Lesson 5 – Sex, Gender and Sexuality Robert Wonser

2 What is sex? What is gender?  Although the terms “ sex ” and “ gender ” are often used interchangeably, sociologists differentiate between the two.  Sex refers to an individual ’ s membership in one of two biologically distinct categories — male or female.  Gender refers to the physical, behavioral, and personality traits that a group considers normal for its male and female members.

3 Babies are Genderless  Social Constructio n of Reality

4 Intersex  About 1 babies in 1,000 are born intersexed, or hermaphroditic, which means having an abnormal chromosomal makeup and mixed or indeterminate male and female sex characteristics.  This is a function of biological sex.  Gender is different because it relates to the way that a person behaves based on their biological sex.  In other words, we learn how to act manly or womanly based on the sex that we’re born into and society’s expectations of that sex. Hijras embracing at a wedding.

5 As nature made him  David Reimer was subjected to gender reassignment surgery at 18 months old. What does his story tell us about the relationship between biological sex and gender identity?

6 Gender Inequality  Gender inequality can be found in all past and present societies.  The activities that women could participate in were limited because they had less physical strength and because of the demands of bearing and raising children.  Men delivered the most important resources to the group, such as food from hunting or land from warfare, and became powerful by controlling the distribution of these resources.  There are several sociological theories that attempt to explain why this inequality has persisted in contemporary societies. We’re going to discuss several of these theories now.

7 Theories on Gender

8 Gender Role Socialization  Gender role socialization is the lifelong process of learning to be masculine or feminine, primarily through four main agents of socialization: families, schools, peers, and the media.

9 Gender Role Socialization (cont’d)  Families are usually the primary source of socialization and greatly impact gender role socialization.  Social learning theory suggests that the babies and children learn behaviors and meanings through social interaction and internalize the expectations of those around them.  remember: we learn gender, we are not born knowing who wears pink

10 Gender Role Socialization (cont’d)  Schools also socialize children into their gender roles.  For instance, research shows that teachers treat boys and girls differently.  This may teach children that there are different expectations of them, based on their sex.

11 Gender Role Socialization (cont’d)  In Western societies, peer groups are an important agent of socialization.  Teens are rewarded by peers when they conform to gender norms and stigmatized when they do not.

12 Gender Role Socialization (cont’d)  Finally, there is no question that sex-role behavior is portrayed in a highly stereotypical manner in all forms of the media: television, movies, magazines, books, video games, and so on.

13 A 1975 survey of children’s books found that boys played active roles but girls were frequently passive. What messages about gender roles might readers learn from this Dick and Jane book?

14 Sex, Gender, and Life Chances (cont ’ d)  Sex and gender affect almost every significant aspect of our lives.  Even lifespan is different by gender!  Women are disadvantaged in institutional settings in our society. Women tend to:  Do a disproportionate amount of housework  Earn less on average than their male peers at work  Remain more likely to live in poverty

15 U.S. Life Expectancy by Gender, 1900–2007

16 College Enrollment by Gender, 1965–2006

17 Male and Female Median Earnings, 1959– 2008

18 Sex, Gender, and Life Chances (cont ’ d)  This has led to a situation called the feminization of poverty, which is the economic trend showing that women are more likely than men to live in poverty, due in part to the gendered gap in wages, the higher proportion of single mothers compared to single fathers, and the increasing cost of childcare.

19 Sex, Gender, and Life Chances (cont ’ d)  Even our language and vocabulary tend to reflect a hierarchal system of gender inequality.  What’s the difference between a stud and slut?  Mankind, mailman, guys

20 Feminism and the Women’s Movement  Who considers themselves to be a feminist?  Do you know what feminism is?  Feminism is the belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes and the social movements organized around that belief.  In the United States, the history of the women ’ s movement can be divided into three historical waves.

21 The Women ’ s Movement (cont ’ d)  The first wave was the earliest period of feminist activism and included the period from the mid-nineteenth century until American women won the right to vote in The campaign organized around gaining voting rights for women was called the suffrage movement.

22 The Women ’ s Movement (cont ’ d)  The second wave was the period of feminist activity during the 1960s and 1970s often associated with the issues of women ’ s equal access to employment and education.

23 The Women ’ s Movement (cont ’ d)  The third wave is the most recent period of feminist activity and focuses on issues of diversity and the variety of identities that women can possess.

24 The Men ’ s Movement  The men ’ s movement, called male liberationism, was a movement that originated in the 1970s to discuss the challenges of masculinity.  Although originally broadly sympathetic with feminism, the men ’ s movement has now split into the men ’ s rights movement (a group that feels that feminism creates disadvantages for men) and the pro-feminist men ’ s movement (a group that feels that sexism harms both men and women and wants to fundamentally change society ’ s ideas about gender).

25 Sexual Orientation  Sexual orientation is the inclination to be heterosexual (attracted to the opposite sex), homosexual (attracted to the same sex), or bisexual (attracted to either sex).

26 Sexual Orientation (cont ’ d)  Is sexual orientation a continuum rather than a few simple categories?  Those who are asexual may simply reject any sexual identity at all.

27 Homophobia  Homophobia is a fear of or discrimination toward homosexuals or toward individuals who display purportedly gender- inappropriate behavior.  Some argue that the term “ homophobia ” represents a biased attitude because the term “ phobia ” implies a psychological condition, thus excusing intolerance.

28 Heterosexism  Homophobia refers to individual beliefs and behaviors, not institutionalized discrimination.  Heterosexism refers to the antihomosexual beliefs and practices embedded in social institutions.  Similar to “white privilege”; we’re not taught to see how racism puts some in a position of privilege but rather view it as something that puts racial ethnic minorities at a disadvantage.

29 Examples of HeterosexismHeterosexism  Hospitals do not recognize spousal rights for same- sex partners sick or dying or for same-sex parents with children in the hospital  Gay, bisexual and lesbian issues are not included in school curricula  School rules about name-calling, harassment or bullying are not enforced for anti-gay incidents  Student rights laws or policies do not include sexual orientation as a protected category  School social events are organized around assumptions of heterosexuality (dances, dating)  Same-sex displays of affection in school are not tolerated  Lesbians and gay men are assumed to be a threat to children in some professions: teaching, coaching, pediatric medicine

30 Examples of Heterosexual PrivilegeHeterosexual Privilege  You can go wherever you want and know that you will not be harassed, beaten, or killed because of your sexuality  You do not have to worry about being mistreated by the police or victimized by the criminal justice system because of your sexuality  You can express affection (kissing, hugging, and holding hands) in most social situations and not expect hostile or violent reactions from others  You are more likely to see sexually-explicit images of people of your sexuality without these images provoking public consternation or censorship  You can discuss your relationships and publicly acknowledge your partner (such as by having a picture of your lover on your desk) without fearing that people will automatically disapprove or think that you are being “blatant”  You can legally marry the person whom you love in all 50 states  You can receive tax breaks, health insurance coverage, and spousal legal rights through being in a long-term relationship