Chapter 9 Sex & Gender

What is Sex?
Although the terms “sex” and “gender” are often used
interchangeably, sociologists differentiate between the
two.
Sex refers to the biological and anatomical differences
between males and females. Gender is different and
will be discussed later.
 Primary Sex Characteristics – directly related to
reproduction (Example: women: vagina)
 Secondary Sex Characteristics – indirectly
related to reproduction (Example – men: body hair)
The Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton 2

What is Sex?
Hermaphrodite (Intersexed) – a person in who sexual
differentiation is ambiguous or incomplete. Basically, they
have an abnormal chromosomal makeup and mixed or
indeterminate male and female sex characteristics.
 1 baby in 1,000 are born intersexed or hermaphroditic.
 For these children, parents and doctors choose on and
take appropriate medical steps (in most cases, female is
the most viable and expedient choice).
 Ambiguous sex is problematic in our society.
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What is Gender?
Gender refers to the physical, behavioral, and personality
traits that a group considers “normal” for its male and
female members.
Gender basically refers to the culturally and socially
constructed differences between females and males found
in the meanings, beliefs, and practices associated with
“femininity” and “masculinity.”
It relates to the way that a person behaves based on their
biological sex. In other words, we learn how to act manly
or womanly based on the sex that we’re born.
Essentially, gender is the learned aspect of our sex.

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What is Sex? What is
Gender? (cont’d)
Gender refers to the physical, behavioral,
and personality traits that a group considers
normal for its male and female members.

Nature vs. Nurture
Biology certainly plays a role in our sex. However, the
belief that our anatomy defines every aspect of being
male or female has come under serious debate in recent
years.
Because there are aspects of our sex/gender that we
learn (appropriate looks and attitudes), the social and
cultural aspect must be considered.
Also, evidence shows that behaviors may even influence
biology. An example of this is that when both men and
women engage in aggressive behavior, the body
increases the production of testosterone.
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Essentialist and Constructionist
Approaches to Gender Identity
Different approaches to looking at
gender…
Essentialists believe gender roles have a
genetic or biological origin and cannot be
changed. They argue that each individual is
either male or female and that membership
in one of these groups determines the rest
of his or her identity. Culture plays no role.
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Essentialist and Constructionist
Approaches to Gender Identity
(cont’d)
Constructionists approach and see gender
as a social construction and acknowledge
the possibility that the male–female
categories are not the only way of
classifying individuals.
 They believe that the meaning of masculinity
and femininity may differ drastically in different
societies and historical periods.
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Alternative Approaches to
Gender
Other terms related to gender:
 Gender Identity
 Transvestite – lives as the opposite sex
 Transsexual – begins the process of sexual reassignment
 Transgender – an all-encompassing term
 Sexual Orientation - refers to an individuals preference
with whom they pursue emotional/sexual relationships.
 Heterosexual
 Bisexual
 Homosexual

Gender Roles and
Expectations
Every society and culture establishes “appropriate”
gender roles based on a number of different factors
and values (especially religion).
 If one doesn’t follow these “appropriate roles,”
there may be consequences.
Gender Stereotypes – stereotypes about how men
and women should act and act out roles.
Historically, gender roles and definitions have varied
somewhat. However, patriarchy has always been
the norm.
Discuss Berdaches and Hijras (pg. 254-255)

Gender Inequality
Gender inequality can be found in all past and present
societies and can be traced back to biological differences in
early societies.
Patriarchy, or male domination, is the norm for most societies.
There is little evidence that a matriarchal (female-dominated)
society has ever existed.
Why? The activities that women could participate in were limited
because they had less physical strength and because of the
demands of bearing and raising children. Men participated in
activities such as hunting and warfare. Because of this, men
delivered the scarcest and most prized resources to the group.
Essentially, a division of labor had arose and men became
powerful by controlling the distribution of those prized resources.

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Theories on Gender
Inequality
Functionalists:
 Believe that there are social roles better suited
to one gender than the other, and that societies
are more stable when certain tasks are fulfilled
by the appropriate sex.

Theories on Gender
Inequality
An example of Functionalist Theory
Talcott Parsons believed that men were
more suited to take on an instrumental
role (the position of the family member who
provides the family’s material support and is
often an authority figure) and women were
more suited to take on an expressive role
(the position of the family member who
provides emotional support and nurturing).
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Theories on Gender
Inequality (cont’d)
• According to Talcott Parsons:
 Men were more suited for an instrumental role
(the person who provides the family’s material
support and is often an authority figure).
 Women were more suited for an expressive
role (the person who provides the family’s
emotional support and nurturing).

