1. SOSC 200Y Gender and Society
Lecture 2: Women vs Men

2. Women in society Malestream sociology
Biased in terms of issues of interested, theories and methods
Official Statistics and social research
Biology
Psychology
Anthropology
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3. Physiological differences between average men and women
Female
Male
Amount of body fat
15%
7.5%
Amount of muscle in body
36%
43%
Heart volume/ml
600
770
Hemoglobin concentration
/gm per 100 ml blood
13.7
15.8
Oxygen content of blood
/ml oxygen per 100 ml blood
16.7
19.2
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4. Biological and Psychological differences between men and women
Chromosome:
XX vs XY
Hormones:
Estrogen vs Testosterone
Temperament:
Dependency vs Aggression
Sociability vs Object relations
Brain size and function
Ability and behaviour:
Verbal vs Mathematical
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5. Anthropological studies of 224 cultures

6. Universal division of labour (The Hunter-Gatherer Thesis)
Man naturally strong
Man in hunting
Tool-making
Male strength
Organization, Art, Culture
Human Survival and Civilization
Women naturally weak
Women in gathering
Infant dependent/ Female care
Caring Instinct
Home Based
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7. Replicate the research
Biological research
Untrained sex difference
Trained sex difference
Hemoglobin /gm per kg body weight
26.7%
8.8%
Blood volume /ml per kg body weight
17.2%
1.7%
Heart volume /ml per kg body weight
24.1%
3.2%
Cognitive research
Intellectual Aptitude, Memory, Verbal skills: no difference
Quantitative skills: no difference before high school
Visual-spatial abilities: males perform better
Cognitive styles: no difference in analytic or computer abilities
Creativity: Unclear
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8. Other research results
Personality and Temperament:
Personality: girls describe themselves as more people-oriented
Temperament: unclear
Communication Patterns:
Verbal: male dominate conversations; female listen. Situational
Nonverbal: males dominate after childhood; female are more sensitive to nonverbal cues. Situational, cultural factors are important.
Power-Related Behaviors:
Aggressiveness, Dominance, Competitiveness: Male
Assertiveness, Achievement, Motivations: unclear
from Basow, A (1992) Gender: Stereotypes and Roles, p.101
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9. Modes of feminist challenge
Bringing women back in: the “add-and-stir” approach
Complex structures of capitalist patriarchy
Inventing feminist theories and methods
Continuing debates
Strategic concern
Academic concern
Liberal F.
Legislative change Educate the public
Making women visible
Marxist F.
Critique of capitalism
Theories of capitalist patriarchy
Radical F.
Critique of total male domination
Alternative theories and methods
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