Sociology Chapter 10 Gender Stratification

Gender roles

(also known as sex roles) attitudes and activities that a society links to each sex

Describe research that points to how society creates gender stratification?

Gender refers to the meaning a culture attaches to being female or male. *Evidence that gender is rooted in culture includes global comparison by Margaret Mead and others showing how society define what is feminine and masculine in various ways *Gender is not only about difference: Because societies give more power and other resources to men than to women, gender is an important dimension of social stratification. Sexism is built into the operation of social institutions. *Although some degree of patriarchy is found almost everywhere, it varies throughout history and from society to society.

Analyze the extent of gender inequality in various social institutions.

Gender stratification shapes the workplace. * A major of women are now in the paid labor force, but 38% hold clerical or service jobs. * Comparing full-time U.S. workers, women earn 77% as much as men. Gender stratification shapes family life: * Most unpaid housework is performed by women, whether or not they hold jobs outside the home. * Pregnancy and raising small children keep many women out of the labor force at a time when their make peers are making important career gains. Gender stratification shapes education: * Women now earn 59% of all associate and bachelor's degrees. * Women make up 47% of law school students and are in increasing share of graduates in professions traditionally dominated by men, including medicine and business administration. Gender stratification shapes politics: * Although the number of women in politics has increased significantly, the vast majority of elected officials, especially at the national level, are men. * Women make up only about 15% of U.S. military personal. Violence against women and men is a widespread problem linked to how a society defines gender. * Sexual harassment mostly victimizes women because our culture encourages men to be assertive and to see women in sexual terms. * Pornography portrays women as sexual objects. Many see pornography as a moral issue; because pornography dehumanizes women, it is also a power issue.

Matriachy

a form of social organization in which females dominate males

patriarchy

a form of social organization in which male dominate female

Monority

any category of people distinguished by physical or cultural difference that a society sets apart and subordinates

Sexual harassment

comments, gestures, or physical contacts of a sexual nature that are deliberate, repeated and unwelcome

Talcott Parsons

describes gender differences in terms of complementary roles that promote the social integration of families and society as a whole.

Symbolic-interaction theory

suggest

Structural-functional theory (gender stratification)

suggests that * in preindustrial societies, distinctive roles for males and females reflect biological differences between the sexes. * in industrial societies marked gender inequality becomes dysfunctional and gradually decreases.

Sexism

the belief that one sex is innately superior to the other

Gender

the personal traits and social positions that members of a society attach to being female or male

Gender stratification

the unequal distribution of wealth, power, and privilege between men and women

Explain the importance of gender to socialization

through the socialization process, gender becomes part of our personalities (gender identity) and our actions (gender roles). All the major agents of socialization - family, peer groups, schools and the mass media - reinforce cultural definitions of what is feminine and masculine.