Theories on Gender
Inequality
Criticism of Functionalist Theory
Does not explain very well why gender
relations are characterized by such
inequality. An example of this is why work,
traditionally done by women and rather
difficult, is seen as unskilled and instinctive
and thus devalued in society.
Also, it doesn’t explain family social
instability, like domestic violence.
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Theories on Gender
Inequality
According to conflict theorists, men have
historically had access to most of society’s
material resources and privileges.
Therefore, it is in their interest to try to
maintain their dominant position.
Thus, they see gender inequality in much
the same way as they see race and class –
manifestations of exploitation.
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Theories on Gender Inequality
(cont’d)
Conflict theorists:
 Believe men have historically had access to
most of society’s material resources and
privileges. Therefore, it is in their interest to try
to maintain their dominant position.

Theories on Gender
Inequality
Engels (1884) – noted that capitalists
benefitted from maintaining patriarchal
families, with women in the private sphere
and men in the public workplace in at least
2 ways;
 Women do the work of reproducing the labor
force
 Women serve as an inexpensive “reserve army”
of labor when the need arises
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Theories on Gender
Inequality
Eisenstein (1979) – Conflict theorists point
out that men stand to lose a great deal if
gender inequality disappears. For example,
they would have to do more unpaid work or
pay to have their homes kept up and
children cared for.
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(cont’d)
Interactionists emphasize how the concept
of gender is socially constructed,
maintained, and reproduced in our everyday
lives.

Theories on Gender
Inequality
Interactionists emphasize how the concept of gender
is socially constructed, maintained, and reproduced in
our everyday lives.
 We can barely interact without first determining a
person’s gender. An example of this is when
discussing or communicating with someone who is
transgendered. We often times have difficulty with
how to respond to them. Are they “he” or “she” or
“it”?
Gender often changes the way we interact with
others…our language choices, frequency of
conversation, mannerisms, etc. Th
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Gender Role Socialization
Gender role socialization is the lifelong
process of learning to be masculine or
feminine.
There are four main agents of socialization:
families, schools, peers, and the media.
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Gender Role Socialization:
Family
Families are usually the primary source of
socialization and greatly impact gender role
socialization.
Smith (2005) – argues that gender role
socialization begins even before birth. Knowing
the baby’s sex in advance affects how the mother
talks to her fetus – the choice of words and the
tone of voice.
Other forms of gender role socialization takes the
form of clothes, rooms, and toys.

Family
Through social learning, the process of learning behaviors and
meanings through social interaction, babies respond to and
internalize the expectations of those around them.
 For example: a young girl who is treated gently may observe
roughhousing of young boys with alarm.
 Sometimes there is a conscious effort to instill certain
behaviors in children – for example: boys may be
reprimanded for crying.
 Sometimes, social learning is more subtle – the child learns
about gender through observation, imitation, and play.
 By the age of 2, children are aware of their own and other
people’s gender. By 3, they begin to identify specific traits
associated with each other.

Family
Gender pervades every aspect of family life:
 Chores or privileges: girls and boys – washing
dishes vs. mowing the lawn.
 Discipline and punishment
 What they’re encouraged and not encouraged
to do
 What parents will allow them to do
In adulthood, our families may still influence what
kind of career or mate we choose, how we run our
household, and how we raise our won children.

School
Schools play an important role in gender socialization.
By 5th grade, gender norms are firmly established, as can
be seen in the segregation that takes place even in co-ed
schools.
Girls and boys are frequently put in same-sex groups (and
classrooms) and assigned gender-stereotyped tasks, such
as playing with dolls or playing with trucks.
Same sex groups also form on the playground, with girls
and boys engaging in different kinds of social and athletic
activities.

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(cont’d)
Schools also socialize children into their
gender roles. For instance, research shows
that teachers treat boys and girls differently.
This may teach children that there are
different expectations of them, based on
their sex.

