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							Sex and Gender

Chapter 10
Sex and Gender

Sex = biology
Gender = cultural differences
Sex Characteristics

Primary sex characteristics
  Distinguishes male from female at
   birth
Secondary sex characteristics
  After puberty
  Used to distinguish male from
   females
    • Cause of new hormones
How Much Do You Know
About Body Image and
Gender?
True or False?
 Most people have an
  accurate perception of
  their physical
  appearance.
How Much Do You Know
About Body Image and Gender?

False
  Many people do not have a very
   accurate perception of their bodies.
  For example, many girls and women
   think of themselves as “fat” when
   they are not.
  Some boys and men believe that
   they need a well-developed chest
   and arm muscles, broad shoulders,
   and a narrow waist.
How Much Do You Know
About Body Image and Gender?

True or False?
  Young girls and women
   very rarely die as a result
   of anorexia or bulimia.
How Much Do You Know
About Body Image and Gender?

False.
 Although the exact number
  is not known, many young
  girls and women die as a
  result of starvation,
  malnutrition, and other
  problems associated with
  anorexia and bulimia.
Hermaphrodites

Caused by a hormone imbalance
  Combination of male and female
   genitalia
Western societies acknowledge two
 sexes
  other societies recognize three:
    • Men
    • Women
    • Berdaches - males who behave, dress,
      work,and are treated as women.
Sexual Orientation

Individual’s preference
 for emotional
 relationships
 Heterosexuality
 Homosexuality
 bisexuality
Sexual Orientation

Homosexual and gay are most often
 used in association with males who
 prefer same-sex relationships.
Lesbian is used in association with
 females who prefer same-sex
 relationships.
Heterosexual individuals, who
 prefer opposite-sex relationships,
 are sometimes referred to as
 straight.
Gender: The Cultural
Dimension
Most “sex differences” are socially
 constructed “gender differences”.
Gender is embedded in the images,
 ideas, and language of a society.
Gender is used as a means to
 divide up work, allocate resources,
 and distribute power.
Microlevel Analysis of
Gender
 Gender role – attitudes, behavior, and
  activities that are socially defined as
  appropriate for each sex and are learned
  through the socialization process
 Gender identity – a person’s perception of
  the self as female or male
 Body consciousness – how a person
  perceives and feels about his or her body
Macrolevel Gender
Analysis
Gendered institutions – structures
 creating inequality
  Society places tasks on men and
   women
Gender belief system – all the ideas
 regarding masculinity and femininity
 are held to be valid
The Social Significance of
Gender
Stereotypes
  Men – strong, rational, dominant,
   independent, less concerned with
   appearance
  Women – weak, emotional, nurturing,
   dependent, anxious about
   appearance
Sexism
Subordination of one sex, usually
 female, based on the assumed
 superiority of the other sex
3 Components
  Negative attitudes toward women
  Stereotypical beliefs that reinforce,
   complement, or justify the prejudice
  Discrimination – acts that exclude,
   distance, or keep women separate
Sexism

Patriarchy – a hierarchical system
 of social organization in which
 cultural, political, and economic
 structures are controlled by men
Matriarchy – hierarchical system of
 social organization in which cultural,
 political, and economic structures
 are controlled by women
Polling Question

 If you were taking a new
  job and had your choice of
  a boss, would you prefer
  to work for a man or a
  woman?
   A. Man
   B. Woman
   C. No preference
Gendered Division of
Labor
Three factors
 Type of subsistence base
 Supply and demand for labor
 The extent to which women’s
  child-rearing activities are
  compatible with certain types
  of work
Gender and Socialization

Gender appropriate behaviors
 are learned through
 socialization
Parents generally prefer sons
  Initially believed that only a
   son could care for parents
  Belief comes from socialization
Parents and Gender
Socialization
Starts at birth
Children's clothing and toys
 reflect their parents' gender
 expectations.
Children are often assigned
 household tasks according to
 gender.
Peers and Gender
Socialization
Peers help children learn gender-
 appropriate and inappropriate
 behavior.
During adolescence, peers often are
 more effective at gender
 socialization than adults.
College student peers play an
 important role in career choices and
 the establishment of long term,
 intimate relationships.
Schools and Gender
Socialization
Teachers provide messages
 about gender through
 classroom assignments and
 informal interactions with
 students.
Teachers may unintentionally
 show favoritism toward one
 gender over the other.
Sports and Gender
Socialization
From elementary school
 through high school:
  Boys play football.
  Girls are cheerleaders,
   members of the drill team, and
   homecoming queens.
For many males, sports is a
 training ground for
 masculinity.
Mass Media and Gender
Socialization
On television:
 Male characters typically
 are more aggressive,
 constructive, and direct.
Females are deferential
 toward others or use
 manipulation to get their
 way.
Adult Gender Socialization

