SYG1000 Final Exam Keith Richard Chapter 10 Gender Sections 10 1 10 4 10 1 Sex The biological characteristics that distinguish females and males consisting of primary and secondary sex characteristics o Primary Vagina penis or other organs related to reproduction o Secondary The physical distinctions between males and females that are not directly connected with reproduction These characteristics become clearly evident at puberty when males develop larger muscles lower voices more body hair and greater height while females develop breasts and form more fatty tissue and broader hips Gender The behaviors and attitudes that a society considers proper for its males and females masculinity or femininity The Sociological significance of gender The sociological significance of gender is that it s a device by which society controls its members A medical accident Two twin boys in 1963 upon conducting a routine circumcision a physician severed one of the boy s penis and was forced to construct it into a vagina They gave the boy steroids to promote female puberty and dressed the child like a girl Growing up the boy started acting like a female but then did not adapt well to femininity At age 14 her father told her about the sex change to which the child responded in getting reconstruction surgery again and taking testosterone shots Unfortunately the child committed suicide after marrying a women and adopting her children Stratification Males and females unequal access to property power and prestige Gender difference society says men supposed to do be some things women supposed to do be other things Gender and age are master statuses because they cut across all aspect of social life Societies define masculinity and femininity very differently 10 2 Sociologists classify females as a minority group people who are discriminated against on the basis of physical or cultural characteristics regardless of their numbers Patriarchy Men as a group dominating women as a group authority is vested in males 10 3 Feminism The philosophy that men and women should be politically economically and socially equal organized activities on behalf of this principle What inequalities do women face in the paid labor force o The glass ceiling The mostly invisible barrier that keeps women from advancing to the top levels at work o The pay gap Men get paid more than women do for the same job Men take harder jobs like business fields and engineering fields Glass ceiling is slowly cracking Education is not a factor in the gender pay gap o Sexual harassment The abuse of one s position of authority to force unwanted sexual demands on someone Symbolic interactionists interpret this behavior as once considered normal if often unwelcome and are no longer acceptable Today the growth rate in the number of women earning wages outside the home is a chief characteristic of the U S workforce What were the main findings in Karin Martin s study o All female teachers 42 girls in class 58 boys predominately white and middle class o The Hidden curriculum Schools aren t designed to teach these things but they do dressing up formal and relaxed behavior controlling voice bodily interaction physical interaction among children and physical interaction between teacher and children o 3 observations for 8 weeks o Girls wore dresses constrict body requires teacher to fix them Played dress up 82 of formal behavior done by girls 80 of relaxed behavior done by boys Teachers more likely to reprimand girls for relaxed bodily movements Girls told to be quiet 3x more than boys Boys told to quiet down in large groups opposed to girls individually or in small groups Boys obeyed bodily instructions less than girls and necessary to repeat Told boys to stop doing something instead of how to change behavior o Conclusion Shows how bodies are gendered at a young age and emphasizes bodily control to differentiate gendered norms o Girls get their own dream house with a laundry room and cooking supplies o Boys get a tool set Horizontal segregation Employers have idea of what is supposed to be a women s job Vertical segregation Men dominate the higher ranks of companies women hit the glass Gendered toys vs man s job ceiling What conclusions can we draw from McCabe s 2011 research o Children s book study on representation of male and female characters of 6 000 books written between 1900 2000 o Most unequal in middle of century o Never became equal at the later sample years o Overall males as central character in 57 of books women as central characters in 37 of books Chapter 12 12 1 Polygyny A form of marriage in which men have more than one wife Polyandry A form of marriage in which women have more than one husband Family Two or more people who consider themselves related by blood marriage or adoption Household People who occupy the same housing unit Nuclear family A family consisting of a husband wife and children Extended family A family in which relatives such as the older generation or unmarried aunts and uncles live with the parents and their children Family of orientation The family in which a person grows up Family of procreation The family formed when a couple s first child is born Endogamy The practice of marrying within one s own group Exogamy The practice of marrying outside of one s group Incest taboo The rule that prohibits sex and marriage among designated relatives Bilineal system A system of reckoning descent that counts both the mother s and the father s side Patrilineal system Just the father s side Matrilineal system Just the mother s side Matriarchy A society in which women as a group dominate men as a group authority is vested in females Egalitarian Authority is divided equally Tichenor s 2005 Study Examines power dynamics of working married couples where women make more money o What are the three types of power and what do they mean Overt power husband and wife argue over chores he wins Latent power based on that interaction she fails to bring up chores in the future Hidden power if they never had a discussion argument over chores because wife always assumed it was her duty o What are the main conclusions we can draw from the people in Tichenor s study Men who earn substantially less continue to be defined as providers In order to maintain power they make decisions get deference from spouse and define terms of marriage contract Women still do majority of house work Provider no longer tied to income instead meets emotional needs of family and
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