Intro to Social Problems Exam 3: Gender Inequality and Sexual Orientation
Cultural beliefs for sociological explanation of rape and sexual assault?
"Rape Myths" in our culture support the notion that women somehow ask or deserve to be raped by the way they dress or behave, also that women somehow enjoy being raped; Another cultural belief is that men who are sexually active with a lot of women are admired by male peers; at minimum, men are still ones who must "make first move" and continue to make moves. Thin line between sexually assertive and sexually aggressive.
What is the official stance of the American Psychological Association (APA) regarding sexual orientation?
"There is no consensus among scientists about exact reasons that an individual develops a heterosexual, bisexual, gay, or lesbian orientation. Although much research has examined the possible genetic, hormonal, developmental, social, and cultural influences on sexual orientation, no finding have emerged that permit scientists to conclude that sexual orientation is determined by any particular factor or factors. Many think that nature and nurture both play complex roles; most people experience little or no sense of choice about their sexual orientation."
Kinsey Scale
0-6 scale ranking individuals sexuality from exclusively heterosexual to exclusively homosexual
Demographer Gary J. Gates drew on most recent nation survey evidence to come up with following estimates for adults 18 and older
1) 3.5% of Americans identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. 0.3% are transgender. These figures add up to 3.8% of Americans, 9 million people, are LGBT; 2) 3.4% of women and 3.6% of men identify as LGB; 3) 66.7% of LGB women identify bisexual, 66.7% identify as gay. LGB women twice as likely as LGB men to identify as bisexual; 4) 8.2% of Americans, 19 million people, have engaged in same-sex sexual behavior, with women twice as likely as men to have done so; 5) 11% of Americans, or 25.6 million people, report having some same-sex sexual attraction, with women twice as likely as men to report such attraction.
What are some of Kinsey's finding?
1) 37% of males and 13% of females had at least one same-sex experience, 2) 10% of males had mostly homosexual experiences between ages 16 and 55, up to 6% of females had mostly homosexual experiences between ages 20 and 35, 3) 4% of males exclusively homosexual after adolescence began, compared to 1-3% of females, and 4) 46% of males either had engaged in heterosexual and homosexual experiences or had been attracted to persons of both sexes, 14% of females.
What are challenges to the aggression level explanation?
1) Although men with higher levels of testosterone tend to have higher aggression, it is possible that their violence increased testosterone rather than testosterone attributing to increased violence 2) Studies of human males cannot manipulate testosterone levels; studies remain unclear according to report by National Academy of Sciences. 3)Criticized that even young children have already been socialized along gender role lines
What are the two major roles in prehistoric societies?
1) Hunting or gathering food to relieve hunger, and 2) bearing and nursing children.
What are two faults in prior sexual harassment reserach?
1) Most studies focused on workers in a single occupation or single organization rather than in a diverse set of occupations and organizations. 2) Because most studies have examined workers at only one point in time, they have been unable to study long-term psychological consequences of sexual harassment.
What are some challenges to evolutionary explanation?
1) Much greater gender variation in behavior and attitudes existed in prehistoric times than evolutionary explanation assumes. 2) Biological differences influencing gender roles in prehistoric times, these are largely irrelevant in modern societies, in which physical strength is not necessary for survival. 3) Human environments throughout millennia have been too diverse to permit the simple biological development evolutionary explanation assumes. 4) Evolutionary arguments implicitly justify existing gender inequality by implying need to confine men and women to traditional roles. 5) Recent anthropological evidence finds that violent men have trouble finding female mates who wanted them and the female mated they find, and children produced, often killed by rivals.
What are two reasons for sex segregation in employment?
1) Partly resulting from socialization affecting what jobs young men and women choose to pursue and, 2) partly because men and women do not want to encounter difficulties they may experience if taking a job traditionally assigned to the other sex.
What are some policies and measures that a sociological perspective suggests to reduce gender inequality?
