SYG2010 EXAM 2 STUDY GUIDE Problems of Social Inequality Gender and Sexism Sex and Gender Sex the biological distinction between males and females Gender the personal traits and life chances that a society links to being Gender roles the attitudes and behaviors expected of boys and men because they are males and of girls and women because they are female Gender Stratification and Patriarchy Gender is an important dimension of social inequality Patriarchy a social pattern in which males dominate females is found in varying degrees around the world Societies more than biological factors shape the social differences between the sexes Sexism refers to hierarchically ordered gender stereotyping in which males are privileged over females is expressed on a variety of social and religious levels is part of the social system of patriarchy Misogyny hatred dislike mistrust of women and girls can manifest in numerous ways including sexual discrimination denigration of women violence against women and sexual objectification of women o Example sexual assault domestic violence Prejudice and Discrimination Female and male stereotypes o Women as dependent sensitive and emotional o Men as independent rational and competitive The Problem of Sexism Sexism is the belief that one sex male is innately superior to the other female o Supports patriarchy by claiming that men are better than women Gender Roles Traditional gender roles o Women being motherly nurturing housekeeping submissive o Men being strong independent breadwinning dominant Ever present but never more pronounced than between 1945 and 1965 Golden Age of the Family Ideals of gender expression performative traits men and women utilize to secure their position in gendered society Gender Inequality in Everyday Life Language gender is embodied in our language o Example cursing saying you guys sex as an act of violence Conversation men interrupt women o Example doctor interrupt female patients Gender Performance we perform gender around our friends o Example women dress up do their hair wear certain shoes etc before going to a club to perform for men or friends o Men drink heavy liquor beer try to get with a girl o People smile and are pleasant to strangers Gender Stratification men and women Gender stratification unequal distribution of wealth power and privilege between Women have less income than men more responsibility for housework and a higher risk of experiencing domestic violence and sexual harassment Sexual harassment unwanted comments gestures or physical contact of a sexual nature o Quid pro quo sexual harassment one thing in return for another violation of civil rights ex A professor pressures a student for sex Income o Men and women hold different kinds of jobs o Men end up with more seniority than women who take off to raise children o Gender discrimination Glass ceiling refers to subtle and not subtle discrimination that effectively blocks the movement of women into the highest positions in organizations Structural Gender Inequality Wage Gap Full time working women get paid 78 cents for each dollar full time working men get paid Why is there a wage gap o Sexual harassment o Occupational segregation refusal to treat qualified women as equal to their includes wage discrimination because after long repeated o Hiring promotion and pay qualified male counterparts sexual harassment women leave or lose their jobs potential raises promotions opportunities emotional stability or ability to work the 500 occupational categories consistently paid less women find themselves shoved onto the mommy track when they come back from maternity leave where bosses and colleagues treat them as unreliable and unpromotable female traits results in automatic dismissal of women s ideas in the workplace overlooking productivity or creativity for incompetence or warmth or emotionality 2 3 of all US working women are crowded into 21 of prizing masculine male traits over feminine o Undervaluing women workers o Taxing motherhood Even if both sexes start out with exactly the same jobs over time women typically fall behind their male colleagues Sex or gender discrimination treating individuals differently in their employment specifically because an individual is a woman or a man Sex or gender discrimination may be accompanied by other forms of illegal discrimination as well such as age race or disability discrimination Sex Discrimination Pregnancy discrimination and sexual harassment are also considered forms of sex discrimination under the law Sex discrimination has been outlawed o Equal Pay Act 1963 o Civil Rights Act 1964 Hooters lawsuits since 1997 o Bona fide occupational qualifications BFOQ conflicts Not a restaurant vicarious sexual experience o Not hiring men firing women on basis of weight hair color race taping women in dressing rooms etc Gender and Education Lower grades within education o Mostly women teachers o Classroom and recreational activities often linked to gender Higher grades within education o Women earn 57 of all bachelor s degrees o Gender steers selection of major Women English dance drama sociology Men physics economics mathematics engineering College Sports program o Title IX 1972 banned sex discrimination in any federally funded educational o In most schools men still benefit from higher paid coaches and enjoy larger crowds of spectators Structural Functional Analysis Gender and Complementarity Gender is complementarity men and women are seen as different in limited but important ways with each sex having some what different roles and responsibilities Best known functional theory of gender was developed by Talcott Parsons Sex based division of labor became institutionalized meaning it became built into culture and passed from generation to generation Intersection Theory Intersection theory analysis of how race class and gender interact often creating multiple disadvantages for some categories of people If Men Could Menstruate Steinem It would be a competition of who could bleed more Women would be considered weak and no connection to the universe Steinem is making the argument of making the familiar strange What is Feminism Feminism a political movement that seeks the social equality of women and men a framework for analysis a way of thinking seeing the world and looking for answers to the problem of gender inequality There is substantial diversity in both feminist theory and feminist activism but there are at least two shared core