The Vocabulary

• Sex

  • Combination of sex-type characteristics

  • Males, females, intersexed (i.e. an atypical combination of sex type characteristics).

  • Perceived biological differences that lead to construction based primarily on genes.

    • Perceived because you can’t look at someone and know their chromosomal makeup

    • You can’t know about someone’s internal sex organs

      • 6-7% of the population is intersex to some extent

      • If a baby looks a certain sex externally, there is no further testing done to confirm this

• Gender

  • Social variable

  • Masculinity, femininity

  • A social construction based primarily on cultural values

    • Socially constructed means it’s built by people around us, doesn’t mean it’s not real

      • Still has an effect on life

  • The set of social arrangements built around normative sex categories

• Gender Binary

  • Society is built around gender binary

  • You are either male or female

    • Rigid categories

      • More rigid for men than women

      • Still rigidity for people who identify anywhere on the spectrum

  • We are learning that gender may be more of a spectrum

  • Can be used to categorize people (makes it easier)

  • There are some societies that recognize more genders than just a binary

    • Navajo tribes identify three genders

    • Most societies just have two

      • Gender has a significant impact on how you’re treated by societal institutions and how you can move up those institutions

• Sexuality

  • A concept that includes an individual’s desires, behaviors, sexual identity, and orientation.

  • Fairly independent of gender identity

Gender Essentialism/Biological Determinism

• Gender essentialism is the idea that women and men are intrinsically different or as the title of the best selling self-help book put it, Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus

  • Suggests that the gender binary is so strong that men come from a different planet than women

  • Women are *naturally *better at nursing, men are naturally good leaders

• Biological determinism asserts that our social behavior is determined by our biological characteristics.  i.e. females are feminine because they have two x chromosomes.

Perspectives on Sex and Gender

• Western societies—men and women are naturally and unequivocally defined categories of being.

• Differences are fundamental and enduring

• Differences are supported by

  • division of labor

    • 200 years ago men were responsible for education of young people

      • Biblical education

    • Now, the percentage of men who are preschool teachers is very less compared to women

    • Major change

    • Jobs we think of now as women-dominated jobs used to be male dominated

      • Higher the percentage of women in a field, the lower the pay

        • Physicians used to be almost entirely men, but now its a little over 50% women entering the field

        • In Russia when they equalize pay, so doctors didn’t really make that much extra money, physicians went up 70-80% female

  • feminine v. masculine attitudes

Gender as Social Construction

• Things not driven by biology but by the society we live in and how it arranges as patterns

  • It is real, but simply based in something social in nature

• Evidence that gender changes over time

  • Pink v. Blue

    • 1918 had a trade magazine that said that pink is a stronger color that is suited for boys, and blue which is more dainty is suited for girls

    • We have shifted almost entirely now

  • Dresses

    • If babies can’t share clothes, more clothes sold (#capitalism)

  • Beauty Standards

    • Historically fuller figures were more attractive for women than they are now

Doing Gender : West and Zimmerman

• Every situation we are in, we make a choice as to if we’re more masculine or feminine

• We act our gender

• The activity of managing situated conduct in light of normative attitudes and activities appropriate for one’s sex category

  • Gender is not a fixed identity or role that we take with us into our interactions. Rather, it is the product of those interactions.

    • Not a static trait, but rather something we make decisions about

  • To be a man or a woman is to perform masculinity or femininity constantly.

  • In this social constructionist theory, gender is a process, not a static category.

Gender As Social Performance

• We perform gender.  That is, we use costumes, lines, and stages to project our gender to others

  • Costumes (manners of dress)

    • We determine the degree to which we want to exhibit our masculinity and femininity

      • Consequences when these choices don’t align with what people expect

        • Stronger for men than women

  • Lines (manner of speech)

    • Ways in which we speak

      • Women are taught to end every sentence with a question

      • Women significantly more likely to tilt their heads in photos

      • Men will manspread when sitting, whereas women try to take up as little space as possible

    • Learned behaviors

  • Stage (places we go to be seen).

  • Roles (i.e. who you are in the script).

Gender Roles

• The attitudes and behaviors we commonly associate with males or females.

• These associations become expectations

• Gender non-conformity is sanctioned by peers, family, etc.,

  • Male gender nonconformity sanctions

    • More subject to violence and physical sanctions

  • Members of trans community more likely to face physical violence than other other gender identity

  • Insidious forms of sanctions for women

    • More internal, such as mocking or gossiping

    • Eg. Slut shaming

Masculinity

• Michael Kimmel is a professor at SUNY Albany

  • Known as forefather of masculinity studies, first to say that the sanctions for men are much more severe so we should be studying men in addition to women

  • While he was preaching about understanding masculinity, he was also taking advantage of women with little to no power

    • His work is fascinating but he is a terrible man (more clearly: a sex offender)

• Kimmel (2000) argues that masculinity is defined primarily by its opposition to femininity.  That is, masculinity is the absence of femininity.

  • Masculinity is defined by complete opposition to femininity

  • Men have to do everything they can to not be viewed/judged as a woman

• In this sense masculinity is a set of rules for how to act, talk, dress, etc. that other men and women expect a male to follow or they will be emasculated.

