Gender & Families
Individuals and families are influenced by
larger social forces that we may not always
notice
In the next few classes we will focus on
three critical dimensions of families
Gender
Race/ethnicity
Sexual orientation
Gender & Families
The distinction between male and female,
masculine and feminine is basic to the study
of families
1. All societies exhibit a sharp distinction
between what women and men do in
families
2. All cultures divide family labor like
housework and child care based on gender
Gender Theory
Gender theory argues that differences between
men and women are socially constructed.
That means we LEARN how to act like boys or
girls, we are not necessarily born liking pink vs.
blue
Gender theory emphasizes the role of society
or culture, rather than biology.
In other words being feminine or masculine is
learned and created through our social
interactions
Sex & Gender
Sociologists distinguish between sex and gender
Sex: refers to the biological attributes that distinguish
females from males such as: chromosomes, hormones,
and “anatomical apparatus”
Gender: refers to the cultural and social meanings,
experiences, and characteristics that are defined as
appropriate for females and males
i.e. boys can’t wear skirts, boys should not cry, girls are
good at cooking, or women don’t play basketball as well
as men
Gender Theory
Because gender is a SOCIAL construction it is
fluid or always changing
Then….
Gender Theory
Because gender is a SOCIAL construction it is
fluid or always changing
Now…
Sex & Gender
• Sex is a biological creation
• Gender is a social creation
– Sociologists argue that gender is “socially
constructed” or created
– In other words men and women learn many
masculine and feminine behaviors though
socialization
Social Construction of Gender
• Why do sociologists argue that gender is socially
constructed?
1) Expectations of each gender vary from society to
another
Example: In Pakistan it is common for male friends to hold hands
but this is not common among American men.
2) Gender behaviors vary within one culture at
different points in time
Example: Men’s fashions in 17th century America were much more
“feminine” compared to men’s fashions today.
Social Construction of Gender
• Why do sociologists argue that gender is socially
constructed?
– 3) The meanings of masculinity and femininity change over
the course of a person’s life.
Example: The meaning of femininity changes as women age –
compare pre-pubescent girls to women who are of childbearing
age or who are postmenopausal
– 4) Meaning of gender varies among different groups within a
particular culture at a given point in time.
Example: Gender behaviors may be structured by class, race,
ethnicity, age, region of the country etc.
Sociological Perspectives on Gender
• How are gender roles acquired & how is gender
constructed?
• Gender role approach focuses on the how parents, and
other social institutions transmit gendered
expectations about appropriate behavior through
socialization
• Socialization is the process by which individuals acquire
society’s norms and values
• Socialization is a life long process
The Social Construction of Gender and
the Media
• As gender is fluid ideas of appropriate roles
and stereotypes can change:
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65UIrMXh
Ttk
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO7W0lO
QBPw&feature=related
Sociological Perspectives on Gender
• West and Zimmerman ‘Doing Gender’
• Argue that we need to be continually
“resocialized” into gender roles or reminded
how to act like a man or act like a woman
• Gender is produced through interaction
• For example: in families – doing housework is “doing
gender”
• Men and women reinforce gender roles by doing
gender appropriate household work EVERY DAY!
Sociological Perspectives on Gender
• West and Zimmerman ‘Doing Gender’
• They argue that gender is a “routine
accomplishment” embedded in every day
interaction
• In other words, we are continually acting out
being a man or being a woman in social
situations
• Gender emerges from an interaction or a social
situation
Sociological Perspectives on Gender
• West and Zimmerman ‘Doing Gender’
• Can you think of an example when you were
doing gender:
• I was doing gender when:
Doing Gender in Families
http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_21434.aspx
Doing Gender?
Doing Gender?
Paid Work, Gender & Families
• After rising for several decades, the labor
force participation rate for women has shown
little growth in recent years
• The participation rate for adult men has
drifted down over time.
• Mothers with older children have highest
labor force participation rate
• WHY?
• Children are expensive!!
The latest figures on unemployment
2008
According to the most recent figures: the
unemployment rate:
for men: 27% up from 20% in 1970
for women 40.5% decreased from 57% in 1970
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Employment and earnings online January
Retreived from http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/labor_force_employment_earnings/labor_force_status.html,
September 24, 2010
Male dominance in government
has declined only recently
• Before 1992, there had never been more than 2 women
among our 100 U.S. senators.
• As of 2007,
– 16 women in the Senate
• (out of 100)
– 71 women in House of Representatives
• (out of 435)
•
http://womenincongress.house.gov/profiles/index.html
• The former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, was
the only woman to hold that job (now replaced by a
man)
• Only 16 percent of the U.S. Congress are women
Source: History News Networkhttp://hnn.us/roundup/entries/33847.html
Male dominance in government
has declined only recently
• A recent set of polls conducted BEFORE the
last presidential election found:
• 67 - 71 percent believe the U.S. is ready to
elect a woman president
• Over 74 percent believe the U.S, is ready to
elect an African/American/black candidate
•
Source:
http://www.pollingreport.com/politics.htm://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/Facts/Elections/pres08
_polls/Gallup_6in10.pdf
Sociological Perspectives on Gender
• Now lets really think deeply about the interaction
between sexual identity and gender
• Chaz Bono has transitioned from being a woman to a man
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU7YMTJ8ntE
Sociological Perspectives on Gender
• Taking your husbands name ….
• Some argue – it is just easier if couple and children
have the same name –
• Others argue - isn’t changing your name on all legal
documents confusing and time consuming?
• And why is it almost always women who change their
names to their husbands’ name?
• This is a holdover from older patriarchal customs
Summary
• Summary
• Acting in gender appropriate ways reinforces
gender differences
 Sociologists argue that gender is socially
constructed through economic and social
constraints on women’s behavior and their
ability to achieve equality with men
Summary
• Summary
• Gender is continuously constructed through
everyday interaction – “doing gender”
• Men’s power is embedded in the social
structure
• Gender and families are intertwined
• Families are a social institution in which gender
is socially constructed