Chapter 11: Sex and Gender

Table of Contents

1. Sex And Gender
2. Gender Stratification In Historical Perspective
3. Gender And Socialization
4. Contemporary Gender Inequality
5. Perspectives On Gender Stratification
6. Gender Issues In The Future

I. Sex And Gender

1. Sex refers to the biological and anatomical differences between females and males.
   1. Primary sex characteristics are the genitalia used in the reproductive process; secondary sex characteristics are the physical traits (other than reproductive organs) that identify an individual's sex.
      
      
   2. Sexual orientation is a preference for emotional-sexual relationships with members of the opposite sex (heterosexuality), the same sex (homosexuality), or both (bisexuality).
      
      
   3. Sex is not always clear-cut: a hermaphrodite is a person in whom sexual differentiation is ambiguous or incomplete; a transsexual is a person who believes that he or she was born with the body of the wrong sex.

4. Some societies recognize three sexes-men, women, and berdaches (or hijras or xaniths), biological males who behave, dress, work, and are treated in most respects as women; however, the closest approximation of a third sex in Western societies is a transvestite, a male who lives as a woman or a female who lives as a man but does not alter the genitalia.
   
   
2. Gender refers to the culturally and socially constructed differences between females and males found in the meanings, beliefs, and practices associated with "femininity" and "masculinity."
   1. A microlevel analysis of gender focuses on how individuals learn gender roles (the attitudes, behaviour, and activities that are socially defined as appropriate for each sex and are learned through the socialization process) and gender identity (a person's perception of the self as female or male). Body consciousness is how a person perceives and feels about his or her body.
      
      
   2. A macrolevel analysis of gender examines structural features, external to the individual, that perpetuate gender inequality, including gendered institutions that are reinforced by a gendered belief system, based on ideas regarding masculine and feminine attributes that are held to be valid in a society.
      
      
3. The Social Significance of Gender
   1. Gender is a social construction with important consequences in everyday life; gender stereotypes hold that men and women are inherently different in attributes, behaviour, and aspirations.

2. The social significance of gender stereotypes is illustrated by eating problems, such as anorexia, bulimia, and obesity, and in bodybuilding-the process of deliberately cultivating an increase in mass and strength of the skeletal muscles by means of lifting and pushing weights.
   
   
4. Sexism is the subordination of one sex, usually female, based on the assumed superiority of the other sex.
   1. Sexism is interwoven with patriarchy-a hierarchical system of social organization in which cultural, political, and economic structures are controlled by men. In contrast, matriarchy is a hierarchical system of social organization in which cultural, political, and economic structures are controlled by women.

II. Gender Stratification In Historical Perspective

1. Hunting and Gathering Societies
   1. The earliest known division of labour between women and men is in hunting and gathering societies: while the men hunt for wild game, women gather roots and berries.
      
      
   2. A relatively equitable relationship exists because neither sex has the ability to provide all of the food necessary for survival. In most hunting and gathering societies, women are full economic partners with men; relations between them tend to be cooperative and relatively egalitarian.
      
      
2. Horticultural and Pastoral Societies
   1. In horticultural societies, women make an important contribution to food production because hoe cultivation is compatible with child care; a fairly high degree of gender equality exists because neither sex controls the food supply.
      
      
   2. In pastoral societies, herding primarily is done by men; women contribute relatively little to subsistence production and thus have relatively low status. Male dominance is promoted by practices such as menstrual taboos, bridewealth, and polygyny, the marriage of one man to multiple wives.
      
      
3. Agrarian Societies
   1. Gender inequality increases in agrarian societies, which rely on agriculture-farming done by animal-drawn or energy-powered plows and equipment.
      
      
   2. Men become more involved in food production because of the need for labour and physical strength. Scholars do not agree on why gender inequality increases in these societies-some suggest that it results from private ownership of property; others argue that male dominance existed before private ownership of property.

3. Four practices in agrarian societies contribute to subordination of women: purdah, which requires the seclusion of women, extreme modesty in apparel, and the visible subordination of women to men; footbinding; suttee, the sacrificial killing of a widow upon the death of her husband; and genital mutilation-a surgical procedure performed on young girls as a method of sexual control.
   
