While we often conflate the terms sex and gender, their precise meanings differ.
The biological distinction between males and females clear show (keep cut, us in that mind this not is that not all while always people our the are society case. biologically treats Intersex sex either individuals, categories male or for as female) neat example, and
Personal traits and social positions members of a society attach to
being female and male
walk, (gender dress, is about act… what or what it means it means to be to a be woman male in in society) society—how to
Gender is about social hierarchy
Victoria Woodhull-first female to run for U.S. presidency (1872) Woodhull spent election day in jail because she did something considered at that time highly inappropriate--running for office.
We tend to think that differences between men and women are a product of natural/biological differences. But, here are some examples of how gender differences are a product of society. For example, in the past, people
assumed women did not have the intelligence or interest to participate in politics; therefore women were barred from voting and running for office
Hillary Clinton-U.S. presidential candidate (2016) As you can see a lot has changed in our acceptance of women’s participation in politics. It’s not because our biology has changed, but because society has changed.
A lot has also changed in terms of athletic performance. In the past people assumed that women lacked the physical ability to participate in sports.
Take a look at the graph. Women certainly did not perform as well as men did in marathons in 1925. But note the steep decline in women’s marathon world records in the mid ‘60s. Why the decline? Again, it’s not a change in women’s biology but changes in society that led to improved performance by female runners.
The mid ’60s were a time of much social change, such as the sexual revolution and the civil rights movement, when people questioned the status quo. Also, in 1972 Title IX was passed, a federal law that prohibits gender discrimination in federally-funded education, including athletic programs. Despite women’s progress in sports, some people still believe that women could not outperform men in sports. However, here are some examples that prove otherwise:
Ye Shiwen- Olympic gold medalist in swimming. She beat Ryan Lochte’s world record in 2012 in the 400 meter event.
Ryan Lochte- Olympic gold medalist in swimming.
Sports and politics are two example that
remind us that we need to be careful not to think of social differences in biological terms only.
Most of the differences between men and
women are socially created
Anthropological research shows that how we define gender varies from society to another. In the 1930s, Margaret Mead conducted groundbreaking research on three societies in New Guinea. Here are her findings.
| ARAPESH | MUNDUGUMOR | TCHAMBULI | |||||
| this society, females had | In | males and similar roles | Among the males and | Mundugumor, females also | Finally, among Chambuli, | the males and | |
| (both men and | women | had similar | roles. Yet, | females had | different roles | ||
| were emotional, cooperative, | nurturing, worked | unlike the men and | Arapesh, both women were | (men and performed | women different tasks- | ||
| outside the shared child | home and rearing | competitive, aggressive. | and In other words, | similar to U.S. women). | men and However, roles | ||
| responsibilities. | In other | both genders | exhibited | were the | reverse of U.S. | ||
| words, they exhibited | both | “masculine” characteristics. | gender roles dominant and | (women were rational, | |||
| “feminine” | traits. | men were nurturing). | emotional and |
Based on her findings, Mead concluded: Culture, not biology, is the key to
gender distinctions.
The following pictures are from the Woodabe tribe in Niger. Here, you’re seeing a group f men prepare to participate in a beauty pageant. This activity is seen as a perfectly masculine activity by Woodabe men (these men are not considered crossdressers or marginalized by their society. The pageant judges are unadorned women. In the U.S. do we associate beauty pageants with men or women?
He studied 200 preindustrial societies (mainly
hunting/gathering societies)
He found some consistent patterns in terms of which tasks
are considered feminine and which are considered masculine.
In preindustrial societies
men are usually tasked with hunting and warfare (men being on
average 30%stronger in the upper body, are better suited for these tasks)
women generally are tasked with childrearing and household tasks
(lack of advanced technology such as contraceptives, breast pumps, or infant formula meant women had to be constantly in the home or a short distance from the home, so it made sense in those societies for women to shoulder household responsibilities)
Besides these two patterns, however, men and women shared
other tasks equally.
Based, on the research examined, then,
feminine or masculine are not consistently defined.
Gender is too variable to be a simple
expression of biology.
What it means to be male or female is mostly a creation of society
Remember that gender is not only about gender differences,
it’s also about inequality between men and women.
Gender stratification is about unequal distribution of power
and resources in society between men and women.
A form of social organization in which males dominate females
Most common pattern throughout the world
Matriarchy
A form of social organization in which females dominate males
Rare pattern in human history.
Patriarchy is usually justified by sexism-the belief that one sex is innately superior to the other
While individual sexism is problematic, what is more insidious but more covert is institutional
Sexism found throughout social institutions
(i.e. economy-the pay gap and fewer females in leadership positions; legal system questionably short sentences for rapists, such as Brock Turner; politics, women make up only about 20-25% of members of congress and state leaders)
Limits the talents and ambitions of women or half the
human population.
