1. Chapter 8 Gender You May Ask Yourself Core Fifth Edition Dalton Conley
You May Ask Yourself Fifth Edition Dalton Conley
Gender

2. Paradox
The biological categories of sex strongly influence the social dynamics of gender, however, the social categories of gender can sometimes determine the biology of sex.
Watch the animated short about the gender paradox at: digital.wwnorton.com/youmayask5
A NOTE ON VIDEO LINKS: Videos are not embedded in the PowerPoints. To view videos, you will need an Internet connection.
Paradox: The biological categories of sex strongly influence the social dynamics of gender, however, the social categories of gender can sometimes determine the biology of sex.
Discussion: To start the discussion of gender, have students explore how sex and gender do not always match up. First, have students list as many stereotypically gendered characteristics/actions/activities of men and women as they can think of, and share with the class. Then, ask them to examine the two lists and come up with examples of how men and women do not always follow these norms.

3. Sex, Sexuality, and Gender
Sex refers to the biological differences that distinguish males and females.
Sexuality refers to desire, sexual preference, sexual identity, and behavior.
Gender is a social construct that consists of a set of social arrangements that are built around sex categories.
Understanding the differences between these terms is essential for understanding the concepts throughout the section, so we will spend the next few minutes making sure we’re all clear about the three terms.
Sometimes in our society, we see the terms sex and gender used interchangeably. For instance, on a job application, you might see a checkbox that says to select your gender, followed by the words “male or female.” This is actually an inappropriate use of the term gender – the application is actually referring to sex. Why do you think someone might use the term gender rather than sex? (Your students might talk about political correctness or the connotations associated with the term sex.)

4. Sex: A Process in the Making
Many believe that there are only two sexes— male and female—and that all people fall into one group or the other.
However, evidence suggests that we need to embrace a more expansive definition of sex that goes beyond two rigid and distinct categories.
The study of gender involves looking very closely at the relationship between nature and nurture, and not assuming that one overshadows the other or that there is a clear line separating the two. It is common to think that there are only two sexes—male and female—and that all people fall into one group or the other, and indeed this is a way of imposing order in a chaotic world. But there is evidence to suggest that we need to embrace a more expansive definition of sex, one that goes beyond two rigid and distinct categories.
About 1 in 1,000 babies are born intersexed, or hermaphroditic, which means having an abnormal chromosomal makeup and mixed or indeterminate male and female sex characteristics. This is a function of biological sex. Gender is different because it relates to the way that a person behaves and is based on biological sex. In other words, we learn how to act “manly” or “womanly” based on the sex that we’re born.

5. Amos Mac Interview
Amos Mac shares his experiences as a transgender man.
Click here to watch the interview: digital.wwnorton.com/youmayask5
Amos Mac talks about being a transgender man and the magazine that he publishes for a trans audience. When Dalton asks Amos whether he felt more like a man now than before he transitioned, Amos states that he doesn’t know “what is a man supposed to feel like” or “what a woman is supposed to feel like.” What do students think about this response?

6. Gender: What Does It Take to Be a Woman (or a Man)?
Gender roles are sets of behavioral norms assumed to accompany one’s status as a female or male.
Evidence shows that gender roles have more to do with social status than biology.
Ask your students if they can identify specific examples of gender role socialization in their own lives. For instance, were they ever told that a specific behavior wasn’t appropriate because they were either a boy or a girl? Did they ever receive a harsher or more lenient punishment because they either were a boy or a girl? Students are sometimes hesitant to think that the way that they act out their gender has been socially constructed, yet they are remarkably astute in noticing differences in the ways they have been treated in their own lives as a result of their biological sex and subsequent gender role socialization.
[Image credit TK]

7. Feminism Slide 1 of 2
Feminism is an intellectual, consciousness-raising movement based on the idea that women and men should be accorded equal opportunities and respect.
In the United States, the history of the women’s movement can be divided into three historical waves:
The first wave was the earliest period of feminist activism and included the period from the mid-nineteenth century until American women won the right to vote in The campaign organized around gaining voting rights for women was called the suffrage movement.
The second wave was the period of feminist activity during the 1960s and 1970s that is often associated with the issues of women’s equal access to employment and education.
The third wave is the most recent period of feminist activity and focuses on issues of diversity and the variety of identities that women can possess.
AP Photo

8. Feminism Slide 2 of 2
Feminism seeks to get people to understand that gender is an organizing principle of life.
Gender structures social relations on unequal ground, and thus power is fundamentally at play when we talk about gender differences.

