1. Sex and Gender
GS: 138: Introduction to Sociology
Seth Allen 1

2. Questions for You…
• How are issues of gender “socially
constructed” in society?
• How do social institutions such as the family,
the peer group, educational institutions and
the media facilitate social expectations of
gender?
• Is there evidence that gender role
socialization is becoming more “gender
neutral?”
2

3. Chapter Outline
• Sex: The Biological Dimension
• Gender: The Cultural Dimension
• Gender Stratification in Historical and
Contemporary Perspective
• Gender and Socialization
• Contemporary Gender Inequality
• Perspectives on Gender Stratification
• Gender Issues in the Future
3

4. Sex and Gender
• Sex refers to the biological differences between females and
males.
• Gender refers to the culturally and socially constructed
differences between females and males.
• The organization and social structures within society
significantly impact how power, property and prestige are
distributed based on gender.
• Women make up the world‟s largest minority population as
women, collectively, do not have the same degrees of power,
property and prestige as men world wide.
4

5. Gender: The Cultural Dimension
• Most “sex differences” are socially
constructed gender differences.
• Gender is embedded in the images, ideas,
and language of a society.
• Gender is used as a means to divide up
work, allocate resources, and distribute
power. 5

6. Sex Characteristics
• At birth, male and female infants are
distinguished by primary sex
characteristics: the genitalia used in the
reproductive process.
• At puberty, an increased production of
hormones results in the development of
secondary sex characteristics: physical
traits that identify an individual‟s sex.
6

7. Hermaphrodites
• Caused by a hormone imbalance, a
hermaphrodite has a combination of male
and female genitalia.
• Western societies acknowledge two
sexes, other societies recognize three:
– Men
– Women
– Berdaches - males who behave, dress, work,
7
and are treated as women.

8. Sexual Orientation
•Alfred Kinsey (1948) was the first to perform large-scale study of sexuality.
Some highlights of this study included:
•1/3 of American men have had a homosexual encounter
•Sexuality exists on a continuum
Eve Kosofky Sedwick later
distinguished between „homosexual‟
and homosocial behavior, an idea
that remains pertinent for
sociologists.
8

9. Homosexuality vs. Queer Behavior
Sociologists distinguish between a homosexual identity,
which has been taboo until recently and queer behavior,
which has been sanctioned in certain
circumstances/contexts.
Sociologists would ask why homosexuality is so abhorrent while queer acts constitute good,
clean fun. 9

10. Sexual Orientation
• An individual‟s preference for emotional–sexual
relationships with members of the opposite sex
(heterosexuality), the same sex (homosexuality), or both
(bisexuality).
Prevalence of Homosexuality in the United States
(1994) University of Chicago study
Activity, attraction, or identity Men (%) Women (%)
Find same-sex sexual
4.5 5.6
relations appealing
Attracted to people of same
6.2 4.4
sex
Identify as gay or bisexual 2.8 1.4
At least one sex partner of
same sex during past year 2.7 1.3
among those sexually active
At least one sex partner of 10
4.9 4.1
same sex since turning 18

11. Gender Socialization
• The process of learning to be male or female.
• Gender Scripts: The social expectations of
gender assigned to males and females.
11

12. Learning Gender…Early
• The family introduces the child to an expectation of
gender. Toys play a vital role in this process of gender
socialization.
12

13. Parents and Gender Socialization
• Children's clothing and toys reflect their
parents' gender expectations.
• Children are often assigned household
tasks according to gender.
13

14. Parents and Gender Socialization
in Johnny Cash Song
14

15. Schools and Gender Socialization
• Teachers provide messages about gender
through classroom assignments and
informal interactions with students.
• Teachers may unintentionally show
favoritism toward one gender over the
other.
– Example: Sadlers’ research on teachers’ attention toward
male and female students
15

16. Mass Media and Gender
Socialization
Men are portrayed in mass media (even in 2012) as more
productive and assertive. Ads display idealized gender
roles.
The Big Bang Theory is a sitcom about a bunch of nerds
and their regular neighbor, Penny. Though they are not
macho, their actions provide fuel for entertainment. How
might this show reinforce gender stereotypes?
The women in this ad are
young, slender and are
portrayed as sexual vixens
because the young man
16
wears Tag body spray.