Encourages men to engage in high-risk behaviors
In the U.S. masculinity is linked to: Accidents, suicide,
violence, and stress-related diseases
Industrialization provides choices on how to live. The
idea that women are suited only for childrearing and household tasks is archaic and obsolete since most work
now involves processing info, not muscle power.
Gender is mainly socially constructed and can be
changed.
Are there any occupations today for which only women
or only men are biologically suited?
The only occupations for which only men or only women
are suited are:
Wet nurse Surrogate mother Egg donor Sperm donor
Attitudes and activities that a society links to each sex. We learn a lot about how to behave
as male or female from the different agents of socialization, such as the family and media.
Affects how we think of ourselves and
teaches us how to behave
Is this a boy or a girl?
This is a boy. In fact, this is former president FDR at age 6. It was common in the past to dress boys and girls in white, since it was more practical. It meant people didn’t have to buy new baby clothes depending on the sex of their newborn.
Today, we would consider an outfit like this inappropriate for a boy. Some might even go as far as claiming that such an outfit would cause gender confusion as the young boy develops.
Today, we are more uptight about colors and gendered clothing for young children and infants. How would people react if they see a young boy in pink?
From the moment we are born, our sex shapes the direction of our life. We receive messages about what is gender appropriate from the clothes our parents put us in to the toys we play with.
We receive messages from the media about how men
and women should behave, and we also receive more subtle messages from the way men and women are represented in the media.
White men hold center stage in television Women receive roles based on sex appeal and get paid
less (research also indicates that female characters tend to peak about 30% less than male characters in film).
Ads show women at home using appliances or trying
on new clothes. Men tend to be featured in ads for travel, banking, and insurance. Men usually appear taller with an air of dominance Women more frequently portrayed lying down, more submissive.
The media also receive a lot of criticism for their
emphasis on women’s bodies. In patriarchal societies:
Men derive worth/value from wealth and power Women derive value/worth from physical appearance
To be accepted, women are expected to alter their
bodies. This is not a new phenomenon.
Foot binding in ancient China Corsets in 16th century Europe Women in U.S. in 1920s bound their breasts to make
them look smaller
Society teaches women to measure their worth in terms of physical
appearance
Naomi Wolf: the beauty myth is an unrealistic cultural idea of
feminine beauty— emphasizes extreme thinness/buxomness, or reflects white standards (i.e. straight hair, western eyelids)
As a result of the beauty myth, women feel inadequate The beauty myth is problematic in that it eaches women to prize relationships with men, whom they supposedly attract by their beauty Forces women to be extremely disciplined Can damage one’s health (some women would rather die from an
eating disorder than be fat)
Some women end up placing so much energy into appearance and
avoid challenging male domination
Men are taught to desire the women who embody the beauty
ideal.
Most common cosmetic surgery procedure is breast
augmentation.
Just because it’s cosmetic doesn’t mean it’s not
serious. Any surgical procedure has risks.
The beauty myth creates a no win situation for women
who are told to embody the ideal, but the ideal is unrealistic
Ideal emphasizes extreme thinness and big breats at the
same time (something that rarely happens in nature)
In addition, beauty ideals are always changing, so it is
difficult for women to keep up with them.
In just the past century, the ideal female body type in the
U.S. has gone from:
the cinched waist ideal of the 1900s
chested flapper of the 1920s figure of the 1950s
the flat
to the hour glass
to the skinny, yet large
breasted supermodels of today’s fashion industry.
Men are also becoming increasingly concerned with body
image
43% of men report not being happy with their bodies Men also suffer from eating disorders Use of steroids to attain ideal body image
Beauty standards are especially oppressive to
minority women because they hold whiteness as the ideal.
Historically, among African Americans, being light
skin is valued (by both men and women)
Latina women portrayed as hypersexual, dressing provocatively, and thus treated as sexual objects
Cwhile beauty standards are oppressive to all women, they
are even more oppressive to minority women since colonialism, slavery, and overt racism established whiteness as the ideal (i.e. straight hair, western/double fold eyelids, light skin)
Minority groups internalized these damaging messages. For
example, historically, among African Americans and other minorities, having light skin is valued (by both men and women) .
African American hair in the mainstream and social media portrayed as problematic
Eyelid surgery is the most common cosmetic procedure among Asian Americans. The double-fold eyelid is perceived as resembling a Western eyelid and as more attractive.
“[…] an upper eyelid is typically considered more attractive by most people […](which makes the eye appear bigger–a universal signal of youth and attention)”
-Dr. Frank Meron, plastic surgeon
Source: http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2008/03/05/asian-eyelid-cosmetic-surgery/
In the Middle East and parts of Asia, ads for skin lightening creams mainly target women. These creams have serious health hazards.
