CAPE Sociology Feminism

1. •Difference between Sex & Gender
•Terms in Gender & Sexuality
•Gender Inequality:
•Historical
•Religious
•Biological
•Sociological
•Theories in Gender Stratification
•Gender & the Workplace
GENDER & SEXUALITY
1

2. DEFINITION OF SEX
 Sex refers to the physical and biological
differences between men and women –
physical distinctions in anatomical,
chromosomal, hormonal and physiological
characteristics.
2

3. DEFINITION OF SEX
 At birth, the differences are most evident in
the external male and female genitalia.
 Other distinctions are internal genitalia
(reproductive system), hormones and cells
gonads (the organs which produce sex cells).
3

4. DEFINITION OF SEX
 In terms of chromosomes, a man’s
chromosomes are mainly XY and a
female’s is XX.
4

5. DEFINITION OF GENDER
5

6. DEFINITION OF GENDER
 Gender refers to the social,
psychological and cultural attributes of
masculinity and femininity that are
based on the biological distinctions.
6

7. DEFINITION OF GENDER
 Gender pertains to the socially learned
patterns of behaviour and the
psychological or emotional expressions of
attitudes that distinguish males from
females.
7

8. SEX & GENDER CATEGORIES
 Officially, SEX is referred to as:
MALE / FEMALE
MAN / WOMAN
BOY / GIRL
 Whereas GENDER is:
MASCULINE / FEMININE
8

9. DEFINITION OF SEX & GENDER
 Sex is thought of as an ascribed status – a
person is either born a male or a female
(although transsexuals, transvestites and
androgynous individuals make us realize that
the concept of man or woman can be blurry
or fuzzy.)
 Gender is learned through the socialization
process and thus is an achieved status.
What is considered masculine or feminine
may vary and is relative depending on the
culture.
9

10. DEFINITION OF SEX & GENDER
 Gender Identity Disorder – a third
sex/gender exists – neither man nor
woman (called a hermaphrodite or an
androgene).
10

11. TERMS IN GENDER & SEXUALITY
 Matriarchal Society – a society where women are
dominant and take the leading role in society and hold
power and authority; men are subordinate
 Patriarchal Society – a society where men are dominant
and central to the social organization and hold authority
over women, children, property
11

12. TERMS IN GENDER & SEXUALITY
 Heterosexual – someone who is attracted to members
of the opposite sex
 Metrosexual – a heterosexual man (living in an urban,
post-industrial, capitalist setting) who spends a lot of time
and money on his physical appearance
12

13. TERMS IN GENDER & SEXUALITY
 Transgender – an umbrella term that describes
ANYONE who is gender variant.
13

14. TERMS IN GENDER & SEXUALITY
 The following fall in the transgender category:
 Homosexual – Gay and Lesbian – someone
who is attracted to members of the same sex
 Bisexual – someone attracted to both sexes
 Hermaphrodite – An individual with both
reproductive organs (biological)
 Androgynous – born with one set of
reproductive organs but cannot tell based on
appearance (social)
 Asexual – little or no sexual attraction to anyone
14

15. TERMS IN GENDER & SEXUALITY
 Transsexual – someone who was born one
sex and changes that sex through cosmetic
surgery
 Transvestite/cross-dresser – a
heterosexual who dresses up as the other
gender (e.g. man dresses as woman,
woman dresses as man)
 Drag Queen – is a homosexual man (gay)
who dresses up as a woman
 Drag King – is a homosexual woman
(lesbian) who dresses up as a man15

16. PREGNANT MAN?
Thomas Beatie in 2008 – born a woman (Tracy Lagondino), but
legally changed to a “male” and kept reproductive organs.
16

17. Man or Woman?
A B17

18. Man or Woman?
C D18

19. Man or Woman?
E F19

20. Man or Woman?
G H20

21. Man or Woman?
I J21

22. Man or Woman?
K L22

23. Man or Woman?
M N23

24. Man or Woman?
O P24

25. WHERE DO GENDER STEREOTYPES
COME FROM?
HISTORICAL
RELIGIOUS
BIOLOGICAL
SOCIOLOGICAL
25

26. Historical Views
 Throughout the ages, women’s role in society
may be summed up as follows:
 Women produce children
 Women are mothers and wives
 Women do the cooking, washing, cleaning &
sewing
 Women take care of men and are subordinate to
male authority
 Women are largely excluded from high status
occupations from positions of power
26

