Gender Stratification Jennifer L. Fackler, M.A.

Differences Gender refers to personal traits and social positions that members of a society attach to being female and male. ▫Gender  Masculinity vs. Femininity ▫Sex  Male vs. Female Male-Female Differences – while there are biological differences between M&Fs, its important not to think of social differences in biological terms ▫Examples?  Voting, Athletics & Sports (Next Slide), Academics & VocationAthleticsSports Gender Stratification - unequal distribution of wealth, power and privilege between men and women.

Men’s and Women’s Athletic Performance Do men naturally outperform women in athletic competition? The answer is not obvious. Early in the 20 th century, men outpaced women by more than an hour in marathon races. But as opportunities for women in athletics have increased, women have been closing the performance gap. Only eleven minutes separate the current world marathon records for women (set in 2003) and for men (set in 2007). Sources: Christian Science Monitor, © 1995 Christian Science Monitor and Marathonguide.com (2006). Adapted with permission of the Christian Science Monitor.

Patriarchy & Sexism Patriarchy - a form of social organization in which males dominate females Matriarchy - social dominance by women Inevitability of Patriarchy ▫Biologists  Inevitable due to brain and hormone predisposition to aggression in males. ▫Sociologists  Not inevitable because gender is socially constructed and can be changed.  Ex: Intersexed IndividualsIntersexed Individuals

Patriarchy & Sexism Sexism - belief that one sex or the other is innately inferior or superior ▫Justification for patriarchy. ▫Institutional Sexism – sexism that’s built into societies’ institutions (like education, ex: tracking) Costs of Sexism ▫Limits Women’s Talents & Ambitions ▫Makes Men Hyper-Masculine  Risky, Seeking Control, Lost Opportunities for Intimacy & Trust  Also constrains men’s choices.constrains men’s choices

Gender & Socialization Research shows us that by age 3, children are able to understand gender roles. Gender roles are attitudes and activities that a society links to each sex. What are the implications of this? ▫Male = Ambitious & Competitive  Seek Leadership, Play Team Sports ▫Female = Deferential & Emotional  Supportive, Helpful, Show Feelings

Gender & The Family What’s the first question we want to know about a baby? ▫Is it a boy or girl? (Centrality of gender!) What are some things we do differently for male and female children? ▫Color-Coding Gender: Pink for Girls & Blue for BoysColor-Coding Gender ▫M/F Baby Experiment – Handled Differently  Female: Tender  Frequent Hugs & Caresses  Male: Aggressive  Bouncing & Swinging

Gender & Peer Groups Playing Games - Janet Lever (1978) ▫Boys favor team sports with complex rules and clear objectives that involve clear winners and losers.  Ex: Baseball, Football  Masculine Traits: Aggression & Control ▫Girls play is different in that it has few rules and victory is rarely the ultimate goal.  Ex: Hopscotch, Jump Rope  Feminine Traits: Interpersonal Skills & Cooperation Carol Gilligan’s Gendered Theory of Moral Reasoning (1982) ▫Boys: Justice Perspective ▫Girls: Care & Responsibility Perspective

Gender & Schooling Schooling – gender impacts educational choices  How? ▫Correll (2001) - gender shapes our interests and beliefs about our own abilities, guiding areas of study and eventually our career choices.  Males  Wood Shop, Auto Shop, Computer Science  Females  Cosmetology, Typing, Gender Studies ▫Majors by Sex & Degrees by SexMajors by SexDegrees by Sex

Gender & the Mass Media White males have center stage. ▫Minorities of all kinds are locked out. Women are portrayed as less capable than men and typically receive roles based on sex appeal. Advertising ▫Women = At Home; Lying Down – Cleaning, Food, Clothes ▫Men = At Work or Play; Standing – Cars, Travel, Banking, Alcohol Examples? The “beauty myth” (Wolf 1991)beauty myth ▫Argues that beauty is a demand and a judgment upon women. ▫But the beauty ideal that is perpetuated is NOT real.  The ideal has become less & less realistic over time,less & less realistic over time ▫Modern conceptions of women's beauty impact the spheres of employment, culture, religion, sexuality, eating disorders, and cosmetic surgery.

Gender, Income, and Wealth 2006 Median FT Earnings for Women: $34, Median FT Earnings for Men: $44,958 On average, women earn 78 cents for every dollar earned by men (2006). Why? ▫Type of work done (clerical and service).  Possible Solution: Comparable Worth Policies  Adopted internationally, but not favored in the US. ▫Parenting responsibility falls primarily on women. ▫Discrimination against women. Poverty Wages by Sex

Working Women Almost 60% of all women work. ▫Including married women and women with children. The greater a job’s income and prestige, the more likely it is to be held by a man. Administrative support (aka “pink collar” jobs) and service sector jobs are the most common among women. Glass Ceiling & Glass Escalator ▫GC: Women are locked out of the upper echelons of most businesses.  Ex: Just 13 Fortune 500 companies have female CEOs. ▫GE: Men are fast-tracked to the top in female-dominated fields.  Ex: Male Kindergarten Teachers  Administration

