home.
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.