2. Outline
Sex and Gender
Essentialist and Constructionist Approaches
Gender Inequality-Patriarchy
Theoretical views-Functionalist, Conflict,
Interactionist
Gender Role Socialization
Life Chances
Women’s Movement
Men’s Movement
Sexual Diversity
3. Sex and Gender
Sex-an individual’s membership in one of two distinct
categories; male or female
Based on biological factors (hormones, chromosomes, organs)
Intersexed-(hermaphroditic)person whose chromosomes or
sex characteristics are neither exclusively male or female
17 in 1,000 babies born intersexed
Gender-the physical, behavioral, and personality traits that
a group considers normal for its male and female members
Culturally transmitted or learned
Masculine or feminine?
4. Essentialist and Constructionist
Approaches
Gender identity-the roles and traits that a social
group assigns to a particular gender
Essentialists- gender roles have a genetic or biological
origin, and therefore cannot be changed
Culture plays no role
Two category system
Constructionists- notions of gender are socially
determined (Berdaches and Hijra)
Systems of gender inequality that result from labels are
not natural or necessary
5. Gender Inequality
Found in all societies, past and present
Patriarchy- “rule of the father;” a male-dominated
society
Traced back to biological differences-division of labor
Men valued for physical strength-needed for hunting &
building
Women faced demands of bearing and raising children-
relegated to home
*Why does gender inequality continue?
6. Gender Inequality
Functionalist-social roles are still better suited to one
gender or the other
Instrumental role-position of family member who
provides material support; often authority figure
Breadwinner
Expressive role-position of the family member who
provides emotional support & nurturing
Gender segregation serves to uphold the traditional
family
7. Gender Inequality
Conflict theorists-men have historically had access to
most of society’s material resources and privileges
Gender is a manifestation of exploitation
Women reproduce labor force-no compensation
All men benefit from gender inequality
Interactionists-focus on how gender is socially
constructed in our everyday lives
Gender identity is so important-one of first things we
know when we interact with someone
Transgendered-individual whose sense of gender
identity is at odds with her or his physical sex
8. Gender Role Socialization
Gender role
socialization(GRS)-
lifelong process of learning
to be masculine or
feminine
Occurs through family,
peers, school, media
(agents of socialization)
Families-the primary
source of socialization
Occurs before birth
Clothes, rooms, toys differ
Gender of baby affects way
others relate to it
9. Gender Role Socialization
Gendered Toys
What are the differences
between toys for boys and
toys for girls?
10. Gender Role Socialization
Social learning-process of learning behaviors and
meanings through social interaction
Schools-educational experiences of boys and girls will
differ
Gender norms, same-sex groups on playground
Boys receive more instructional time, given more praise
Peers-same-sex peer groups can create gendered
behavior
Boys-prestige from athletic ability, sense of humor
Girls-prestige from social position and attractiveness
11. Gender Role Socialization
Media-sex role behavior
portrayed in highly
stereotyped fashion
Much of TV, video
games, popular music
and magazines aimed at
adolescents
Shapes our images of
what is normal
12. Sex, Gender, and Life Chances
Gender expectations shape our experiences in all areas
of our lives
Family – women more likely to be single parent. Women
have “second shift”
Crime – men more likely to be victims and die of violent
crime. Women are more likely to be victimized by rape or
intimate abuse.
Education – women more likely to finish high school & go
to college. Men more likely to finish college. Men get more
money.
13. Sex, Gender, and Life Chances
Work – single women work outside home than married
women – men work more than women –
See Table 10.5 – page 263 – “Pink Collar Jobs” – secretary,
nurse, etc.
Income & Poverty – 2004 – Men $40,798; Women $31,223
– 77 cents to the dollar men make
Feminization of Poverty-economic trend showing that
women are more likely than men to live in poverty
Due to gendered gap in wages, higher amount of single moms
taking on primary responsibility for kids, increasing costs of
child care
Language-double standard in sexual behavior
“players” vs. “sluts”-men more likely to interrupt
14. The Women’s
Movement
Feminism-the belief in the
social, political, and economic
equality of the sexes + social
movements organized around
that belief
Women’s Movement split into 3
waves
First wave-1848 Seneca Falls-
demanded right to vote
Suffrage movement-
movement organized around
gaining voting rights for women
(achieved in 1920)
15. The Women’s Movement
Second Wave-1960s-70s-associated with equal access
to education and employment
Betty Friedan-The Feminine Mystique-described “the
problem that has no name”-women not being fulfilled
by their traditional roles because of cultural
restrictions-norms or laws
Achieved equal opportunity laws and sexual
harassment legislation
Third Wave-focus on diversity, include concerns of
women of color, lesbians, and working-class women
16. The Men’s Movement
What does it mean to be a man in post-feminism
world?
Is there a crisis of masculinity?
Male liberationism-movement that originated in the
1970s to discuss the challenges of masculinity
Greater stress, poorer health, shorter life expectancy
Popular among middle-class heterosexual men
Initially open to feminism, then later against it
17. The Men’s Movement
Both movements are offshoots of male liberationism
Men’s rights movement-because of feminism, men
are discriminated against
New kind of sexism
Pro-feminist men’s movement-members support
feminism and believe that sexism harms both men and
women
Men need to share in child care and end violence against
women
18. Sexual Orientation
Sexual orientation-inclination to be heterosexual,
homosexual, or bisexual
homosexuality-sexual attraction towards members of
one’s own gender
Is there a gay gene?
Possessing a certain gene doesn’t guarantee that a
person will have a particular sexual orientation
Environment? Bisexuality?
19. Kinsey-we can best understand
sexual orientation as a fluid
continuum that can change over
Sexual diversity the course of a person’s lifetime
Kinsey-late Bisexuals, transsexuals, and a-
1940s-people sexuals may reject such a model
not
Queer Theory-theory about
necessarily gender identity and sexuality that
exclusively emphasizes the importance of
homosexual difference and rejects the idea of
innate sexual identity
or About possibilities, importance of
heterosexual differences