9. The Woman Question Slide 1 of 7
A wide range of theories and approaches have been applied to the study of gender, including structural functionalism, psychoanalytic theory, conflict theory, microinteractionist theory, postmodern theory, and ideas from black feminists.
Each perspective has contributed to our understanding of gender differences and gender roles, and no doubt other theories or approaches will emerge in the future.
When assessing these various approaches, it is important to ask how useful each one is for explaining people’s experiences and behavior.

10. The Woman Question Slide 2 of 7
Structural functionalist approach of studying gender
assumes that gender differences exist to fulfill necessary functions in society.
doesn’t allow for the possibility that other structures could fulfill the same function or for the fact that structures change throughout history.
An example of structural functionalism in gender studies is Talcott Parsons’s sex role theory. This theory suggests that men and women perform their sex roles as breadwinners and wives and mothers, respectively, because the nuclear family is the ideal arrangement in modern societies. Functionalists tend to believe that society functions the way it does as a result of men and women having different roles and tasks. They also would likely agree that sometimes these differences result in inequalities, but that there is a purpose for this division in the society.

11. The Woman Question Slide 3 of 7
Psychoanalytic theories of studying gender
focus on individualistic explanations for gender differences as opposed to societal ones.
support that there are natural differences between men and women that dictate how they behave.
The father of psychoanalytic theories is Sigmund Freud (1856–1939). Freudian theorists have provided an overly individualistic, psychoanalytic account of sex roles. Although biological determinism plays a major role in Freudian theory, so does the idea that gender develops through family socialization.

12. The Woman Question Slide 4 of 7
Conflict theories argue that patriarchal capitalists benefit through systems that subordinate women.
Conflict theorists point out that men stand to lose a great deal if gender inequality disappears. For example, they would have to do more unpaid work or pay to have their homes kept up and children cared for. Conflict theorists are interested in the imbalance of power in society and the struggles that people go through trying to gain access to power that they traditionally have not had access to. In many societies, it is clear that women have not had access to power, and oftentimes, they still lack access to power. Gender inequality can be found in all past and present societies. It invariably takes the form of patriarchy, or male domination.

13. The Woman Question Slide 5 of 7
Socialist feminists argue that all social relations, including relations between workers and the owners of the means of production, stem from unequal gender relations.
Social constructionists argue that gender is a process that people participate in with every social interaction they have.
Essentially, social feminists try to get people to understand that all aspects of our lives are influenced by gender. Social constructionists argue that gender and its importance and meaning in a society are constructed by that society. In other words, society assigns the meanings to gender and then we hold people accountable for those meanings.

14. The Woman Question Slide 6 of 7
Black feminists
argue that gender doesn’t function in a vacuum and that gender studies must take into account that there is no single category of women or men.
point out that some women are not only more privileged than other women but also are more privileged than some men.
This is related to the concept of “double jeopardy.” Frances Beal was a black feminist who, in 1969, wrote: "Double Jeopardy: To Be Black and Female.” What she means is that being a member of one minority group may have certain disadvantages, but being a member of multiple minority groups amplifies those disadvantages even more. While black feminists might focus on the disadvantages of being a racial minority and a woman, there are other disadvantaged groups that should be considered as well. For instance, advantages might be available to able-bodied people, native English speakers, people who are bilingual, people who are attractive, people who are affluent, and so on.

15. The Woman Question Slide 7 of 7
Postmodern theorists question the whole notion of “woman” as a separate, stable category and the value and appropriateness of Western scholars applying their cultural logic to the study of non-Western societies.
Did you ever think about this when you applied for a job or for school? You might wonder why you have to check a box to tell someone your sex or your race. Postmodern theorists wonder about this, too. Why do we want to differentiate between groups of people unless we want to treat them differently?

16. Sociology in the Bedroom Slide 1 of 2
Much like gender differences, sexual practices vary across time and place, supporting the notion that sexuality is as much a social construct as gender.
Some feminists see sexuality as an expression of the unequal distribution of power between men and women, and argue that women don’t really choose heterosexuality but have it imposed on them by a male-dominated society.
Alfred Kinsey suggested that human sexuality was far more diverse than was commonly assumed. His own studies led him to believe that people were not exclusively heterosexual or homosexual but could fall along a wide spectrum.

17. Sociology in the Bedroom Slide 2 of 2
Homosexuality, which refers to the social identity of a person who has sexual attraction to and/or relations with people of the same sex, is a concept or identity that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century.
Michel Foucault relates the emergence of the homosexual identity to the development of scientific disciplines and a desire to monitor and categorize people and behavior. Foucault also introduced the notion that self-surveillance is a form of social control.