1) Reduce socialization by parents and other adults of girls and boys into traditional gender roles; 2) Confront gender stereotyping by the popular and news media; 3) Increase public consciousness of reasons for, extent of, and consequences of rape and sexual assault, sexual harassment, and pornography; 4) Increase enforcement of existing laws against gender-based employment discrimination and against sexual harassment; 5) Increase funding of rape-crisis centers and other services for girls and women who have been raped and/or sexually assaulted. 6) Increase government funding of high-quality day-care options to enable parents, and especially mothers, to work outside the home if they want, and to do so without fear that their finances or children's well-being will be compromised; 7) Increase mentorship and other efforts to boost number of women in traditionally male occupations and in positions of political leadership.
What are three reasons victims of sexual harassment choose not to sue?
1) fear being fired and/or 2) they worry they will not be believed, and/or 3) has to do with mental and emotional consequences of being sexually harassed.
What are two reasons women have entered the workplace in increasing numbers in recent decades?
1) for many women, out of economic necessity, 2) out of desire for sense of self-worth and other fulfillment that comes with work.
What is maternal mortality rate in wealthy nations?
14 per 100,000 births
According to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), how many rapes and sexual assaults occurred in 2010?
188,380
Facts about rights of gays and lesbians to serve in the military
2010 ABC News poll asked whether "gays and lesbians who do not publicly disclose their sexual orientation should be allowed to serve in the military" - 83% said they should be allowed, up from 63% in 1993.
Facts about views on same-sex marriage?
2010 GSS survey asked whether respondents agree that "homosexual couples should have the right to marry one another" - 53.4% agreed, and 46.7% disagreed; 2011 ABC news poll asked "Do you think it should be legal or illegal for gay and lesbian couples to get married?" - 51% said "legal", 45% said "illegal".
How much more likely are women in poor nations to die due to complications during pregnancy or childbirth?
42 times more likely than women in wealthy nations.
Sex segregation accounts for how much of the gender income gap?
45%
What is maternal mortality rate of poor nations?
590 per 100,000 births, equal to almost 6 deaths for every 1,00 births.
How much of world's poor do women make up?
70%
Facts about bullying and violence regarding LGBT teenagers
85% of LGBT students report being verbally harassed at school, 40% report being verbally harassed; 61% feel unsafe at school, 30% missing at least one day of school in the past month for fear of their safety; 17% are physically assaulted to point of needing medical attention.
According to FBI Uniform Crime Reports, how many reported rapes occurred in 2010?
88,767
Transgender Woman
A person born biologically as male and becomes woman.
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)
A proposed federal bill that would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity; has not been passed by Congress yet.
Gender Roles
A society's expectations of people's behavior and attitudes based on whether they are females or males.
Who was first to estimate LGBT homelessness?
A study in Mass. of more than 6,300 high school students; Found that 25% of gay/lesbian teens and 15% of bisexual teens are homeless in the state compared to only 3% of heterosexual teens. Fewer than 5% of students identified themselves as LGB by accounted for 19% of all homeless students surveyed. Homeless LGBT teens more likely to be living without a parent.
Berdache
A third gender category, usually a man who takes on a woman's role. Combines aspects of femininity and masculinity and is considered a androgynous gender.
What are the four genders the Native American, Mohave, recognize?
A woman, a woman who acts like a man; a man, and a man who acts like a woman.
Facts about bullying and violence because of sexual orientation
According to FBI 1,277 hate crimes against gays and lesbians occurred in 2010, likely understatement because many hate crime victims do not report their victimization to police; Estimated 25% of gay men have been physically or sexually assaulted because of sexual orientation, some have been murdered.
Male Privilege
Advantages that males automatically have in a patriarchal society whether or not they realize they have them.
What are some facts about the extra income inequality regarding women of color?
African American women earn about 70% of what white men earn; Latina women earn about 60% of what white men earn; African American and Latina women are poorer than white women; 24.8% of families headed by non-Latina white women are poor, compared to 41.0% of families headed by African American women and 44.5% of families headed by Latina women.
When did the Supreme Court outlaw sodomy laws?
After upholding such laws in 1986, in 2003 they were finally outlawed in LAWRENCE V TEXAS by 6-3 vote. Majority opinion of the court declared that individuals have constitutional right under 14th amendment to engage in consensual, private sexual activity.
What is an overview found regarding many small, traditional societies on homosexuality?
