SOC 1 Final Short Answers
18. Describe the four models of ethnic integration.
-Assimilation: new immigrant groups would take on attitudes and language of dominant culture -Melting pot: different cultures would merge -Pluralism: Ethnic cultures exist separately, but participate in economic and political life -Multiculturalism: ethnic cultures exist separately and equally
3. List the six biggest changes in family patterns that have occurred worldwide.
-Decline of clans and kin groups -Trend toward choice of spouse -Rights of women increasing -Kin marriages less common -Higher levels of sexual freedom -Rights of children increasing
17. Explain the myth and dangers of the model minority.
-Downplays racism and prejudice at the structural level -Dismisses patterns of immigration & variation between groups. -Ignores barriers to upward mobility
7. Explain the politics of research. In your answer, make sure to include an explanation of the way it differs from the ethics of research. Additionally, incorporate the role of the researcher in your answer. Provide an example of the way that politics and research has been controversially intertwined.
-Political issues-focus on the uses of research • E.g., Milgram study's potential to make people more obedient; we tend to "study down" or observe those with less political power to improve society (i.e. a university professor studying prisoners); research often has positionality -Ethics deal with methods employed • E.g., Milgram study's potential harm to subjects • • We have clear ethical guidelines, but not clear political guidelines • Most acknowledge bias should not guide research or presentation of results What is the role of the researcher in their research? --Weber: "value-free" sociology; Sociology unencumbered by personal values --Marxist and neo-Marxist scholars: social science and social action cannot be separated Ex: Brown v. the Board of Education also drew on research • Research showed detrimental effects of segregation • Court drew on results of a study designed to understand effects of segregation BUT Coleman (1966): research showed academic performance was no different in integrated and segregated schools • Neighborhood factors were more important • Implications of "studying down" • We tend to observe those with less political power to improve society
13. Explain the process of scapegoating and how it is related to stereotypes. Provide an example to illustrate your point.
-Stereotyping: Thinking in terms of fixed and inflexible categories (don't change) -Scapegoats: Individuals or groups blamed for wrongs that were not of their doing (blamed for problems that are not their fault) Ex. Immigrants blamed for not paying taxes and stealing jobs. Scapegoating is the process of blaming an individual or group for problems that are not their fault. An example would be if you did not get a job and you blame it on someone being an immigrant instead of entertaining the fact that maybe they were just better than you.
6. Explain basic sociology, public sociology (include both traditional and organic), and applied sociology (including a discussion of how it may not always have an impact) How we can conceptualize these three forms as existing on a spectrum?
Basic sociology - tries to analyze some aspect of society to gain knowledge, most general Public Sociology - seeks to communicate knowledge to a broader public for their benefit (bring sociology beyond the academy) Should promote a dialogue about issues that affect society. Wants to bring insight gained from sociological analysis into public conversations. Help everyone develop their sociological imaginations. ---Traditional: Includes scholarship and activities driven by the priorities of the discipline. May have results outside of academia, but motivated from within ---Organic: Collaborative approach to public sociology. Boundaries between research/practitioner, scholar/activist, and university/community are permeable. Involves a process of mutual education Applied sociology - tries to work towards a specific outcome in a given context Evaluation research: seeks to understand the effects of a program, policy, or effort to affect a social pattern Evaluation research does not always have an impact 1. Implications may not be presented in a way people can understand 2. Results may contradict existing beliefs 3. Others may have conflicting interests ex. Visible impact of lobbying groups on government Social Intervention: action taken to produce a specific, intended result ---Needs-assessment studies: determine the existence of a problem ---Cost-benefit studies: whether a program can be justified ---Monitoring studies: provides a flow of information over time ***KNOWLEDGE, RECOMMENDATIONS, CHANGE***
15. Explain the problems with colorblind racism. Make sure to include a discussion of the history of African Americans in the US, the four tropes described by Bonilla-Silva, and how they contribute to colorblind racism.
