Chapter 10 Sexuality and Gender

Chapter Outline Sex Versus Gender Theories of Gender Homosexuality Gender Inequality Toward 2050 The Women’s Movement

Sex Versus Gender Sociologists distinguish biological sex from sociological gender. Gender is the feelings, attitudes, and behaviors associated with being male or female. Gender identity is identification with a particular sex. When you behave according to expectations about how males or females are supposed to act, you adopt a gender role.

Polling Question Do you approve or disapprove of a married woman earning money in business or industry if she has a husband capable of supporting her? Approve Disapprove No opinion

Theories of Gender Essentialism - gender differences reflect naturally evolved dispositions. Social constructionism - gender differences reflect the different social positions occupied by women and men.

Essentialist Theories Freud - differences in anatomy account for the development of distinct masculine and feminine gender roles. Sociobiology and Evolutionary Psychology Gender differences in behavior are based in biological differences between men and women. These differences evolved to ensure the survival of the species.

4 Criticisms of Essentialism They ignore historical and cultural variability of gender and sexuality. They generalize from the average, ignoring variations within gender groups. No evidence directly supports their major claims. Their explanations for gender differences ignore the role of power.

Distribution of Aggressiveness among Men and Women

Leading Occupations of Employed Women 16 Years and Older Median Weekly Earnings Managers and administrators 31.0 762 Secretaries 98.4 475 Cashiers 76.9 292 Registered nurses 93.1 820 Sales supervisors and proprietors 41.1 502

Leading Occupations of Employed Women 16 Years and Older Median Weekly Earnings Nursing aides and orderlies, 90.0 356 Elementary teachers 82.5 731 Bookkeepers, accounting clerks 92.9 474 Waitresses 76.4 317 Sales workers, retail and personal services 44.3 n.c.

Body Dissatisfaction

Influence of Fashion Models on Feelings about Appearance I always or often: Men Women Extremely Dissatisfied Compare myself to models in magazines 12 27 43 Carefully study the shape of models 19 28 47

Influence of Fashion Models on Feelings about Appearance Very thin or muscular models make me: Men Women Extremely Dissatisfied Feel insecure about my weight 15 29 67 Want to lose weight 18 30

Polling Question How comfortable are you with the gender roles our society defines as appropriate for males and females? Very comfortable Somewhat comfortable Unsure Somewhat uncomfortable Very uncomfortable

Transgender and Transsexual Transgendered people defy gender norms and blur accepted gender roles. 1 in every 5000 to 10,000 people. Transsexuals want to alter their gender by changing their appearance or medical intervention. 1 in every 30,000 people.

Homosexuality Homosexuals prefer sexual partners of the same sex. Bisexuals enjoy sexual partners of either sex. Approximately 2.8% of American men and 1.4% of American women think of themselves as homosexual or bisexual.

Homosexuality In the U.S. Men Women Identified as homosexual or bisexual. 2.8 1.4 Had sex with person of same sex in past 12 months. 3.4 0.6 Had sex with person of same sex at least once since puberty. 5.3 3.5

Homosexuality In the U.S. Men Women Felt desire for sex with person of same sex. 7.7 7.5 Had some same-sex desire or experience or identified as homosexual or bisexual. 10.1 8.6

Aggression to Homosexuals 1998 study of 500 young adults in the San Francisco Bay area found: 1 in 10 admitted attacking or threatening people they believed were homosexuals. 1/3 of those who had not engaged in antigay aggression said they would do so if a homosexual flirted with, or propositioned, them.

Homophobia Research suggests that some antigay crimes may result from repressed homosexual urges on the part of the aggressor. Aggressors are homophobic, or afraid of homosexuals, because they cannot cope with their own, possibly subconscious, homosexual impulses.

Social Policy: What Do You Think? Hate Crime Law and Homophobia

The Earnings Gap In 2001, women over the age of 15 working full-time in the paid labor force earned 76% of what men earned.

The Earnings Gap: Four Factors Gender discrimination. Heavy domestic responsibilities reduce women’s earnings. Women tend to be concentrated in low-wage occupations and industries. Work done by women is commonly considered less valuable than work done by men because it is viewed as involving fewer skills.

Male Aggression against Women The majority of acts of aggression between men and women are committed by men against women. In 2001, 90,491 rapes of women were reported to the police in the U.S.

Male Aggression against Women In a survey of acquaintance and date rape in American colleges, 7% of men admitted they attempted or committed rape in the past year. 11% percent of women said they were victims of attempted or successful rape.

Labor Force Participation Rate

U.S. and Top and Bottom Five Countries Ranked by Gender Empowerment Measure

Attitudes To Women’s Issues, U.S. 1972–82 1983–87 1996 1998 Women suited for politics 54 63 78 77 Women’s rights issue one of the most important — 58 64 Think of self as a feminist 22

Eliminating the Gender gap Among major reforms that could help eliminate the gender gap in earnings and reduce overall gender inequality are: Development of an affordable, accessible system of high-quality day care. Remuneration of men and women on the basis of their work’s actual worth.

Quick Quiz

Which of the following is not a determinant of one's sex? whether one is born with male or female genitalia feelings and attitudes associated with being a man or a woman behaviors associated with being a man or a woman the feelings and attitudes associated with being a man or a woman, and the behaviors associated with being a man or a woman

Answer: d The feelings and attitudes associated with being a man or a woman, and the behaviors associated with being a man or a woman are not a determinant of one's sex.

2. Essentialism is a school of thought that sees gender differences: as a reflection of the different social positions occupied by women and men resulting from widely shared expectations about how males or females are expected to act resulting from identification with, or a sense of belonging to, a particular sex as a reflection of biological differences between women and men

Answer: d Essentialism is a school of thought that sees gender differences as a reflection of biological differences between women and men.

3. Social constructionism is a school of thought that sees gender differences: as a reflection of the different social positions occupied by women and men as a reflection of the different strategies men and women use to achieve reproductive success resulting from identification with, or a sense of belonging to, a particular sex as a reflection of biological differences between women and men

Answer: a Social constructionism is a school of thought that sees gender differences as a reflection of the different social positions occupied by women and men.

4. Sociobiologists and evolutionary psychologists argue that male-female differences are rooted in: different reproductive strategies that women and men use to maximize the chance that their offspring will survive differences between men and women regarding physical strength anatomical differences between women and men hormonal differences between women and men

Answer: a Sociobiologists and evolutionary psychologists argue that male-female differences are rooted in different reproductive strategies that women and men use to maximize the chance that their offspring will survive.

5. Surveys of body image show that: a great majority of people who are dissatisfied with their weight - both men and women - want to lose weight men are more concerned about their stomachs than women are women are more concerned about their breasts than men are about their chests all of these choices

Answer: a 5, Surveys of body image show that a great majority of people who are dissatisfied with their weight - both men and women - want to lose weigh.

6. Transgendered people are: people who prefer sexual partners of both sexes people who identify with, and want to live fully as, members of the "opposite" sex, and who resort to medical intervention people who break society's gender norms by defying the rigid distinction between male and female people born with ambiguous genitals

Answer: c Transgendered people are people who break society's gender norms by defying the rigid distinction between male and female.

7. American women do between two-thirds and three-quarters of all unpaid childcare, housework, and care for the elderly. True False

Answer: a American women do between two-thirds and three-quarters of all unpaid childcare, housework, and care for the elderly.