Lack of diversity in images of Latina women Latina women portrayed as hypersexual or
subservient maid who lacks a sexual life
Media perpetuates idea that all Latinas are tan and
treats Afro-Latinas and light-skinned Latinas as not ”real” Latinas.
While people commonly remark that looks
don’t matter to them, they do. Research shows that whether we are perceived as attractive or unattractive affects how we
Here are some of the perks of beauty:
More likely to get job/promotion If convicted of a crime, lower
fines/shorter sentences
Status of heterosexual men with
attractive wives is higher
Men over 6’2 earn 12% more than
shorter men
Jeremy Meeks-former felon. Rose to fame when some people started a petition to release him from prison because of his good looks. Because of his viral mugshot, Meeks landed a modeling contract while still in prison and now lives in a mansion.
Sometimes we are willing to forgive people just because they look good, or we don’t believe that attractive people can act criminal.
Gender involves more than how people think or
act
It is about social hierarchy
Women’s participation in the laborforce has increased
significantly since the early 1900s.
60% of women in the work force; 70% work full-time Despite increased participation, women are concentrated in
two main lines of work: administrative work (office clerk, secretary, admin assistant) and service work (food services, child care, and health care)
These fields are referred to as “Pink-collar” jobs because of
their high concentration of women. These jobs also tend to be at the lower end of the pay scale and with limited/no opportunities for promotions (such as the jobs listed on the next slide).
Men dominate almost all other fields. Men make up 99% of brickmasons,
stonemasons, and heavy equipment mechanics.
86% of architects and engineers, 88% of
police officers, 66% of physicians and surgeons, 68% of lawyers, and 57% of corporate managers are male.
Women are kept out of certain jobs by defining
some kinds of work as “masculine” (such as coal mining jobs where female miners are seen as promiscuous or lesbian—lesbian here is not used simply as a description, it is used as a put down)
In most occupations, the higher the salary and
prestige, the less women we see.
Even in female-dominated occupations, men still earn more money than their female counterparts.
| Occupations | Women | Men | ||
| 1. Secretaries and | administrative | assistants | $683 | $786 |
| 2. Cashiers | $405 | $471 | ||
| 3. Administrative | Services Managers | $981 | $1,451 | |
| 4. Registered nurses | $1,098 | $1,222 | ||
| 5. Sales supervisors | of non-retail | staff | $896 | $1,140 |
| 6. Bookkeepers, | accounting/auditing | clerks | $690 | $692 |
| 7. Nursing aides, | orderlies, and | attendants | $457 | $526 |
| 8. Elementary and | middle school | teachers | $957 | $1,077 |
| 9. Waiters and | waitresses | $411 | $501 | |
| 10. Real estate | brokers and sales | agents | $735 | $1,052 |
| Median of All | Occupations | $726 | $895 |
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat39.htm
Check out the links below on subtle ways that women
are discriminated against in the workplace; discrimination that affects their pay, likelihood of promotion, and their perception as competent workers.
http://gender.stanford.edu/news/2014/why-does-john
get-stem-job-rather-jennifer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp
dyn/content/article/2006/07/12/AR2006071201883.html
Women earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by men Why the earnings gap?
that We Since still hard we think devalue if women of less-important work do it), done we by pay jobs women these as “women’s positions (we think work.” less. it can’t be
2nd Factor:
Society’s view of family that they women Pregnancy time do), out they gained and of the are raising experience behind labor small force their children and so male that seniority. counterparts when keep many they return young who during (if Wmen men balance to often work in ways sacrifice part-time, in order that men to their temporary, fulfill do career not. their They to family or achieve jobs are responsibilities. more for work/family which likely they than are
less qualified
Discrimination against women
Unconscious gender bias (see article links from
previous):
http://gender.stanford.edu/news/2014/why-does-john-get-stem-job
rather-jennifer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp
dyn/content/article/2006/07/12/AR2006071201883.html
say Glass middle nonetheless) levels, that ceiling but management women they (a prevents barrier may don’t still positions. belong that many believe is women hard at Many top that. to management from see will but not rising exists overtly above In contrast, glass escalator elevates men in female
dominated occupations
The gender wage gap intersects with race. An Asian American woman, on average earns
87 cents per dollar that a white male earns.
On average, an African American woman earns
65 cents for every dollar a white male earns.
A Latina earns approximately 58 cents for
every dollar a white male earns.
Housework presents a cultural contradiction in
the U.S.
In U.S. and around the world, care of home and
children are “women’s work”
Labor force reduced the amount of housework,
but the share done by women remains the same
Check out this video on ”interview for world’s
toughest job”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HB3xM93r
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