Gender, Sex, and Sexuality

Gender, Sex, and Sexuality Sex vs. Gender • Sex o The biological distinction between females and males • From a biological viewpoint: the way humans reproduce o Primary sex characteristics o Secondary sex characteristics Genitals/Sexual Reproduction, Bodily development, apart from the genitals, that distinguishes biologically mature females and males Sex and the Body • Intersexual People o People whose bodies (including genitals) have both female and male characteristics o Differential acceptance around the world o Our culture demands that sex be clear-cut  Some respond to intersexuals with confusion or disgust  Sexual reassignment surgery often happens quickly Hermaphrodite - Has both female ovaries and male testis Gender • Gender o Refers to the personal traits and social positions that members of a society attach to being female or male o “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.” Simone de Beauvoir • Gender Identity o The extent to which one identifies as being either masculine or feminine • Transgender (or transsexual) o People who feel they are one sex even though biologically they are the other o Female-to-male (FTM) or male-to-female (MTF) o Transgender people may or may not decide to alter their bodies hormonally and/or surgically.  Gender reassignment surgery • Genderqueer: Anyone who doesn’t identify as cisgender (traditional, normative conception of gender) Gender Differences • Michael Kimmel • We share far more characteristics than those that are polar opposites • • • • • • But we as a culture are focused on difference, creating difference and explaining difference. The real question is: why are we fixated on this? Difference might be okay…. But how often is difference JUST difference? Gender Stratification o The unequal distribution of wealth, power, and privilege between men and women The value structure associated with the genders tells us that the behaviors associated with them are ranked in importance. Social Hierarchy Gender in Global Perspective • Margaret Mead’s Research o If gender is based on biological differences, people everywhere should define “feminine” and “masculine” the same o Studied three societies in New Guinea  Arapesh, Mundugumor, and Tchambuli o Found variation from the norm o Concluded that culture is the key to gender distinction • Hunter-gatherer Societies • Clearly gendered division of labor o Male – Hunting  extra-domestic o Women – Gathering domestic o Linked to BIOLOGY • No evidence to believe that men were valued over women! Retrospectively, analysts ASSUMED this to be true. Sexual Orientation • Sexual orientation o A person’s romantic and emotional attraction to another person  Heterosexuality  Homosexuality  Bisexuality  Asexuality • Why is sexual attraction not the same as sexual behavior? • Generally, sociologists understand sexual orientation to be a complicated topic. o Identification o Behavior o Attraction  Example: “The Down Low” What Gives Us a Sexual Orientation? • Sexual orientation: A product of society o Argues that people in any society attach meanings to sexual activity  Meanings differ from place to place over time  Existence of global diverse patterns indicate that sexual expression is socially constructed • Sexual orientation: A product of biology o Suggests that sexual orientation is derives from inborn qualities  Gay gene? When did you decide to become gay? Studying sexual orientation • Identification/Attraction/Behavior • Disclosure – historical privacy • Change, liberalization of sexualities o Rejection of traditional notions of gender, gender-blindness Queer theory • Queer Theory o Originated in the 1990’s from Feminist and LGBT studies o Scholarly discipline that questions/challenges normative definitions of gender and sexuality o Consider some newer terms: o Polysexual o Pansexual, or omnisexual Feminism • The advocacy of social equality for women and men, in opposition to patriarchy and sexism • “First wave” of American feminist movement in the 1840s o Main objective was obtaining the right to vote • “Second wave” of feminism arose in the 1960s o Reproductive freedoms, workplace/pay equality, sexual freedom o Continues today • The Basic Foundations 1. Working to increase equality 2. Expanding human choice 3. Eliminating gender stratification 4. Ending sexual violence 5. Promoting sexual freedom • Selected Victories • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Serve on juries Voting Birth control information deemed not obscene Improved working wages Acceptance of lesbians in society Birth control pill approved (1960) Equal Pay Act (1963) Title VII of Civil Rights Act bars employment discrimination on race and sex Sex-segregated jobs ads are barred No fault divorces Title IX – Participation of women in athletics in schools Supreme court gives right to abortion (Roe v. Wade) (1972) First Marital Rape law (1976) Pregnancy Discrimination Act (1976) First Sexual Harassment Law (1986) Violence Against Women Act funds resources for victims of Rape & Domestic Violence, Harsher