School
A key area of difference is in the way that
teachers, both men and women, typically interact
with students.
Whether they realize it or not, teachers tend to
favor boys in several ways: boys receive more
attention and instructional time, are more likely to
be called on in class, are posed with more
challenging questions or tasks, and are given
more praise for the quality of their work.
Time Magazine Article: The Myth About Boys

School
Textbooks often still contain sexist language and
gender stereotypes
 Women and minorities are underrepresented,
both as subjects and authors.
In the social structure of schools, women tend to
be concentrated at the lower levels, as teachers
and aides, while men occupy upper management
and administrative positions.
At the college level, women receive more than half
of all bachelor’s degrees and master’s degrees,
but only about a third of all doctorate degrees.

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(cont’d)
In Western societies, peer groups are an
important agent of socialization.
Teens are rewarded by peers when they
conform to gender norms and stigmatized
when they do not.

Peers
In Western societies, peer groups are an important agent of
socialization.
By the age of 3, children develop a preference for same-sex
playmates. This lasts until well after puberty and the pattern
begins to reverse slightly.
Some believe that this is because of inherent differences
between men and women…however, there is evidence to
support the notion that same-sex peer groups can help create
gendered behavior.
 When children play with same-sex peers, their activities
are more likely to be gender typed (girls have pretend tea
parties, for example)
 Also, children are punished (especially boys) for crossing
gender boundaries.

Peers
As teens, boys tend to gain prestige through
athletic ability, their sense of humor, and by
taking risks and defying norms. Girls, on the
other hand, tend to gain prestige through social
position and physical attractiveness.
Unfortunately, there are consequences for
falling short of gender expectations. In the
extreme, it can lead to bullying and rebellious
behavior in boys and to eating disorders in
women.

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Media
Finally, there is no question that sex-role
behavior is portrayed in a highly
stereotypical manner in all forms of the
media: television, movies, magazines,
books, video games, and so on.

Media
Finally, there is no question that sex-role
behavior is portrayed in a highly
stereotypical manner in all forms of the
media: television, movies, magazines,
books, video games, and so on.
We learn “how to behave, how to be
accepted, what to value, and what is
‘normal.’” Also, how “gender fits society.”
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Media
A great deal of media today is aimed at adolescents. By
the time a child reaches kindergarten, he or she will know
more television characters than real people.
From the media, we learn certain activities and attitudes
that appropriate for our prospective genders.
 Girls: caring, sensitive, beautiful, and reserved
 Boys: assertive, strong, analytic, and athletic
Body Consciousness: awareness of one’s body based on
gender lines.
 Increases in anorexia among young women
 Bulimia in women and even young men
 Steroid usage and irresponsible dietary issues

Sex, Gender, and Life
Chances
Sexism – refers to the subordination of one sex,
usually female, based on the assumed superiority
of the other sex.
 3 Components of sexism directed at women:
Negative attitudes toward women
Stereotypical believes that reinforce,
complement, or justify the prejudice
Discrimination – acts that exclude, distance,
or keep women separate.
 Men can be victims of sexism

Chances
Health
 Life Expectancy: One area where women have
an advantage is life expectancy. Females born
in 2005 are expected to live for an average age
of 80.1 years, while males are expected to live
74.8 years.
 Men are more likely to engage in risky behavior.
 Men are more likely to have jobs in dangerous
work environments.
 Men are less likely to seek preventative care.

Chances (cont’d)
Marriage, Divorce and Family
 Men are more likely than women to report never
having been married, perhaps reflecting
stronger societal pressure for women to marry
at some point in their lives.
 9.4% of women are widowed (only 2.4 % for
men) – women are much more likely to lose a
spouse.
 11.5% of women (8.9% of men) are currently
divorced.

Chances (cont’d)
 Divorce tends to be more difficult for women
with children that for men.
Women are much more likely to be the primary care
giver after divorce.
 In 2002, about 5 of every 6 custodial parents were
mothers (84.4%).
More than half of all parents did not receive child
support payments.
Women tend to have lower paying jobs than their ex-husbands.

Chances (cont’d)
 Women are more likely than men to be single
parents. Single women head more than 12 million
households, and single men only 4 million.
 Women also tend to be disadvantaged in
institutional settings in our society, where they do a
disproportionate amount of housework, earn less
on average than their male peers in the workplace,
and remain more likely to live in poverty.
 The “second-shift” – the household chores women
face after coming home from work.

Female-to-Male Earning Ratio
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Chances (cont’d)
Crime
 Men are more likely to die violent deaths and to be victims
of assault.
 Women are more likely to be victims of personal theft and
much more likely to be victims of rape.
 Men are overwhelmingly represented in nearly all
categories of crime: murder, rape, sex offenses, theft,
assault, and drug charges.
 Only crime category where women and girls outnumber
men and boys: prostitution (W 38,100 arrests/M 23,200
arrests) and runaways.
 Of the nearly 2 million people in correctional institutions,
the vast majority (around 90%) are men.