Color blind racism refers to the use of race neutral principles to defend the racially unequal status quo Perpetuates inequality: people use neutral terms while supporting policies that are potentially racist or treat groups unequally Four tropes identified by Bonilla-Silva: " 'The Past is the Past'", " 'I Didn't Own Any Slaves'", " 'If Jews, Italians, and Irish Have Made It, How Come Blacks Have Not?'", and " 'I Did Not Get A Job (or a Promotion), or Was Not Admitted to a College, Because of a Minority'" (Bonilla-Silva 158-169). Racial bias occurs: In policing, in decisions to try in state or federal court, jury selection, and sentencing (it is all a caste system).
28. According to Gamson, what are the conditions that must be met for a pluralist political institution to operate properly? In the context of social protest, how does Gamson measure outcomes?
Conditions: Procedural Consensus - acceptance of "culture" of constitutional democracy; one follows rules (which are considered fair) and defeats are accepted b/c of the legitimate manner of solving conflicts (6-7) Cross-Cutting Solidarities - individuals have strong identifications and affiliations w/ diff. solidarity groups (i.e. primary group, community, religious group, ethnic group, social class, etc.) which overlap and cut across each other in complex web which connects individuals w/ different sets of others (7) Open to Access to the Political Arena - no barriers to a group getting a hearing; Dahl - "...even minorities [can] veto solutions they strongly object to..." (7) Balance of Power or Countervailing Power Operation - so many groups that no one group can dominate; coalitions formed but "fluid and impermanent" (7) Measuring outcomes: based on Acceptance and New Advantages (see photo of chart) Full Response: Full Acceptance, Many New Advantages Co-optation: Full Acceptance, No New Advantages Preemption: No Acceptance, Many New Advantages Collapse: No Acceptance, No New Advantages
20. How are gender inequalities visible in education, the workplace, and politics? Provide an example in each context to show how inequalities are present and how we can see women making strides in each.
Education: Content of interactions differ Girls may be engaged less in problem-solving processes. Boys are punished more than girls and behavior may be mislabeled Differential treatment perpetuates stereotyped gender role behavior Ex. STEM Workplace: Glass ceiling: A promotion barrier that prevents a woman's upward mobility within an organization Glass escalator (Christine Williams): Tendency for men to rise higher and faster when working in female-dominated professions EX. CEOs Politics: only about 30% of the Democratic party caucus in both the House and the Senate is women as of the 113th Congress (2013) while less than 10% of the Republican party caucus in both the House and Senate is women However, there has been a steady overall increase in these four categories since the 65th Congress in 1917 EX. Hillary Clinton
19. How has gender been approached by functionalists (make sure to include their views on gender socialization) and the four branches of feminism? What are the primary critiques of each perspective?
Functionalist Approaches: -Gender differences are functional and beneficial. -Gender specialization of tasks contribute to a stable society. -Based on a conservative worldview, popular in the 1950s -Talcott Parsons: families are most efficient with a clear-cut division of labor Feminist Theories - a sociological perspective that emphasizes the centrality of gender in analyzing the social world -Liberal Feminism: Gender inequality is produced by unequal access to civil rights and social resources. -Seek solutions through changes in legislation to ensure rights are protected. Equal Pay Act & Sex Discrimination Act. -Primary critique: do not deal with the root cause of gender inequality. They draw a limited picture, they are accused of accepting the system -Radical Feminism: Gender inequality is the result of male domination in all aspects of social and economic life. -Patriarchy: Systematic dominance of men over women; exists in varying degrees. Believe the personal is political. -Men are responsible for and benefit from gender inequality -Primary critique: Patriarchy alone cannot explain women's oppression. -Does not leave room for historical and cultural variation. -Black Feminism: Highlights the multiple disadvantages of gender, class, and race that shape the experiences of nonwhite women. -Emphasizes aspects of the past to inform current forms of gender inequality. Frameworks offered by white feminists may not apply to other communities. Women of color and from developing countries couldn't relate to other types of feminism. They make sure not to perpetuate inequality by not including different women -Postmodern Feminism: Challenges the idea of a unitary basis of identity and experience shared by all women. Encourages the acceptance of multiple standpoints representing different experiences. Do not believe it is possible to provide a single, overarching explanation for women's oppression.
