Sociology Exam 3

Are sex and gender the same thing?

No

Sex definition (biology)

The physical, psychological, or biological differences between males and females

Gender definition (society)

behaviors, personal traits, and social position that society attributes to being female or male

Characteristics of sex and gender

Sex- DO NOT vary significantly between different human societies

Gender- DO vary significantly between different human societies

What views of gender is specific to certain cultures and is not universal?

Dichotomous or binary

Sexuality

A persons capacity to experience sexual feelings and attraction

Sexual orientation

A persons physical, mental, emotional, and sexual attraction to a particular sex

Heteronormative society

A society where heterosexuality is seen as the normal or default orientation

Gender roles

Society’s expectations of how males and females should act, dress, look and behave; based on norms and standards created by society (socialization)

Occupational sorting

The continuance to adhere to masculine and feminine gender roles

Motherhood penalty (negative)

The creative career and economic consequences women experience after having children

Fatherhood premium (reward)

The increase in a man’s earnings and perceived job competence after becoming a father.

Gender identity

A persons deeply (inside) held internal perception of one’s gender

Heterosexism

An ideology and set of institutional practices that privilege straight people and heterosexuality over other sexual orientations

Functionalism

Gender roles help society function

Conflict theory

Gender inequality comes from power differences

Symbolic interactionism

Gender is shaped through daily interactions

Gerontology

Study of aging and the problems older adults face

Aging

Reflects the physiological process of growing older but also our attitudes and beliefs about the aging process

Social gerontology

Study the social and sociological aspects of aging

The median age

The median age has been increasing meaning the population as a whole is growing older

Cohort

A group of people who share a common trait or time period (ex- birth year)

Elderly

In the US, usually people the age 65+ or older.

The World Health Organization has NO standard classification

The population of Americans aged sixty five and older

Was 4% of the total population

What contributed greatly to lowering the power, influence and prestige the elderly once held in the US

Industrialization and modernization

What happened to multigenerational families?

They began to decline after world war 2 and reached a low point around 1980

Why do people keep working past retirement age

Due to financial pressures or in order to remain “useful”

Gerontocracy (study of aging)

A type of social structure where in the power is held by a society’s oldest members.

• the elderly still have influence and power, and their vast knowledge is respected

• Geron= old age

Senescence

The natural aging process and the biological, emotional, intellectual, social, and spiritual changes

Ageism

Discrimination based on age

5 stages of the demographic transition model

1. Pre-industrial stage

   • high birth rates, high death rates

2. Transitional stage

• better sanitation, population grows quickly

1. Industrial stage

• urbanization increases, birth rates begin to fall

1. Post industrial stage

   • population stabilizes, life expectancy rises

2. Declining population stage

   • birth rates fall below replacement level

Poor, growing, city, stable, shrinking

Dependency ratio

The number of citizens not in the labor force (young, disabled, elderly) compared to citizens in the labor force

EX- china is a country that will soon face a serious aging crisis

Depend= rely on others

People in the us view caring for the elderly as a..

Burden

How do sociologist define family

In terms of the manner in which members relate to one another

Family

A socially recognized group that forms an emotional connection and serves as en economic unit of society

Family of orientation (born into)

The family into which a person is born

Family of procreation (created)

A family that is formed through marriage

From the 1960s until recent years, the percentage of American households that are headed by a married couple…

Has decreased

Sociologists suggest that the general concept of family is…

More diverse and less structured than in years past

Coahibition

Living together without being married

Co= together habitat= home

Monogamy (one)

Marriage to one person at a time

Polygamy (many)

Being married to more than one person at the same time

Societies that accept polygamy marriages

Are most present in Africa and Asia

• as modernization increases in these cultures this practice is likely to decrease as a result of greater access to mass media, technology, and education

Bigamy

Marrying someone while already legally married

7 stages of family life cycle

1. Courtship

2. Marriage

3. Childbearing

4. Child rearing

5. Launching adult children

6. Empty nest

7. Retirement/ aging family members

meet, marry, kids, raise, leave, empty, retire

What is one criticism of the family cycle model?

Not all families follow the same pattern

Single parent households..,

Are starting to become more common, most children in a single parent household live with their mother

The increase in cohabitation is likely due to the decrease in ? pertaining to the practice

Social stigma

The decrease in divorce rates can be attributed to three probable factors

1. People are waiting longer to marry

2. More education before marriage

3. Couples being more fine stable before marriage

Divorce

DOES NOT occur equally among all people in the US.

• regional differences within the US

• divorce is also thought to have class pattern

What factors lead to divorce?

• financial problems

• Poor communication

• Infidelity

• Marrying young

• Stress

• Abuse

• Lack of commitment

3 theories/paradigms

Functionalism- family helps society by socializing children and providing support

Conflict theory- family can reflect inequality, power struggles, and gender roles

Symbolic interactionism- focuses on daily interactions and meanings family members create