soc test 3

The Gender Landscape

  • Gender: The ideas, traits, interests, and skills that society associates with being biologically male or female.

    • Sex: A reference to the physical traits related to sexual reproduction.

    • Gender Binary: The idea that individuals can be classified strictly into two categories: males who exhibit masculine traits and females who exhibit feminine traits.

  • Is Sex Binary?

    • Biologist Anne Fausto-Sterling states, "biologically speaking, there are many gradations between female and male; and depending on how one calls the shots, one can argue that along the spectrum lie at least five sexes."

    • Doctors and parents categorize intersex infants as either female or male, often subjecting them to surgeries to reclassify their bodies, so children can be perceived as normal and lead what is genealogically considered a normal life.

Gender as a Binary

  • For individuals, gender represents sameness.

    • Enacting Gender: How individuals present their gender through various means:

    • Dress and appearance

    • Emotion

    • Typical activities

    • Body language

    • Speech

  • For society, gender signifies difference.

    • Examples of Differentiation in Gender:

    • Spatial segregation

    • Rules regarding appearance

    • Domestic tasks

    • Most importantly: Gender stratification

  • Historical Context: In all social institutions, women have historically been subordinate to men in areas like work, politics, religion, family, etc.

Shifting Definitions of Gender

  • A recent survey reveals:

    • 50% of millennials believe gender is a spectrum and that some individuals fall outside conventional categories.

    • Variation by Gender:

    • 57% of women polled think gender is a spectrum compared to 44% of men.

    • Variation by Race:

    • 55% of white respondents say gender is a spectrum, compared to 47% of Latinos and 32% of African Americans.

Gender Stratification

  • Defined as the systematic domination of men over women across social institutions.

    • Explanation: Gender is not a neutral category; it ranks men above women within the same race and class.

    • In all sectors (politics, religion, work, family), men hold dominant positions, perpetuating their power.

Gender Inequality

  • Manifestations of gender stratification with real effects on people's lives:

    • Women tend to earn less money, possess less wealth, and have fewer leadership opportunities.

    • Women's agency is more constrained compared to men's.

    • Women face routine harassment and intimidation and have to prove themselves more than men.

    • Men subject women to hostility and violence.

Gender Wage Gap

  • Current data indicates that U.S. women working full time earn approximately $0.82 for every dollar earned by men.

    • Over a college-educated working lifetime, this translates to an average loss of $461,000 per woman.

    • Explanatory Factors for the Gender Wage Gap:

    • Career trajectories account for 10% of the gap.

    • Interpersonal discrimination contributes 41%.

    • Job segregation accounts for 49%.

The Second Shift

  • Definition: Refers to the unpaid work (child care, housekeeping) that women undertake after finishing their paid jobs.

  • Ideal Worker Norm: The concept that employees should be fully devoted to their jobs, free from family responsibilities.

Masculinities

  • Hegemonic Masculinity: The dominant form of masculinity culturally admired and rewarded.

  • Subordinated Masculinity: Considered lower in status due to excessive femininity.

  • Marginalized Masculinity: Lower status attributable to other social statuses, such as race or class.

Embodiment of Gender

  • Gender presentation involves constant effort to embody societal standards of beauty, health, power, status, and appropriate behavior.

  • Individuals who deviate from traditional presentations often face scrutiny, harassment, or violence.

Understanding Sexuality

  • Definition: "Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually; it involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors."

  • Biological and/or Physical Aspects:

    • Involves reproduction, physiological processes, and changes with aging.

  • Psychological and/or Emotional Aspects:

    • Represents expressions of identity and intimacy.

  • Social Aspects:

    • Serves as a form of social identity, contributes to group stratification, and meanings are shaped by cultural context.

    • Regulated by institutions such as religion, law, and family.

Social Change and Identity

  • Significant changes in everyday life structures took place in the early 20th century, influenced by:

    • Urbanization

    • Industrialization

    • World War II

  • The 1950s saw the emergence of openly gay bars, social clubs, and advocacy groups.

  • Homosexuality became harder to conceal in social settings.

Religion and Sexuality

  • Sexual conservatism exists within all organized religions, often condemning or discouraging premarital and extramarital sex.

    • Impact: Religious doctrines and moral teachings enforce the normative status of heterosexuality.

Current Controversy in Religion

  • The United Methodist Church split into two denominations over policy disagreements related to same-sex marriage and LGBT clergy.

    • A New Traditionalist denomination emerged.

    • Many individual churches, especially in Southern U.S. states and globally, are withdrawing from the UMC.

  • Hormone-blocking treatments are now banned in over half the states.

Education Inequality

  • Educational opportunities are systematically influenced by race and ethnicity, resulting in:

    • Inequalities both within and between schools, stemming from funding disparities based on property taxes and other student stressors.

  • Outcome: Durable achievement gaps exist among different demographics of students.

Inequality Between Schools

  • Only 18% of white students attend high-poverty schools, whereas over 30% of Asian children and more than 60% of Black and Hispanic children attend such schools.

  • Factors contributing to lost learning include:

    • Emergency lockdowns

    • Teacher absences

    • Stress due to violence, lack of healthcare, and responsibilities for family members.