27. Historical Views
 Greeks – A woman “should consider that her
husband’s wishes are as laws appointed for
her by divine will” (Aristotle)
 A third century Chinese Scholar claimed that
“bitter indeed it is to be born a woman, it is
difficult to imagine anything so low!”
 Even Confucius posited that Chinese women
were obedient to their father when
unmarried, their husbands when married and
to their sons when widowed.27

28. Historical Views
 Confucian Doctrine – 4 Virtues of a Woman:
 women’s ethics (a woman must know her place)
 women’s speech (a woman must not talk too much
and not bore people)
 women’s appearance (a woman must dress in a
manner in which is appealing to men)
 women’s chores (a woman must willingly do
chores)
 In fundamental, traditional Arabic law, three groups of
people are not eligible for legal and religious equality –
unbelievers, slaves and women.
28

29. Historical Views
 Americans – Thomas Jefferson – a woman’s single
purpose in life was marriage and subornation to her
husband.
 19th Century – Europe & America Sociologists
 Feminists have argued that prior to the 1970s, nearly
all sociology was written by men, about men and for
men.
 Although there were female sociologists (Harriet
Martineau), they were few and far apart and nearly all
sociological research used male samples and aspects
of society that may have been of interest to women
such as a woman’s position in society, household
chores and female crime were rarely studied.29

30. Historical Views
 Auguste Comte - “in all kinds of force,
whether physical, intellectual or practical, it
is certain that man surpasses women in
accordance with the general law prevailing
throughout the animal kingdom.”
 Comte felt that a woman’s place should not
be in work, the political arena or even to
own property, rather, their gentle nature
meant that they should remain at home and
tend to their children and husband’s needs.30

31. Religious Views
 Judeo-Christianity – the origins of Man and
Woman
 Adam & Eve – the Garden of Eden
 According to Genesis, God even asserts that
women should bear the brunt of these sorrows,
mainly through childbirth and “thy desire shall
be to thy husband and he shall rule over thee”
(Genesis 3:16)
 War, pestilence, famine, death and every
imaginable sin were the prices humanity had to
pay for Eve’s disobedience.31

32. Religious Views
 God-ordained gender-role hierarchy –
theological justification of a patriarchal
ideology.
 Hindu society – women must wear head
veils, property is given to first-born son,
dowry
 Islamic tradition – women wear veils over
heads and sometimes faces, location during
prayers in the mosque.
32

33. Biological Views
 Sociobiological – human social behaviour is
genetic. Use ethology (the study of animal
behaviour) to explain differences between
sexes.
 Critics argue it is a racist or discriminatory
view.
 Physiological – differences between health and
physical capacities that affect gender roles. For
example, size and muscle development,
longevity/life span and susceptibility to disease
and physical disorder33

34. Biological Views
 Some diseases that vary depending on the sex
of the individual include:
 Heart Attack – the leading cause of death for
women. Although men have a greater
prevalence of heart disease, more women than
men die of heart attacks each year.
 Cancer – the second leading cause of death
for women (lung cancer leading the list,
followed by breast cancer) Women are 20% to
70% more likely to develop lung cancer than
male smokers.34

35. Biological Views
 HIV/AIDS – Women are 10 times more
likely than men to contract HIV during
unprotected sex with an infected partner.
 Diabetes – more women suffer from
diabetes than men.
 Osteoporosis – 80% of people with
osteoporosis are women.
 Immunological Diseases – Thyroid
disease – 15:1 ratio of women to men.
35

36. Biological Views
 Depression – Women are twice as likely to
be depressed as men.
 Visual & Hearing Impairments – Men have
nearly 50% greater likelihood of
experiencing these problems.
Source: From National Institutes of Health,
“Women’s Health,” 2001. Available at:
www.hrsa.gov.
36