Almost 2/3 regarded homosexuality as "normal and socially acceptable for certain members of the community".
"Glass Ceiling"
An invisible limit put on women in a work place, keeping them from being promoted or otherwise moving up the socioeconomic ladder.
Amazons
Androgynous gender composed of women in 33 Native American groups in North America; Dress like men and sometimes marry women; In some tribes girls exhibit "masculine" characteristics from childhood, others recruited into "amazonhood"; "Amazon" termed in 1997 by Walter L. Williams.
What are causes of violence against men?
Anger, jealousy, and sociological reasons regarding treatment of deviance and crime.
What are some findings on how many women are sexually harassed?
Anonymous surveys of women employees in corporate and other settings find 40-65% of respondents report being sexually harassed; In survey of 4,501 women physicians, 36.9% reported being sexually harassed in medical school or in their practice; In studies of college students, almost 1/3 of women undergraduates and about 40% of women graduate students report being sexually harassed by faculty member.
What is the total number of people, regardless of sexual orientation, who have had same-sex experience and the number who have had same-sex attraction?
At least 19 million, at least 25 million, respectively
What are ways peers socialize gender roles?
At school age, boys tend to play sports and competitive team games with inflexible rules and large number of roles, girls tend to play smaller, cooperative games with fewer and more flexible rules; When boys and girls interact, tend to play "boys vs girls", playing role in ensuring occurrence of socialization; Boys tended to disrupt girls' games more, exerting and learning dominance.
What is the second biological explanation for gender roles?
Attributes males' higher levels of aggression to their higher levels of testosterone. Line of research involve children, as young as 1 and 2; boys being more physically aggressive in thought and deed than girls.
What are some views in small traditional societies?
Azande of East Africa - young warriors live with each other and are not allowed to marry, often having sex with younger boys; Sambia of New Guinea - Young males live separate from females and have same-sex relations for at least a decade; Believed boys would be less masculine if they continued to live with mothers and that semen of older males help young boys become strong and fierce.
Gender Identity
Beliefs about ourselves as females or males; developed as we grow and learn expectations of society regarding behaviors and thinking depending on sex.
Evolutionary Explanation for gender roles
Biological explanation. Natural selection favored societies where men where stronger, braver, and more aggressive; women were more fertile and nurturing. Over millennia, men became more assertive, daring, and violent; women became more gentle, nurturing, and maternal. Suggests attempts to change traditional gender roles would go against sexes' biological nature. Implies existing gender inequality must continue because rooted in biology.
Triple Burden
Burdens placed on women of color based on their gender, their race, and often their social class.
What are two reasons for women's lower earnings?
Caregiving responsibilities: Limits working hours and often prompts them to drop out of labor force. If they rejoin, or enter for first time, labor force after children enter school, they are already several years behind men;. Gender gap for early 20s, women earning 93.8% of what men earn, but rises during next 2 decades of life as women bear and raise children; Sex discrimination (conscious or unconscious) by employers account for much of remaining disparity.
What are the cultural reasons women are more often the target of sexual harassment?
Center on depiction of women and socialization of men; our culture making men believe they need to be sexually assertive.
What are examples of global inequality for women?
Childbearing, violence, sex trafficking, limited educational opportunities, income gap, sexual harassment, household inequality
How does mass media socialize gender roles?
Children's TV shows - major characters are male, main female character of Muppets, Miss Piggy, depicted as vain and jealous; Adult prime-time TV - more men fill major roles in weekly shows, despite notable women's roles; Women often portrayed as unintelligent or frivolous individuals there for good looks, commercials reinforce this image - women's chief goals are to look good and have clean house, men's chief goals are to drink beer and drive cars; Women's magazines filled with pictures of thin, beautiful models, advice on dieting, cosmetic ads, and articles on how to win and please your man; Men's magazines filled with ads and articles on cars and sports, advice on how to succeed in careers and other endeavors, pictures of thin, beautiful, sometimes nude, women.
Lesbian
Common term for homosexual women
Gay
Common term now used for any homosexual individual
Gay men/gays
Common term used for homosexual men
What is sexual harassment?