2. Compare and contrast the functionalist view of the family (this should include an explanation of what functions the family serves) and the feminist approaches to the family (this should include the three topics this approach emphasizes). Explain the primary critiques of the functionalist view and how they are addressed by feminist perspectives.
Functionalist view: families perform important tasks that contribute to society's needs and help perpetuate social order Two primary functions: Primary Socialization: process whereby children learn the cultural norms and expectations of society (for the first time) Personal Stabilization: the role of the family in assisting adult members emotionally (men working and women as support when they come home) Critiques of functionalist view: -Makes more sense in historical context -Immediate post-WWII yrs saw men returning from war and resuming positions as breadwinners -Less valuable for understanding modern society -Neglects role of other agents of socialization -Neglects families that don't conform to white, suburban, middle-class ideal Feminist approaches: feminism challenges view of families as protective and harmonious; isolation of housewives, trapped in endless cycle of childcare and housework; directed attention inside family dynamics and women's experience; unequal power relations means some benefit more than others (Ferree 2010) Three topics this approach emphasizes: -Domestic Division of Labor Unequal task allocation in household Sharper divide between domestic and work realms -Unequal power relations Families as sites of gender oppression and abuse Ex: marital rape exempt from rape laws until 1993 in some states -Caring activities May involve spells of unpaid labor May diminish ability to work outside home Functionalist critiques: -Makes more sense in context -Less valuable for understanding modern society -Neglects role of other agents of socialization (media, school) -Neglects people that don't conform to the white, middle class, suburban ideal Functionalist theory says: natural differences lead to gender differences but feminist theories suggest (liberal feminism) we have social + cultural attributes that lead us to inequality (legislation) (radical feminism) men are responsible for and benefit from gender inequality patriarchy i think division of labor is more about the fact that men never do any cleaning at home and caring activities is more to do w the fact that women have too much to take care of so they can't have a job
29. What are the ways in which activists during the three different cycles of protest examined by Ghaziani and Taylor emphasize similarities or differences to heterosexuals? Make sure to explain all three cycles and provide direct comparisons between them.
Gay Liberation and Lesbian Feminism "emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s as spin-off movements spawned by the 1960s wave of militant contention (D'Emilio 1983, Staggenborg 2011)" (Ghaziani and Taylor 168); origin in Stonewall Riots (167) "gay liberationists advocated coming out, authenticity, and pride (Cruikshank 1992, Eisenbach 2006, Stein 2012)" (Ghaziani and Taylor 168) "lesbian feminists promoted social and cultural separatism (Stein 1997, Taylor & Rupp 1993, Taylor & Whittier 1992)" (Ghaziani and Taylor 168) "defined homosexuality as natural and normal" and "attempted to unify participants around a distinct, militant, and visible gay identity" (both Ghaziani and Taylor 168) "Gay liberationists (Wittman 1970), lesbian feminists (Morgan 1970), and queer theorists (Duggan 1992, Warner 1993a) had called for the abolition of marriage as an oppressive institution because it promotes restrictive gender roles and undermines sexual freedom." (175) Queer Activism: Emerged as a result of AIDS crisis (170) "Queer activists aim to bring together individuals who feel perverse, odd, deviant, and different while affirming a common identity on the fringes of the mainstream" (Ghaziani and Taylor 171) "Whereas the word "queer" denotes difference, "nation" emphasizes sameness" (Ghaziani and Taylor 171) "shared a radical ethos with earlier cycles of gay liberation and lesbian feminism, but it differed in its anti-identity stance that sought to destabilize collective identities" (Ghaziani and Taylor 171) Marriage Equality: "came from couples outside the movement who simply wanted to wed" (172) "conservative countermovement mobilized by the religious Right that initiated the marriage equality protest cycle (Dorf & Tarrow 2014, Fetner 2008)" (172) "the fight for marriage symbolized to queer critics the movement's desire to normalize gay and lesbian identity and fit into, rather than change, US society (Bernstein & Taylor 2013)" (172) "direct action tactic intended to capture public attention" (174) "dressing as grooms and brides and strolling down city streets to protest their exclusion from marriage and to sell marriage equality to a largely unreceptive US public" (175) - in a way, similar to how gay liberation cycle advocated coming out and pride "A singular national focus on marriage equality prompted LGBT movements to veer away from a collective identity based on difference, societal transformation, and sexual liberation and instead to articulate similarities to the heterosexual majority (Bernstein 2015, Bernstein & Taylor 2013, Kimport 2014, Walters 2014)" (176-7) vs. gay liberationists who did not want to conform to norms that heterosexual couples followed
11. According to Lamont, what are the different ways that people evaluate those above them? How does his argument challenge previous studies that argue that the American working class identifies with middle class values?