   
4. Industrial Societies
   1. In industrial societies-those in which the factory or mechanized production has replaced agriculture as the major form of economic activity-the status of women tends to decline further.
      
      
   2. In North America, for example, the division of labour between men and women in the middle and upper classes became much more distinct with industrialization. The men were responsible for being "breadwinners"; the women were seen as "homemakers."

3. This gendered division of labour increased the economic and political subordination of women.

III. Gender And Socialization

1. We learn gender-appropriate behaviour through the socialization process. Our parents, teachers, friends, and the media all have an important influence on the gender roles we learn.
   
   
2. Gender Socialization by Parents
   1. From birth, parents act toward children on the basis of gender labels; children's clothing and toys reflect their parents' gender expectations.
      
      
   2. Boys are encouraged to engage in gender-appropriate behaviour; they are not to show an interest in "girls'" activities.

3. Many parents are aware of the effect that gender socialization has on their children and make a conscientious effort to provide nonsexist experiences for them.
   
   
3. Peers and Socialization
   1. Peers help children learn prevailing gender-role stereotypes, as well as gender-appropriate and -inappropriate behaviour.
      
      
   2. Male peer groups place more pressure on boys to do "masculine" things than female peer groups place on girls to do "feminine" things.

3. During adolescence, peers often are stronger and more effective agents of gender socialization than adults; peers encourage gender stereotypical attitudes, behaviour, and identities.
   
   
4. As young adults, men and women still receive many gender-related messages from peers. Among university/college students, for example, peers play an important role in career choices and the establishment of long-term, intimate relationships.

4. Teachers, Schools, and Gender Socialization
   1. From kindergarten through university, schools operate as a gendered institution; teachers provide important messages about gender through both the formal content of classroom assignments and informal interactions with students.

2. Teachers may unintentionally demonstrate gender bias-the showing of favouritism toward one gender over the other-toward male students, who tend to receive more praise for their contributions and are called on more frequently in class, even when they do not volunteer.
   
   
3. The content of teacher-student interactions is very important because it influences not only what students learn but also their self-esteem.
   
   
5. Sports and Gender Socialization
   1. The type of game played differs with the child's sex: from elementary school through high school, boys play football and other competitive sports while girls are cheerleaders, members of the drill team, and homecoming queens.
      
      
   2. For many males, sports participation and spectatorship is a training ground for masculinity; for females, sports still is tied to the male gender role, thus making it very difficult for girls and women to receive the full benefits of participating in such activities.
      
      
6. Mass Media and Gender Socialization
   1. Gender stereotyping is found in media, ranging from children's cartoons to adult shows.
      
      
   2. On television, more male than female roles are shown, and male characters typically are more aggressive, constructive, and direct, while females are deferential toward others or use manipulation to get their way.
      
      
   3. Although gender stereotyping has been reduced somewhat in prime-time television, men still outnumber women as leading characters.
      
      
   4. Advertising often plays an important role in gender socialization.

IV. Contemporary Gender Inequality

1. Gender Segregation of Paid Work
   1. Gender-segregated work refers to the concentration of women and men in different occupations, jobs, and places of work.
      
      
   2. Labour market segmentation-the division of jobs into categories with distinct working conditions-results in women having separate and unequal jobs that are lower paying, less prestigious, and have fewer opportunities for advancement, in the secondary sector of the split- or dual-labour market.
      
      
   3. Gender-segregated work affects both men and women; men are kept out of certain types of jobs, and those who enter female-dominated occupations often have to prove they are "real men."
      
      
   4. Job segregation by gender is structural; it does not occur simply because individual workers have different abilities, motivation to work, and material needs.
      
      
2. The Gender Wage Gap
   1. Occupational segregation contributes to a wage gap-the disparity between women's and men's earnings.
      
      
   2. Pay equity is the belief that wages ought to reflect the worth of a job, not the gender or race of the worker.
      
      
   3. Pay equity may be determined by comparing the actual work entailed in women's and men's jobs to see if there is a disparity in the salaries paid for each. For pay equity to exist, men and women in comparable occupations should be paid the same; however, this does not occur in many jobs.
      
      
   4. Pay equity is important for all workers, not just women; an economic penalty is suffered by both men and women when they work in jobs that employ mostly women.
      
