1. Inequalities of Gender and Sexual Orientation
Chapter 9
Inequalities of Gender and Sexual Orientation

2. The Problem in Sociological Perspective
Sex is the major sorting device in every society in the world.
The development of sexism as a social problem
Helen Hacker: first to apply the term minority to women
Sexism: belief that one sex is innately superior to the other and the discrimination that results

3. The Scope of the Problem
Is male dominance universal?
Men’s domination of society has been in continuous existence throughout the globe from the earliest times to the present.
Most work is sex-typed: associated with one sex or the other
Universally, men’s activities are always given greater prestige.
It is the sex that is associated with the work that provides its prestige, not the work itself.

4. Major Areas of Discrimination
Political and legal
Education
Economic
Social
Women’s three major roles—sister/daughter, wife, and mother—fit this pattern of discrimination

5. Symbolic Interactionism
Sex: the different biological equipment of males and females
Gender: how we express our “maleness” or “femaleness”
Socialization into gender roles
Gender accomplishment
Sex is a master trait, cutting across all other identities in life.

6. Difficulties of interpretation
Parents teach gender roles subconsciously.
Most symbolic interactionists assume that gender differences are learned.
Stereotypes applied at birth tend to become reality through the self-fulfilling prophecy and continued socialization practices.

7. Functionalism Two theories of male fominance Rewards for warriors
Social—the necessity to survive warfare
Biological—innate differences in the physical strength of men and women
Reproduction
Throughout history, a woman has been encumbered physically—unable to participate fully in the labor market
Ultimate result was a patriarchal society

8. Conflict Theory Principles of Power Power yields privilege.
Privileged lifestyles of powerful encourage them to feel they are superior beings.
To bolster their feelings of superiority, the powerful clothe themselves with ideologies that justify their position.
As the powerful cling to their privileges, they use social institutions to maintain their power.

10. The Struggle for Equality
1800s, almost every woman was under the legal control of a man, either a father or a husband
Suffragists: advocates of the extension of political voting rights to women
Glass Ceiling: imaginary blockade keeping women from achieving greater success in the workplace

11. Research Findings Are there natural differences between the sexes?
Difficulty of separating culture from biology has plagued researchers
First explanation focuses on socialization in childhood
SAT: Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT)
“All apparent sex differences in intelligence may be explained by early learning and continual reinforcement.”
Machismo: an overt demonstration of masculine aggression

12. The study of Vietnam Veterans
Studies of animals
Testosterone: a hormone produced by the testicles that stimulates primary and secondary sex traits in men
The study of Vietnam Veterans
U.S. government collected data on hormone levels among Vietnam veterans
Further proof that testosterone plays a role in male aggression
Does not leave us with the ability to claim biology as the sole basis for aggression

13. Reconciling the findings
If biology provides males and females differences in temperament, personality, or predisposition in behavior, culture often overrides those differences.
Because people are often unaware of how environmental factors contribute to differences among men and women, biology presents overwhelming evidence of “natural” and “genetic” differences.
Concerning because “different sexed” often results in “unequal treatment.”

14. Avoiding ideology
No conclusive evidence as to whether nature or nurture leads to aggression, nurturing, intelligence
Must examine data with an open mind
Differences between men and women has become an emotionally charged issue
Data, not ideology, may one day answer the nature versus nurture argument

15. Everyday Life
Masculinity and machismo represent strength while femininity is perceived as weakness.
Derogatory feminine terms
Most dismiss remarks as insignificant
Such comments reveal derogatory attitude toward women and things feminine
Attitude that women face as part of their everyday lives

17. Gender tracking
Women and men tend to cluster in different educational specialties
A man’s world
Significant factor contributing to the devaluation of women is tradition
Even sociology concentrates on the contributions of men

19. Completing the doctorate
Women now outnumber men in college and earn 58% of all bachelor’s degrees.
Aspirations (enrollment) and accomplishments (doctorates conferred) are sex linked .
Core reason
Women are more likely to get sidetracked with marriage and family responsibilities
On the verge of dramatic change in education

20. The Mass Media Children’s Books Help to shape gender roles
Illustrated books for children are more than entertainment
Feminists protest stereotypes
One gender stereotype continues to linger in children’s books:
Females are now portrayed as doing things that males do, but males are not portrayed as doing things that females do.

