2. Sex, Sexuality, and Gender
2
Sex refers to the natural or 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.
7. Discussion Questions
7
Let’s say you are on a first date with a person of the
opposite sex. Who should pay?
a) the man
b) the woman
c) The person who did the inviting should pay.
d) The man and woman should split the bill.
8. Gender:
What Does It Take to Be a Woman (or a Man)?
8
Gender roles are sets of
behavioral norms assumed
to accompany one’s status
as a male or female.
Evidence shows that
gender roles have more to
do with social status than
biology.
11. What critics say
Allows girls to Is known as a
believe they can do “sexual idol”
anything, only to be
let down later in life Portrays an
unrealistic image
Supports the idea of through body
never failing which measurements
will confuse children
later on
12. Cindy Jackson
Spent $55,000 to look like Barbie
Went through 20 plastic surgeries
Purpose: wanted to be a real-life
Barbie
13. Measurements
Barbie in real life;
Chest: 38 in.
Waist: 18 in.
Hips: 34 in.
Height: 5’6”
Weight: 120 lbs.
14. Role modeling
Due to a lack of body fat, Barbie would not be
capable to menstruate
17. Toy manufactures and gender
stereotyping.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MDZeSeaRk4&list=PLC74BA4B0EF445F8C&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaXEWSCCOUM&feature=context-chf&playnext=1&list=PL1E2EC6AAAD0C422B
18. TV adds directed at children
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3zBgmDjEc8&feature=context-chf&playnext=1&list=PLD554CF6753FC64AF
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ce5-EA2issk&feature=context-chf&playnext=1&list=PL09AB2DD264EB5C1C
19. Feminism
19
Feminism is an intellectual, consciousness-
raising movement based on the idea that
women and men should be accorded equal
opportunities and respect.
21. Feminism
21
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.
22. The Woman Question
22
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,
middle-range theories, and ideas from black
feminists.
23. The Woman Question
23
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
25. The Woman Question
25
Psychoanalytic theories of studying gender:
focus on individualistic explanations for
gender differences as opposed to societal
ones.
Inherent in these theories is the notion that
there are natural differences between men
and women that dictate how they behave.
26. The Woman Question
26
Conflict theories argue that patriarchal
capitalists benefit through systems that
subordinate women.
28. Gender in the Workplace
28
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.
29. The Woman Question
29
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.
30. The Woman Question
30
Black feminists
pointed out 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
They also pointed out that some women are
not only more privileged than other women
but also more privileged than some men.
32. The Woman Question
32
Middle-range theories may be the most useful
in addressing the complicated subject of
gender because they connect people’s day-to-
day experiences to larger social forces.
33. The Demise of Guys?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVEHeY8sY5Q
33
34. Sociology in the Bedroom
34
Much like gender differences, sexual practices
vary across time and place, supporting the
notion that sexuality is as much a social
construct as gender.
35. Sociology in the Bedroom
35
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.
36. Will social media be a liberating
influence?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR4LdnFGzPk
36
37. 37
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.
a) inappropriate jokes
b) sexual assault
c) requests for sexual favors
d) all of the above
38. 38
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.
a) limited; more slowly than
b) limited; as quickly as
c) ample; as quickly as
d) limited; more quickly than
Editor's Notes
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 .)
Hegemonic masculinity in this case refers to dominant socially constructed norms and values upheld as ideal for all males in a society. A hegemonically masculine man is an ideal one – and in Western societies, this often means being strong, aggressive, tall, lean, able-bodied, a breadwinner, possessing incredible sexual prowess, being a “man’s man”. Framed within an understanding of systems of oppression as interlocking, this hegemonic male is also white, middle-class, heterosexual, and Christian.
Essentialism explains social phenomenon in terms of natural one. It is fixed and absolute Biologic determinism – your social world is the direct result of your biological world. If you are born with male parts then you are a man and you will be attracted to women. There is a biologic reality but it ignores factors of social consturction.
If you ask experts at medical centers how often a child is born so noticeably atypical in terms of genitalia that a specialist in sex differentiation is called in, the number comes out to about 1 in 1500 to 1 in 2000 births. But a lot more people than that are born with subtler forms of sex anatomy variations, some of which won ’t show up until later in life. The words “hermaphrodite” and “pseudo-hermaphrodite” are stigmatizing and misleading words. Unfortunately, some medical personnel still use them to refer to people with certain intersex conditions, because they still subscribe to an outdated nomenclature that uses gonadal anatomy as the basis of sex classification. In a paper titled Changing the Nomenclature/Taxonomy for Intersex: A Scientific and Clinical Rationale , five ISNA-associated experts recommend that all terms based on the root “hermaphrodite” be abandoned because they are scientifically specious and clinically problematic. The terms fail to reflect modern scientific understandings of intersex conditions, confuse clinicians, harm patients, and panic parents. We think it is much better for everyone involved when specific condition names are used in medical research and practice.
These questions might get you into a discussion about scripts and gender roles.
My score – 78 masculine 81 feminine 63 androgenous 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.
Do you think this will encourage a healthy discussion with parents? Should Ken have penis? Should there be a pregnant Barbie? A lesbian Barbie?
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 1920. 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, which 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.
Figure 8.4 Pay Discrepancy Based on Gender
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.
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. Functionalists would likely agree that sometimes these differences result in inequalities, but that there is a purpose for this division in the society.
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.
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.
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 almost 25 percent less than a man applying for the same position. Although 23 cents on a dollar may not seem like a lot of money, if you are looking at annual salaries it is huge a man would be making $50,000 doing the same job as a woman getting only $38,500. 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.
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 to those meanings.
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.
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.
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.