Racial Disparities in Education

  • Nearly half of private schools are predominantly white (90% or more) compared to a quarter of public schools.

  • Elite private schools often provide lavish facilities and resources, preparing students for upper-class careers and ensuring university placement.

  • Tracking: Classifying students based on perceived ability.

    • Students labeled as “gifted” or “at risk” as early as elementary school.

    • Tracking is often racialized, with BIPOC and immigrant students disproportionately allocated to low-track classes.

  • Teachers commonly overestimate the potential of Asian American and white students while underestimating that of Black and brown students.

School Policing

  • Since the 1990s, low-income schools with high populations of Black and Hispanic students have instituted stricter policing measures.

  • Adultification: A bias attributing adult characteristics to children, particularly children of color, viewed as having malicious intent.

Achievement Gaps

  • Unequal educational opportunities lead to:

    • Minority families being less likely to graduate.

    • Schools perpetuating racial inequalities through social institutions.

State and Policies

  • Government Definition: According to Weber, "a human community that successfully claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory."

Social Reproduction

  • Definition: The process by which society maintains its character across generations.

  • A surprising number of voters endorse policies that exacerbate inequality, demonstrating the stability of a stratified society.

The Power Elite

  • Definition: A small group of interconnected individuals who hold top positions in important social institutions.

  • Pluralist Theory of Power: Suggests that U.S. politics involves competing groups working together to achieve goals.

  • Elite Theory of Power: Proposes that a small group controls significant social institutions.

Social Capital

  • Definition: The network of connections and relationships that offer resources and pathways to power.

    • Members of the power elite often hold formal positions in multiple organizations and move between social institutions.

The Opiate Crisis

  • Estimated that 9.7 million people have misused OxyContin, resulting in over 50,000 deaths.

    • Factors contributing include:

    • Lack of DEA monitoring.

    • Laws protecting pharmaceutical companies.

Overdose Deaths in the Opiate Crisis

  • Most victims identified as white Americans (17% Black, 12% Latinx).

  • Veterans are particularly at risk, with a spike in overdose deaths during COVID-19.

Drug Trafficking

  • Fentanyl is produced in China and enters the U.S. from Mexico via major cartels, transported by American mules.

Defining Religion (Based on Durkheim)

  • Defines religion as not reliant on the supernatural or divine entities.

    • Characterized by beliefs, rites, and the division of the world into sacred and profane domains.

Sacred and Profane

  • Sacred: Set apart, protected by prohibitions; requires rites to approach.

  • Profane: Ordinary and not protected.

Collective Effervescence

  • Describes a state of excitement and empowerment experienced in collective gatherings, leading to a unified communal identity.

Religion as an Ideology (Marx's View)

  • Religion pacifies the working class, providing false hope and preventing true class consciousness.

Abortion Rights Context

  • The burden of parenthood predominantly falls on women both during and after pregnancy.

    • If a pregnant woman carries a fetus with legal rights, her own rights are consequently compromised—this contrasts with men's rights.

    • Legalization of abortion has improved women's health and reduced poverty for those previously denied healthcare.

  • Higher rates of unintended pregnancies correlate with Black and Hispanic women, who are also more likely to seek abortions.

  • Legal changes contributed to increased Black women's high school graduation and college attendance rates.

Emotional Labor

  • Defined as the process of managing feelings according to organizationally defined rules and regulations.

    • Examples:

    • Flight attendants

    • Care workers.

  • Gendered nature of employment participation.

  • Occupational Expectations: Different careers demand varying emotional skills:

    • Surgeon: informative yet caring.

    • Grocery store clerk: friendly but only at work.

    • College professor: requires sympathy and to mediate student frustration.

    • Dominatrix jobs regarded as "erotic labor" by some.

Workplace Policies and Family Leave

  • Majority of American workers lack access to flexible programs or paid family leave; benefits are often optional.

  • Federal policy ensures unpaid leave under FMLA:

    • Only applicable after 1240 hours of work and at companies with 50+ employees.

    • Excludes part-time workers and small businesses.

  • Statistics: Only about 60% of American workers qualify for leave under FMLA.

State Policies on Family Leave

  • 13 states have enacted paid family leave policies, including California, funded by worker contributions.

  • Paternity leave regarded as a perk rather than a right; structural barriers impede equitable father participation.

Labor Migration and Domestic Work

  • Hondagneu-Sotelo's "Maid in LA": Illustrates the challenges faced by Latina migrants in domestic work, indicating cultural conflicts shaped by gender norms.

Marriage and Family

  • Romance perceived as a constructed set of ideas that justifies social inequalities, with unmarried people sometimes viewed as outliers.

  • The commercialization of the wedding industry reflects societal changes over time.

  • Historical context of marriage includes:

    • Alliances between families

    • Transition from patriarch/property values to love-based partnerships.

  • Industrialization impacted familial roles, leading to the concept of separate spheres (home as feminine space and work as masculine).

  • Modern marriages are shifting towards partnerships of equals—emphasizing companionship over traditional roles and leading to patterns such as delayed marriage, increased cohabitation, and the phenomenon of prenuptial agreements.