Sex and Gender Stratification 04 01 2014 Overview Social Construction of Gender Theoretical Perspectives on Gender Stratification Patterns of Gender Stratification Social Construction of Gender Sex is biological gender is socially constructed o Two sexes male female o Many Genders transgender transsexual intersexual Gender is an ascribed status given to you but socially constructed o We learn how to be female or male then we make the decision to ascribe to or not ascribe to what we are given o Often a master status Learn through the process of socialization o Learn the symbolic meaning of gender o Taught by agents of socialization Family school peers media Culture and socialization fundamentally shape definition of gender norms and roles what gender means o Incredible cross cultural variation Definition has profound influence on people s social realities The Functionalist Perspective Gender role differentiation contributes to social stability Clarifies role expectations o Example Helps define the division of labor in the economy and the household The Conflict Perspective Gender relations are characterized by unequal power o Men specifically of the dominant gender and sexual orientation hold greater power in most societies compared to women Gender inequality is a result of this power differential Sexism and Gender Discrimination Sexism is the ideology that one sex is superior to the other o Typically refers to ideologies of male superiority Gender discrimination refers to unequal treatment on the basis of gender identity Definition of Gender is Dynamic Changing norms employment A changing economy o Changing gender roles such as relationship to paid o Economic restructuring in order to be economically stable you might need both parents working especially because the economy is worse than in the past Women in the American Workforce Female labor force participation has increased dramatically over the Yet the opportunity structure of women continues to differ from last century men in important ways o Different normative expectations institutional discrimination and occupational segregation Patterns of Gender Stratification The Second Shift balancing the demands of work outside the home with work inside the home o Studies show there continues to be a clear gender gap in the performance of housework although the differences are narrowing Tension of work family demands can be incredibly trying which can lead to role strain and conflict In Sum Gender is socially constructed o Not synonymous with sex Plays a major role in shaping individual realities and social stratification 04 01 2014 Overview Defining poverty in the United States Facts about poverty in the United States Defining Poverty Absolute poverty standard by which a minimum level of subsistence is established Relative poverty standard by which people are defined as poor in comparison to others Metric of Deprivation Income value of money Wealth value of assets Material hardships housing bills food security and hunger Social exclusion degree to which excluded from mainstream institutions The Official U S Definition Official U S poverty measure is absolute income based and defined at the family level Poverty thresholds vary depending on o Size of the family o Number of children The poverty thresholds originally were based on an economy food plan o Thresholds are pegged to inflation CPI Thresholds do not adjust for o Geographic differences in cost of living o Non cash transfer payments Work and Poverty Work attachment greatly reduces odds of being poor But most poor adults do work The majority of working age poor are employed Often question of adequacy of wages hours skill level etc Time in Poverty Often hear about deep intergenerational poverty but overall poverty population is very dynamic Most poverty occurs in spells of less than 1 year A small minority 10 of the poor remain in poverty for 5 consecutive years Race and Poverty Poverty has disproportionate impact on racial ethnic minorities o In 2011 White 9 9 19 6 million Black 27 4 10 7 million Hispanic 26 6 13 2 million But no race ethnic group are a majority of the poor Family Structure and Poverty Poverty has disproportionate impact on single female headed families o In 2011 poor families Welfare and Poverty Married couple families 6 2 3 7 million Single female families 31 2 4 9 million But overall single female families account for just about half of all Most poor people do not receive cash welfare o Wage and salary income constitutes the majority of income o Even among those who are eligible most no longer receive among the poor those benefits o Most welfare now geared towards being work supports Geography and Poverty Do have high and concentrated poverty in many of our inner cities But poverty isn t only an urban problem o Most of the poor live outside the inner city o Poverty rates are consistently higher in rural areas In Sum Poverty is a key dimension of social class stratification Various ways in which it can be conceptualized and measured More nuanced than people often recognize