Chapter 9. Constructing Gender and Sexuality

Expressive role

(Talcott Parsons) The position of the family member who provides emotional support and nurturing.

Instrumental role

(Talcott Parsons) The position of the family member who provides material support often an authority figure

Bisexuality

Sexual attraction toward members of both genders Also a minority category. 3% of men 4% of women

Homosexuality

Sexual attraction toward members of one's own gender. A minority category 4% of adults as gay or lesbian

Heterosexuality

Sexual attraction toward members of the other gender. Straight. Dominant categories with privileges

The suffrage movement

The movement organized around gaining voting rights for women

Sex

An individual's membership in one of two categories - male or female - based on biological factors (chromosome, hormones, and reproductive organs)

Misogyny

An ingrained prejudice against women; dislike, contempt, or hatred of women. Ex: The online harassment or cyberbullying of feminist media critic Anita Sarkeesian on video game industry.

Homophobia

Fear of or discrimination toward gay, lesbian, and bisexual people. Not a true phobias More like prejudice like sexism and racism Suggests that the problems are the result of a few maladjusted individuals rather than the product of deeply institutionalized cultural values and norms

Transphobia

Fear of or discrimination toward transgender or other gender-nonconforming people Not a true phobia More like prejudice like sexism and racism Suggests that the problems are the result of a few maladjusted individuals rather than the product of deeply institutionalized cultural values and norms

Matriarchy

Female-dominated society

Intersex

17 babies in 1,000 A person whose chromosomes or sex characteristics are neither exclusively males nor exclusively female. Most cases are detected at birth, some do not appear until puberty or adulthood. In modern Western society, the prospect of an ambiguously sexed person seems so threatening and unacceptable that most parents seek out surgical and other procedures to quickly remedy the situation. Female is the most viable and expedient choice.

Gender binary

A system of classification with only two distinct and opposite gender categories. Either male or female from birth to death. No other options. Chromosomes, hormones, and genitalia determine your identities - the way you see yourself, the way you interact with others, and the activities you engage in every day. Culture plays little to no roles. Medicine, theology, and biology, sociobiology.

Feminism

Belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes; also the social movements organized around that belief. Are not static but are always focused on bringing about greater gender equality in a particular time and place.

Cisgenderism

Belief in the superiority of cisgender persons and identities.

Heterosexism

Belief in the superiority of heterosexuality and heterosexuals

Primary sex characteristics

Biological factors, such as chromosomes, hormones, and reproductive organs, that distinguish males from females

The military

Composed mostly of men Only 15% of enlisted personnel were female Women comprise 19% of US Air Force, 14% of US Army, 8% of US Marines. The top ranks of generals and admirals is just over 7% of women LGBTQ right movement successfully repeal Dont Ask Dont Tell (DADT) to allow gay service members to serve openly without recrimination or threat of discharge. Rape and sexual assault are increasingly acknowledged as a serious problem in the military, and women are far more likely than men to report gender harassment. Men are more likely to report being harassed by their drill sergeants, while women are more likely to be harassed by their fellow trainees. Increased reporting signal not only growing trust of command and confidence in the response system, but serves as the gateway to provide more victims with support and to hold a greater number of offenders appropriately accountable. Military can still be an inhospitable place for female and gay service members.

Schools

Differences in the educational experiences of girls and boys also begin to appear early, both in the classroom and playground. Children are frequently put in same-sex groups and assigned gender-stereotyped tasks. Same-sex groups also from on the playground.By fifth grade, gender norms are firmly established, seen in the segregation that takes place even in co-ed schools. One key area of difference is in the way teachers typically interact with students, as they tend to favor boys in several ways. Boys receive more attention and instructional time, more likely to be called on in class, posed with more challenging questions and tasks, given more praise for the quality of their work; however, more likely to make teachers angry by misbehaving and therefore receive some form of punishment Girls tend to earn higher grade, but their academic achievements are often discounted and they are credited for hard work rather than intellectual ability. Media often paint this gender discrepancy as a crisis for boys. Girls are encouraged to focus on social skills or appearance rather than brain power. Textbooks often contain sexist language and gender stereotypes; women are underrepresented. For LGBTQ, school is often a place where they learn the lesson that they will only be accepted if they hide their true identities. Heteronormativity pervades school life.

Interactionism

Emphasize how gender is socially constructed and maintained in our everyday lives. We can barely interact with anyone without first determining that person's gender identity. We need to categorize and be categorizable. Not an easy matter because some individuals may not fit easily and experience difficulty in their interactions with others who expect them to do so.

Prejudice and Discrimination

Gender and sexuality have become the basis for hierarchies of inequality and prejudice and discrimination. Privileges, opportunities, and resources in an unequal society are distributed based on category membership.

Functionalism

Generally believes that there are still social roles better suited to one gender than the other Societies are more stable when norms are fulfilled by the appropriate sex "Female" in tandem and "male" in family. Gender segregation serves to uphold the traditional family and its social functions. Fails to acknowledge that families are often sources of social instability, with violence and abuse in families all too common.

LGBTQ

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer. More inclusive

LGBTQIA

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual Even more inclusive

Patriarchy

Literally meaning "rule of the father"; a male-dominated society. Can be traced back to biological differences in early societies, when hunting and warfare were more essential to the livelihood of human groups. Men delivered the scarcest and most prized resources to the group and became more powerful by controlling the distribution of these resources. Does not explain its persistence in contemporary societies.

Expressive versus instrumental roles

May be complementary, but the social rewards for filling them are for from equal. The work of raising children and maintaining a household is intensive and difficult, but there is a tendency to dismiss it as being unskilled and instinctive, which results in the devaluation of traditional feminine work. Juvenile delinquency and crime rates are higher when there is no adult supervision in the home and that expressive roles are important.