Defined by federal guidelines and legal rulings and statutes, consists of unwelcome sexual advances. requests for sexual favors, or physical conduct of a sexual nature that is used as a condition of employment or promotion or that interferes with an individual's job performance and creates an intimidating or hostile environment.
What are secondary sex characteristics?
Differences that develop during puberty and stem from hormonal differences between sexes.
When did the first feminist movement begin and how?
During abolitionist period. Abolitionists, Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton began seeing similarities between slavery and oppression of women.
Structural explanations for rape?
Emphasize power differences between women and men; Suggests rape is more common in societies where women have less economic and political power; Rape in US transcends social class boundaries, though seems more common among poorer segments of population; Scholars believe higher rape rates among poor stem from poor men trying to prove their "masculinity" by taking out economic frustration on women.
What are some agents of socialization helping to socialize people into gender roles?
Family, peers, schools, mass media, religion, neighborhoods.
Facts about rights of gays and lesbians to be free from job discrimination based on sexual orientation
Federal law does not prohibit such discrimination. A 2008 Gallup poll asked whether "homosexuals should or should not have equal rights in terms of job opportunities" - about 89% said their should be such rights, only 8% said there should not be such rights, when first asked in 1977, 56% replied there "should be" such rights.
Employment discrimination among LGBT individuals
Federal law prohibits employment discrimination based on race, nationality, sex, or religion. Illegal to refuse to hire, fire, or refuse to promote LGBT individuals or those perceived as LGBT. 21 states prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, leaving 29 that do not prohibit such discrimination. Only 15 states prohibit employment discrimination based on gender identity (trans), leaving 35 that do not.
What is the gender income gap regarding certain industries?
Female marketing and sales managers earn 66% of male counterparts; female human resource managers earn 80% of male counterparts; female claims adjusters earn 77% of male counterparts; female accountants earn 91% of male counterparts, as well as female secretaries and clerical workers.
What genetic difference results in other biological difference between males and females?
Females have two X chromosomes; Males have one X chromosome and one Y chromosome
Current percentages of sexual orientation of individuals
Find same-sex relations appealing: Men - 4.5%, women - 5.6%; Attracted to people of same sex: Men - 6.2%, women - 4.4%; Identify as gay/bisexual: Men- 2.8%, women - 1.4%; At least one sex partner of same sex during past year among those sexually active: Men - 2.7%, women - 1.3%.
Intersexed
Formerly known as hermaphrodite; person born with genitalia of both sexes.
What are some facts about discrimination based on sexual orientation from 1933-1945, during Nazi regime?
Gays were termed a "degeneracy" that threatened Germany's "disciplined masculinity"; Also called antisocial parasites and enemies of the state; More than 100,000 were arrested for violating law against homosexuality but did not arrest lesbians because they were valued for child-bearing capacity; At least 5,000 gay men imprisoned and many more put in mental health institutions; Several hundred were castrated, up to 15,000 were placed in concentration camps, most dying from disease, starvation, or murder; Summarized that Nazi Germany did not seek to kill homosexuals but wanted to terrorize them into sexual and social conformity.
What are correlates of heterosexism?
Gender: men are somewhat more heterosexist than women. Age: Older people are considerably more heterosexist than younger people. Education: Less educated people are considerably more heterosexist than more educated people. Religion: Religious people are considerably more heterosexist than less religious people. Region: South has highest percentage of heterosexism, followed by Midwest, then West, and finally Northeast.
What are primary sex characteristics?
Genitalia
What are adjectives, positive and negative, generally ascribed to women deemed "feminine"?
Gentle, sensitive, nurturing, delicate, graceful, cooperative, decorative, dependent, emotional, passive, and weak.
Sexual Slavery
Girls often stolen from parents and forced to work as prostitutes. Major problem in countries like Cambodia, India, Nepal, and Thailand.
What is one significant dimension of gender-based household inequality?
Housework; Research indicates women married to or living with men spend 2 to 3 times as many hours per week on housework as men spend. Termed by sociologist Arlie Hochschild as "second shift" of unpaid work when women come home.
