ch 11 Sociology: Gender and Stratification

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and theoretical perspectives regarding the social construction of gender, stratification, and workplace dynamics as discussed in the lecture notes.

Gender

An ascribed status that provides a basis for social differentiation.

Functionalists

Theorists who maintain that sex differentiation contributes to overall social stability.

Conflict theorists

Theorists who charge that the relationship between women and men is one of unequal power, with men dominating women.

Interactionists

Sociologists who use a micro-level approach to analyze everyday interactions, such as men's verbal dominance over women through conversational interruptions.

Patricia Hill Collins

The scholar who termed the convergence of social forces like race, ethnicity, and social class with gender as the matrix of domination.

Expressiveness

Concern for the maintenance of harmony and the internal emotional affairs of the family.

Feminism

An ideology that favors equal rights for women.

Gender identity

How people see themselves, as male or female, or something else.

Gender role

Expectations regarding the proper behavior, attitudes, and activities of men and women.

Glass ceiling

An invisible barrier that blocks the promotion of a qualified individual in a work environment because of the individual's gender, race, or ethnicity.

Glass escalator

The advantage men experience in occupations dominated by women.

Homophobia

Fear of and prejudice against homosexuality.

Institutional discrimination (or systemic)

The denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups that results from the normal operations of a society.

Instrumentality

An emphasis on tasks, a focus on more distant goals, and a concern for the external relationship between one's family and other social institutions.

Intersectionality

The overlapping and interdependent system of advantage and disadvantage that positions people in society on the basis of race, class, gender, and other characteristics.

Matrix of domination

The cumulative impact of oppression because of race and ethnicity, gender, and social class, as well as religion, sexual orientation, disability, age, and citizenship status.

Second shift

The double burden-work outside the home followed by child care and housework-that many women face and few men share equitably.

Sexism

The ideology that one sex is superior to the other.

Sexual identity

The self-awareness of being romantically or sexually attracted to a defined group of people; also referred to as sexual orientation.