Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Gender Stratification

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Gender and Inequality Gender–Personal traits and social positions that members of a society attach to being female and male Gender stratification–Unequal distribution of wealth, power, and privilege between men and women Male-female biological differences

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Gender in a Global Perspective Israeli kibbutzim –Gender equality is a stated goal. Margaret Mead’s research –Culture is key to gender differences. George Murdock’s research –Some global agreement about feminine and masculine tasks. Gender and culture –What it means to be male or female is mostly a creation of society.

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Patriarchy and Sexism A form of social organization in which males dominate females Matriarchy–A form of social organization in which females dominate males Sexism–Belief that one sex or the other is innately inferior or superior Institutional sexism –Found throughout the economy The costs of sexism –Sexism limits half of the human population. Inevitability of patriarchy –Most sociologists believe gender is socially constructed and can be changed.

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Gender and Socialization Gender roles (sex roles)–Attitudes and activities that a society links to each sex Gender affects how we think of ourselves and teaches us how to behave. Research suggests that most young people develop personalities that are a mix of feminine and masculine traits.

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Gender and the Family Is it a boy or girl? –Color-coding gender Traditional notions of gender identity Handling of children –Female: passivity and emotion –Male: independence and action

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Gender and Peer Groups Janet Lever (1978) –Boys favor team sports with complex rules and clear objectives. –Girls’ sports teach interpersonal skills and the value of sharing and cooperation. Gilligan (1982) – Boys reason according to abstract principles. Girls consider morality a matter of responsibility to others. Schooling –Gender shapes interests and beliefs, guides areas of study, and career choices.

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Gender and the Mass Media White males have center stage. Minorities locked out until the early 1970s. Women receive roles based on sex appeal. The “beauty myth”

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Social Stratification Almost 60% of all women work. 50% of all working women hold administrative support and service sector jobs. Women hold primary responsibility for household duties. Our culture gives more responsibility for parenting to women. On average, women earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. 17 of the 1,000 largest US corporations have a woman chief executive officer.

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Education, Politics, and Military Gender and education 60% of all associate and bachelor degrees are earned by women. Since 1992, women earned most postgraduate degrees. Politics Nineteenth Amendment (1920) Women active in local, state politics Military 15% of US military personnel are women and 15% of all deployed forces. Culture influences our views of women in the military.

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Are Women a Minority? At every class level, women have less income, wealth, education, and power than men. Intersection theory–The interplay of race, class, and gender, often resulting in multiple dimensions of disadvantage. –Disadvantages linked to gender and race often combine to produce especially low social standing. Multilayered system of disadvantage for some and privilege for others

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Violence Against Women In the 19th century, men claimed the right to physical discipline against their wives. Sexual assaults, rapes, attempted rapes, and physical assaults Campus and university gender violence Much gender-linked violence occurs in the home. Female genital mutilation

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Violence Against Men Our society might encourage more violence against men than women. Our culture tends to define masculinity in terms of aggression and violence. Men’s lives involve more stress and isolation than women’s lives.

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Sexual Harassment Rules for workplace interaction Causes of sexual harassment –Culture encourages men to be sexually assertive and perceive women in sexual terms. –Men occupy most positions of power. –By the “effect standard,” a hostile environment involves different perceptions of the same behavior. Comments, gestures, or physical contact of a sexual nature that are deliberate, repeated, and unwelcome.

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Pornography People take different views of what is and isn’t pornographic. Concerns about pornography as a moral issue The gender-stratification point of view considers pornography a power issue. Concern that pornography promotes violence against women by portraying them as weak and undeserving of respect

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Theoretical Analysis of Gender Structural-functional analysis –Parsons: Gender forms a complementary set of roles that links men and women into family units and gives each sex responsibility for important tasks. –Modern societies relax traditional gender roles as they become more meritocratic because rigid roles waste human talent. Social-conflict analysis –Gender involves differences in behavior and power. –Engels: Capitalism strengthens male domination.

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Feminism Working to increase equality Expansion of human choice Eliminate gender stratification Ending sexual violence Promote sexual freedom The advocacy of social equality for women and men, in opposition to patriarchy and sexism

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Types of Feminism Liberal feminism –Free to develop own talents and interests Socialist feminism –Pursues collective personal liberation Radical feminism –Eliminate idea of gender –Egalitarian, gender-free revolution Opposition to feminism –Threat to male status and self-respect –Growing evidence that men and women think and act in different ways