Facts about home life of LGBT teens
If they come out to their parents, one or both often reject them, sometimes kicked out of the home and sometimes leaving because the environment has become intolerable. Results in large number of them becoming homeless: living on the streets, with a friend, at a shelter, at another venue.
What are the only ways prosecutors seem to win jury convictions in rape trials?
If woman who was raped had suffered visible injuries, had not known the man who raped her, and/or was not dressed attractively.
Other ways to reduce gender inequality?
Important to remember contemporary women's movement in late 1960s; women and men called attention to gender inequality in workplace, education, and elsewhere; For gender inequality to continue being reduced, essential that a strong women's movement continue to remind us of the sexism that still persists in American society and the rest of the world.
What are some facts about same-sex couples as parents?
In 2007, 50% of public said increasing number of same-sex couples raising children was "a bad thing" for society, declining to 35% by 2011.
Facts about rape
In 2010, the US recorded over 88,000 reports of rape; up to 1/3 of US women will experience rape or sexual assault, including attempts, at least once in their lives; about 20-30% of women students report being raped or sexually assaulted, including attempts, usually by male student they knew beforehand.
What are some facts about gender income gap?
In 2012, 57.9% of US women, 16 or older, were in labor force, only 43.3% in 1970; Men in 2012, 70.3%, men in 1970, 79.7%; 74.7% of women, 35-44, in labor force in 2011, only 46.8% in 1970; In early 1800s, full-time women workers in agriculture and manufacturing earned less than 38% of what men earned, compared to now, women earning 82.2% of men's earnings; For every $10,000 men earn, women earn $8,220; With bachelor's degree, women earn almost $18,000 less per year than male counterparts. High-school dropout gender income gap: 79.8%, high-school degree gap: 76.5%, Some college or associate degree gap: 75.5%, Bachelor's degree or higher gap: 74.1%
What was the belief about homosexuality in ancient times?
In Athens, ancient Greece, male homosexuality (more commonly, sexual relations between a man and a teenaged boy) was not only approved but encouraged; Common and accepted in ancient Rome, however, ancient romans disapproved of sexual relations between man and freeborn male youth, approved of relations between slave master and youthful male slave;
What are contributors to maternal mortality?
Inadequate prenatal nutrition, disease and illness, and inferior obstetrical care; more common in poor nations.
What are some ways the family socializes gender roles?
Infant daughters often described as pretty, soft, and delicate; infant sons often described as strong, alert, and active; Parents wrestle with a throw sons around, gentler and quieter with daughters; When infant girls cry, warmly comforted, tend to let sons cry longer and comfort them less; Girls get dolls and make-up and boys get action figures and toy guns.
What is the most common form of gender inequality in the US?
Institutional discrimination, can occur even if its not intended to happen.
When did the second major feminist movement begin and how?
Late 1960s; women active in Southern civil rights movement turned their attention to women's rights. Still active today.
What are the four types of Feminism?
Liberal - Believes equality of women can be achieved within existing society by passing laws and reforming social, economic, and political institutions. Socialist - Blames capitalism for women's inequality says that gender equality can be achieved if fundamental changes in social institutions, even a socialist revolution, are achieved. Radical - says patriarchy lies at root of women's oppression and that women are oppressed even in non-capitalist societies. Says patriarchy must be abolished. Multicultural - emphasizes women of color are oppressed because gender, race, and class (triple burden). Focus attention to color in US and other nations.
Confucianism
Major Chinese religion when Common Era began - considered women inferior, so male friendships were important and thus may have unwittingly promoted same-sex relations among men.
What are some ways sex segregation in employment occur?
May be done by employer consciously refusing to hire someone of the "wrong" sex or unconsciously by having job requirements (height restrictions) and workplace rules (working at night) that make it harder for women to qualify for certain jobs.
What are some benefits of being male?
Men generally have more wealth, political and economic influence than women, men can usually walk wherever whenever without worrying about being raped or sexually harassed; men can work at any job they want, go do any bar they want without worrying about sexual harassment.
What is a biological explanation for men being more violent than women (evolutionary explanation)?
Men willing to commit violence against or kill other men would win in competition for female mates. Thus violent males more likely to produce offspring with the violent genetic tendencies.
