Because the material for the Sociology of Sex and Gender was so long, I've presented the information as a SlideShare file. It's a PDF so you can still download and print the material, but hopefully this presentation will appear less visually dense than the alternative.
2. Sex versus Gender
Sex is based on Biological Characteristics:
Primary (reproductive organs) and Secondary Sexual
Characteristics (muscle mass, fat composition, body hair, width of hips, pitch of
voice, etc)
Divided into Male or Female categories
Gender is based on Social Characteristics:
Appropriate Behaviors based on cultural gender roles
Divided into Men or Women, Masculinity or Femininity
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4. Criticisms of the Sex/Gender
Distinction: “Sex is social, too”
Many critics argue that sex is also a social construction
like gender, rather than a purely biological concept, for the
following reasons:
The Binary Reasoning of sex only allows 2 choices (male or
female); however, most Native American cultures categorize
people into 3 genders
Biological distinctions based on reproductive organs are
not clear cut:
• Intersex individuals (4% of the population) are naturally born with
some combination of male and female reproductive organs
• Transgender individuals identify as one sex but posses
genitalia of the other sex
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5. Criticisms of the Sex/Gender
Distinction (continued)
● Distinction based on the presence of Testosterone &
Estrogen is unclear since both hormones are found in
men & women at varying levels and can be injected
● Chromosomal distinctions separate males (XY) and
females (XX) but doesn't account for other variations
(XXY, XXX, YYY, XYY, XO)
● Distinction based solely on Reproductive Capabilities
doesn't account for sterile men, infertile women, or
post-menopausal women
...Hence, critics argue that sex is a social construction,
much like the concept of gender
6. Gender Differences In
Behavior: Biology or Culture?
Dominant Position in Sociology:
Social Factors, Not Biology, determine gender differences
If Biology was the sole cause, there should be less variation
among genders
The Nature vs. Nurture debate:
The Nature argument is often simplified to Sexism (the belief that
women are inherently inferior to men, even if for benevolent purposes)
The Nurture side argues that gender socialization leads to different
gender roles
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7. Gender and Inequality in
Global Perspective
Females are a Minority Group because they have less
property, power, and prestige as a group
•Patriarchy refers to a male-dominated system
Some critics argue that every society in human history has been patriarchal
• Matriarchy refers to a women-dominated system
An Egalitarian society refers to a society in which men &
women have equal authority
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8. Global Gender Inequality
Discriminatory, Patriarchal Trends:
Global Gap in Education
Women are more likely to be illiterate
2/3 women in developing countries have never been to school
(only ½ men haven’t been to school)
Global Gap in Politics
Women are legally restricted from politics in many developing
countries
Global Gap in Work
• Prestige is usually granted to male-dominated activities
• men earn more than women
Violence Against Women
Suttee (widow burning)
Female infanticide
Wife beating
Female genital mutilation (FGM)/female circumcision
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9. Gender Inequality in
the U.S.
Feminism – the perspective which argues that women and men are
essentially equal and should be treated equally
First Wave - Early 1900s: fought for the right to vote (obtained in
1920)
Second Wave - 1960s: inspired by Civil Rights Movement –
wanted equality in all aspects of life (“white women’s feminism”)
Third Wave – current stage: AKA “women of color feminism” -
focuses on the importance of ethnicity, sexuality, nationality and
how these statuses interact (known as intersectionality)
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10. Gender Inequality in the U.S.
Gender Inequality in Daily Life:
Devaluation of the Feminine
• Society places more value on masculine traits (competition and
strength) than feminine traits (cooperation and empathy)
Masculine as standard
• Words like “he,” “mankind,” “guys,” and “policeman” are used
as the standards for ambiguous subjects or mixed-company
parties
The Feminine as Insult
• Phrases like “throw like a girl,” “you're a pansy,” “acting like a
girl,” and much more derogatory statements devalue femininity
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11. Gender Inequality in
Healthcare
-Discrimination as a patient (women are often not taken as
seriously, are controlled by male gynecologists during pregnancy, etc)
-Discrimination as a healthcare employee:
Half of Med students are women, but only 25-30% of
MDs are women
Female doctors spend more time with patients, exude
more empathy & bedside manner
Medical specialties are gendered: few female surgeons,
women are more likely to be family practitioners or
pediatricians
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12. Gender Inequality in
Education
-Inequality as a student:
Young students are covertly treated differently by
teachers based on gender
“Gender tracking” means the genders are socialized
into particular fields: men into math and hard sciences and women
into social sciences and liberal arts
-Inequality as an educational employee:
Women less likely to become full professors
Women have lower salaries when teaching
Men tend to teach at more prestigious universities
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13. Gender Inequality in the Workplace
Glass Ceiling – the invisible barrier that keeps women
from advancing in the workplace
• Women with children are particularly vulnerable, they are seen as a
liability since they could become pregnant, or leave work for their kids
• Working women with children are paid less than their childless women
counterparts
Sexual Harassment – involves a power differential; women
can be perpetrators, but men are more likely to have power in the
workplace
• This can involve uncomfortable workplaces (with sexual jokes, etc) or
advances/sexual coercion from superiors to keep or receive a job or
promotion
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15. Gendered Occupations: men and women are
often socialized into gender-appropriate positions
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16. Gender Pay Gap over time
1960 = women made 58¢/man’s $1
1980 = 61¢
1985 = 65¢
1990 = 71¢
1995 = 74¢
2000 = 78¢
2010 = 82¢
*Women of color and mothers are paid less than childless women
Comparable Worth – the idea that jobs with similar educational
requirements should be paid fairly even salaries
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19. Causes of the Gender Pay Gap
Women work different kinds of jobs than men
Male-dominated jobs tend to pay more, are more prestigious
Pink collar jobs (dominated by women) pay less and have less
prestige
Women pick jobs that allow them to balance work & home life
Some jobs aren’t year-round, fewer hours, flex time options
Pay differentials & position restrictions (accounts for 1/3 – 1/2 of the
pay differential)
women are relegated to lower level management positions,
passed over for promotions
Initial salaries are lower for women; women receive smaller
raises than male counterparts
Institutional sexism – women restricted from battle and clergy in
some situations; policies limit childcare options; standard is male
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20. The Second Shift
Second shift – women work in paid labor then go home to
perform unpaid housework and childcare
On average, women work 3.5 hours/week more than men,
including paid and unpaid labor (this is a conservative measure)
That’s 182 hrs/year, which is 4.5 more workweeks/year
66% of women’s work goes unpaid
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21. Changing Face of Politics
(And Criminal Justice)
Women are the numerical majority but are
underrepresented in government
Women are Underrepresented in Law and Business
Careers
Women make up about half of law students, but only about
27% of lawyers
Greatest ratio of women in the Supreme Court: 3/9
Only 1.5% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women
Women make up only about 14% of law enforcement
agents
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24. Gender and Violence
Violence Against Women
Forcible Rape
Date (Acquaintance) Rape (overwhelming majority of
perpetrators are known to the victim)
Domestic Violence:
Most common admission to ER for women in the 1990s
Leading cause of death & injury for US women in the 1990s
About 6 million US women abused by a man they live with
Of all female homicide victims, 33% of perpetrators were
husbands or boyfriends
There are three times more animal shelters than battered
women shelters
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