SOC 1100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Cultural Feminism, Intersection Theory, Postmodern Feminism
31 May 2018
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GENDER STRATIFICATION
Gender and Inequality
• Gender
o Personal traits and social positions that members of a society attach to being
male or female
• Gender stratification
o The unequal distribution of wealth, power and privilege between men and
women
• Male/female differences
o No difference in overall intelligence
o Difference in physical abilities
▪ Biology
▪ Socialization
o Women=greater lifespan
o Sexism
▪ Belief that one sex is innately superior to the other
▪ Patriarchy
• Males dominate
▪ Matriarchy
• Females dominate
▪ There are costs
• Stunting talents and limiting ambitions of women
• Privileges to men come at a high price
• Control seeking masculinity loses in intimacy and trust
• Gender in the global perspective
o Israeli kibbutz
▪ Gender is irrelevant
o Margaret mead
▪ Culture=key to gender differences
o George Murdock
▪ Gender=too variable across cultures to be a simple expression of biology
Gender and Socialization
• Through socialization, gender becomes part of our
o Personalities (gender identity)
o Actions (gender roles)
• Major agents of socialization
o Family
▪ Men=independent
▪ Women=cooperative
o Peer groups
▪ Young children have single sex play groups
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o School
▪ Textbooks portray people in balanced ways
▪ Women=humanities and social sciences
▪ Men=math and natural sciences
o Mass media
▪ More interesting characters=men
▪ Ads
• Women=domestic roles
• Men=occupational roles
Gender and Social Stratification
• Gender Stratification shapes
o Workplace
▪ Working women and men
• 1901
o women=13% of workforce
• 2001
o women=56% of workforce
▪ women dominate
• sales work
• service positions
▪ men dominate
• senior positions
• trades
▪ women earn 71 cents for every dollar men earn
• because of
o differences in jobs
o family responsibilities
o discrimination
o Family life
▪ Housework=woe’s secod shift
• Work full time
• Do most of housework and child care
▪ Men do more today, but not equal share
o Education
▪ Past
• School was necessary for men who worked outside the home
▪ Now
• Women earn more than half of undergraduate and postgraduate
degrees
• Women lead in
o Health professions
o Education
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