• To be emasculated is to have your masculinity taken away, to be seen as weak, and to be shamed.

Constructed Differences

• Gender Stereotypes and “Watched Behavior”

• Willer and colleagues conducted surveys, for half of the men and women the researcher talks about gender nonconformity saying that their answers were more similar to the opposite gender

• Men given feedback that their answers to a survey seemed feminine were given a 2nd survey

  • they expressed greater support for war and guns,

  • more negative attitudes toward homosexuality,

  • greater interest in SUVs,

  • persisted longer in a strength test.

• Women did not change their answers based on feedback (Willer et al., 2011)

  • Being overly masculine did not seem to be a problem

    • Girls saying they want to be a politician was okay (maybe even supported), boys saying they want to be a nurse was not okay

How to Hurt Man

• The worst thing you can call a man is a woman.

• The language we use to emasculate or hurt men are the words used to refer to women’s genitalia or we literally address them by women’s names (i.e. quit being a nancy/sally/sissy)

  • You can walk onto any playground and ask the boys which one of them is most like a girl, and cause a fight

• What does this tell us about the value we place on femininity, women, and young girls if this is the worst thing a man can be?

Masculine and Feminine Qualities

• Both masculinity and femininity are parts of what it means to be human.  Each of us has masculine and feminine qualities (Bem 1993).

• For example, if femininity is defined as weakness, emotional sensitivity, and being dependent on others, then every single one of us experiences these aspects of life at one point or another.

Putting on the Mask

• Men are pressured to pretend that half their identity does not exist

• Many women report the men in their lives are sensitive unless another man enters the room.

Life Behind the Mask

• When asked what they are most afraid of and given terrible options...

  • Women reported fearing being raped or murdered

  • Men reported they were most afraid of being laughed at (even after given the option of being raped and murdered)

• This may explain why men engage in far more risk taking behaviors than women

  • Also have very gendered ways of dealing with mental health issues

  • Depression for women is sadness, and for men its risk taking behavior

    • The risk taking behavior causes a lower life expectancy

      • The difference in life expectancy isn’t as different after age 30, btu not at age 18

  • When a boy gets hurt on the playground they are told to go back and play, girls are taken to the nurses office

    • Hence women are socialized to be better communicators

    • Also seek help for medical issues more often

Patriarchy

• The idea that men and masculinity are valued above women and femininity.

Hegemonic Masculinity (CONNELL AND MESSERSCHMIDT)

• Flashback: hegemony is the idea that those in power use it to convince those without power it is their best interest to do what is actually in the interest of the powerful.

  • Men in power convince all of us that keeping men in power is the best idea

• Many gender scholars argue that patriarchy is so rooted in our society that it is nearly unnoticeable.

  • Our default is always masculine

• It is difficult to do anything in our culture without reaffirming patriarchy and/or recreating gender inequality.

Changing Masculinities (Tristan Bridges)

• Hybrid Masculinities: men's selective incorporation of performances and identity elements associated with marginalized and subordinated masculinities and femininities.

  • Subordinated masculinities: traits associated with gay men/ more feminine traits

• Contemporary masculinity is more inclusive, especially among white, straight, educated young men

• Being a young, white, educated masculine man means not being afraid of being labeled as gay, because they are so secure with in their masculinities

  • Demonstrates openness that reframes men who have been marginalized as being less accepting and regressive

  • When they are okay with being feminine, they are saying that they can challenge gender norms as much as they want

    • Other people who don’t have that freedom are said to be regressive

Hybrid Masculinities

• The “New Man” (inclusive and open), though, reframes marginalized men as being ‘less evolved’ or even ‘regressive’ (e.g Messner)

  • If you have the privilege to express femininity you are better than those who don’t

• Hybrid masculinity as a contemporary expression of – rather than challenge to – existing forms of gender and sexual inequality?

• Do marginalized men have the same freedom to challenge gender norms?

• Practices create some discursive distance between young, white, straight men and hegemonic masculinity

  • Frames men as outside of existing systems of privilege and inequality

  • If you are not a part of it, are you really fighting it?

Gender Socialization

• Where does gender come from?

  • Language

  • Family

  • Peers

  • Media

  • Schools

Feminism

• Is the idea that men and women are equal and deserving of equal opportunity and respect.

  • Misconstrued as the idea of women being better than men

• Is the counterforce against patriarchy.

• Feminists draw attention to powerful role gender plays in our daily lives, our social institutions, and society as a whole.

• Modern mainstream feminism is inclusive of men and supportive of a broad range of choices, lifestyles.

  • It’s not just men and women that are equal but rather people regardless of their gender identity must be treated equally

• First wave: main goal was to get the right to vote (in the US)

  • Second goal was to abolish alcohol

    • If we can keep people from getting drunk, maybe  we can keep wives from getting beaten

• Second wave: Civil rights movement, tried to achieve rights for women in the same way that people of color were trying to obtain rights for themselves

  • right to abortion

  • right to credit

  • right to birth control without permission

• Third wave: Right to equal pay

• Fourth wave: What if we don’t only listen to rich, white women, but other women too?