How was homosexuality viewed in ancient China and Japan?
More positively than Europe; Male love in Japan during 1500s was a "national tradition - the Japanese thought natural and meritorious"; Homosexuality large part of the Samurai cultural of preindustrial Japan; Male and female homosexuality seen as normal and even healthy sexual outlets.
How many women die worldwide annually from complications during pregnancy or childbirth?
More than 500,000
What are facts about sexual orientation regarding nations following Judeo-Christian tradition?
Most quoted Biblical passages in this regard are found in Leviticus: "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable" (Leviticus 18:22), "If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads." (Leviticus 20:13); English translations of the Bible's antigay passages may distort their original meanings, and various contextual studies of the Bible suggest that these did not make blanket condemnations about homosexuality; People also like to pick and choose what they decide to believe and not believe from the Bible; Citing inconsistency with which most people follow Biblical commands, many religious scholars say it is inappropriate to base public views about homosexuality on what the Bible says about it.
How to reduce rape and sexual assault from sociological perspective?
Must make far-reaching changes by changing people's beliefs about rape and by making every effort to reduce poverty and to empower women.
How does the United Nations Development Programme rank nations?
On a "gender empowerment measure" of women's involvement in their nation's economy and political life. Norway ranks first; US ranks 18th.
Transgender Man
Person who was born biologically as woman and becomes a man.
What are ways schools socialize gender roles?
Playground provide location for gender-linked activities to occur; Teachers @ all levels subtly treat male and female students differently: call on boys more and praise them more when they give right answer, give boys more feedback about assignments and other work; Many textbooks and other books still portray people in gender-stereotypes ways.
How has the views of heterosexism changed in recent decades?
Public views of LGBT have become more positive. Percentage of respondents saying same-sex relations are "always wrong" has dropped since first asked in 1973, percentage responding "not wrong at all" has risen considerably, both changes occurring since early 1990s; Gallup poll trends confirms this, In 2001, 40% called same-sex relations "morally acceptable", 53% called it "morally wrong", compared to 56% and 39% respectively in 2011.
What are ways to reduce gender inequality?
Reduce socialization by parents and other adults of girls and boys into traditional gender roles; confront gender stereotyping by the popular and news media; increase enforcement of existing laws against gender-based employment discrimination and against sexual harassment; Increase funding of rape-crisis centers and other services for girls and women, increase government funding of better quality day-care options; Increase mentorship and other efforts to boost number of women in traditionally male occupation and in positions of political leadership
Sexual Orientation
Refers to a person's preference for sexual relationships with individuals of the other sex (heterosexuality), one's own sex (homosexuality), or both sexes (bisexuality). Also refers to transgender/transgendered people; those whose behavior, appearance, and/or gender identity departs from conventional norms.
Sexism
Refers to belief in traditional gender role stereotypes and in the inherent inequality between men and women.
Feminism
Refers to belief that women and men should have equal opportunities in economic, political, and social life.
Femininity
Refers to cultural expectations we have of girls and women.
Masculinity
Refers to expectations of we have of boys and men.
What are some demands that college students at Dickinson College is Carlisle, PA made to reduce sexual violence?
Set up improved emergency system for reporting sexual assaults, revamp its judicial system's treatment of sexual assault cases, create a sexual violence prevention program, and develop a new sexual misconduct policy.
Who carried out first attempt to estimate the number of gays and lesbians?
Sex researcher Alfred C. Kinsey, during 1940s and 1950s; Interviewed more than 11,00 white men and women about sexual experiences, thoughts and attractions; Findings led Kinsey to reject idea that person is either heterosexual or homosexual.
Gender
Social concept referring to social and cultural differences a society assigns to people based on (biological) sex.
What are some costs of being male?
Socialization into masculinity underlie many of the emotional problems men experience, stemming from combination of emotional inexpressiveness and reluctance to admit to, and see help for, various personal problems; Boys more likely to be diagnosed with emotional disorders, ADD, more likely to commit suicide and drop out of high school; Men commit more violent crimes than women and suffer higher rate of violent vicitmization.
What did Europeans say was a result of the Chinese tolerance of homosexuality?