      
3. Unpaid Work-The Second Shift
   1. Even with dramatic changes in women's workforce participation, little change has occurred in the sexual division of labour in the family.
      
      
   2. Domestic responsibilities consume a great deal of time and energy, especially when there are young children in the family.

3. Although both men and women profess that working couples should share household responsibilities, researchers find that family demands remain mostly women's responsibility, even among women who hold full-time paid employment.

V. Perspectives On Gender Stratification

1. Functional and Neoclassical Economic Perspectives
   1. Division of family labour ensures that important societal tasks will be fulfilled; it also provides stability for family members.
      
      
   2. According to functional analysts such as Talcott Parsons, the husband performs the instrumental tasks of economic support and decision-making, and the wife assumes the expressive tasks of providing affection and emotional support for the family.
      
      
   3. Functionalist explanations of occupational gender segregation are similar to neoclassical economic perspectives such as the human capital model, which asserts that individuals vary widely in the amount of human capital-education and job training-they bring to the labour market.
      
      
   4. According to the human capital approach, what individuals earn is the result of their own choices (the kinds of training, education, and experience they accumulate, for example) and of the labour market need (demand) for and availability (supply) of certain kinds of workers at specific points in time.
      
      
   5. Other neoclassical economic models attribute the wage gap to such factors as: (1) the different amounts of energy men and women expend on their work (women who spend much energy on their family and household have less to put into their work); (2) the occupational choices women make (choosing female-dominated occupations so that they can spend more time with their families); and (3) the crowding of too many women into some occupations (suppressing wages because the supply of workers exceeds demand).
      
      
2. Conflict Perspectives
   1. According to many conflict analysts, the gendered division of labour within families and the workplace results from male control of and dominance over women and resources.
      
      
   2. Although men's ability to use physical power to control women diminishes in industrial societies, they still remain the head of household, control the property, and hold more power through their predominance in the most highly paid and prestigious occupations and the highest elected offices.
      
      
   3. By contrast, women have the ability to trade their sexual resources, companionship, and emotional support in the marriage market for men's financial support and social status; however, as a group, women remain subordinate to men as a result.
      
      
   4. All men are not equally privileged; some analysts argue that women and men in the upper classes are more privileged, because of their economic power, than men in lower class positions and all ethnic minorities.
      
      
   5. Conflict theorists in the Marxist tradition assert that gender stratification results from private ownership of the means of production; some men not only gain control over property and the distribution of goods but also gain power over women.
      
      
3. Feminist Perspectives
   1. Feminism refers to a belief that women and men are equal and that they should be valued equally and have equal rights.
      
      
   2. Feminist theory seeks to identify ways in which norms, roles, institutions, and internalized expectations limit women's behaviour; it also seeks to demonstrate how women's personal control operates even within the restraints of a relative lack of power.

3. In liberal feminism, gender equality is equated with equality of opportunity; the roots of women's oppression lie in women's lack of equal civil rights and equal educational opportunities. Liberal feminists fight for better child-care options, a woman's right to choose an abortion, and elimination of sex discrimination in the workplace.

4. According to radical feminists, male domination causes all forms of human oppression, including racism and classism. The roots of patriarchy may be traced to women's childbearing and childrearing responsibilities, which make them dependent on men; for women's condition to improve, radical feminists believe that patriarchy must be abolished.

5. Socialist feminists suggest that women's oppression results from their dual roles as paid and unpaid workers in a capitalist economy. In the workplace, women are exploited by capitalism; at home, they are exploited by patriarchy. The only way to have gender equality is to eliminate capitalism and develop a socialist economy that would bring equal pay and rights to women.

VI. Gender Issues In The Future

1. In the past 30 years, women have made significant progress in the labour force. Laws have been passed to prohibit sexual discrimination in the workplace and school, and women are more visible in education, the workplace, and government.
   
   
2. Many men have joined feminist movements to raise consciousness not only about men's concerns, but also about the need to eliminate sexism and gender bias.
   
   
3. Gender segregation may increase if men who lose jobs in the blue-collar sector seek positions that primarily have been held by women; if men see the number and quality of "men's jobs" shrink, they also may become more resistant to women's entry into customarily male jobs.

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