SOCI 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Glass Ceiling, Pew Research Center, Kindergarten
27 Apr 2018
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Week 10 – Gender
Sex & Gender: Not the same
• Sex: biological maleness/femaleness
• Gender: “psychological, social, & cultural aspects of maleness &
femaleness” like masculinity & femininity
o Sociologists often speak of “doing/performing” gender
Social Construction of Sex
• NOT the same arguments as for the social construction of race
• Social construction sex: the 2-cateogry (M/F) system is a social construction
that does not reflect the variety of human sexual desire
o By this argument, sex should be viewed as a spectrum, not as a duality
o Babies born of “indeterminate sex” (or “intersex”)
Social Construction of Gender
• By this argument, the identification of females with traits such as care-
taking, emotionally, etc. is socially constructed by forces such as the media,
parents, and other agents of socialization. These traits do not reflect genetic
dispositions
• In other words, our society associated the status of female with roles such as
care-taking and emotionality. From a young age, girls are socialized to
behave in these ways
• “CIS gender” = conforming to expected gender roles
Gender Inequality in the Media
• “catch-22” of gender in media and pop culture
• Women who are perceived to be relying too much on their looks are
criticized for reinforcing the view that women are sex objects
• BUT women who are perceived as not caring about their looks are criticized
and subject to speculation regarding sexual orientation, etc.
Gender Inequality in Families
• Much of the inequalities women face revolves around the traditional view of
their family role
• Because working women continue to be primarily responsible for
housework, they often end up working what amounts to two full-time jobs
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
Week 10 gender: sex: biological maleness/femaleness, gender: psychological, social, & cultural aspects of maleness & femaleness like masculinity & femininity, sociologists often speak of doing/performing gender. Social construction of gender: by this argument, the identification of females with traits such as care- taking, emotionally, etc. is socially constructed by forces such as the media, parents, and other agents of socialization. These traits do not reflect genetic dispositions: in other words, our society associated the status of female with roles such as care-taking and emotionality. From a young age, girls are socialized to behave in these ways: cis gender = conforming to expected gender roles. Why does wage gap exist: occupational segregation (2 types), 1. Women are more concentrated in lower-paid job fields: 2. Women are more concentrated in lower-paid subfields within the same field (e. g. female pediatricians: evidence that occupational segregation does not explain the gap entirely.
