SEX & GENDER

GENDER STRATIFICATION

• Refers to men/women's unequal access to power, prestige, and propert
• Master status
• No matter what we attain in our lifetime, we carry the male/female with us
• This label guides our behavior and serves as a basis of power and privilege

SEX & GENDER REFLECT DIFFERENT BASES

• Sex = biological characteristics (includes primary/secondary sex organs)
• Gender is a social characteristics which varies and societies - what societies consider proper for each sex

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• Sociological significance of gender:
• Means to control members
• Sorts us on the basis of sex into different life experiences

XY OR XX?

• Do biological factors result in differ in conduct?
• Are men more aggressive & domineering?
• Are women more comforting & nurturing?

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

• Explain what we do...
• People in every society determine what the physical differences mean - kids learn contrasting explanations of life
• Sociologists argue that if biology was the primary factor in human behavior the. We would all behave the same!

BIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

• Real life cases provide support for men and women's behavior influenced by biology
• Alice Rossi: women are better prepared for "mothering"
• Medical accident in child sex assignment
• Vietnam veterans study = higher level of testosterone = more aggression/problems

GENDER INEQUALITY

• Around the world - gender is the primary division between people
• Society sets up barriers to deny equal access
• Minority group
• Why? Life was short - tied to reproductive roles
• Garda Lerner - women have never held decision making power over me as a group

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• George Murdock - 324 premodern societies - activities are sex typed; men's position = more prestige
• Globally, gender stratification occurs in education, politics, paid employment, and violence against women

GENDER INEQUALITY IN THE U.S.

• A society's culture and institutions justify/maintain customary forms of gender inequality
• Legal rights - new/1900s; males did not willing surrender privileges - result of prolonged battle

FEMINISM

• 1st wave - prior to 1920; focus on voting & reform of all social institutions
• 2nd wave - after 1960; broad goals/change work roles & policies in violence
• 3rd wave (now) - focus on women outside of U.S.; removal of barriers to love/sex
• Even with more rights today = gender inequality is still an issue

SEX DISCRIMINATION

• Healthcare: women 2x die from coronary bypass surgery; more likely to recommend radical surgery on reproductive system

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• Education: women earn 56% of all 4 yr degrees
• Old practices persist: sports underfunded, gender tracking, less likely to get graduate degrees, lower rank/pay in jobs

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• Everyday life:
• Female capabilities, interests, attitudes, and contributions are not taken as seriouslu
• Pattern of conversations - men interrupt

GENDER INEQUALITY

• Nearly 1 out of 2 women employed
• Men earn more than women
• Association with height and income
• Gender pay gap due to lower paying jobs, gender disciple inaction, and child penalty
• Men start with higher incomes
• Top 500 corporations - 1 in 8 headed by women

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• Glass ceiling - invisible barrier that women face in trying to reach executive suites
• In wrong positions for advancement and lack mentors
• Glass escalator - what happens to men in non-traditional fields

SEXUAL HARASSMENT

• Since 1970s
• Had not before drew conclusion about unwanted sexual advances & subordinate positions at work
• Seen as structural problem - required reinterpreting problem

Violence

• Most victims are female
• Rape: underreported, 7 of 10,000 women are raped
• Date rape - not likely to be reported
• Violence against women include battering, spousal abuse, incest, & female circumstances
• Judges more likely t be lenient with female criminals

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• Understanding violence against women:
• Culture promotes violence
• Men associate violence with power, dominance, strength, virility, & superiority with masculinity
• Men maintain higher status through iiiviolence
• To solve violence = must first break like between violence & masculinity

POLITICS

• Despite gains continue to be underrepresented in higher office
• Underrepresented in business/law
• Role of mom & politician seen as incompatible
• Not see themselves as a group needed political action to overcome discrimination

GLIMPSING THE FUTURE

• Structured obstacles will disappear as women play a fuller role on decision-making processes
• As stereotypes are abandoned, both men/women will be free to express their needs/emotions which is currently denied to them