GENDER

1. GENDER STRATIFICATION

2.  SOCIOLOGISTS MAKE AN
IMPORTANT DISTINCTION
BETWEEN SEX AND GENDER.

3. SEX
Ascribed status – You are born male or
female
 The physical and biological differences between
men and women.
 Sex differences are made evident by physical
distinctions in anatomical, chromosomal,
hormonal, and physiological characteristics.

4. GENDER
 Achieved Status – Learned through the
socialization process
 The social, psychological, and cultural attributes of
masculinity and femininity that are based, in part,
on biological differences
 An important factor in shaping individuals self
image and social identity

5. RELIGIOUS VIEWS
Patriarchal Ideology
 The belief that men are superior to women and
should control all important aspects of society.
 Almost all societies and religions held this view
historically and many still do.

6. BIOLOGICAL VIEWS
Ethnologists
 Observed that sexual differences in behavior exist
throughout much of the nonhuman animal world,
including primates.
Sociobiologists
 Believe that much of human social behavior has a
genetic basis

7. BIOLOGICAL VIEWS
Gender-based biology
 Identifies the biological and physiological
differences between men and women as well as
differences in responses to drugs.

8. Gender and Physiological Differences
 The study of gender roles should take into account
relative size and muscle development, longevity,
susceptibility to disease and physical disorders.

9. GENDER INEQUALITY THEORIES
 Two theoretical approaches have been used to
explain male dominance and gender inequality:
.

10. FUNCTIONALIST VIEW
 Talcott Parsons and Robert Bales (1955) applied
functionalist theory to the modern family.
 Argued that the division of labor and role
differentiation by sex are universal principles of
family organization and are functional to the
modern family.
 Believe that the family functions best when the
father assumes the instrumental role and the
mother assumes the expressive role.

11. Instrumental role
 Focuses on relationships between the family and
the outside world.
 Involves supporting and protecting the family.

 Expressive role
 Focuses on relationships within the family and
requires her to provide the love and emotional
support needed to sustain the family

12. CONFLICT THEORY VIEW
Men have the better position in society and
hold onto it through social processes
Gender-Role Socialization
 Lifelong process whereby people learn the values,
attitudes, motivations, and behavior considered
appropriate to each sex according to their culture.

13. CHILDHOOD SOCIALIZATION
 Parents carry in their minds images of what girls
and boys are like.
 How they should behave, and what they should
be in later life.
 Parents respond differently to girls and boys
right from the beginning.


14. Three ways women experience discrimination in
the business world
 During the hiring process
 When women are given jobs with lower occupational
prestige than men who have equivalent qualifications
receive
 Through unequal wage policies
 Women receive less pay than men for equivalent work
 In the awarding of promotions
 Women find it more difficult than men to move up the
career ladder