What are some characteristics of men and women? What is the first thing parents do when they find out
the gender of the baby? What are the biological differences between men
and women? From birth how are the genders treated differently?
› Sexism: The idea that one sex is superior to the other.
› Institutional discrimination: the denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups that results from the normal operations of a society.
› Sexual Harassment: occurs when work benefits are made contingent on sexual favors or when touching, lewd comments, or the exhibition of pornographic material creates a hostile environment in the workplace.
› Glass ceiling: (Applies to all forms of discrimination) an invisible barrier
that blocks the promotion of a qualified individual’s gender, race, or ethnicity.
› Glass Escalator: refers to the fact that men in female fields are often
encouraged to move up in rank, such as male nurses, teachers, or librarians are encouraged to become administrators.
Wife Textbook Please react to the is excerpt. Write
down how you feel after reading it.
Biological determinism: principle that behavioral differences are the result of inherited physical characteristics.
Gender Identity: a sense of being male or female based on learned cultural values.
Up until the 1950’s many including doctors believed women’s brains were smaller and therefore they were incapable of handling difficult ideas and were more fragile.
New research now indicates that the female and male brain is only slightly different in structure. › Men show more activity in region of brain
thought to be linked to adaptive evolutionary responses “fighting”.
› Women’s are more linked to emotional expression.
› Male brain is more specialized.› Females tend to used more of their brain, use
both sides simultaneously.
Most sociologists will argue that environment plays a larger role in gender roles than biology or it is not the primary cause.
In other groups around the world gender roles are the complete opposite of what we know or do not exist.
Have our gender roles changed since the 1950’s? Why or why not? Explain.
› 1848: The Start of the Women’s Movement with the Women’s Convention in Seneca Falls
› 1920: Women Finally Get the right to vote. Suffragists.
› 1950’s: We Regress to perfect housewife.
› 1960’s: Rebellion Begins: Betty Friedan
› 1970’s: Burning Bras: Gloria Steinem
Who do you agree with? Explain with evidence from family debate.
Boys or Girls?
› Functionalists: As always functionalist believe that gender
differentiation have contributed to overall social stability.
Talcott Parsons said that to function most effectively the family requires adults who specialize in particular roles. Viewed traditional gender roles as arising out of the need to establish a decision of labor between marital partners. Women take the expressive emotionally supportive role
and men the instrumental and practical role and the two compliment one another. Instrumentality: emphasis on tasks, a focus on more distant
goals and a concern for the external relationships between ones family and other social institutions.
Expressiveness: denotes concern for the maintenance of harmony and the internal emotional affairs of the family.
Explained why gender roles are important for stability.
› Interactionists: Men interrupt women in conversations up to
96 % of all interruptions in cross-sex conversations.
Men are more likely to change the topic of conversation, to ignore topics chosen by women and to validate their own contributions.
Even with women of a high or powerful stature they are more likely to be interrupted than their counterparts.
Day to day conversations are more of battlegrounds in a power struggle as women try to get a word in edge wise in the midst of male domination.
› Conflict Perspective: See gender roles as a reflection of the
subjugation of one group over the other. Males are the bourgeoisie they control society’s
wealth, prestige, and power. Females are the proletariat or workers. They receive
resources only through their masters. Men’s work in highly valued. Women’s work not
valued.
Stats: › Women around the world: grow half the world’s food but rarely
own land. › Constitute 1/3 of the worlds paid workforce but are found at
the lowest paying jobs. › 2004- 59% of adult women in the US held jobs outside the
home. 1960- 38%
› 2005- 56% return to the labor force within a year of giving birth. 1975- 31 % went back to work.
› All factors are the same. Sam and Pam are both heart surgeons. Sam makes 140,000 while Pam makes 88,000. Housekeepers: Sam= 19,000 Pam= 15,000. There were two fields where these numbers were off out of the 821.
Hazardous materials recovery, and Telecommunications line installation. "Men have always been afraid that women could get along without them."--Margaret Mead
What do you think of when you think of a family?
Family: group of people related by marriage, blood, or adoption
Marriage: a legal union based on mutual rights and obligations.
Nuclear family: smallest groups of individuals that can be called a family.
Extended family: consists of two or most adult generations of the same family whose members share the same resources and live in the same household.
Egalitarian family: An authority pattern in which spouses are regarded as equals. › Example: Some would say the
US Patriarchy: A society in which
men dominate in family decision making.› Iran: Men are in total control.
Matriarchy: A society in which women dominate in family decision making. › Some Native American tribes.
Monogamy› Describes a form of marriage
in which one woman and one man are married only to each other.
Polygamy› Form of marriage that in
which an individual had several husbands or wives simultaneously.
› Anthropologist George Murdock in 1957 sampled 565 societies: over 80% polygamy was the preferred form.
› Polyandry: woman has more than one husband at the same time.
› Polygyny: man has more than one wife at the same time. Polygyny is more popular
than polyandry.
› Kinship: state of being related to others. Culturally learned not biological ties.
› Endogamy: specifies the groups within which a spouse must be found, and prohibits marriage with others. In the US as diverse as we
are most are expected to marry within a certain group.
› Exogamy: requires mate selection outside certain groups. You want to marry outside
your family! Marriage between African
Americans and Whites has increased greatly. 51,000 in 1960 to 413,000 in
2004. 12 % of Asian Men and 25 % of
Asian women married someone who is not Asian.
27% of Hispanics have a non-Hispanic spouse.
Besides reproduction purposes do you feel that family is necessary or important? Explain why or why not?
Where do you see yourself in ten years? Will you be married? Have a family? Explain.
William F. Ogburn listed the 6 paramount functions of family:1. Reproduction2. Protection3. Socialization4. Restrictions of Sexual Behavior5. Affection and companionship 6. Provision of Social Status› Religious training, education, and recreational
outlets were once on the list and have since been removed.
Family is not a contributor to social stability but a reflection of the inequality in wealth and power that is found within the larger society.› Family has traditionally legitimized male
dominance.› View the family as an economic unit that
contributes to societal injustice.
Interested in how individuals interact with one another, whether they are cohabiting partners or longtime married couples.
Study of Black and White 2-parent households.› Found when fathers are more involved with children
the children have fewer behavior problems, get along better with others, and are more responsible.
Also studied role of stepparents.› Found that stepmothers are more likely than
stepfathers to accept the blame for bad relations with their stepchildren.
› Stepfathers may simply be unaccustomed to interacting directly with children when the mother isn’t there.
“Women’s work” has traditionally focused on family life therefore this social institution is of great importance to feminist sociologists.
Look closely at how women’s work outside the home impacts their child care and housework duties› Arlie Hoschschild labeled this the Second
Shift: unpaid work at the end of the regular paid work day.
63 % of all divorcees end up remarrying.
Divorce is not scaring us away from marriage
Women are less likely than men to remarry.
Divorce rates peaked in 1980 and have been steadily decreasing since then.
More Socially accepted.› More liberal divorce laws.› Less kids= less problems.› More couples can afford divorce.› Greater opportunities for women.
Out of the families that we discussed today which one best describes your family. Is one better than the other. How great is the affect that family has on the United States?