Some European clergy and scientists blamed earthquakes and other national disasters in China on this tolerance.
Adjectives, positive and negative, generally ascribed to men deemed "masculine"?
Strong, assertive, brave, active, independent, intelligent, competitive, insensitive, unemotional, and aggressive.
Biological Factors of sexual orientation
Studies of identical twins find they are more likely to have the same sexual orientation (gay or straight) than would be expected from chance. Because identical twins have same DNA, suggests, but does not prove, a genetic basis for sexual orientation; Some studies find differences in size and structure of the hypothalamus, controls many bodily functions, in brains of gays vs. brains of straights. Sexual behaviors can affect hypothalamus, so difficult to determine whether differences that might be found reflect influence of hypothalamus on sexual orientation or the influence of sexual orientation on the hypothalamus; Third line of research concerns hormonal balance in womb. Scientists speculate level of prenatal androgen affects which sexual orientation develops.Some studies suggest gay men had lower levels of prenatal androgen than straight men and lesbians had higher levels of prenatal androgen than straight women. Recently concluded, "the notion that non-heterosexual preferences may reflect [deviations from normal prenatal hormone levels] is not supported by the available data." When people believe roots of homosexuality are biological, gays otherwise do not choose to be gay, they are more likely to have positive or at least tolerant views of same-sex behavior.
Social and cultural factors for sexual orientation
Suggests humans are born with "blank slates" shaped by society and culture, children shaped by parents, teachers, peers, and other aspects of social environment. In recent national survey of random sample of sociologists, 22% said male homosexuality results from biological factors, 38% said it results from both biological and environmental factors, and 39% said it results from environmental factors. 60% said biology totally or partly explains male homosexuality, 77% say that environmental factors matter as well. In this view, we learn "messages" from social influences about whether it is ok or not to be sexually attracted to someone from our own sex and/or someone from opposite sex.
What is the structural reason women are more often the target of sexual harassment?
Suggests that men doing harassing are in position of power of women they harass. These men realize the subordinate women may find it difficult to resist their advances for fear of reprisals.
What are some educational and mental health effects of violence against LGBT teens?
Suicide, more likely to skip school, do poorly in studies, drop out of school, and experience depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem; tending to last at least into their 20s. More likely to engage in risky and/or unhealthy behaviors such as using tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs, having unprotected sex, and even not using a seatbelt. LGBT teens more likely to be disciplines for misconduct than straight students accused of similar misconduct - disparity being greater for girls than boys.
Where does the best evidence of number of gays and lesbians in the US come from?
Surveys that ask random samples of Americans questions about their sexuality; Believed to be fairly accurate, but because some are reluctant to disclose such information, scholars think number is underestimated by at least a small number.
What are ways to reduce peer socialization?
Teachers, parents and other adults should encourage girls and boys to have mixture of both competitive and cooperative games so both sexes may develop better balance of values commonly considered feminine or masculine.
Heterosexism
Term for negative views about, and discriminatory practices toward, LGBT individuals and their sexual behavior.
Straight
Term used for heterosexuals
What 3 sources are used to learn how much rape occurs, the context in which it occurs, and the reasons for it?
The FBI Uniform Crime Reports (UCR): Measures only rape, compiled by FBI from police reports; the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS); yields better estimate of rape since women often do not report it to the police. NCVS measures sexual assaults as well as rape; and surveys and interviews with women and men conducted by academic researchers.
What are two ways of measuring heterosexism?
The General Social Survey asks whether respondents think that "sexual relations between two adults of the same sex are" always wrong, almost always wrong, sometimes wrong, or not wrong at all - In 2010, almost 46% said "always wrong", 43% said "not wrong at all", 3.7% said almost always wrong, and 7.9% said sometimes wrong; The Gallup Poll asks whether "gay or lesbian relations" are "morally acceptable or morally wrong." - In 2011, 56% of Gallup respondents answered "morally acceptable", 39% replied "morally wrong".
"Glass Escalator"
The advantage men get in employment promotions, even in female occupations. Men constitute for about 16% of public elementary school teacher, and account for about 41% of all elementary school principals.
Sex
The anatomical and other biological differences between females and males, determined at moment of conception, develop in the womb and throughout childhood and adolescence.