Chances (cont’d)
Education and Work
 Women are more likely than men to finish high school and attend
college. Of the est. 15.3 million students in college in 2000, 8.6 million
were women and 6.7 million were men. In fact, since 1880, women
have increasingly outnumbered men in college.
 Men are more likely to earn more money per degree granted. In fact,
men out-earn women at every level of education, from incomplete high
school to advanced degrees. These wage discrepancies are called the
“wage gap.” The wage gap is especially high for women with four-year
and professional degrees.
 The rates of participation in the labor force, the kinds of jobs, and the
levels of pay, the balance between work and family – gender inequality
is highly visible. In 2001, 74% of men were in the labor force, but only
60% of women (women’s participation is increasing.)

Chances (cont’d)
Education, Work and the Military
 Single women are more likely to work than married women,
while married men are more likely to work than single men.
 Many jobs are gendered: they have traditionally been and
continue to be performed by women or men (See table 10.5 on
page 256). Gendered jobs have far reaching consequences…
for example, physicians often earn four times as much as do
nurses. 92.2% of all nurses and only 29.4% of all physicians
are women, the monetary stakes are striking.

Sex, Gender, and Life Chances
(cont’d)
• Politics
• Men outnumber
women in all areas
of government
representation.
• This is true for every
country in the world
except for Sweden –
their legislature is
59% female.

Sex, Gender, and Life Chances
(cont’d)
 Many women experience what is called the “glass ceiling”
 Glass ceiling refers to situations where the advancement of a
qualified person within the hierarchy of an organization is stopped
at a lower level because of some form of discrimination, most
commonly sexism or racism, but since the term was coined. It
has also come to describe the limited advancement of the deaf,
blind, disabled, and aged. It is believed to be an unofficial,
invisible barrier that prevents women and minorities from
advancing in businesses.
 Many men experience the “glass escalator”
 A glass escalator is an unofficial fast track promotion of certain
types of staff, usually men, within an organization. This is typical
in female dominated organizations where men seem to have
preferment.
 Men outnumber women in the military and are disproportionately
represented in the command structure. In 2001, not a single full

Chances (cont’d)
Income and Poverty
 In 2004, men earned an average of $40,798 while the
average for women was $31,223.
 Even though this trend has been improving, women still
only earn a ratio of 77:100 ($.77 W/$1.00 M)
 Across the board, women earn less than men. This has
led to a situation called the feminization of poverty,
which is the economic trend showing that women are
more likely than men to live in poverty, due in part to the
gendered gap in wages, the higher proportion of single
mothers compared to single fathers, and the increasing
cost of childcare.
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Gender and Language
Our language and vocabulary tend to reflect
a hierarchal system of gender inequality.
Positions of power and authority often
direclty emphasize male gender in their
names: “congressman,” “chairman,”
“policeman.”
Other jobs have been gendered without the
use of male/female: “nurse/doctor,” “flight
attendant/pilot,” “secretary/executive.”
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Gender and Language
The English language also assumes that the default
category for all human experience is male: “man,”
“mankind,” “man-made,” “manslaughter,” and even
“human.”
Our language is also a good site for analyzing double
standards: aggressive men are called “go-getters,” while
aggressive women are called “bitches.” Men who have
frequent sexual encounters are called “players” while
women with the same experience are called “slut” or
“whore.”
Many times nicknames for women function as mechanisms
of social control: “baby,” “baby-doll,” “cupcake,” “chick,” or
in a negative sense, “cow” or “heifer.” Th
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Gender and Language
For if language shapes culture, then using gender-neutral
language should facilitate social change. If it is the other
way around, culture shaping language, then the use of
nonsexist words is a signal of positive social change: “his
or her,” “flight attendant,” “server,” “chairperson”…etc.
Finally, conversation patterns between men and women
tend to be very different.
 Men are more likely to interrupt women than they are to interrupt
men.
 Men are also more likely to control the subject matter of
conversations.
 Men are less responsive in a conversation dominated by women.
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The Women’s Movement
Feminism is the belief in the social,
political, and economic equality of the sexes
and the social movements organized
around that belief. In the United States, the
history of the women’s movement can be
divided into three historical waves.
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(cont’d)
The first wave was the earliest period of
feminist activism and included the period
from the mid-nineteenth century until
American women won the right to vote in
1920. The campaign organized around
gaining voting rights for women was called
the suffrage movement.
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(cont’d)
The second wave was the period of
feminist activity during the 1960s and 1970s
often associated with the issues of women’s
equal access to employment and education.
The third wave is the most recent period of
feminist activity and focuses on issues of
diversity and the variety of identities that
women can possess. Also, looks at the
rights of women in all countries.
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The Men’s Movement
The men’s movement, called male
liberationism, was a movement that
originated in the 1970s to discuss the
challenges of masculinity.
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(cont’d)
Although originally broadly sympathetic with
feminism, the men’s movement has now
split into the men’s rights movement (a
group that feels that feminism creates
disadvantages for men) and the pro-feminist
men’s movement (a group that
feels that sexism harms both men and
women and wants to fundamentally change
society’s ideas about gender).
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Sexual Orientation
Sexual orientation is the inclination to feel
sexual desire toward people of a particular
gender or toward both genders.
 Heterosexuality is the tendency to feel sexual
desire toward members of the opposite sex.
 Bisexuality is the tendency to feel sexual
desire toward members of both sexes.
 Homosexuality is the tendency to feel sexual
desire toward members of one’s own sex.

