Family and Gender Roles Exam 2

biological perspective on gender/roles

Studies the process of social change and variation 

Men and woman have different biological “investments” in their children 

Men have ancient evolutionary tendency towards promiscuity and away from childcare and women more towards monogamy and child-rearing 

"social" sex differences

Physical differences - strength, height 

Male-centric symbols and male gender based expressions  

Women - the perceived weaker sex - living longer than men 

Men in more physical jobs than women 

Cosmetic surgery to enhance sex differences or “ideal gender image” 

Gender dysphoria - can be a diagnosis if incongruence between gender identity and assigned sex causes distress in a person’s life 

Legality of gender identity definitions  

Gender socialization in families, school, media, religion 

Fashion is just one way we turn biological sex into social gender identity and expression 

Sexual Dimorphism

physical differences between the sexes. Humans show low levels of this compared to other species

sexual orientation types

Heterosexuality - sexual attraction towards members of the opposite sex 

Homosexuality - sexual attraction towards members of the same sex 

Bisexuality - sexual attraction towards members of both sexes 

Asexuality - lack of sexual attraction toward anyone 

queer theory approach

stresses the fluidity and diversity of sexual orientations and behaviors and rejects science’s attempt to fit people into narrow classifications of sexuality 

changes in sexual orientation theories over time

Changing societal “norms” and attitudes towards sex for procreating purposes and sex for pleasure; includes advent of birth control options 

Social construct stigmatization of homosexuality continues to label this as undesirable or deviant today 

Sex outside of marriage has reduced social penalties 

Growing independence of young adults living away from home at younger ages 

Improving health and education around sexual desires and behaviors 

Acceptance for women to have sexual desires, even though the double standard still exists 

Sexuality is socially constructed 

social scripts

commonly understood patterns of interaction that serves as a model of behavior in familiar situations 

Why are social scripts unclear in dating

Demise of dating system as the primary mode in relationship formation - lacking the older “phases” of dating from time of meeting to commitment  

Increasing acceptance of living together  

Incorporation of divorced and older singles into dating scene 

Technology and dating – apps, people more in their phones, 1 in 4 use online dating sites 

Significance of “dating” or making a commitment, having that “label”  

Who takes the lead in dating situations? When are you “in a relationship”? 

“Situationship” 

“Hooking up” = casual sexual encounters without explicit commitment or exclusivity  

Same sex relationships - no established social scripts to follow, negative social stigmas, public laws and regulations 

retreat from marriage

Also referred to as “me” culture  

started appearing in family research in the early 1980s. Marriage rates have continued to drop since 

David Popenoe famously concluded 30 years ago: “Quite clearly, in this age of the ‘me-generation,’ the individual rather than the family increasingly comes first” 

In this view the fact that young people today are less likely to marry implies that they simply care more about themselves—and less about others—than they did in the past 

Individualism is weakening the social bonds that hold people together 

Debatable if this is actually the cause of declining marriage rates 

Male provider ideal

The father as an economic provider and authority figure for his children. 

Older concept of men being the provider and the authority figure in the household  

Successful employment and making career a priority was the criteria for a good father 

Involved father ideal

The father as an emotional, nurturing companion who bonds with his children as well as providing for them. 

The new emotional and nurturing father who bonds and cares for his children 

Parenting is not as one sided as it was years ago 

Today child development experts promote the emotional bonds that children have to not only mothers, but to fathers as well 

Divorce

has increased and changed perceptions about marriage in the last century 

People are reconning with individual happiness vs family commitments 

Separation

formal or informal separation of spouses into different households 

Marital dissolution

end of a marriage through permanent separation or divorce 

Divorce definition

legal dissolution of a marriage at the state level 

Annulment

a legal or religious determination that the marriage was never valid 

Causes of Divorce

• individual unhappiness, spend less time alone together, disagree frequently, heated arguments, unhealthy relationships 

• Employment and independence - who is earning the money, who will be the provider(s) after a divorce, “independence effect” of women’s employment  

• Financial issues 

• Infertility, kids, children’s disabilities, step-children 

• Infidelity, physical and emotional 

• Irresponsibility 

• Neglect 

• Incompatible lives 

Consequences of divorce

• Adult happiness - divorced people generally less happy than married people, people who divorce are generally slightly unhappier to begin with  

• Mental stress, sleep problems, depression, trouble concentrating 

• Stigma of being a failure 

• Economic status - inadvertently impacting women more than men - the feminization of poverty as most children stay with the mother 

• Children’s well being - implications of moving forward with both parents (common events such as birthdays, graduations, weddings etc) 

Divorce effect on children

Some parents try to prevent or delay divorce for the children’s sake—to spare them the disruption, potential financial loss, and even shame of a family breakup. Other parents, however, want a divorce for the children’s sake—to keep them from living under the cloud of constant bickering or to remove them from the care of an irresponsible (or even abusive) spouse 

Children’s experience of when parents stay together and “hate each other” vs when parents split up: Much worse when they stay together 

Historically parents have made decisions for children’s sake, and not necessarily in their best interests

Blended families

Changing assumptions about family roles and where the children live 

Step parenting, step siblings, half siblings 

Boundary ambiguity

situations where family members don’t know/don’t agree on their new roles within the new family dynamics 

Challenges for blended families

• Who gets the kids? 

• Remarriage 

• Parenting styles

Who was Lilly Ledbetter?

a women's equality activist whose fight for pay equity led to passage of the monumental Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 

Lily Ledbetter’s story

Ledbetter was hired as a supervisor at a Goodyear tire plant in Gadsden, Ala., in 1979.

Years later, she discovered through an anonymous note left in her mailbox that she was receiving less pay than her male co-workers who worked the same position.

Filed a charge with the EEOC that began a 10 yearlong battle. She won the suit in 2003 and was awarded more than $3 million, but the amount was reduced to $300,000 because of a statutory cap and $60,000 in back pay.

Goodyear appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, arguing that Ledbetter could only win damages or back pay for the 180 days prior to the filing of her claim. In 2007, the high court agreed in a 5-4 ruling.

Two years later Congress passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, which amended the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and allows workers to "obtain relief, including recovery of back pay, for up to two years preceding the filing of the charge."

President Barack Obama signed the measure into law on Jan. 29, 2009, the first bill he signed as president. 

Lilly Ledbetter’s Impact

Made a considerable impact on wage discrimination cases and has helped to narrow the gender pay gap - not eliminating it completely. The Act also paved the way for other legislative measures like prohibiting employers from asking about salary history