Half of white workers share upper middle-class ideals while the other half thinks that people in the class above them are immoral and dishonest (Lamont 107-9). Because of the racial discrimination they have faced, black workers are less likely to associate social status with moral character and thus have a less positive view of the class above them (Lamont 123). This evidence challenges previous studies that argue that the American working class identifies with middle class values b/c a substantial amount of workers are disillusioned with the middle class.
24. What does Perrow mean when he says that organizations are absorbing society and how does this occur? You should include both the three phenomena that constitute the basis of his argument and the additional processes that occur outside of the "'pure' case of absorption."
He means that "activities that once were performed by relatively autonomous and usually small informal groups (e.g. family, neighborhood) and small autonomous organizations (small businesses, local gov., local church) are now performed by large bureaucracies" (Perrow 726). This occurs due to industrialization and increased capitalism, where large corporations bought out smaller groups. It occurs through large employing organizations, satellites, and branches. Three phenomena: -Wage dependency: "high proportion of the economically active have no other opportunities other than employment in an organization" (Perrow 728); "self-employed had to decline as a category, and wage dependency insured this" (Perrow 728) ***employees must rely on corporation for money*** -Externalization of Social Costs: "First, the costs of "bigness", of economic activity on a grand scale, had to be disguised and dispersed to the weaker parts of society to insure the legitimacy of large organizations." (Perrow 728) "Second, the "society of organizations" theme is not limited to large factories or distributors, but includes government, services, and voluntary organizations. A good part of their growth is concerned with dealing with the externalized social costs of, say, unemployment, overcrowding, disputes, alienation, social pathology, and even the necessity of mass recreation" (Perrow 728) -They don't take responsibility for things like unemployment, overcrowding, alienation, etc. -Bureaucracy: "organizations are above all devices for controlling and coordinating the activities of many more or less unwilling employees" (Perrow 728) "...organizational control had to be efficient and, above all, relatively unobtrusive, accepted, and legitimated" (Perrow 729) -They have absolute control over activities because if lesser workers had a say nothing would get done Additional processes: labor supply, infrastructure, administration, capital? Or the large # of employing organizations, etc.
9. What is the difference between income and wealth and how have inequalities in these areas changed since the mid-20th century? Which is a better indicator of class and stratification and why? How do race, ethnicity, and education intersect with wealth and income?
Income-Money received from paid wages and salaries or earned from investments. Wealth- all assets individuals own, including money and material possessions. Inequalities: there is still a gender wage gap and racial wage gap - Median net worth of White families $110,550, Asian families: $89,400, Hispanic $7,700 Black families $6,300; since mid-20th century tax cuts tend to favor wealthy and not working class Wealth is a better indicator because class systems chief base is economic so it determines your class rank in society. It determines your loans, car payments, and mortgages. They intersect because wealth is intersectional. In 2004-2008 black Americans were 7.7 percentage points more likely to have high rate mortgages. Also education determines their income in the future, you make way more money when you have a BA. Median net worth of white families $110,550, black families $6,300, hispanic $7,700 Since mid-20th century - tax cuts tend to favor the wealthy not the working class so inequalities are perpetuated.