37.  In a study done on college campuses in
America in 1989, “attractive” men and
women were hired to approach strangers
and to say to them, “I’ve been noticing you
around campus and I find you very
attractive.” They were then told to ask one of
three questions:
 Would you go out with me tonight?
 Would you come over to my apartment
tonight?
 Would you go to bed with me tonight?37
GENDER & SEX

38. 38
Question Female
Answer
(%)
Male Answer (%)
Would you go
out with me
tonight?
Yes (50%) Yes (50%)
Would you
come over to
my apartment
tonight?
Yes (6%) Yes (69%)
Would you have
sex with me
tonight?
Yes (0%)
No (100%)
Yes (75%)
No (25%) – Reasons:
• I had a prior
engagement
• I have to meet my
girlfriend

39. Sociological Views
 Most sociologists tend to agree that even in
preliterate societies, culture, not biology, is
central to the patterning of gender roles. Their
main focus is the sexual division of labour and
gender inequalities.
 Ann Oakley (1944 –) believes that gender roles
are culturally rather than biologically produced.
In other words, humans learn behaviour that is
expected of males and females within society.
 For example, the behaviour of a metrosexual
man might be seen as feminine.
39

40. Sociological Views
 Famous anthropologist, George Peter
Murdock (1897-1985) argued that the
biological difference between men and
women result in the sexual division of
labour. He posits that the fact that women
could give birth and nurse, and that they
lacked the strength of most men, means
that the types of jobs they carry out would
be less demanding than the jobs of men.
40

41. Sociological Views
 For Talcott Parsons (Structural Functionalist),
women had a necessary role at the home. He
argued that because the woman bore and
nursed children, they would have a closer bond
and therefore it is only fair that they stay at
home and take care of the family, while the
man is the breadwinner for the home.
41

42. Sociological Views
 As such, the family works smoothly and
efficiently as a social system and all groups can
function side by side and harmoniously. A
woman’s place therefore is in the home.
42

43. GENDER INEQUALITY
 China’s One-Child Policy – because of
spiralling population
 Skewed sex ratio in the population –
120 males to 100 females (smaller
female population)
 Problem exists in Singapore, South
Korea, Taiwan, India & more
Fundamental Islamic cultures
43

44. GENDER INEQUALITY
44

45. GENDER INEQUALITY
 NASA Spacecraft
 It depicts that:
Man is the dominant
species on Earth.
45

46. THEORIES ON GENDER
INEQUALITY
 Functionalism
 Conflict Theory (Marxism)
 Feminist Perspectives:
 Radical Feminism
 Marxist and socialist feminism
 Liberal Feminism
 Black Feminism
 Postmodern Feminism
46

47. Functionalism
 Women’s role is to take care of the family,
socialization & household chores.
 Men were responsible for the economic
sphere of the family.
 Parsons and Robert Bales (1955) applied this
theory to the modern family and asserted that
division of labour and role differentiation by
sex are universal principles of family
organization and are functional to the modern
and ideal nuclear family.
47

48. Marxism (Conflict Theory)
 Although Functionalist theory may have attempted to
explain why gender roles emerged, they do not
explain why they’ve persisted.
 Marxists blame the economic system – mainly
capitalism
 Economic advantage leads to power and prestige and
if men are superior in the economic system, they will
undoubtedly be superior in the family.
 Men own private property and therefore hold power &
authority
 Solution – Capitalist  Socialist  Communist society
(where all is equal and classless, including genderless
– everyone’s job is deemed as important and
necessary)
48

49. Feminism
 According to Ann Oakley, Feminism
emerged in the 1970s.
 The focus of feminism has been the
subordination of women and the explanation
for or cause of this subordination; they also
recommend solutions.
 Although Feminist theorists have been
responsible for developing theories of
gender inequality, there are variations within
the Feminist perspective.
49