17. Gender Socialization at Work
• Feminist scholars suggest that the modern workplace
dismisses the double burden of working women who
must balance child care and full-time work
• Women are more likely to be „mommy-tracked‟-
penalized for leaving the workforce to give birth and
expected to leave the workforce when the dual income
family model becomes unsustainable
Arlie Hochschild (1988)
documented double-shift to
explain the second shift that
working mothers perform.
17

18. Gendered Division of Labor
Three factors:
• Type of subsistence base.
• Supply of and demand for labor.
• The extent to which women's child-rearing
activities are compatible with certain types
of work.
18

19. Strength Explanations
• Ability to mobilize strength in quick
bursts of energy
• Matches most task done by males
(slash and burn)
• However, women handle tasks
involving heavy labor (!Kung)
• Fishing (Yahgan)
• Herd large animals (Maasai)
• Clear land
• Carry heavy loads while cultivating
(Nepal)
19

20. Compatibility-with-Child Care Explanations
• Women handle tasks compatible with
child care (especially at breast-
feeding)
• Tasks are interruptible to tend to child
• Tasks do not take them away for long
• Tasks do not place children in danger
• However, main marketers are women,
who spend long time away from home
(below)
• Child care is often exchanged with
others
20

21. Male Expenditure
Explanations
• Men usually engage in dangerous
work (or warfare)
• Loss of men less disadvantageous to
society‟s survival
• Than loss of women, who have
reproductive power
• Shortcomings: Women also take on
dangerous tasks
• Atga (Philippines): Women hunt
(lower left)
• Yahgan: fish in rough seas
21

22. The Human Capital Model
• According to this model, individuals vary in
the amount of human capital they bring to
the labor market.
• Human capital is acquired by education
and job training; it is the source of a
person‟s productivity and can be
measured in terms of the return on the
investment (wages) and the cost
(schooling or training) . 22

23. Sociological Trivia
• Do you think that gender equality?
a. Has generally improved over time (since
the beginning of human history)
b. stayed the same
c. has gone through intervals of equality
and inequality
23

24. Sociological Trivia
• C is the correct answer, gender inequality
has gradually increased over time and
only recently decreased.
Gender Inequality Over Time
4
Hunting and Gathering
3.5
Societies
3 Horticultural & Pastoral
Socieites
2.5
Agrarian Societies
2
Industrial Socieites
1.5
1 Post-Industrial Societies
0.5
0
1 24

25. Hunting and Gathering Societies
Hunting
Economic
game, gathering
Characteristics
roots and berries
Control of Surplus None
Inheritance None
Control over
None
Procreation
Women’s Status Relative Equality
25

26. Horticultural and Pastoral Societies
Planting crops,
Economic
domestication of
Characteristics
animals for food
Men begin to
Control of Surplus
control societies
Shared—
Inheritance patrilineal and
matrilineal
Control over Increasingly by
Procreation men
Decreasing in
Women’s Status move to
pastoralism
26

27. Agrarian Societies
Economic Labor-intensive
Characteristics farming
Control of Men who own land
Surplus or herds
Inheritance Patrilineal
Control over Men—to ensure
Procreation legitimacy of heirs
Women’s
Low
Status
27

28. Industrial Societies
Economic Mechanized
Characteristics production of goods
Control of Men who own means
Surplus of production
Inheritance
Bilateral
Control over Men—but less so in
Procreation later stages
Women’s
Status Low
28

29. Postindustrial Societies
Economic Information and
Characteristics service economy
Corporate
Control of shareholders and
Surplus high-tech
entrepreneurs
Inheritance Bilateral
Control over
Mixed
Procreation
Women’s Varies by class, race,
Status and age
29

30. % of Women and Men in Selected
Occupations
Table11.3.Gender Segregation in the Workplace for Selected Occupations, 2007
Occupation Female workers (%) Male workers (%)
Dental hygienists 99.2 0.8
Speech-language pathologists 98.0 2.0
Preschool and kindergarten
97.3 2.7
teachers
Secretaries and administrative
96.7 3.3
assistants
Registered nurses 91.7 9.3
Food servers (waiters/waitresses) 74.0 26.0
Lawyers 32.6 67.4
Physicians 30.0 70.0
Dentists 28.2 71.8
Computer software engineers 20.8 79.2
Carpenters 1.9 98.1
Electricians 1.7 98.3 30

31. The Wage Gap – By Occupation
31

32. The Wag Gap – By State
32

33. Views of Division of Labor by Gender
Theory View
Women’s roles as caregivers are crucial in
Functionalism ensuring that societal tasks are fulfilled.
Division of labor within families and the
Conflict workplace results from male control and
dominance over women and resources.
Feminist Social norms, roles, and institutions ‘stack
Approaches the deck’ in favor of male domination.
33

34. Future of Gender Relations in U.S.
• If current trends persist (women working outside
home, less breadwinner jobs), the breadwinner-
homemaker model will become completely
obsolete
• Women perform 4 times as much household labor
as men, down from 23 times in 1965
• Women make up 17% of Congress, 25% of state
legislatures
• Women are gaining more prominent positions in
evangelical churches
• Largest areas of job growth will be in „female‟
occupations (See next slide)
34

35. Bureau of Labor Stats. Projections
Fastest growing occupations according to BLS, with
2020 estimates
35