SOC 101
Chapter 10
Sex and Gender
Chapter Questions...

Why are some cultures more sexist?
 Why do men and women take on the roles
that they do?
 How and why do women’s movements
emerge?
Theoretical Approaches

Interactionist
– Concerned with social i________ and in_____

Functionalist
– Asks “how is gender f______ for society and
its members?”

Conflict (including feminist)
– Suggests that conflict always occurs over
M_____ and P_____
Guttentag: Sex Ratios & Sex Roles

Imagine if one gender outnumbers the other in the age
groups when marriage and having children take place
– We might assume, based on the laws of supply and demand,
that the gender that is in short supply has an advantage...

E.g. if women outnumber men, then they must compete with
one another for a man’s attention
– They may feel pressure to adhere to traditional sex roles in order to “get
their man”
– Thus, they are “forced” into traditional sex roles when they outnumber
men

Guttentag & Secord’s theory, however, predicts the opposite
– Women are much more subject to traditional sex roles in
societies where men outnumber women
Sex Ratios and Power Dependency

Athens and Sparta are prototypical cases for understanding the
sex ratio thesis
– Where women in the prime marrying ages are scarce (as in
Athens) they are romanticized & treated as precious property
but without rights of their own
 “respectable” women were isolated by protective sexual
norms (virginity and chastity were expected)
– Where women in the prime marrying ages are in excess (as in
Sparta) there is much less gender inequality

Women are less romanticized, less expectation for virginity and
chastity
– However, men are less likely to be dependable as spouses and lovers

To understand why we need to link micro and macro levels of
analysis
The Micro Level

At the micro level there is an exchange theory
premised upon the rational choice assumption
– “Individuals seek to maximize benefits while
minimizing costs”
– The gender in short supply possesses “dyadic power”
– Thus if women possess dyadic power, they should be
able to dictate terms to men
– Yet, this isn’t the case…. WHY NOT?
The Macro Level

Need a macro level explanation to explain why
 G&S suggest that we need to look at who controls the
institutions in society
– e.g. law, politics, business, religious orders, etc.

They argue, using conflict theory, that men use these
institutions to serve their interests
– Thus, men create norms to counteract women’s dyadic power


E.g. brides should be virgins, etc.
We are all socialized to accept these norms without questioning them, they
appear “natural”

When both structural and dyadic power
favors men, they will exploit their
advantages to the fullest
– Men will discard partners more readily, give
little to the relationship, etc.
– Eventually, norms valuing virginity and chastity
disappear so that men can more easily “play the
field”
Patriarchy
We call societies “patriarchical” if the
cultural, political, and economic systems
within that society are dominated by men
 Is the U.S. a patriarchy?

Patriarchy & the Cultural System


Language is part of culture
Often ignores women by using the masculine form to
refer to humans in general
– Chairman, Fireman, Mankind, etc.
– Dear Sir


Children learn at an early age that men and women are
different and should do different things
There is great concern for the marital status of women
– Miss, Mrs.

Can be symbolically degrading
toward women
– Compare these pairs of opposites


Master/Mistress
Lord/Madam
– Consider the words we use for
men and women who are
sexually promiscuous

Cultural Practices
– Men sign on top line of marriage
certificate & legal documents
– Women take men’s last name
– Treatment by car salesmen or
mechanics
Patriarchy & the Political System

During the 1998 election,
women were 52% of the
population, but:
– 22% of the U.S. Supreme
–
–
–
–
Court
6% of State Governors
18% of State Senators
23% of State Representatives
20% of “Big City” Mayors
Patriarchy & the Political
System

In 2013, women were
approximately 51% of the
population, but:
–
–
–
–
–
33.3% of the U.S. Supreme Court
22.4% of State Governors
20% of State Senators
18.2% of State Representatives
12% of “Big City” Mayors
Patriarchy & the Economic System

Gender Segregated Work
– Men dominate in the areas of:





Auto Mechanics (99%)
Carpentry (99%)
Engineering (92%)
Architecture (83%)
Law (81%)
– Women dominate in the areas of:




Secretarial (99%)
Nursing (95%)
Elementary Education (86%)
Library Science (83%)

Women hold most of the “pink-collar” jobs
– Non-manual, semiskilled positions like day care,
checkout clerk, cashier, wait person, etc.

Women, on average, make less than men
– Socialized to major in fields that don’t pay as well
– The “mommy track”
– The “glass ceiling” (Women often stereotyped as better at
“support” and steered into areas not rewarded)
Women’s Movements in the U.S.

G&S predict that when men have structural
and dyadic power, women make an attempt
to restructure society and sex roles
– Do this through social movements
 Thus, women’s movements occur when women
outnumber men
– The Woman Movement (1848)
– The Suffragist Movement (1910)
– The Feminist Movement (1920)
Year
1790
1800
1810
1820
1830
1840
1850
1900
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
Whites
103.8
104.0
104.0
103.2
103.8
104.5
105.2
104.9
102.9
101.2
98.9
97.3
95.3
94.8
95.3
African-Americans
------------103.4
100.3
99.4
99.1
98.6
97.0
95.0
94.3
93.3
90.8
89.6
89.5
Conclusion

If men outnumber women:
– Men romanticize women and treat them as precious property

Men are more likely to be dependable as spouses and lovers
– They attempt to offset their lack of dyadic power by creating
norms and language that keep women from gaining power in
society

If women outnumber men:
– There is much less gender inequality

However, men are less likely to be dependable as spouses and lovers
– Women’s movements are more likely to appear