1. Constructing Gender and Sexuality
Chapter 10
Constructing Gender and Sexuality
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

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.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

3. What is Sex? What is Gender? (cont’d)
Gender refers to the physical, behavioral, and personality traits that a group considers normal for its male and female members. 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.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

5. Essentialist and Constructionist Approaches to Gender Identity
Essentialists believe gender roles have a genetic or biological origin and cannot be changed. They argue that each individual is either male or female and that membership in one of these groups determines the rest of his or her identity.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

6. Essentialist and Constructionist Approaches to Gender Identity (cont’d)
Most sociologists use a constructionist approach and see gender as a social construction and acknowledge the possibility that the male–female categories are not the only way of classifying individuals.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

7. Gender Inequality
Gender inequality can be found in all past and present societies and can be traced back to biological differences in early 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.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

8. Gender Inequality (cont’d)
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.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

9. Gender Inequality (cont’d)
Functionalists generally believe that there are social roles better suited to one gender than the other, and that societies are more stable when certain tasks are fulfilled by the appropriate sex.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

10. Gender Inequality (cont’d)
Talcott Parsons believed that men were more suited to take on an instrumental role (the position of the family member who provides the family’s material support and is often an authority figure) and women were more suited to take on an expressive role (the position of the family member who provides emotional support and nurturing).
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

11. Gender Inequality (cont’d)
According to conflict theorists, men have historically had access to most of society’s material resources and privileges. Therefore, it is in their interest to try to maintain their dominant position.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

12. Gender Inequality (cont’d)
Conflict theorists point out that men stand to lose a great deal if gender inequality disappears. For example, they would have to do more unpaid work or pay to have their homes kept up and children cared for.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

13. Gender Inequality (cont’d)
Interactionists emphasize how the concept of gender is socially constructed, maintained, and reproduced in our everyday lives.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

14. 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.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

15. Gender Role Socialization (cont’d)
Families are usually the primary source of socialization and greatly impact gender role socialization. Through social learning, the process of learning behaviors and meanings through social interaction, babies respond to and internalize the expectations of those around them.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

16. Gender Role Socialization (cont’d)
In schools, teachers tend to favor boys in several ways: boys receive more attention and instructional time, are more likely to be called on in class, are posed with more challenging questions or tasks, and are given more praise for the quality of their work.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

17. Gender Role Socialization (cont’d)
In Western societies, peer groups are an important agent of socialization. For example, as teens, boys tend to gain prestige through athletic ability, their sense of humor, and by taking risks and defying norms. Girls, on the other hand, tend to gain prestige through social position and physical attractiveness.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

18. 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.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

19. Sex, Gender, and Life Chances
Sex and gender affect almost every significant aspect of our lives. For example, females born in 2005 are expected to live for an average age of 80.1 years, while males are expected to live 74.8 years.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

20. Sex, Gender, and Life Chances (cont’d)
Women also tend to be disadvantaged in institutional settings in our society, where they do a disproportionate amount of housework, earn less on average than their male peers in the workplace, and remain more likely to live in poverty.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

22. 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.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

24. Sex, Gender, and Life Chances (cont’d)
Our language and vocabulary tend to reflect a hierarchal system of gender inequality.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

25. The Women’s Movement
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.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

26. 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.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

27. 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. 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.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

28. 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.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

29. The Men’s Movement (cont’d)
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).
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

30. Sexual Orientation
Sexual orientation is the inclination to feel sexual desire toward people of a particular gender or toward both genders. Homosexuality is the tendency to feel sexual desire toward members of one’s own gender.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

31. Sexual Orientation (cont’d)
Although some evidence supports a biological component to homosexuality, research in this area is still preliminary. Many have embraced the idea that homosexuality is genetic, based on the idea that if sexuality is innate then sexuality-based discrimination is unacceptable.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

32. Sexual Orientation (cont’d)
However, adherents to queer theory reject the genetic model as unduly limiting the diversity of possible identities. While most Americans oppose gay marriage, many say they would support civil unions.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

33. Sexual Orientation (cont’d)
Bisexuals are individuals who are sexually attracted to both genders. Transsexuals are individuals who identify with the opposite sex and have surgery to alter their own sex so it fits their self-image. Those who are asexual may simply reject any sexual identity at all.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

34. Homophobia
Homophobia is a fear of or discrimination toward homosexuals or toward individuals who display purportedly gender-inappropriate behavior.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

35. Homophobia (cont’d)
Despite a great deal of change in recent years, homophobia is still common in American society. Some argue that the term “homophobia” represents a biased attitude because the term “phobia” implies a psychological condition, thus excusing intolerance.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

36. Concept Quiz
1. A sociologist who believes gender roles have a genetic or biological origin and therefore cannot be changed would be called a/an:
a. essentialist.
b. gender determinist.
c. symbolic interactionist.
d. constructionist.
ANS: A REF Essentialist and Constructionist Approaches to Gender Identity, p OBJ: Vocabulary
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

37. Concept Quiz
2. Which theoretical perspective generally believes that there are still social roles better suited to one gender than the other?
a. Conflict theory
b. Functionalism
c. Labeling theory
d. Symbolic interactionism
ANS: B REF Macro Theoretical Perspectives, p OBJ: Factual
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

38. Concept Quiz
3. The term describing an individual whose sense of gender identity is at odds with her or his physical sex, but who has not necessarily sought sex-reassignment surgery is:
a. bisexual.
b. transsexual.
c. transgendered.
d. homosexual.
ANS: C REF: Interactionist Perspectives, p OBJ: Vocabulary
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

39. Concept Quiz
4. The economic trend showing that women are more likely than men to live in poverty is called:
a. gender inequity.
b. the suffrage movement.
c. gender role socialization.
d. the feminization of poverty.
ANS: D REF: Income and Poverty, p OBJ: Vocabulary
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

40. Concept Quiz
5. What was the cause most identified with the first wave of the women’s movement?
a. Equal pay for women
b. Equal access to education for women
c. The right to vote for women
d. The celebration of diversity
ANS: C REF: First Wave, p OBJ: Factual
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

41. Concept Quiz
6. The theory about gender identity and sexuality that emphasizes the importance of difference and rejects as restrictive the idea of innate sexual identity is called:
a. conflict theory.
b. social learning theory.
c. gender identity theory.
d. queer theory.
ANS: D REF: Sexual Orientation, p OBJ: Vocabulary
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.