3. Gender roles- The rigid categories that characterize what it means
to be “feminine” or “masculine” in this society. (p.316)
Examples: Men do not cry, women should always look beautiful
(for men), women are emotional, men never ask for directions,
women are “natural” caregivers, men are tough, men are studs,
women are domestic and so on.
Gender Socialization- These roles are taught to us by a process
called gender socialization whereby the messages of what it means
to be a man or a woman or conveyed to us by every possible
socializing structure in society. (p. 316)
Example: Our families tell us how to behave, our schools tell us
what we can achieve, and our media tells us what we need to look
like. This socialization begins before birth to insure the highest
compliance from women and men.
Gender Identity- This arises from an inner, self-reflective location
and manifests a persons’ more authentic gendered self as a
woman, man or Tran gendered person. (p. 317)
4. Gender roles and identity are experienced by others through
“expression” or “presentation”.A person’s expression or
presentation of a gender role is based on the dichotomous
categories of how “man” and “woman” and “men” should
look, act, and feel like, whereas the expression or presentation
of a person’s gender identity exists within a broader and more
fluid context that more accords with the complexity of gender.
(p.317)
Sexism- A system of advantages that serves to privilege men,
subordinate women, denigrate women- identified values and
practices, enforce male dominance and control, and reinforce
norms of masculinity that are dehumanizing and damaging to
men. (p.318)
5. Feminism- A movement that seeks to dismantle
the patriarchal power structures that serve to
subordinate women and transgender folks and
unfairly advantage men in in every aspect of
society. (p.318)
Example: The family portrait is on HIS DESK:
Ah, a solid responsible family man.
Example: The family portrait is on HER DESK:
Hmm, her family will come before her career.
Example: HE’S aggressive; SHE’S pushy
Example: HE looses his temper; SHE’S bitchy
6. Masculinity- a constantly changing collection of meanings that
we construct through our relationships with ourselves, with
each other, and with our world. (p.327) The feminists
definition is the drive for power.
Homophobia- the fear of other men will unmask us,
emasculate us, reveal to us and the world that we do not
measure up, that we are not real men. (p.328)
•Homophobia and sexism go hand in hand.
•Manhood is equated with power-over women, over other
men.
•We take enormous risks to prove our manhood,exposing
ourselves disproportionately to health risks, workplace
hazards, and stress-relates illnesses. Men commit suicide
three times as often as women…..
7. Key Terms
Patriarchal culture- This culture is about the core value
of control and domination in almost every area of human
existence. (p.334)
Example: It is found in family divisions of labor that
exempt fathers from most domestic work even when both
parents work outside the home, and in the concentration
of women in lower- level pink-collar jobs and male
dominance almost everywhere else.
Feminism- The struggle to end sexist oppression. (p.339)
8. Timeline of Key Events in the Efforts to Gain Equality, Access, and
Choice for Women in the United States
1848: The first women’s rights convention is held in
Seneca Falls, New York. After 2 days of discussion and
debate, 68 women and 32 men sign a Declaration of
Sentiments, which outlines grievances and sets the
agenda for the women’s rights movement. A set of 12
resolutions is adopted calling for equal treatment of
women and men under the law and voting rights for
women.
Presidential Election 2008 we have seen examples of
women making history through their challenges to
limiting gender roles and power structures that
marginalize them.
9. FOR INDIVIDUALS, GENDER MEANS SAMENSS
Although the possible combinations of genitalia, body
shapes, clothing, mannerisms, sexuality, and roles could
produce infinite varieties in human beings, the social
institution of gender depends on the production and
maintenance of a limited number of gender statuses and of
making he members of these statuses similar to each other.
Individuals are born sexed but not gendered, and they have
to be taught masculine or feminine. According to Simone de
Beauvoir” One is not born, but rather becomes a
woman……it is civilization as a whole that produces this
creature…..which is described as feminine.”
10. For Society, Gender Means Difference
If men and women are doing the same tasks, they are
usually segregated to maintain gender separation, and
often the tasks are given different job titles as well, such
as executive secretary and administrative assistant.
Women recruits in the U.S. Marines are required to wear
makeup- at a minimum, lipstick and eye shadow- and
they have to take classes in makeup, hair care, poise, and
etiquette.
According to twenty-five year old drill instructor, (1989)
“ A lot of the recruits who came here don’t wear
makeup; they’re tomboyish or athletic. A lot of them
have the preconceived idea that going into the military
means that they can still be a tomboy. They don’t realize
that you are Woman Marine.”
11. South Carolina's political gender gap is not just a gap . . . it's
a Grand Canyon!
South Carolina ranks 50th - last - in the nation in terms of women in
public office. In the current Legislature, there were no women State
Senators and 16 women members of the House of Representatives,
meaning just 8.8% of the Legislature was female.
US House of Representatives from 1987 to 1993.
Only four women in South Carolina history have been elected to
statewide office: Lt. Governor Nancy Stevenson (1979-1982),
Superintendent of Education Barbara Nielsen (1991-1999),
Superintendent of Education Inez Tennebaum (1999-2007), and
Governor Nikki Haley (2010-current)
Just three women are presidents of private colleges or universities, and
women make up only 17.5% of the Boards of Trustees of public
institutions.
Source: http://www.scelectswomen.com/about/