Job Segregation by Sex

So how does it all come together? Family & Peer Groups Schooling & Work

Housework: Women’s Second Shift Women still hold primary responsibility for household duties (“the second shift”) despite the fact that many hold jobs outside the home.the second shift

There are also differences in the type of housework M & W do.the type of housework M & W do

Minority Status of Women Minority – any category of people distinguished by physical of cultural difference that a society sets apart and subordinates. ▫So are US women a minority? Why or why not?  They are because they fit all the components of the definition. At all levels in the class system, women have LESS: ▫Income ▫Wealth ▫Education ▫Power Minority women experience a multilayered system of disadvantage.Minority women ▫Intersection Theory - The interplay of race, class, and gender, often resulting in multiple dimensions of disadvantage.The interplay of race, class, and gender ▫Examples?

Sexual Harassment SH - comments, gestures, or physical contact of a sexual nature that are deliberate, repeated and unwelcome. ▫Why does it happen? Causes of SH: ▫Culture encourages men to be sexually assertive and perceive women in sexual terms. ▫Most people in positions of power are men. ▫A hostile environment involves different perceptions of the same behavior. SNL Clip on SH

Violence Against Women “Rule of Thumb” – could not beat your wife with a rod thicker than your thumb (150 years ago) Sexual assaults, rapes, attempted rapes, and physical assaults against women continue to be prevalent. Why? “Rape Culture” (Herman) - sexual violence (usually against women) is common and prevalent attitudes, norms, practices, and media condone, normalize, excuse, or encourage sexualized violence ▫Related to HypersexualityHypersexuality ▫Examples?  Photo (Next Slide)  Rape Video Game: Article & VideoArticleVideo  Dead Girl Motion Picture: IMDBIMDB  Other Media: Blog on CSIBlog on CSI Violence Against Men ▫Men also experience violence, as 57% of victims are male. ▫80% of offenders are male.

Preventing Rape If rape is a major problem in our modern social world, how can we stop or reduce it? Who should anti-rape campaigns target?

Pornography ▫Definition varies across time and place. ▫Traditionally, people were opposed to pornography for moral reasons. ▫Today, people oppose pornography for reasons of power (and sometimes public health).public health  How is pornography a power issue?  It dehumanizes women, treating them like men’s toys.  It encourages violence against women. ▫By portraying women as weak and undeserving of respect. ▫By depicting male contempt for women. ▫Although it offends some people, others defend it based on our right to free expression in the US.

S-F Analysis Gender functions to organize social life. ▫Pre-Industrial World: No BC  Females Pregnant & Raising Children+ Males Relying on Strength to Earn a Living = Sex- Based Division of Labor  Became institutionalized and largely taken for granted. ▫Industrial World: BC (Next Page) + New Technology = Less Rigid Sex-Based Division of Labor and More Relaxed Gender Roles  Change is slow though! Talcott Parsons  Gender creates complementary roles for family units in order to carry out various tasks. ▫We socialize our kids accordingly.  Boys  Instrumental  Girls  Expressive ▫Integrates society structurally (what we do) and morally (what we believe).

Use of Contraception by Married Women of Childbearing Age In the U.S., most married women of childbearing age use contraception. In many lower-income countries, however, most women do not have the opportunity to make this choice. Source: U.N. Development Programme (2006).

S-C Analysis Gender creates division and tension with men seeking to protect their privileges and women challenging the status quo. Friedrich Engels  Capitalism profits from the sex-based division of labor by turning women into consumers who work in the home so that men can go work as laborers. Gender & Class: Why Women Are Oppressed

S-I Analysis ▫What would they say? ▫Symbolic interactionists would note that we perform or “do” gender on an on-going basis and that it shapes our interactions and exchanges.

Feminism Feminism – the advocacy of social equality for women and men, in opposition to patriarchy and sexism Goals: ▫Working to increase equality ▫Expansion of human choice ▫Eliminate gender stratification ▫Ending sexual violence ▫Promote sexual freedom Sort of a “bad word” with a negative connotation.

Types of Feminism Liberal Feminism - free to develop own talents and interests - individualistic Socialist Feminism - pursue collective (male and female) personal liberation Radical Feminism: ▫Eliminate idea of gender ▫Egalitarian, gender-free revolution Opposition to Feminism: ▫Threat to male status. ▫There is a growing body of evidence that men and women think and act in different ways. So should they be equal? ▫Why should we elevate an entire category of people regardless of their individual ability?

Opposition to Feminism among First-Year College Students, The share of college students expressing antifeminist views declined after Men are still more likely than women to hold such attitudes. Sources: Astin et al. (2002) and Pryor et al. (2005).

Discussion Questions What is the difference between sex & gender? How is gender socially constructed? What are the implications of making distinctions among people based on gender? Why should we study the sociology of gender? What are the various theoretical viewpoints on gender?

Conclusion Sex and gender are NOT the same thing. The US is organized as a patriarchy and because of that women suffer in a number of ways. We learn to be male or female through socialization. There are a variety of theories that help us better understand gender and gender roles. Feminism is a movement to eliminate patriarchy and usher in gender equality. Any questions?