21. Television
More powerful than picture books
Misogyny
Hatred or strong prejudice against women
Adult television creates and reinforces stereotypes of gender, age, and sexuality
Body image is key part of gender accomplishment
Television effective in teaching what we “should” look like

22. Music
Boys learn to dominate male–female relationships
Lyrics instruct girls to be sexy, passive, and dependent
Those who watch music videos hold more traditional sex-role stereotypes
Rap groups glorify male sexual aggression and revel in humiliating women

23. Mass media influences us.
Advertising
Advertising is an insidious propaganda machine for a male supremacist society.
Television advertising continues to reinforce stereotypical gender roles.
Use of the female body—especially exposed breasts—to sell products continues.
Mass media influences us.
Shapes society’s expectations
Parents changing how they socialize their children

24. The World of Politics The current situation
Women underrepresented in political decision making
Why don’t women dominate politics?
About 8 million more women than men are of voting age
Women who vote outnumber men who vote by 9 million
A good answer appears to be socialization

27. Restrictive patterns changing
Dominance is masculine; politics is a form of dominance; therefore, politics is masculine.
Perception imposes severe restraints on women’s recruitment, participation, and performance in politics.
The power of sex roles
Women are underrepresented in law and business, the careers of politicians.
Irregular hours to run for elective office incompatible with home life responsibilities
Women are also less likely to have a supportive spouse.
Men have been reluctant to bring women into decision-making roles or to regard them as viable candidates.
Restrictive patterns changing

29. The World of Work The historical pattern
Labor force participation rate
Percentage of those ages 16 and older who are in the labor force at least part-time
The gender pay gap
At all ages and at all levels of education and no matter the type of work, the average man is paid more than the average woman.
Between the ages of 25 and 65, the average man who graduates from college earns about a million dollars ($1,100,000) more than the average woman who graduates from college.

32. Reasons for the gender pay gap
Tracking in education
Women are more likely to work at types of jobs that pay less.
Women professionals, such as physicians, work fewer hours than men in same profession.
Above factors account for about half the pay gap
Other half may be attributed to pure gender discrimination
The Fuller-Schoenberger Study
Women had to have higher qualifications than men in order to be offered lower salaries!

33. Why Is Our Workforce Segregated By Sex?
The conflict and feminist perspectives
Dual Labor Market
The symbolic interactionist perspective
Men perceive women as less capable, less productive, and ultimately, less profitable, so they pay them less
Sex discrimination tends to be self-perpetuating

34. Sexual Harassment
Unsolicited sexual advances made by a person in power
Traditional view makes it a personal problem
Sexual harassment is a structural matter; built into the marketplace
Sexual harassment as a social problem
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Racial–ethnic lines
Used to be perceived as an exclusively female problem

35. Homosexuality Homosexual behavior
Sexual relations between people of the same sex
Homosexuality
Sexual orientation involving an attraction or preference for people of one’s own sex
Americans more tolerant of those practicing full-time homosexuality
Women are more likely to favor the legality of homosexual relations

38. Homosexuals and the law
Lawrence et al. v. Texas
Hate crimes
Ordinary crimes motivated by dislike or hatred of the victim’s personal characteristics
Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations (2003) ban sexual discrimination in the workplace

39. Homosexuality and Conflict Theory
Overt discrimination
Differential treatment that is open and observable
Same-sex marriage (SSM)
Legally sanctioned marriage of two same-sex people
Domestic partnership or civil union
Not a legal marriage
Defense of Marriage Act

40. Research On Homosexuality
The Kinsey Research
Sample was biased and findings no longer trusted
The Laumann Research
2.2% of women and 4.1% of men in the United States had had sex with a same-sex partner
Sampling technique allowed generalization to broader U.S. population
Narrative data
Unstructured data that tells a story

42. The Humphreys Research
Devised ingenious but, widely criticized research method
“Tea-rooms”
Situational homosexual behavior: the prison
Refers to homosexual acts committed by people who, if members of the opposite sex were available, would choose to be involved in heterosexual relations
Sociology focuses on learned behavior
Homosexuality is a social problem because of subjective concerns.

43. Violence Against Women
Rape and murder
Gendered violence
In U.S., women are disproportionately victims of spousal abuse and rape
Alien to western culture is “honor killings”
Killings of girls and women who have violated the family’s honor
Applying the conflict and feminist perspective
Understand violence against women if viewed as an expression of power

44. Symbolic Interactionism and Violence Against Women
Sociologists also use symbolic interactionism to understand gendered violence
In American culture, men learn machismo
Males are surrounded with models of violence

45. Social Policy The Radical Extremists
Insist that society is so discriminatory that it must be restructured
The Conservative Extremists
Believe that heterosexual gender distinctions are natural and desirable and ought to be encouraged
Middle-of-the-road policies
Innumerable positions fall between two above extremes

46. The Future of the Problem
The world of work
Significant social trend that will affect gender discrimination: future employment of women
Breaking gender stereotypes
Increasing numbers of women in the workforce are already changing gender stereotypes
New orientations
Ultimate possibility for the future is a new concept of the human personality