23. According to Weber, what are the three pure types of authority? What is the most rational and why?
Legal authority (based on rational grounds) Traditional authority (based on traditional grounds) Charismatic authority (based on charismatic grounds) Bureaucratic Leadership (legal authority) is Rational! -Bureaucracies are governed by universally applied rules and procedures -Bureaucracies utilize qualified experts in a logical division of labor
16. Summarize Alexander's primary argument. That is, how is mass incarceration the new Jim Crow and how does it illustrate how institutionalized racism has permeated our society?
Like jim crow, mass incarceration operates as a tightly networked system of laws, policies, customs, and institutions that operate collectively to ensure the subordinate status of a group defined largely by race. Once they are released, former prisoners enter a hidden underworld of legalized discrimination and permanent social exclusion; members of the undercaste. Based on the prison label not the prison time. Five grams of crack cocaine is enough to warrant a five-year sentence while five hundred grams of its powder counterpart warrants the same sentence and mostly black people were charged for crack cocaine while mostly white people were changed for powder cocaine (109-110). Commonality of racial profiling (Alexander 128-133).
10. Compare and contrast the four theories of social stratification we reviewed in lecture.
MARX: Industrial capitalism created increasing gap in wealth btwn bourgeoisie vs. proletariat Conflict will lead to uprising of system -> communism WEBER: Class divisions are derived from economic differences based on resources (skills and credentials) Status: prestige a group is accorded by society; may include associated lifestyles (actors, athletes) Power: ability to enact change, command resources, make decisions THERE IS OVERLAP ^^^^ ERIK OLIN WRIGHT: 3 dimensions of control Capitalists have control over ALL (workers have none) Control over investments Control over physical means of production Control over labor power
22. According to Collins, how does objectification and the use of controlling images further subordinate black women? What were the controlling images used? How does this relate to the dominant group's perceptions of black women?
Objectification: "Maintaining images of U.S. Black women as the Other provides ideological justification for race, gender, and class oppression" (Collins 70); Black women made to work as if they were animals = objectification (Collins 71); "...calling Black domestic workers "girls" enables employers to treat their employees like children, as less capable human beings" (Collins 71); Binaries: White vs. Black, men vs. women => oppressed side in both situations (Collins 71) Controlling images: Mammy - ..."[justifies] economic exploitation of house slaves and sustained to explain Black women's long-standing restriction to domestic service..." (Collins 72), Black women expected to be a Mammy to their own children (Collins 73), Mammy image is asexual woman b/c she needs to be committed to her job (Collins 74) Matriarch image - similar to Mammy, except symbolizes mother in Black home (Mammy does in white home) (Collins 75), "bad mothers" b/c emasculated husbands, too much time spent at work that they cannot supervise children (Collins 75), racial oppression - "absence of Black patriarchy used as evidence for cultural inferiority" (Collins 77) as well as "Black women's failure to conform to the cult of true womanhood" (Collins 77); Welfare mother image - "bad mother", "not aggressive enough" (both Collins 79), "lazy" (Collins 79); Jezebel - "deviant Black female sexuality" (Collins 81) Mammy is an offensive term formerly used in the Southern US; a black nursemaid or nanny in charge of white children
1. Compare and contrast David Popenoe and Judith Stacey's views of the changing family dynamics over the past 60+ years.
Popenoe: the increase in divorce, nonmarital births, and cohabitation over the past 60 yrs is related to underlying social problems; removing men from childrearing is particularly problematic (responsible for child poverty, teenage pregnancy, substance abuse, juvenile crime); a biological mother and father are necessary for a child's development (suggests gendered socialization is important and inevitable) Stacey: argues the traditional view perpetuates segregation of the sexes; post-modern families are better suited to meet the challenges of the current economy and is more appropriate for raising children
27. What is a resistance identity and how does it relate to crimes of resistance? Explain how stealing a bag of chips is a crime of resistance and the way it provides a sense of agency.