penalties for sex offenders States can be sued for violations of Family Medical Leave Act Ability to sue for work/pay discrimination on basis of gender Pres. Obama signs the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act (2009) In addition to changing societal beliefs about women’s capabilities, feminism is responsible for the entrance of women into the workplace, higher education, politics, military Women's Rights Movement in the U.S. Timeline of Key Events in the American Women's Rights Movement 1848–1920 by Ann-Marie Imbornoni Today’s ongoing movements include SO MANY areas: • Sexual Violence & Domestic Violence (example Rape in the military) • Unequal Pay & Glass Ceiling • Media Representations of Women • Reproductive Freedoms – Access to safe abortions and birth control • Second Shift, Paid Parental Leave, Family Friendly Workplaces • Same sex marriage • Sex trafficking & Modern slavery Patriarchy and Sexism • Patriarchy (“Rule of Fathers”) o A form of social organization in which males dominate females  Men occupy forms of leadership, moral authority, positions of power  Privilege in social, political, legal and economic realms • Sexism o The belief that one sex is innately superior to the other o Justification for patriarchy Patrilineal • How does the United States rank in relation to other countries throughout the world as it relates to gender equality? • The Global Gender Gap Report’s index o 134 countries on how well they divide resources and opportunities amongst male and female populations, regardless of the overall levels of these resources. The report measures the size of the gender inequality gap in four areas: o 1) Economic participation and opportunity – outcomes on salaries, participation levels and access to high-skilled employment o 2) Educational attainment – outcomes on access to basic and higher-level education o 3) Health and survival – outcomes on life expectancy and sex ratio o 4) Political empowerment – outcomes on representation in decision-making structures Institutional Patriarchy & Sexism • Work & Gender o 1. Job Segregation o 2. Hierarchy o 3. Wage Gap o 4. Second Shift Patriarchy • Segregation in the Types of Jobs o High concentration of women in two types of jobs  Administrative work (“pink-collar jobs”)  Service work (food, child care, and health care) • Follow our traditional beliefs of where men and women are better suited • Is difference just difference? Differentials in power and pay in the positions • Hierarchy within Workplaces o Women work for men o Women are more likely to work in “supportive” roles  Teacher – Principals  Secretaries – Executives  Hygienists –Dentists  Flight Attendants-Pilots • The higher the income and prestige of a job, the more likely it will be dominated by men o 98% of Kindergarten teachers o 83% of Elementary school teachers • • o 58% of Secondary school teachers o 42% of College & University professors o 16% of College & University presidents More generally, the further you go up the ladder of success and prestige, the fewer women you find. o Fortunate 500 companies: 15 of the CEO’s are women o Forbes: 10% of the richest people in the U.S. are women Glass Ceiling o Advancement in the workplace is limited based on gender (or race or other demographic characteristics) o Invisible Barrier to upper management  Illegal, but practiced subtly Glass ceiling prevents many women from rising above middle management • • Wage Gap, or Gender Pay Gap o Women earn about 77% of what men make  Women and men work in different positions (segregation/hierarchy) which affect median rates of pay  Women have more interrupted work, less work experience  AND, a recent study showed that even when experience, education, and field were held constant, women still earned 7% less than men’s earnings  Institutionalized Discrimination 1963’s Equal Pay Act & Title VII of the Civil Rights Act makes this illegal (discrimination on the basis of sex) Secrecy around salaries • • 2 Hypotheses on why this happens: o Human Capital Hypothesis – women have less skills, education, training, work experience and that’s why they receive less money o Devaluation Hypothesis – The work that women do is defined as less valuable in society and therefore less worthy of pay Second Shift o U.S. culture gives more of the responsibility of parenting to women o Pregnancy and raising small children keep many young women out of the labor force o But when working, women are expected to do a Double Shift – 1st shift at their paid job, and 2nd shift at their homes doing domestic and childcare duties “Invisible Work” Arlie Hochschild (1989, 1997) 2/3’s of families are dual-earners – most common type of family arrangement Sex: A Cultural Issue • Cultural variation o Every sexual practice shows variation from one society to another o Sexual positions o Displaying affection o Modesty and sexualized parts of the body o Some societies restrict sexuality. Others are more permissive  Example: Views on and use of contraceptives  Example: Gendered notions of appropriateness of sexual acts