1. The Sociological View on Gender To challenge everyday, taken-for-granted views of being female and male in society To move beyond the “fundamental attribution error” which explains behavior by invoking the personal and ignoring social structure and cultural context To engage in collective discussion to produce knowledge rather than just rely on individual viewpoints. To understand how social change affects being male or female

2. Gender Studies Origins The social movement to move from studying sociology as the study of (elite men’s viewpoint) in society (taken-for-granted) to studying women—from “second wave” feminism late 1960s women’s studies First “add women and stir” focus on women, and differences between women and men Then differences among women (1980s)— multiple femininities and feminisms Then differences among men in men’s studies— multiple masculinities and feminisms Then studying women and men as relational gender

3. Gender Definitions Concept developed to show social construction of being female and male as being different from the biology of sex Many meanings include “a central organizing principle of social life;” “psychological, social, cultural aspects of maleness/femaleness;” “traits, behaviors;” “systems of social practice;” “organized relations of inequality;” “a process” or a system.

4. Frameworks Individualist—personality, traits, personal socialization Contextual—interactional relations between individuals Contextual—structures and practices of organizations and institutions

5. Why Study Gender To develop an understanding of how our individual identities and self-concepts structure our interactions To understand how gender shapes how we view others (gender stereotypes) How structures form the basis of power and resource allocation How structures create gender standards and organizational rules and expectations