Resistance Identity: an identity created by those in a subordinate population in response to oppression It relates to crimes of resistance because these identities are created in response to misrecognition - some who has been misrecognized will feel emboldened by committing a crime of resistance such as stealing a bag of chips b/c if they are looked down upon when trying to act in legitimate behavior (conform to society), they feel they will get respect for deviating from legitimate behavior (Rios 52) "fighting for dignity at the cost of giving up his freedom had paid off. Though Mike's actions resulted in his commitment to the criminal justice system, he was very aware of this risk when he stole the bag of chips. He had grown frustrated at the treatment he had received at school, by police, and then at the store. This frustration, and a deep desire to feel respected, led Mike to willfully expose himself to incarceration. In the end, Mike lost his freedom, coming under the supervision of the criminal justice system. Nonetheless, Mike gained a sense of dignity for himself and his peers."
30. Explain the three primary approaches to social movements and mobilization.
Resource Mobilization Theory The emergence of movements is largely dependent upon availability of resources (McCarthy and Zald 1980) Tangible resources: money, facilities, a communication network Intangible resources: labor and legitimacy The best way to acquire and utilize resources is through existing organizations Make resources easier to acquire and use May provide guidelines for new movements Political Opportunity Structure Open political opportunity structure: decentralized institutions w/ separation of power Provides opportunity to act b/c state is less well-suited to respond Mobilization may still occur in a closed opportunity structure Repressive events (and closed P.O.S.) can lead to backfire Audience must know about events and perceive actions as unjust; ex: hoses used against Civil Rights protestors Frame Analysis Frame Analysis (1974) Frame: a schema that simplifies a situation and encodes objects within it Identity Fields: place actors in context of movement Protagonist Antagonist Audience Framing Tasks: necessary to mobilize activists, both protagonists and antagonists Diagnostic Framing: identifying problematic conditions and agents responsible Prognostic Framing: plan for changing existing conditions Motivational Framing: a call to arms to encourage action
14. Describe the social psychological, structural (include theory of racial formation), and processual theories (both versions) of race and ethnicity. Compare and contrast the three approaches.
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES -Examine how racial/ethnic differences are expressed and sustained through individual attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs -Do attitudes impact behavior? -How to individuals learn social categories? -Look at individual beliefs and potential to manifest in behaviors STRUCTURAL THEORIES -Race and racism are embedded in institutions -Wouldn't look at individual job interviews for example -Look at historical processes (ex. slavery) -Power structure to maintain wealth -Maintains white privilege beyond individual attitudes --Theory of Racial Formation (Omi and Winant) -Race is a social convention that various political forces try to interpret to their advantage -After civil war racial progress has been stalled - colorblind society -macro-level changes inform individual experience of racial identification PROCESSUAL THEORIES (NEW) Ethnicity w/o groups (Brubaker) -Structural theorists take for granted - we should see race and ethnicity as categories that individuals use to interpret the world -Depending on context, people will use different part of their identity Ethnic Boundary Making (Wimmer) -Some ethnic categories are durable, others inconsequential -Ethnic and racial groups result from interaction between individuals and groups in an effort to maintain advantage
21. According to West & Zimmerman, how are sex categorization and the accomplishment of gender different? Make sure you define your terms clearly in your explanation.
Sex category: Designating someone as male or female based on "identificatory displays" (e.g. clothing) Gender: Doing gender means creating differences between girls and boys and women and men, differences that are not natural, essential, or biological. Once the differences have been constructed, they are used to reinforce the "essentialness" of gender. (ex: females meant to smile more)
8. What are the three basic systems of stratification and what are the ways that class systems differ from the other two?
Slavery: Form of stratification in which people are owned as property Caste: Social system in which one's social status is held for life Class systems: A system of social hierarchy that allows individuals to move along classes FOUR WAYS CLASS SYSTEMS DIFFER: -Chief base is economic -Fluid -Position is achieved -Large scale and impersonal
25. What is the difference between statistical normality and social normality? Define both and provide an answer for each. Explain how both conceptualizations relate to our understanding of deviance and why the statistical conception of deviance—and normality—is problematic.
