Chapter 10 – Gender in America

 Gender: consists of ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ for its males and females ◦ Varies depending on society ◦ Refers to _______________________________

 The sociological significance of gender is Gender Stratification: ◦

 Gender and age are like race-ethnicity and are considered _____________________.  REMEMBER: ◦ Sex refers to ___________________________________ ◦ Gender refers to ________________________________

 Let’s start with something “SIMPLE”: ◦ Can we tell which gender a person is by looking?

Is it a man or a woman in the picture? 1 – 38

Woman Man 1

Woman Man 2

Woman 3

Man Woman 4

Man 5

Woman 6

Man Woman 7

Man Woman 8

Man 9

Woman 10

Woman Man 11

Man Woman 12

Man Woman 13

Man Woman 14

Man Woman 15

Man Woman 16

Man Woman 17

Man Woman 18

Man Woman 19

Man Woman 20

Man Woman 21

Man Woman 22

Man Woman 23

Man Woman 24

Man Woman 25

Man Woman 26

Man Woman 27

Man Woman 28

Man Woman 29

Man Woman 30

Man Woman 31

Man Woman 32

Man Woman 33

Man Woman 34

Man Woman 35

Man Woman 36

Man Woman 37

Man Woman 38

End Ready for the answers?

SORRY...you don’t get the answers if you weren’t in class...

 Do differences control our behavior?

 GET IN TWO GROUPS – BOYS ON ONE SIDE AND GIRLS ON THE OTHER:  Write down all of the stereotypes/ characteristics of the opposite sex that you can think of on a piece of paper.  THIS IS A SAFE ENVIRONMENT – ANYTHING IS FAIR GAME!!!!

SORRY...you missed out on this too...it was fun...

 Do the differences control our behavior? ◦ Almost all ______________________________________ ◦ We behave the way we do because of ________________________________________________ ◦ If biology was a principle factor – men and women would __________________________________ ◦ _____________________________

 Do the differences control our behavior? ◦  Rossi – 1977: “Women are better prepared biologically for mothering than men”   Her point was ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

 Not a clear-cut issue: ◦ Medical accident story  Failed circumcision on one twin  Parents choice – one boy / one “girl”  Fine and clear until teenage years  Brenda began to gravitate toward imitation of the father’s behavior.  Depression and thoughts of suicide (identity issues)  Parents told her. Things made sense.  Started testosterone treatments and “became” a man.  Married – had children  Ended in suicide

 Not a clear-cut issue: ◦ Vietnam Veteran study – 1985  Health study of veterans with a random 4462 sample. Found a correlation to high level of testosterone and aggressive/problematic behavior. Also had domestic abuse issues, etc  BUT, this was also correlated to social class, sub- culture, life goals, self definitions… ◦ Fraternity study – mid-1990’s  Tested testosterone levels of members of a “rowdy” fraternity and of an “academic” fraternity. Higher levels in the “rowdy” fraternity.

 Not a clear-cut issue: ◦ In summation:   Three levels of research is currently being done:  Are any behaviors only due to biology  Ways that social factors affect biology  How does “different” become “unequal”

  Every society sorts men and women into __________________________gives them different access to ____________________________________.  Gerda Lerner – 1986 stated that there is not a single society in which _____________________________________________  In sociology – females are classified as a _______________________.

 DISCUSSION:  Can you think of cultures and societies in which there is a difference in male and female access to power, property, prestige?

 Suggestion that hunter-gatherer societies are ____________________equal as well as horticultural societies because women may contribute __________________________________________for the society.  In India – women are highly visible in public and a storekeeper is just as likely to be a woman as a man ◦ Women also take care of livestock – men do as well ◦ It’s women’s job to fetch the water – limited to women ◦ Sweeping the house and the street – limited to women ◦ Food preparation – limited to women ◦ Working in a quarry – men make $1.35/day and women make $0.90/day ◦ Working in construction – carrying bricks on their heads

 DISCUSSION:  What does patriarchy mean?

 Patriarchy – ______________________________ ◦  A woman breastfeeding, pregnant, and one child on her back was physically encumbered.  Women assumed tasks with home and child  Men assumed the hunting and providing roles (men controlled the instruments of death)  Division of labor for survival - As a result, men became dominant due to the status of the kill