gender = women? where are men in gender studies?

SEX vs. GENDER

GENDER is the significance a society attaches to the biological categories of female and male... i.e. "masculine and feminine"
 

SEXISM is a system of beliefs (an ideology) and behaviors that by which a group of people are oppressed, controlled and exploited because of gender differences...sexual inequality-- where characteristics associated with one sex are socially valued (Discuss VIOLENCE and HOUSEWORK as examples of how gender controls and influences men and women's lives unequally- see below for a discussion of these issues.). Sexism is built into the social structure in patriarchal societies.

GENDER SEGREGATION is the restriction of members of each sex group to different statuses and roles (Stockard, 1997).

We can compare women's and men's EDUCATION, OCCUPATION, and INCOME...and also consider how other aspects of our everyday lives (i.e. violence and family work) are influenced by our sex and gender.

GENDER STRATIFICATION: unequal access to power, prestige, and wealth on the basis of sex.

• workplace discrimination (women are in a double-bind; being a mother is socially encouraged but that reduces status in the workplace)
• comparable worth (same job, less pay), .70 cents, women/$1, men
• sexual harassment
• feminization of poverty
• lack of political power

BIOLOGY AND CULTURE

Culture (sex, religion , political state, sports, etc.)- derives definitions of gender from biology

biological determinism: explain social phenomena by biology (men and women are different because they are anatomically and physiologically different)

race & class & gender
% of african-american women dying of cardio-vascular diseases > white women > men in general

#1 killer among women is heart disease but the media focuses on breast cancer . Most heart research carried out by men on men (especially on men between the ages of 32 and 50). Women acquire heart disease in their late years and therefore symptoms gets diagnosed as old-age related (assumption of doctors is that she is old and naturally sick, etc.). Therefore the life chances of women are effected by the culture.

Minority groups are trying to get control over the definitions that apply to them. For example, women are re-defining the place of women in history through women's studies, etc. The transformation from "black" to "African-American" is also an example of an attempt to gain the control of the definitions by minority groups.

Gender Role Stereotypes

masculine? /feminine?
aggressive / intuitive
emotionally rational / excitable
strong / weak
independent / vulnerable
competitive / dependent
self-confident / insecure
dominant / non-competitive
active / passive
tough / tender
emotionally insensitive / sensitive
reluctant to show feelings / quick to show emotions

THE GENDER GAP IN PAY

• narrowing but still there (greater the education level, lesser the gap)
• what explains the gap?
• productivity differences?
• gender segregation at the firm or industry level?
• "human capital" factors: schooling, skill level, job experience?
• penalty for nurturing work?
• gender differences in socialization?

• salaries for more integrated jobs stagnate or decline, along with authority
• sex integrated offices: less interaction with women, more hostility
• social psychological studies: strong in-group preferences, and tendency to see out-groups as inferior in ability, attitude and, behavior.
• organizational culture: powerful social norms to assign men and women to gender-appropriate jobs
• male dominated jobs have more extensive training, decision making discretion, supervisory authority and opportunities for advancement

SEX SEGREGATION OF JOBS FROM THREE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES

Structural Functional Explanation

• gender segregation is a system for efficiently allocating jobs in the market
• meshes economic institutions with family and education system
• human capital theory: a compensating differentials argument
• male-female differences in educational level, type of degrees, job experience, training, job interruptions, job commitment
• isolated nuclear family as the most functional family form
• men in instrumental roles and women in expressive roles--> benefits society as a whole

• human capital differences leave half of occupational sex segregation unexplained
• compensating differentials argument contradicted: female dominated jobs have less flexibility, fewer unsupervised breaks, and are more difficult to perform
• unmarried women are just as sex segregated as married
• human capital factors do not account for gender differences in supervisory responsibility, task complexity, promotion opportunities, managerial authority

Symbolic Interaction Perspective

• impact of socialization and its reinforcement in daily interactions
• early socialization affects job aspirations
• classroom environments treat boys and girls differently
• will changes in socialization reduce future gender inequities?
• job segregation is less for younger than older cohorts

Conflict Perspective (Institutionalized Discrimination)

• formal and informal administrative practices institutionalize men 's privileges in workplace norms, recruitment procedures, and the division of labor
• men control search processes, criteria, screening, and interviewing
• men dominate nomination and insider information networks
• men are gate-keepers for on-the-job training
• men determine the division of labor (job categories and titles)
• men dominate unions and professional association
• thus: the power differential between the sexes is built into the system

FEMINIST THEORY

OCCUPATIONS

• while men and women may be equally represented in white collar jobs, they actually fill very different positions
• women entering traditionally male typed jobs, not men entering women-typed jobs

• gender segregation of the labor force is so pervasive that few women and men hold exactly the same jobs
• we select jobs based on beliefs about sex and gender
• Other examples of sexual inequality also influence men and women's employment and subsequent income.

• family work is also segregated according to gender, men and women tend to different amounts of family labor and very different tasks
• men's average weekly contribution to housework tends to be between 13 and 15 hours a week  (whether or not his wife works in the labor force).  Women's average weekly contribution to housework tends to be from 50 hours a week if she is not employed, to 40 hours a week if she is employed.
• men's tasks tend to allow for more discretion, women's work tends to be required on regular schedules and also tends to be the "dirty" work. These differences result in a "leisure gap"...like the wage gap...where men have more leisure time than women.
• note that most discussion of the responsibility of child raising and care places the emphasis on women and not on parents or on men.

• women spend much more time negotiating their safety in their everyday lives
• men do not fear sexual danger, while danger for women tends to be connected to sexual assault
• most women who are victims of violent crimes--> the perpetrator is not a stranger. However our public discourse suggests that women are in danger mostly from "sick" individuals (strangers)
• So, there are many ways that our cultural ideology about sex results in unequal opportunities and experiences for men and women...sexism or sexual inequality
• these patterns suggest how a history of male domination (patriarchy) affects lives of men and women.