Bell Hooks (1984)

• Bell Hooks (1984) noted, if women’s liberation is aimed at making women the social equals of men, women should first stop and consider which men they would like to equal

• Certainly, not all men are privileged over all women

• Making  universal comparisons of men to women misses these nuances and implicitly excludes marginally positioned people from the discussion

Matrix of Domination

• Women are differentially located in power structures of our world

• Patricia Hill Collins (1990) notes that black women face unique oppressions that white women do not.

  • Gender is only one aspect by which people can be marginalized

Intersectionality

• The idea that the status of each individual varies across all of the components of their social location.

• That is, there is no “woman’s experience”.

  • Kimberlé Crenshaw 1989

    • A legal scholar who gets called into a case

    • Company that has a manufacturing component and an office component

      • People of color and women who work there

      • In the manufacturing industry they will hire men of color at high rates (men of color=white men), in the office they hire white women

        • Can’t say they are racist because there are colored men, can’t say sexist because women are there

      • No law that prevents the company from hiring in this way

  • It’s not just that we want to make as much as men, but we must also think about all the different components of our identity

    • Stop comparing ourselves to the gold standard that is the white man

  • If you are standing in the path of multiple forms of oppression, you are likely to get hit by both.

Consequences of Gender Inequality

• Occupations Dominated by Females

  • Half of working women are found administrative support and service support

    • Not very high pay or prestige

• Occupations Dominated by Males

  • Most U.S. senators and Congressional representatives are men

  • Religious leadership is male dominated

    • High pay AND high prestige

Women in the Workforce

• 

• Increase of women in workforce (not in 2020 though cuz pandemic)

  • Percentage going from 47-53%

Consequences of Gender Inequality

• 

• Mostly secretarial and assistant positions are held by women

• 

• 25% of women are in jobs where women have same pay as men

  • Women taking time off for children

    • Motherhood can be the biggest factor in pay discrepancy

  • When an employee is female, supervisors believe that she is less committed and she can’t be counted on in times of emergencies

    • Opposite attitude with fathers/men

  • Women in 30s and 40s have larger differences in salaries than women in 20s

Gender Inequality at Work

• The Glass Ceiling

  • Women (and racial/ethnic minorities) are underrepresented in the leadership positions of corporations.

  • Level that you cannot get beyond

• The Glass Escalator

  • Men who enter predominantly female occupations are disproportionately likely to be promoted to leadership positions.

    • Very few male elementary school teachers but over 50% of elementary school principals are male

• Sexual harassment: an illegal form of discrimination revolving around sexuality that can involve everything from inappropriate jokes to sexual “barter” (quid pro quo: where victims feel the need to comply with sexual requests for fear of losing their job) to outright sexual assault.

  • Solutions are present to mitigate assault

The Inequality continues at home

• 

• Inequality isn’t just in the workplace and in social institutions, but also at home

  • When we have a heterosexual couple with children, women perform about twice the amount of labor as the men

    • External pressure to moms

      • Could mean quitting job/taking a leave

    • Some sociologists call mom “gatekeepers” who don’t let the dad participate as much

  • Falls more heavily on women than men

Mothers and Employment

• 

• When we look at women with little children, they are less likely to be in the workforce that women with older children

• Aside from the age of children, what else affects whether mothers work for pay?

  • Moms with greater education are more likely to work for pay

  • Husband’s salaries

    • The largest group of stay-at-home mothers is found among wives whose husbands are among the lowest 25 percent of male earnings

      • You’re most likely to marry people in the same SES and educational background as you

      • These women can’t cover child care if they were to marry someone who makes lower

    • The second largest group is among women married to men in the highest 5%

      • Why would they work?

Sexuality

• 

• Similarities between sociology of gender and sexuality

  • Like gender varies across time and place, so has sexuality

    • In the Roman Empire, sexuality had an entirely different meaning

      • Marriage was between a man and woman

      • Sexuality was not confined to marriage

        • You could have sexual relations with people who were not your spouse

          • As long as you follow social strata

            • For example having sex with a servant was considered normal

  • People argue that people don’t choose heterosexuality but rather have it imposed upon them

  • Alfred Kinsey: sexuality as a spectrum

  • Most things are spectrums and not just black or white

Heteronormativity

• The idea that heterosexuality is the default or normal sexual orientation from which other sexualities deviate.

  • Homosexual relations are MUCH better in dividing labor, create healthier situations for spouses and are better at communicating

  • By changing laws surrounding same sex marriage, the number of people approving same sex marriage/relations increased

• Michel Foucault

  • Postmodern sociologist who was interested in how surveillance works in society

  • development of scientific disciplines leads to a desire to monitor and categorize people and behavior

    • Sexuality defines self hood

    • Sexuality is a prime factor into the construction gender

      • What you do with whom defines who you are and how others perceive you

  • Self Surveillance as Social Control

    • Don’t know if we’re being watched so out behavior aligns with who we are/want to be

• How is Sex(uality) influenced by gender norms

  • Gendered bodies

    • Hairless bodies, etc.