Health

More than half of the US population is female. One reason is that women live longer. The overall average of men is lower because young men are at greater risk of accidental death. Men ages 20-24 are 3x more likely to die due to accidents, 5x more likely to commit suicide, and almost 7x more likely to be murdered. More women are engaged in stress-related behavior so the gap may be closing. Some of the change can be attributed to men taking more care with their health and women have increased their risk factors for diseases. Their relative risk of death from lung cancer rose and is now nearly identical to that of men. Such trends have led researchers to call smoking "the great equalizer" Other health disorders are gender related.

Queer

Most of the 20th century, it was a pejorative term applied to gay men. Means odd or peculiar Nowadays, it is used activists and academics. About "possibilities, gaps, overlaps, dissonances, and resonances" Suggests that any kind of categorization is outmoded and limiting. Describe anything that challenges prevailing binary notions of sex, gender, and sexuality. Encompassed a wider range of gender and sexual diversity.

Peers

Peer groups are an increasingly important agent of socialization By age of 3, children develop a preference for same-sex playmates, a tendency that increases markedly as childhood progressed. Not until well after puberty that this pattern changes even a little. Same-sex peer groups can help create gendered behavior. Powerful peer groups enforce gender roles and the assumptions about sexuality that underlie them. Boys tend to gain prestige through athletic ability, a sense of humor, or taking risks and defying norms. Girls tend to gain prestige through social position and physical attractiveness. May lead to bullying, rebellious behavior, or eating disorders.

Secondary sex characteristics

Physical differences between males and females, including facial and body hair, musculature, and bone structure, that are unrelated to reproduction. May become evident in puberty.

Sex versus Gender

Sex is biological Gender is social and cultural. Our gender identity and gender expression may differ from the sex we are assigned at birth.

Queer theory

Social theory about gender and sexual identity; emphasizes the importance of difference and rejects ideas of innate identities or restrictive categories.

Sexism

The belief that one sex, usually male, is superior to the other. Ex: Silicon Valley

Sexuality

The character or quality of being sexual. Far more diverse than commonly assumed. People are not exclusively heterosexual or homosexual but can fall along a wide spectrum A fluid continuum that can change over the course of a person's lifetime.

First wave

The earliest period of feminist activism, from the mid-19th century until American women won the right to vote in 1920. By Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott/ Issued a Declaration of Sentiments stating that "all men and women are created equal" and demanded specifically that women be given the right to vote. The suffrage movement. Only one person lived to cast a ballot.

Sexual orientation or identity

The inclination to feel sexual desire toward people of a particular gender

Asexuality

The lack of sexual attraction of any kind, no interest in or desire for sex Nonsexual. Very small minority group About 1% if adults

Gender

The physical, behavioral, and personality traits that a group considers normal for its male and female members. Reflects our notions about what is appropriately "masculine" or "feminine" No society leaves it completely up to nature to dictate the behavior of its male and female members. We learn to interpret and enact gender in ways that are culturally and historically specific.

Social learning

The process of learning behaviors and meanings through social interaction. Babies respond to and internalize the expectations of others around them. Sometimes a conscious effort, other times in a more subtle way through observation, imitation, and play. Children quickly begin to exhibit gender-stereotyped behaviors. By the age of 2, they are aware of their own and other's gender By the age of 3, they begin to identify spefcific traits associated with each gender. Gender pervades every aspect of family life.

Criminal Justice

The social construction of masculinity as aggressive, dominant, and physical corresponds to statistic on gender and crime. Men are more likely to die violent deaths and to be victims of assault. Women are slightly more likely to be victims of personal theft and much more likely to be victim of rape and victimized by their intimate partners. Men are overwhelming represented in arrest rate in nearly all categories (murder, rape, sex offenses, theft, assault, and drug charges) Women outnumbered men in prostitution and embezzlement. Bias-motivated attacks on the basis of sexual orientation are the third highest category of hate crimes. LGBTQ people are the most likely targets of hate crimes in the US.

LGBTQ Movement

There are two distinct cohorts among members" those who lived before the gay liberation movement and those who lived during and after it/ The earlier generation felt discredited if their sexual orientation had become public knowledge The later generation believed that making their identity public was celebrating an essential aspect of the self that should not be denied.

Essentialists

Those who believe gender roles have a genetic or biological origin and therefore cannot be changed. See gender as immutable and biological and as an unambiguous, two-category system system. Also called the gender binary.

Constructionists

Those who believe that notions of gender are socially determined, such that a binary system is just one possibility among many. See gender as a social construction and acknowledge the possibility that binary male-female categories aren't the only way to classify individuals. The meaning of masculinity and femininity may differ drastically in different societies and historical periods

Coming out

To openly declare one's true identity to those who might not be aware of it; short for "coming out of the closet," a phrase used to describe how gays and lesbians have felt compelled to keep their sexual orientation secret.

Families

Usually the primary source of socialization Gender role socialization begins even before birth. Family may begin relating to the new baby as either a girl or a boy far in advance of the baby's arrival. Knowing the baby's sex affects how the mother talks to her fetus (word-choice, and tone), clothes, toys, and rooms as well as the stories the children are told. The way in which significant others - parents, siblings, extended family, and caregivers - interact with the baby are also affected.

Same-sex marriage

any witFederally recognized marriage between members of the same sex; made legal in the US in 2015. Opponents: the rhetoric of protecting marriage or protecting family, implying that same-sex marriage would harm or destroy those institutions; marriage has deep religious meaning. Proponents: marriage is a state-sanctioned right; marriage offers portability across all fifty states; financial ramifications for families. Many institutions and members within religious groups and conservative right support it. Many within the LGBTQ community do not support same-sex marriage as they view it as assimilationist and as an acceptance of heteronormative structures.