Statistical normality: normality that is dependent on statistics -ex: if someone has the average IQ, he/she is normal; if someone has an IQ below or above the average, he/she is abnormal -PROBLEM: smarter people aren't considered deviant but statistically they are Social normality: normality dictated by society and is most widely held (someone sneezes you say bless you, it would be socially abnormal to ask a stranger to give you a back rub)
12. According to Ridgeway, what is status? Explain the way that status beliefs shape social relations.
Status is inequality based on differences in esteem and respect Status constructs status beliefs which lead to a hierarchy, stereotypes and patterned inequalities This has three main impacts on social relations: status biases, associational preference biases, reactions to status challenges
26. Compare and contrast the following three approaches to deviance and social control: Symbolic Interactionist, Functionalist, and Conflict.
Symbolic Interactionism: 1. Meanings arise through social interaction among individuals 2. People use meanings they derive from interaction to guide their own behavior 3. People employ an interpretive process regarding those interactions Functionalist: To study any aspect of society, it must be examined as part of a whole. Society is made of structures, each with a particular function Conflict Theory: Deviance is a deliberate and political response to inequalities Deviance is a political act that comes from the desire to change Members of countercultural groups are engaging in political acts
5. What are the primary findings of Moore's study of gendered power relations? How do these findings bridge the gap between the sociology of the family and lesbian and gay studies?
The analyses highlight three main points. 1. they show the importance of economic independence, rather than the egalitarian distribution of household labor, in black lesbian households. The emphasis on economic independence is symbolically important because the provider role is more than just the position of breadwinner. It has a strong ideological component of unchallenged authority and is often linked with the male gender, though black heterosexual women have historically been more likely than white women to share the provider role with their partners 2. they reveal the importance of the status of "mother" in creating hierarchies in lesbian stepfamilies. biological mothers accept the greater responsibility for various aspects of household organization not because they like washing dishes or cleaning the living room, but because having control over those areas gives them a stronger say, and sometimes the deciding voice, in other aspects of family life, particularly money management and childrearing. 3. the analyses and results help delineate how gendered presentations of self in black lesbian relationships are associated with the types of household tasks that partners perform. the gender relations perspective can also account for biological mothers' greater involvement in housework and childcare within lesbian stepfamilies. Although working outside the home is now considered a less gendered activity than in the past, the organization of work within the home remains a process through which individuals construct gendered meanings and identities How it bridges the gap: without the gender structure of explicit male privilege or the material advantage of high income, lesbian families associate control over some forms of household labor with greater relationship power. Biological mothers want more control over the household because such authority affects the well-being of children—children who biological mothers see as primarily theirs and not their partners. They use the "doing" of housework and authority over childrearing as a tradeoff for control over household finances and organization. This has implications for how we think about the creation of hierarchies and the enactment of power in lesbian couples, of course, but arguably heterosexual couples as well. Heterosexual married women may try to invoke this strategy, but they are mostly defeated by the ideological power of male privilege or male comparative income advantage. Simplified Answer: so moore found that 1. economic independence was more important than equally distributing housework between the lesbian couples 2. being the biological mom of a child gave you more status and more power in the family heirarchy 3. depending on how they see themselves it defines what kind of household tasks they do
4. How have the dynamics of families changed in the United States over the past 50 years? Be sure to include information about marriage, childbirth, household dynamics, and cohabitation. What explanations have been offered for these changes?
The average age of marriage has steadily increased for both men and women since 1960; the average age of women when giving birth was its lowest around 1973/1974 at the age of about 26.5 years old but has steadily increased since and is just under 30 as of 2010; the household dynamics categories of single women, single men, other nonfamily households and other family households have increased since 1970 while the categories of married couples with and without children have decreased; cohabitation has increased - couples are 12x more likely to cohabitate than in the 60s. Moving away from traditionalist views, rise of social media spreads awareness, media (TV, movies, etc.) has also gone away from traditionalist views
