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Sex and Gender Identity
All societies expect people to behave in certain ways
based on their sex–the biological distinction between
male and female.
Behavioral differences between men and women
are reinforced by parents and culturally
conditioned through socialization.
The belief that behavioral differences are the
result of inherited physical characteristics is called
biological determinism.
From this process comes gender identity–an
awareness of being masculine or feminine, based
on culture.
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Differences between Sex and Gender
Sociologist Margaret Andersen succinctly captured
the differences between sex and gender:
Sex refers to a person’s biological identity, whether
one is male or female.
“Maleness” and “femaleness” are biological facts.
Gender is a learned behavior and is a cultural, not
a biological, phenomenon.
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Biology, Culture, and Behavior
Recent research indicates that the brains of women
and men have slightly different structures.
The fact that behavioral differences appear in
many cultures suggests to some people that they
have a biological cause.
Research on gender identity indicates that
biological tendencies can be greatly influenced by
culture and society.
While biological differences exist, they can be
modified by culture.
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How is gender different from sex?
Sex refers to the fact that one is either male or
female; gender refers to the socially learned
behaviors and expectations associated with the two
sexes.
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Theoretical Perspectives on Gender
Functionalism focuses on the origins of gender
differences.
Functionalists believe the division of
responsibilities between males and females
survived because it benefited human living.
Functionalists think early humans found that
division of labor based on sex was efficient.
Functionalists recognize that the traditional
division of labor has created problems, or
dysfunctions, for modern society.
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Conflict Theory and Gender
Conflict theory looks at the reasons gender
differences continue to exist.
Conflict theorists believe it is to the advantage of
men to prevent women from gaining access to
political, economic, and social resources.
Conflict theorists see traditional gender roles as
outdated and inappropriate for the industrial and
postindustrial era.
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Symbolic Interactionism and Gender
Symbolic interactionism attempts to explain how
gender is acquired.
Gender socialization is the process of learning
how to behave as a boy or girl.
Gender is acquired in large part from interaction
with parents, teachers, and peers.
Gender concepts are taught through the
mass media.
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How do symbolic interactionists explain gender
roles?
Symbolic interactionists believe that boys and girls
learn ways of behaving through interaction with
parents, teachers, peers, and mass media.
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Gender Inequality
Sexism is defined as a set of beliefs,
attitudes, norms, and values used to justify
gender inequality.
Sexist ideology–the belief that men are naturally
superior to women–has been used and is still
being used to justify men’s leadership and power
positions in the economic, social, and political
spheres of society.
Some segments of American society now have
more positive attitudes about women, but a
careful examination reveals many gaps in social
rights, privileges, and rewards for women in the
United States.
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Occupational and Economic Inequality
Although women are participating in the labor
force at increasing levels, they are concentrated in
lower-status occupations–this is known as
occupational sex segregation.
Though decreasing, there is still a wide
discrepancy between the earnings of American
women and men.
Women in the United States do not compare
favorably in relative earning power to women in
other developed countries.
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Legal and Political Inequality
National, state, and local legal codes reflect a
sexual bias against women that results in
important differences between the levels of
political power women and men attain.
Women appear to participating in elective politics
at an increasing rate, but still hold a relatively
small proportion of important political positions.
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Define sexism.
Sexism is defined as a set of beliefs, attitudes,
norms, and values used to justify gender inequality.
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Ageism
Chronological age is a basis for social ranking.
Sociologists are interested in age stratification–
the unequal distribution of scarce resources
(power, wealth, prestige) based on age.
The rationale for age-based inequality comes in
the form of ageism–a set of beliefs, attitudes,
norms, and values used to justify prejudice and
discrimination against a particular age group.
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Functionalism and Ageism
Functionalists believe that elderly people in a
given society are treated according to the role they
play in that society.
Many societies treat elderly people with great
respect and honor.
Attitudes about the contributions of the aged
changed greatly as society changed from
agricultural to industrial.
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Conflict Theory and Ageism
Competition over scarce resources lies at the heart
of ageism for the conflict perspective.
Elderly people compete with other age groups for
economic resources, power, and prestige.
Since industrial society usually has more workers
than it needs, it replaces high-priced older workers
with less costly younger ones.
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Symbolic Interactionism and Ageism
Symbolic interactionists believe that ageism is a
learned behavior. Through socialization, stereotypes
of elderly people are often firmly implanted into a
child’s view of the world.
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Identify each statement with one major
theoretical perspective: functionalism
(F), conflict theory (C), or symbolic
interactionism (S).
C a. Ageism results in part from an oversupply of
___
labor.
___
S b. Young people are uncomfortable around older
people.
F c. The stigma attached to aging promotes a low
___
self-concept among older people.
F/C
___ d. Ageism is associated with industrialization.
___
S e. Older people are stereotyped.
___
S f. Ageism exists in part because older workers
are inefficient.
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Inequality in America’s Elderly
Population
The elderly are now considered a minority group,
just as women, racial, ethnic and religious groups
are considered minorities.
Early studies of the elderly were not valid and
created stereotypes.
Elderly members of racial or ethnic minorities fare
worse than older White Americans.
Elderly women are one the poorest segments of
society.
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Political Power and the Elderly
The power of the elderly lies in the political process.
Voting turnout in the United States increases
with age.
The elderly are a diverse group and do not vote as
a bloc.
Interest groups are organized to influence
political decision making.
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Circle the number of the accurate
statement in the following list. Change
the other statements to make them
true.
1. Since 1960, the economic situation for elderly people in the United
States has deteriorated.
improved
2. The poverty rate for Americans over age sixty-five is lower
higher than the
official count indicates.
3. Problems of older Americans who are members of racial or ethnic
minorities are generally more severe than problems of elderly whites.
4. Older Americans are
politically
vulnerable.
could
be politically
powerful.
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Chapter Summary
All societies expect people to behave in certain
ways based on their sex.
Gender identity is learned from one’s culture.
The three theoretical perspectives focus on
different aspects of gender.
Gender inequality exist in the United States where
women are still subject to prejudice and
discrimination.
The elderly are subject to ageism.
Although the elderly experience social and
economic discrimination, they exert power in the
political process.
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