Sexual Orientation (cont’d)
What causes it? – Answer: we really
don’t know…however, this is not a new
question.
 Ulrichs (1800s) - contended sexuality was
linked to gender, and that gender was a product
of hereditary factors, probably related to
hormones.
 There was no way to prove this. It won’t be until
the 1990s when we get genetic research. Is
there a “gay gene” or is it the product of
socialization? Th
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Although some evidence supports a biological component to
homosexuality, research in this area is still preliminary.
 Bailey and Pillard (1990) – hypothesized that homosexuality was in
part congenital, or present at birth. The tested this by examining the
sexual orientation of sets of twins and their research suggested that
they were right. 52% of the identical twins of homosexual men were
also homosexual. 48% of identical twins of lesbian women were also
lesbian.
 Allen and Gorski (1992) – found that a segment of the fibers
connecting the hemispheres of the brain was up to 1/3 larger in
homosexual men – this again suggests a biological explanation.
 LeVay (1991, 1993) – performed autopsies on homosexual men who
had died of AIDS. He examined the anterior hypothalamus, a part of
the brain long thought to relate to sexual behavior, and discovered that
gay men have a smaller hypothalamus than heterosexual men. In fact,
it was closer in size to that of heterosexual women. He theorized that
this might be caused by prenatal differences in hormone levels.

Kinsey (1948, 1952) – suggested that sexuality
was far more diverse than was commonly
assumed. He believed that people were not
exclusively heterosexual or homosexual, but could
fall along a spectrum. He developed a scale,
known as The Kinsey Scale, to measure this.
This was based on the degree of sexual
responsiveness people had to members of the
same and opposite sex. They also took into
account fantasies, dreams, feelings, and the
frequency of particular sexual activities.

More recently, researchers have argued that
Kinsey’s theory reduces the following orientations
to a point on a single continuum:
 Bisexuals are individuals who are sexually attracted to
both genders. Often criticized for being either timid
homosexuals or adventurous heterosexuals.
 Transsexuals are individuals who identify with the
opposite sex and have surgery to alter their own sex so
it fits their self-image.
 Those who are asexual may simply reject any sexual
identity at all.
 Many in these categories, however, deny that their
orientation can be reduced to such a model.

What criteria do social scientists use to classify individuals as
gay, lesbian, or homosexual?
In a University of Chicago study from the mid-1990s,
researchers established 3 criteria for identifying people as
homosexual or bisexual:
 Sexual attraction to people of the same sex
 Sexual involvement with one or more persons of the same
sex
 Self-identification as gay, lesbian, or bisexual
According to these criteria, having engaged in a homosexual act
does not necessarily classify a person as homosexual. In fact,
many respondents in the study indicated that although they had
at least one homosexual encounter when younger, they were no
longer involved in homosexual conduct and never identified