What are the dimensions used to determine what salary a job should offer?
The importance of the job, the degree of skill it requires, the level of responsibility it requires, the degree to which the employee must exercise independent judgement.
Maternal motrality
The number of women who die during childbirth for every 100,000 births.
Female Genital Mutilation
The process of young girls having their genitals cut out, often with no anesthesia. Thought to affect more than 100 million girls and women worldwide. An act of torture.
What are some reasons Nordic nations rank at the top of the United Nations Development Programme system?
They have made concentrated effort to boost women's involvement in the business and political worlds; Norway government provides daycare for children and adult care for older or disabled people and provides 44 weeks of paid paternity leave after birth of a child; Parents can work fewer hours without losing income until their child is 2
Transvestites
Those who dress in clothing of opposite sex
Transexuals
Those whose gender identity differs from their physiological sex and who sometimes undergo sex change.
Ways religion socialize gender roles?
Traditional interpretations of the Bible yield message that women are submissive to men; First man was Adam, Eve was made from one of his ribs; Major figures in the Bible are men, women depicted as wives, mothers, temptresses, and prostitutes - praised for roles of wives and mother, condemned for other roles; Women depicted as property of men; Passages justify rape and murder of women and girls - The Koran, sacred book of Islam, also contain passages asserting the subordinate role of women.
What are some facts of rape and sexual assault?
Up to 1/3 of US women will experience rape or sexual assault, including attempts, at least once in their lives; Study of random sample of 420 Toronto women: 2/3 said they had experienced at least one rape or sexual assault, including attempts; among college students, about 20-30% of women students' report being raped or sexually assaulted, usually by male student they knew beforehand; A women is 2-4% more likely to be raped by someone she knows than by a stranger; 60-80% of all rapes and sexual assaults are committed by someone the woman knows, only 20-35% by strangers.
What is domestic violence?
Violence between spouses and others with intimate relationships; women more likely than men to be victims of this.
What are causes of violence against women?
Violence such as rape, sexual assault, and pornographic violence is because women are women; these acts are manifestation of gender inequality.
What are some conceptional problems making it difficult to determine the extent of homosexuality?
What does it mean to be gay or lesbian? Does one need to actually have sexual relations with a same-sex partner to be considered gay? What if someone is attracted to same-sex partners but does not engage in sex with such persons? What if someone identifies as heterosexual but engages in homosexual sex for money or for power/influence.
How was homosexuality viewed in Europe in the Middle Ages?
When Rome fell in 476 CE, Europe had become Christian continent, Europeans considered homosexuality a sin and government outlawed same-sex relations; Male homosexuals (or any men suspected of homosexuality) were vulnerable to execution for the next 14 centuries; Gays and lesbians were stones, burned at the stake, hanged, or beheaded and otherwise abused or mistreated.
What are some existing stereotypical differences between men and women?
Women cry more, men more physically violent, women take care of children more, women smile more, men curse and spit more, women talk more about personal lives, women hold cigarette palm facing up; men hold it palm facing down.
What are some examples of gender inequality in poorer nations?
Women in poor nations less likely to get higher education and girls less likely to attend primary school, women less likely to work in decent paying jobs and hold political office, girls less likely to receive adequate medical care when ill and more likely to die before age 5.
What are some myths surrounding sexual assault?
Women somehow enjoy being raped, want to be rapes, or are "asking for it"; Women somehow ask or deserve to be raped by the way they dress or behave; A man who is sexually active with a lot of women is a stud and admired by male peers.
What was the main focus of the first feminist movement?
Women's right to vote; won in 1920.
Why do women's jobs pay less then men's?
Women's work is devalued because it is women's work.
According to a national General Social Survey (GSS), how much of public agrees with statement, "It is much better for everyone involved if the man is the achiever outside the home and the women takes care of the home and family"?
more than 1/3
What are some mental and emotional consequences of being sexually harassed?
relationship problems, a loss of self-esteem, fatigue, depression, anxiety, sleeplessness, and feeling of powerlessness. These symptoms have been termed sexual harassment trauma syndrome; similar to PTSD.
