Gender Soc 101 PDF

Gender – Dr. Sara J. Cumming Sex and Gender - Sex o Biologically rooted; describes our physical bodies whereby distinguish between male and female o Categorized based on binaries implying diametrical opposites “opposite sex” - Gender o Socially c...

Gender – Dr. Sara J. Cumming Sex and Gender - Sex o Biologically rooted; describes our physical bodies whereby distinguish between male and female o Categorized based on binaries implying diametrical opposites “opposite sex” - Gender o Socially constructed characteristics associated with girls and boys, men and women à being taught how girls and women behave o Masculinity and femininity o Also suggests binary opposition: meaning that people can only fit into one of two mutually exclusive, and opposite, groups (male or female) o Gender roles are learned patterns of behaviour that a society expects of men and women Masculinity and Femininity - Hegemonic Masculinity o Ideal of masculinity that men are supposed to strive to achieve o Requires men to be successful, capable, and reliable o Irrevocably tied to heterosexuality à most desired but not the most common because it’s hard to get there è Image to show the type of masculinity expected (The Rock) - Emphasized Femininity o Based on women’s compliance with their subordination to men o Requires women to be supportive, enthusiastic and sexually attractive o Always beautiful, smiling, put together à not all girls are like that all the time, “ideal form” for women à showed an image of a Hollywood actresses that is always “ideal” - Shifts over time in what it means to be an ideal female o Standards change o Marilyn Monroe – 1950s – biggest sex appeal, curvy o 1980s - Thin, child-like became sexy: Anorexia o Today: white skin, curves, so many standards à does this happen to men too? No, they remain same Cisgender  - A term used to describe a person whose gender identity corresponds to their sex assigned at birth Problematizing the Binary Construction of Sex and Gender - Intersex o People that are born with female uterus and male penis o An umbrella term that applies to individuals who are born with one of several possible variation in sex characteristics from the discrete gender binary categories: these can be chromosomal, gonadal, hormonal, or related to visible genitalia o 1 in every 2000 births o 1 in every 100 births deviates from “standard male and female” o Largest suicide cases because they didn’t understand why they felt di\erent internally - Transgender o Transvestite and Transsexual individuals § Transgender used as an umbrella term for those who do not fit into normative constructions of sex gender § Transsexual used to encompass those who undergo sex reassignment (realignment) surgery § Transvestite are born into one sex, however often dress as the other Not trying to change their genetilia, but enjoy the other sex Most are heterosexual males Non-Binary - Is used to describe people who people their gender cannot be defined within the margins of gender binary. Instead, they understand their gender in a way that goes beyond simply identifying as either a man or woman - Some non-binary people may feel comfortable within trans communities and find this is a safe space to be with others who don’t identify as cis, but this isn’t always the case - They/them/their Doing Drag - Refers to a stylistic performance where individuals dress up as a di\erent gender than the one they were assigned at birth  - They do not necessary identify with that sex, rather enjoy the gender performativity à an image to show what a “Drag” person looks like Two-Spirit - A term used by some indigenous peoples within North America to describe people within their communities who fulfill one of many traditional non-conforming roles that transgress the hegemonic gender binary - Viewed as a gift à showed an image of indigenous people that held up two-spirited sign Over 70 genders have been identified: Reproducing Gender: The Family - Families o Gender expectations begin at birth o Child-rearing practices are deeply gendered o Parents spend more time talking to girls while leaving boys alone; punish their sons more often than daughters o Gendered divisions of household labour à family is most important, but not always the best à talked about birth, gender-reveal (where gendering starts), let boys cry longer than girls (b/c girls are soft and need more nurturing, boys need to be strong), toys section distinguishing boys and girls, teaching daughters how to be homemaker, women are taught to be nurturing Patriarchy, a system of social organization in which men hold power and women are excluded from power. Gendered division of labour - refers to the fact that women are more likely to have jobs that pay less, have lower prestige, require longer hours of work, and are less likely to be full-time (i.e., to have benefits) than jobs in which most workers are men gender stratification - A hierarchical system of categorization based on gender. Traits associated with masculinity are considered positive, while traits associated with femininity are considered negative. Any deviations from these categories are understood as not just negative but dangerous. These classifications and associated power imbalances apply to all di\erent aspects of social life. pink ghettos - Employment areas dominated by women, characterized by lower average wages, more precarious work (e.g., part-time, high turnover), and being undervalued in society. But when women do enter into traditionally male-dominated positions, they encounter a glass ceiling—an invisible barrier that prevents them from receiving promotions. By contrast, the glass escalator is a semi-invisible advantage that men encounter. Second shift - The double burden of work and housework experienced by women; coined by Arlie Hochschild. Reproducing Gender: Education - Education: o Hidden curriculum; girls learn that they are not as important as boys o Teachers interact with boys more than girls in classroom o Praise girls for being congenial and neat while boys praised for intellectual quality Reproducing Gender: The Media - Gender divisions reflected in and reinforced by all forms of media - Music – the videos we heard at the beginning as one example - Commercials  à women being used as objects to promote a product, men putting beer on her body à Disney the Devil – princesses shown as weak, soft, and needed a guy to save her. Men showed as the protector. Modern Day Disney - Many books young adults read (think Twilight, Nora Roberts, Colleen Hoover) are really based on the premise of old school Disney - Fifty Shades of Grey is really Disney on Crack o Same as Disney o A\ects men and women o Women always looking for something that will complete them and save them The Ideology of Gender - A set of widespread social beliefs that gender is a binary and that there are “natural” di\erences between men and women. For example, this ideology assumes that men are naturally more aggressive, competitive and rational than women - This ideology considers traits such as nurturing, kindest, empathy as feminine traits which are viewed as negative - So called masculine traits such as risk-taking, strength, aggression, exploration seen as positive Toxic Masculinity - Refers to harmful attitudes and behaviour of men that occur as a result of hegemonic masculinity. - These are the consequences of socializing men to be unemotional, violent, and sexually aggressive - Socializing men to be sexually aggressive toward women leads to increased sexual harassment and assault - However, much of the impact of toxic masculinity is felt by men o Most dangerous for men o Men are told they are not allowed to talk about their issue o Documentaries: Jackson Katz “tough guise”  § The “tough guise” is an act where men and boys learn to show the world only those parts of themselves that the dominant culture has defined as manly: tough, strong, physical, in control Sociological Approaches to Gender - Functionalist theory o Women and men perform separate, specialized and complementary roles to maintain cohesiveness o Instrumental and expressive roles o Well-defined roles reduce confusion and conflict regarding gender expectations à women blamed for crime because they started working and their children’s attitudes ruined - Conflict theory o Focus on examining gender di\erences in access to and control of scarce resources o Nuclear family form, monogamous marriage and men’s control of women’s sexuality emerged from need to ensure paternity o Engel’s argued that it wasn’t until we were worried about inheritance that male domination really came into e\ect o Industrial Revolution forced women into the homemaker role - Symbolic Interactionism o Interested in the meanings of male and female of masculinity and femininity o Social institutions teach gender-related behaviours o Based on operant conditioning: A method of training that rewards compliant behaviours and punishes deviant behaviours. o “doing” gender § Such putting make-up on, chose clothes di\erently, getting ready for dates di\erent – men don’t try hard and women try harder - Feminist theory o Gender is socially constructed o Attempt to identify the ways in which institutionalized norms limit women’s behaviours and opportunities o Additionally, feminists such as Patricia Hill Collins have drawn our attention to the ways that race, ethnicity, class, and disability intersect with gender, making inequality even more pronounced for those who experience these multiple sources of inequality. Collins refers to this as the matrix of domination.