Many have embraced the idea that homosexuality is
genetic, based on the idea that if sexuality is innate then
sexuality-based discrimination is unacceptable.
However, the fact that we don’t really know causes or
explanations is problematic. For example, possessing a
particular gene doesn’t guarantee that a person will have a
particular sexual orientation. Also, sociologists have
criticized the “gay gene” theory because it only offers a
narrow explanation of sexual orientation. It doesn’t explain
bisexuality or how biology and social environments interact
to produce various sexual behaviors.
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Many gays and lesbians favor the “gay gene” theory
because it is seen as a weapon in the fight for gay rights.
As a result, discrimination should not be allowed in a
similar fashion to sex, race, or disability.
However, adherents to queer theory (social theory about
gender identity and sexuality that emphasizes the
importance of difference and rejects as restrictive the idea
of innate sexual identity) reject the genetic model as unduly
limiting the diversity of possible identities. They argue that
the “ gay gene theory” is too limiting and doesn’t really
apply to everyone. People shouldn’t be limited to either
heterosexuality or homosexuality. Discrimination is wrong
regardless of whom a person chooses to have a
relationship.

Sexual Orientation: Social
Problems
Whatever the explanation for sexual
orientation, many believe that homosexuals
should not be granted the same legal rights
as heterosexuals.
While most Americans oppose gay
marriage, many say they would support
civil unions.
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Defense of Marriage Act
Defense of Marriage Act is the short title of a federal law
of the United States passed on September 21, 1996 as
Public Law No. 104-199, 110 Stat. 2419. The law, also
known as DOMA, has two effects:
 No state (or other political subdivision within the United States) needs to
treat a relationship between persons of the same sex as a marriage, even if
the relationship is considered a marriage in another state.
 The federal government defines marriage as a legal union exclusively
between one man and one woman.
The bill was passed by Congress by a vote of 85-14 in the
Senate and a vote of 342-67 in the House of
Representatives, and was signed into law by President Bill
Clinton on September 21, 1996.
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Homophobia
Homophobia is a fear of or discrimination toward
homosexuals or toward individuals who display purportedly
gender-inappropriate behavior.
The Matthew Shepard Act, officially the Matthew
Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention
Act, is an Act of Congress, passed on October 22, 2009,
and was signed into law by President Barack Obama on
October 28, 2009, as a rider to the National Defense
Authorization Act for 2010.
 This measure expands the 1969 United States federal
hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's
actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender
identity, or disability. 83

Homophobia (cont’d)
Despite a great deal of change in recent
years, homophobia is still common in
American society. Some argue that the term
“homophobia” represents a biased attitude
because the term “phobia” implies a
psychological condition, thus excusing
intolerance.
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Chapter 9 – Sex and Gender
ORIGINAL SLIDES
85

86
Gender?
• Although the terms “sex” and “gender” are
often used interchangeably, sociologists
differentiate between the two.

87
Gender? (cont’d)
•Sex refers to an individual’s membership in
one of two biologically distinct categories—
male or female.

89
Gender? (cont’d)
• Gender refers to the physical, behavioral,
and personality traits that a group considers
normal for its male and female members.

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Essentialist Approach to
Gender Identity
• Essentialists see gender as biological and
permanent—it is a simple, two-category
system. Your chromosomes, hormones, and
genitalia determine your identity.

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Constructionist Approach
to Gender Identity
• Most sociologists use a constructionist
approach and see gender as a social
construction and acknowledge the possibility
that the male–female categories are not the
only way of classifying individuals.

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Gender Inequality
• Gender inequality can be found in all past
and present societies.
• There are several sociological theories that
attempt to explain why this inequality has
persisted in contemporary societies.

93
Theories on Gender
Inequality
• Functionalists:
• Believe that there are social roles better suited to
one gender than the other, and that societies are
more stable when certain tasks are fulfilled by
the appropriate sex.

94
Theories on Gender
Inequality (cont’d)
• According to Talcott Parsons:
• Men were more suited for an
instrumental role (the person
who provides the family’s
material support and is often an
authority figure).
• Women were more suited for an
expressive role (the person who
provides the family’s emotional
support and nurturing).

95
(cont’d)
• Conflict theorists:
• Believe men have historically had access to
most of society’s material resources and
privileges. Therefore, it is in their interest to try to
maintain their dominant position.

96
(cont’d)
• Interactionists emphasize how the concept
of gender is socially constructed, maintained,
and reproduced in our everyday lives.

98
• Gender role
socialization is the
lifelong process of
learning to be
masculine or
feminine, primarily
through four main
agents of
socialization: families,
schools, peers, and
the media.