50.  TYPES OF FEMINISM:
Radical
Marxist
Liberal
Black
50

51. Radical Feminism
 Radical Feminists blame men for the woes and
subordination of women. They see societies as
patriarchal (dominated and ruled by men).
 The family is the main institution of oppressing
women. These women argue that rape and male
violence are methods used to secure male
dominance over women.
 Some argue that women are not equal, but
superior to men, and seek a matriarchal society.
 They reject any assistance of men and argue that
men are responsible for all the problems in the
world: war, poverty, terrorism, conflict.
51

52. Marxist Feminism
 They blame capitalism for women
oppression. They argue that women are
also exploited in terms of salary/paid
employment. They blame the economic
system.
 They see greater scope for co-operation
between women and working-class men
as this group of men also suffers in a
capitalist society.
 Solution is communist society.
52

53. Liberal Feminism
 The aims are more moderate and its views
pose less of a challenge to existing values. For
them, both men and women suffer because of
gender inequalities.
 Women are denied potential success in the
workplace and men are denied interaction and
close relationship with their offspring. They
blame culture and attitudes of individuals rather
than structures and institutions.
 Willing to work with anyone who is ready to
eliminate discrimination and gender
inequalities.
53

54. Black Feminism
 Black Feminism developed out of
dissatisfaction of other feminists
perspectives.
 They argue that black women suffer the
most because it is a double blow – being a
woman and being black.
 For them, while white women began to have
access to some rights, such as working in
businesses and government, black women
were still greatly discriminated against.
54

55. Gender-Role Socialization
 Gender-role socialization refers to
the set of attitudes and behaviors
socially expected from the
members of a particular gender
identity. Gender roles are socially
constructed which are often
politicized and manipulated, which
then result in the oppression of
people.
55

56. Gender Inequality & Work
 Job discrimination:
 Source: Bureau of Census 2002. USA
56
Occupation %
Male
Occupation %
Female
Automobile Mechanic 98.9 Secretary 98.9
Carpenter 98.3 Receptionist 96.7
Airplane Pilot 96.3 Speech Therapist 93.5
Firefighter 96.2 Bank Teller 90.0
Truck Driver 95.3 Librarian 85.2
Mechanical Engineer 93.7 Elementary School
Teacher
83.3
Computer programmer 73.5 Nurse 82.6

57. QUESTION…
 If you were taking a new job and
had your choice of a boss, would
you prefer to work for a man or a
woman?
A.Man
B.Woman
C.No preference

58. Some Facts about Women Around the
World
58
1. Women perform 66% of the world’s work, but receive
only 11% of the world’s income, and own only 1% of
the world’s land.
2. Women make up 66% of the world’s illiterate adults.
3. Women head 83% of single-parent families. The
number of families nurtured by women alone doubled
from 1970 to 1995 (from 5.6 million to 12.2 million).
4. Women account for 55% of all college students, but
even when women have equal years of education it
does not translate into economic opportunities or
political power.
5. There are six million more women than men in the
world.

59. Some Facts about Women Around the
World
59
6. Two-thirds of the world’s children who receive less than four
years of education are girls. Girls represent nearly 60% of the
children not in school.
7. Parents in countries such as China and India sometimes use
sex determination tests to find out if their fetus is a girl. Of
8,000 fetuses aborted at a Bombay clinic, 7,999 were female.
8. Wars today affect civilians most, since they are civil wars,
guerrilla actions and ethnic disputes over territory or
government. 3 out of 4 fatalities of war are women and
children.
9. Rape is consciously used as a tool of genocide and weapon of
war. Tens of thousands of women and girls have been
subjected to rape and other sexual violence since the crisis
erupted in Darfur in 2003. There is no evidence of anyone
being convicted in Darfur for these atrocities.

60. Some Facts about Women Around the
World
60
10. About 75% of the refugees and internally
displaced in the world are women who have lost
their families and their homes.
11. Gender-based violence kills one in three women
across the world and is the biggest cause of
injury and death to women worldwide, causing
more deaths and disability among women aged
15 to 44 than cancer, malaria, traffic accident,
and war.
 Source: http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-
poignant-facts-about-women-around-world