18. Paula England Interview
Paula England discusses her research on “hook-up” culture and romantic relationships among college students.
Click here to watch the interview: digital.wwnorton.com/youmayask5
Paula England writes about "hook-up" culture. Ask the class to discuss whether they see evidence of this culture on campus. Is England right to suggest that this is a new thing? Ask the class to discuss whether dating norms are dramatically different now than they were ten or twenty years ago.

19. Growing Up, Getting Ahead, and Falling Behind
Studies show that gender inequality is rampant in schools.
Boys and girls are treated differently by teachers and there are different expectations for their behavior and performance.
The textbooks and other materials used in schools often reinforce gender stereotypes.
Schools are generally the first agent of socialization that children experience outside of their immediate families. This may be the first time that children are introduced to thoughts and ideas that contradict those of their families. Therefore, schools are a very important agent of socialization, and the messages that students receive in schools can certainly have a big impact on the way they think about themselves. Research shows that in school, teachers tend to favor boys in several ways: boys receive more attention and instructional time, are more likely to be called on in class, are posed with more challenging questions or tasks, and are given more praise for the quality of their work. What message does that send to the boys? To the girls?

20. Gender in the Workplace
Women still face many challenges in the working world today, including unequal pay, sexual harassment, sexism, tracking to certain kinds of jobs, the “feminization” of jobs, the glass ceiling, and more.
The income gap is getting narrower, but it is still not equal. It is crucial to understand that what this means is that for a man and a woman who are equally qualified (same education, same skills, same experience), the woman is likely to be paid less than a man applying for the same position
When women do obtain positions that are typically dominated by men, they face enormous pressure. There is a sense that all women will be judged based on their performance, and they are often caught in a Catch-22 with regard to their behavior. If they “act just like a man,” they are seen as unfeminine and somehow unattractive; if they exhibit more feminine qualities, they are seen as “not tough enough.”
Men working in female-dominated fields don’t seem to face the same scrutiny and challenges. In fact, studies show that such men advance more quickly (advance via the “glass escalator”) than their female counterparts.
Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

21. Ashley Mears Interview
Ashley Mears talks about the wage structure in the modeling industry.
Click here to watch the interview: digital.wwnorton.com/youmayask5
Ashley Mears talks about the wage structure in the modeling industry.
She explains that in modeling, “women out earn men by two to one, sometimes much more” because “there are just more jobs and opportunities for women models.” She explains one reason why: “for a man to do the work of showing his body, displaying his body, it’s read as being less than what we fully expect in a hegemonically masculine way. It’s read as being effeminate work.”

22. Concept Quiz Question 1 of 5
1. Gender studies can be said to focus on the
relationship between _______.
nature and nurture
sex and sexuality
men and women
sexual preference and social environment
Answer: A

23. Concept Quiz Question 2 of 5
2. _______ is a nearly universal system involving the
subordination of femininity to masculinity.
Patriarchy
Sexism
Matriarchy
Hegemonic masculinity
Answer: A

24. Concept Quiz Question 3 of 5
3. Michel Foucault argued that the development of homosexuality as a social identity was related to ________.
changes in the nineteenth century with regard to the notion of the ideal man
the development of scientific disciplines and a desire to monitor and categorize people and their behavior
the development of the field of psychoanalysis in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
society’s need to establish cohesion by identifying “others” who exhibit “deviant” behavior
Answer: B

25. Concept Quiz Question 4 of 5
4. Sexual harassment is an illegal form of discrimination
that can be manifested through ________, with
the intent of making a person, usually a woman, feel
uncomfortable or unsafe, particularly in a work setting.
inappropriate jokes
sexual assault
requests for sexual favors
all of the above
Answer: D

26. Concept Quiz Question 5 of 5
5. Women working in male-dominated professions often
find that there are _____opportunities for
advancement, and men working in female-dominated
professions often advance _____ their female colleagues.
limited; more slowly than
limited; as quickly as
ample; as quickly as
limited; more quickly than
Answer: D

27. Discussion Questions
What are some examples from your own life where you or those around you “perform” or “do” gender?
Why do you think you or those around you perform gender in this way?
How would others react if you or someone you know suddenly stopped doing these things?

28. Sociology on the Street
Internet dating is a major resource for people looking for potential partners with a seemingly unlimited pool. What are the similarities and differences between dating online compared to dating in person? Watch the Sociology on the Street video to find out more: digital.wwnorton.com/youmayask5

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