SOC100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Third-Wave Feminism, Parental Leave, The Fruit Machine
9 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Gender
Discussing Gender Relations
Many men are not interested in examining male privilege
Many women believe the fight for gender inequality is won and therefore the topic of gender equality is
passé
Gender Issues Benchmarks
• Gender is a vantage point of critique
• Gender is a social construction
• Gender structures society and societal institutions
• Gender is a relation of power and inequality
Gender as a Vantage Point
Sociology was criticized for being a male-centred discipline in the past
Women were missing from the content of sociology and from the profession of sociology.
″geder″ is o a etral oept ithi the disiplie
Vantage Point & Intersectionality
Dorothy Smith (1987)
Encouraged women to critique sociological studies based on their standpoint
Prompted growing study of intersectionalities
“The everyday world as problematic
Gender as a Social Construction
In the 1980s, the notion that gender identity mapped easily onto biological identities was being
challenged
Sex: male and female; biologically based differences between men and women (e.g.,
reproductive and chromosomal functions)
Gender: masculinity and femininity; socially produced differences concerning character,
ambition and achievement
Gender Role Socialization
Gender role socialization is a major force in understanding how gender relations work
Society provides different gender roles or scripts, and boys and girls are socialized into these roles
through a process of subtle or explicit sanctions or rewards
Sociologists regard gender as social constructions and sexual identity as fluid and diverse
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Gender Realized in Social Roles and Institutions
Social institutions are sites of production and reproduction of gender relations
Social institutions, the family, schools, and the media act as agents of socialization
Social institutions are also more complex sites of negotiation, contestation, resistance and change
Gender Relations as Relations of Power and Inequality
Dominant theoretical approaches such as functionalism were challenged in the 1970–80s
Functionalists argued that males possess instrumental character traits (rationality and goal attainment)
while females display expressive character traits (emotional communication and interaction with others)
The overstatement of sex difference has become a form of discrimination and oppression which largely
worked to the advantage of men
Gender Inequality
Inequality is a consequence of how society is organized and the creation/sustaining of gender
differences
Patriarchy: a society or family system where men have more authority than women
Gender Hegemony: ideological domination by males over others
Hegemonic masculinity: dominant form of masculinity in society that espouses men should be strong,
assertive, aggressive, self-reliant, heterosexual and dominate both women and subordinate men
Emphasized femininity: the form of femininity matched to and defined by hegemonic masculinity
Living Gendered Lives
• Gender and Education
• Gender in the Workplace
• Gender in the Family
Gender & Education
• Up until the 1980s, significantly more men than women held university degrees; Since the
1980s, the number of women exceeds the number of men in university enrolment
• Females make up over 60% of undergraduate and MA enrolment
• Females make up ~44% of enrolment in doctoral programs
• Nursing, social work, education remain female-dominant
• Architecture, engineering, math, computer and information technology remain male-dominated
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Many men are not interested in examining male privilege. Many women believe the fight for gender inequality is won and therefore the topic of gender equality is pass . Gender issues benchmarks: gender is a vantage point of critique, gender is a social construction, gender structures society and societal institutions, gender is a relation of power and inequality. Sociology was criticized for being a male-centred discipline in the past. Women were missing from the content of sociology and from the profession of sociology. Ge(cid:374)der is (cid:374)o(cid:449) a (cid:272)e(cid:374)tral (cid:272)o(cid:374)(cid:272)ept (cid:449)ithi(cid:374) the dis(cid:272)ipli(cid:374)e. Encouraged women to critique sociological studies based on their (cid:858)standpoint(cid:859) In the 1980s, the notion that gender identity mapped easily onto biological identities was being challenged. Sex: male and female; biologically based differences between men and women (e. g. , reproductive and chromosomal functions) Gender: masculinity and femininity; socially produced differences concerning character, ambition and achievement. Gender role socialization is a major force in understanding how gender relations work.