Jobs teach appropriate
 conduct
Double standard of aging
 exists after age forty
Gendered Division of Paid
Work
 Gender-segregated work
   Concentration of women and men in
    different occupations, jobs, and places of
    work
 Gender-segregation in professional labor
  market has decreased
 Labor market segmentation results in
  women having separate and unequal jobs
   Pay gap is best-documented consequence
% of Women, African Americans
and Hispanics in Selected
Occupations

                             African
                    Women            Hispanic
                            American

  Managerial,
                     50.0     8.3       5.1
  Professional

Technical, sales,
                     63.7     11.4      9.1
    support

  Service jobs       60.4     17.9     16.3
Pay Equity (Comparable
Worth)
 Occupational segregation contributes to a
  pay gap
 Pay equity or comparable worth
   Belief that wages ought to reflect the
    worth of a job, not the gender or race of
    the worker
Paid Work and Family
Work
Most women combine paid work with
 family work
Domestic responsibilities consume a
 great deal of time
Many belong to the sandwich
 generation
Functionalist and
Neoclassical Economic
Perspectives
Men and women have distinct roles
  Essential for the survival of society
Women’s roles as nurturers are
 more important in industrialized
 societies
  Men provide instrumental tasks
  Women provide expressive tasks
Traditional division of labor is the
 natural order of the universe
The Human Capital Model

Functionalist Model
Individuals vary in the
 amount of human capital
 they provide
What individuals earn is a
 result of their own choices
Conflict Perspectives

Gendered division of labor is a
 result of male dominance over
 women and resources
Marxists assert that gender
 stratification results from private
 ownership of the means of
 production
Feminist Perspective
 Liberal Feminism
   Gender equality is equated with equality of
    opportunity
 Radical Feminism
   Male domination causes all forms of human
    oppression
 Socialist Feminism
   Women’s oppression results from dual roles
    as paid and unpaid workers in a capitalist
    economy
 Multicultural Feminism
   Identifies struggles of females of differing
    races
Quick Quiz
1. Primary sex characteristics are:
     A.   genitalia.
     B.   ones that are most important in a
          relationship.
     C.   clothing that a person wears.
     D.   characteristics such as facial hair and tone
          of voice that are obvious when meeting
          someone.
Answer: A

 Primary sex characteristics are
  genitalia.
2. A ________ is a person whom the sex-
   related structures of the brain that
   define gender identity are opposite from
   the physical sex organs of the person's
   body.
    A.   transsexual
    B.   hermaphrodite
    C.   transvestite
    D.   berdaches
Answer: A

A transsexual is a person whom the
 sex-related structures of the brain
 that define gender identity are
 opposite from the physical sex
 organs of the person's body.
3. A ________ is a person in whom sexual
   differentiation is ambiguous or
   incomplete.
    A.   transvestite
    B.   transsexual
    C.   berdaches
    D.   hermaphrodite
Answer: D

 A hermaphrodite is a person in
  whom sexual differentiation is
  ambiguous or incomplete.
4. In hunting and gathering societies:
     A.   neither is more dominant because neither
          sex has the ability to provide all the food
          necessary for survival.
     B.   males are more dominant because they hunt
          for game.
     C.   equality exists due to indigenous religions
          that state this is necessary.
     D.   females are more dominant because they
          collect fruits and vegetables.
Answer: A

 In hunting and gathering societies
  neither is more dominant because
  neither sex has the ability to
  provide all the food necessary
  for survival.
5. Pay gap refers to:
     A.   the disparity between earnings of individuals
          based on age.
     B.   the disparity between classes of people in
          earned income.
     C.   the disparity in earnings between males and
          females.
     D.   the disparity between various racial and
          ethnic group income.
Answer: C

 Pay gap refers to the disparity in
  earnings between males and
  females.
6. In agrarian societies there is gender
   equality.
     A.   False.
     B.   True.
Answer: A

There is not gender equality in
 agrarian societies.
7. Gender socialization typically stops once
   one discontinues attending school.
     A.   False.
     B.   True.
Answer: A

 Gender socialization does not
  typically stops once one
  discontinues attending school.