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The Real World An Introduction to Sociology Third Edition Kerry Ferris and Jill Stein Chapter 9: Constructing Gender and Sexuality What is Sex? What is Gender? • Although the terms “sex” and “gender” are often used interchangeably, sociologists differentiate between the two. 2 What is Sex? What is Gender? (cont’d) •Sex refers to an individual’s membership in one of two biologically distinct categories— male or female. 3 What is Sex? What is Gender? (cont’d) • Gender refers to the physical, behavioral, and personality traits that a group considers normal for its male and female members. 4 Essentialist Approach to Gender Identity • Essentialists see gender as biological and permanent—it is a simple, two-category system. Your chromosomes, hormones, and genitalia determine your identity. 5 Constructionist Approach to Gender Identity • Most sociologists use a constructionist approach and see gender as a social construction and acknowledge the possibility that the male–female categories are not the only way of classifying individuals. 6 Gender Inequality • Gender inequality can be found in all past and present societies. • There are several sociological theories that attempt to explain why this inequality has persisted in contemporary societies. 7 Theories on Gender Inequality • Functionalists: • Believe that there are social roles better suited to one gender than the other, and that societies are more stable when certain tasks are fulfilled by the appropriate sex. 8 Theories on Gender Inequality (cont’d) • According to Talcott Parsons: • Men were more suited for an instrumental role (the person who provides the family’s material support and is often an authority figure). • Women were more suited for an expressive role (the person who provides the family’s emotional support and nurturing). 9 Theories on Gender Inequality (cont’d) • Conflict theorists: • Believe men have historically had access to most of society’s material resources and privileges. Therefore, it is in their interest to try to maintain their dominant position. 10 Theories on Gender Inequality (cont’d) • Interactionists emphasize how the concept of gender is socially constructed, maintained, and reproduced in our everyday lives. 11 Gender Role Socialization • Gender role socialization is the lifelong process of learning to be masculine or feminine, primarily through four main agents of socialization: families, schools, peers, and the media. 12 Gender Role Socialization (cont’d) • Families are usually the primary source of socialization and greatly impact gender role socialization. • Social learning theory suggests that babies and children learn behaviors and meanings through social interaction and internalize the expectations of those around them. 13 Gender Role Socialization (cont’d) • Schools also socialize children into their gender roles. For instance, research shows that teachers treat boys and girls differently. This may teach children that there are different expectations of them, based on their sex. 14 Gender Role Socialization (cont’d) • In Western societies, peer groups are an important agent of socialization. • Teens are rewarded by peers when they conform to gender norms and stigmatized when they do not. 15 Gender Role Socialization (cont’d) • Finally, there is no question that sex-role behavior is portrayed in a highly stereotypical manner in all forms of the media: television, movies, magazines, books, video games, and so on. 16 Sex, Gender, and Life Chances • Sex and gender affect almost every significant aspect of our lives. Even lifespan is different based on sex! 17 Sex, Gender, and Life Chances • Women are disadvantaged in institutional settings in our society. Women tend to: • Do a disproportionate amount of housework • Earn less on average than their male peers at work • Remain more likely to live in poverty 18 Sex, Gender, and Life Chances (cont’d) • This has led to a situation called the feminization of poverty, which is the economic trend showing that women are more likely than men to live in poverty, due in part to the gendered gap in wages, the higher proportion of single mothers compared to single fathers, and the increasing cost of child care. 19 Sex, Gender, and Life Chances (cont’d) • Second Shift is a term that describes the unpaid housework and child care often expected of a woman, even after she completes a day of paid labor outside of the home. 20 Sex, Gender, and Life Chances (cont’d) • Even our language and vocabulary tend to reflect a hierarchal system of gender inequality. 21 The Women’s Movement • Feminism is the belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes and the social movements organized around that belief. • In the United States, the history of the Women’s Movement can be divided into three historical waves. 22 The Women’s Movement (cont’d) • The first wave was the earliest period of feminist activism and included the period from the mid-nineteenth century until American women won the right to vote in 1920. The campaign organized around gaining voting rights for women was called the suffrage movement. 23 The Women’s Movement (cont’d) • The second wave was the period of feminist activity during the 1960s and 1970s, often associated with the issues of women’s equal access to employment and education. 24 The Women’s Movement (cont’d) • The third wave is the most recent period of feminist activity and focuses on issues of diversity and the variety of identities that women can possess. 25 The Men’s Movement • The Men’s Movement, called male liberationism, was a movement that originated in the 1970s to discuss the challenges of masculinity. 26 The Men’s Movement (cont’d) • Although originally broadly sympathetic with feminism, the men’s movement has now split into the men’s rights movement (a group that feels that feminism creates disadvantages for men) and the profeminist men’s movement (a group that feels that sexism harms both men and women and wants to fundamentally change society’s ideas about gender). 27 Sexual Orientation • Sexual orientation is the inclination to be heterosexual (attracted to the opposite sex), homosexual (attracted to the same sex), or bisexual (attracted to either sex). 28 Sexual Orientation (cont’d) • Is sexual orientation a continuum rather than a few simple categories? • Those who are asexual may simply reject any sexual identity at all. 29 Homophobia • Homophobia is a fear of or discrimination toward homosexuals or toward individuals who display purportedly gender-inappropriate behavior. 30 Gender and Sexuality— Concept Quiz True or False: Sociologists believe that sex and gender are essentially the same thing. a. True b. False 31 Gender and Sexuality— Concept Quiz Which theoretical perspective generally believes that there are still social roles better suited to one gender than the other? a. Conflict theory b. Functionalism c. Labeling theory d. Symbolic interactionism 32 Gender and Sexuality— Concept Quiz The physical, behavioral, and personality traits that a group considers normal for its male and female members is referring to: a. sex b. gender c. sexual orientation d. the functionalist theory of gender 33 Gender and Sexuality— Concept Quiz The economic trend showing that women are more likely than men to live in poverty is called: a. gender inequity b. the suffrage movement c. gender role socialization d. the feminization of poverty 34 Gender and Sexuality— Concept Quiz What was the cause most identified with the first wave of the women’s movement? a. Equal pay for women b. Equal access to education for women c. The right to vote for women d. The celebration of diversity 35 This concludes the Lecture PowerPoint presentation for Chapter 9 The Real World AN INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY 3rd Edition Kerry Ferris and Jill Stein Visit the StudySpace at: http://wwnorton.com/studyspace For more learning resources, please visit the StudySpace site for The Real World, 3e. © 2012 W. W. Norton Co., Inc. 36