99
(cont’d)
• Families are usually the primary source of
socialization and greatly impact gender role
socialization.
• Social learning theory suggests that babies
and children learn behaviors and meanings
through social interaction and internalize the
expectations of those around them.

100
(cont’d)
• Schools also socialize children into their
gender roles. For instance, research shows
that teachers treat boys and girls differently.
This may teach children that there are
different expectations of them, based on their
sex.

101
(cont’d)
• In Western societies, peer groups are an
important agent of socialization.
• Teens are rewarded by peers when they
conform to gender norms and stigmatized
when they do not.

102
(cont’d)
• Finally, there is no question that sex-role
behavior is portrayed in a highly stereotypical
manner in all forms of the media: television,
movies, magazines, books, video games,
and so on.

103
Chances
• Sex and gender affect almost every
significant aspect of our lives. Even lifespan
is different based on sex!

104
Chances
• Women are disadvantaged in institutional
settings in our society. Women tend to:
• Do a disproportionate amount of
housework
• Earn less on average than their male
peers at work
• Remain more likely to live in poverty

106
Chances (cont’d)
• This has led to a situation called the
feminization of poverty, which is the
economic trend showing that women are
more likely than men to live in poverty, due in
part to the gendered gap in wages, the
higher proportion of single mothers
compared to single fathers, and the
increasing cost of child care.

Female-to-Male Earning Ratio
107

108
Chances (cont’d)
• Second Shift is a term that describes the
unpaid housework and child care often
expected of a woman, even after she
completes a day of paid labor outside of the
home.

109
Chances (cont’d)
• Even our language and vocabulary tend to
reflect a hierarchal system of gender
inequality.

110
• Feminism is the belief in the social, political,
and economic equality of the sexes and the
social movements organized around that
belief.
• In the United States, the history of
the Women’s Movement can be
divided into three historical
waves.

111
(cont’d)
• The first wave was the earliest period of
feminist activism and included the period
from the mid-nineteenth century until
American women won the right to vote in
1920. The campaign organized around
gaining voting rights for women was called
the suffrage movement.

112
(cont’d)
• The second wave was the period of feminist
activity during the 1960s and 1970s, often
associated with the issues of women’s equal
access to employment and education.

(cont’d)
• The third wave is the most recent period of
feminist activity and focuses on issues of
diversity and the variety of identities that
women can possess.
113

114
• The Men’s Movement, called male
liberationism, was a movement that
originated in the 1970s to discuss the
challenges of masculinity.

115
(cont’d)
• Although originally broadly sympathetic with
feminism, the men’s movement has now split
into the men’s rights movement (a group
that feels that feminism creates
disadvantages for men) and the pro-feminist
men’s movement (a group that
feels that sexism harms both men and
women and wants to fundamentally change
society’s ideas about gender).

116
Sexual Orientation
• Sexual orientation is the inclination to be
heterosexual (attracted to the opposite sex),
homosexual (attracted to the same sex), or
bisexual (attracted to either sex).

117
• Is sexual orientation a continuum rather than
a few simple categories?
• Those who are asexual may simply reject
any sexual identity at all.

118
Homophobia
• Homophobia is a fear of or discrimination
toward homosexuals or toward individuals
who display purportedly gender-inappropriate
behavior.

119
Gender and Sexuality—
Concept Quiz
True or False: Sociologists believe that sex and
gender are essentially the same thing.
a. True
b. False

120
Concept Quiz
Which theoretical perspective generally believes that
there are still social roles better suited to one gender
than the other?
a. Conflict theory
b. Functionalism
c. Labeling theory
d. Symbolic interactionism

121
Concept Quiz
The physical, behavioral, and personality traits that a
group considers normal for its male and female
members is referring to:
a. sex
b. gender
c. sexual orientation
d. the functionalist theory of gender

122
Concept Quiz
The economic trend showing that women are more
likely than men to live in poverty is called:
a. gender inequity
b. the suffrage movement
c. gender role socialization
d. the feminization of poverty

123
Concept Quiz
What was the cause most identified with the first
wave of the women’s movement?
a. Equal pay for women
b. Equal access to education for women
c. The right to vote for women
d. The celebration of diversity

147
This concludes the Lecture
PowerPoint presentation for
Chapter 9
Visit the StudySpace at:
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visit the StudySpace site for
The Real World, 3e.

Chapter 9 Sex & Gender

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