Chapter 10 – Gender in America
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Global violence against women
◦ Historical examples – witch burning in Europe and
early America
◦ Burning the living widow with the body of her dead
husband in India
◦ Rape, female infanticide, kidnapping of women to be
brides
◦ In some areas of Pakistan, Jordan, and Kurdistan – if a
woman dishonors the family, she is killed by a male
family member so as to preserve the family honor
 (usually for sex outside of marriage including being a
victim of rape – killing removes the “stain” on the
family)
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Global violence against women
◦ Female circumcision in Muslim Africa, Malaysia,
some parts of Egypt and Indonesia. (some cultures 710 days after birth / some cultures as adolescents)
 What is it? In some cultures it is a process of opening and
closing surgically
 Reasons: purity, to marry well, as a means to lessen
desire and increase chances that the girl remains a virgin
 Feminists call this ritual torture
 World Health Organization as declared it a human rights
issue.
If you haven’t done your reaction paper – this is an option on
the assignment sheet.
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Violence against Women in the United States
◦ Forcible rape – 1 per 1000 women between age 12
and 50 each year. Most victims know their attacker.
Males are also victims of rape with especially high
numbers in prisons (of which authority often
overlooks)
◦ Date Rape / Acquaintance Rape – 250,000 college
women are victims in six months (2.8 % of 11 million
women)
◦ Murder – Although women make up 51% of population
– murderers are 9 out of 10 times a man.
◦ Violence in the Home – Many cultures tie strength and
virility to violence – it promotes violence.
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DISCUSSION:
Discuss gender inequality in America ◦ What do you see?
 Feel free to share personal experiences from both
the male and female perspective
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Are there inequalities in:
◦ Healthcare?
◦ Education?
◦ Workplace?
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DISCUSSION:
 WHAT
DO YOU FIRST THINK
OF WHEN YOU HEAR THE TERM
FEMINIST?
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Gender inequality and feminism
◦ Women were second class citizens in America
◦ When married – identity was often lost to the
husband
◦ Husband’s power yielded power to the wife
◦ Feminism: Biology is not destiny and that
stratification by gender is wrong.
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Gender inequality and feminism
◦ FIRST WAVE OF WOMEN’S MOVEMENT: Early feminists
were suffragists in early 1900’s working for the right to
vote
◦ SECOND WAVE OF WOMEN’S MOVEMENT: 1960’s –
women’s rights and right to work outside the home as
well as more freedom as the impediments to women’s
love and sexual pleasure are removed
◦ THIRD WAVE OF WOMEN’S MOVEMENT: emerge in
three aspects:
 Greater focus on women in least industrialized nations
 Criticism of values that dominate work and society
 Removal of impediments to women’s love and sexual
pleasure
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DISCUSSION:
◦What is the glass ceiling?

Gender Inequality in Health Care
◦ Reports of women twice as likely to die as men in
a bypass – Why?
 Unintended discrimination – less time on the circulation
machine
 Chest pains were taken less seriously in women
 Men were 10 times more likely to be given the proper
scans and women were more likely ordered pap smears
and mammograms
 MY MOM’S EXPERIENCE
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Gender Inequality in Education
◦ Until 1832 – women were not allowed to attend
college
◦ In 1900 – one third of college students are
women
◦ Now – women earn 57% of all bachelors degrees
◦ So…Where’s the inequality now?
 In 1970 – across the country, 34 women became dentists
 Masculine and Feminine fields
 Leadership roles in education
 How many of you went to schools with female principals?
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Gender inequality in Workplace
◦ Women make 72% of what a man makes for equal
work
◦ There is a gap in ALL industrialized nations.
 Some reasons:
 Some of the jobs are naturally lower paying jobs and with
more women in them there is a statistical discrepancy
 Child penalty – women miss out on time factor with having
children and this slows increases in wages
 Testosterone bonus – men often started out at a higher wage
 Glass ceiling – women being steered to jobs that are not able
to be promoted from and often viewed as better support
staff.
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DISCUSSION:
Since 1789 almost 2000 men have served in the
Senate – how many women?
What year was the first African-American woman
elected (and do you know her name?)
What was landmark in 2002 and 2007?
Name another big milestone for women in politics
in 2008.
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
Changing Face of Politics
Since 1789 almost 2000 men have served in the
Senate – how many women?
◦ 38 and 17 in the Senate

What year was the first African-American woman
elected (and do you know her name?)
◦ 1992 – Carol Moseley-Braun
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What was landmark in 2002 and 2007?

Name another big milestone for women in politics in 2008.
◦ Nancy Pelosi was elected minority leader in the House of
Representatives and then Speaker of the House
◦ Hilary Clinton becoming close to the Presidential nominee for the
Democratic Party – she is the current Secretary of State
 (NOTE – Condoleeza Rice as well.)
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DISCUSSION:
What are the first things that come to
mind about: growing older?
◦ Growing older / Aging
◦ Being old
◦ What does “old” mean?
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
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_H9cit
CL46M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVEiAU_
F2qw
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Social Construction of Aging
◦ Tiwi people on an island off of Australia
 “Covering-Up” – a hole is dug; the elderly person is
put in with only her head showing; hole is filled;
people leave and come back in a couple days to find
him/her dead.
◦ Abkhasians – agricultural people who live in
Georgia (republic of the Soviet Union)
 Longest lived people on earth.
 Diets
 Lifelong physical activity and even work 4 hours a day
 No real difference between what they “were” vs what they “are”
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Aging
◦ Graying of the globe / Graying of America
 One in 45 citizens in Uganda is elderly
 1 in 5 in Japan
 In two decades half of the population of Italy and
Japan will be older than 50
 Life expectancy has increased since 1900 (was 50)
and now is 82
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AMERICA
◦ 1900 – only 4% of Americans were 65 and older
◦ TODAY – 13% are 65 and older
 AND…the average 65 year old is expected to live another 19 years
◦ Median age has doubled since 1850
◦ TODAY – there are 8 million more elderly
Americans than teenagers
◦ US ranks 11th in life expectancy
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LIFE EXPECTANCY
◦ The number of years people can expect to live
◦ In the US – 70’s or 80’s
◦ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfOydFYAclI
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LIFE SPAN
◦ Maximum length of life possible
 Jeanne Louise Calmet of France- 122
 Tuti Yusupova of Uzbekistan - 128
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Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
◦ AGEISM – term by Robert Butler
 Refers to prejudice, discrimination, and hostility to
people because of their age
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Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
◦ We perceive both ourselves and others according
to the symbols of our culture
 Age changed from an asset to a liability
 Old Age has no inherent meaning
 Each culture makes rules as to value or not when
referring to age
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Functionalist Perspective
◦ Analyze how parts of society work together
◦ 4 TERMS:
 Age Cohorts – people who are born roughly the same
time who pass through the life course together
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Baby Boom
Generation X
Generation Y
Millennials
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Functionalist Perspective
◦ Analyze how parts of society work together
◦ 4 TERMS:
 Disengagement Theory – pensions and retirement are
mutually beneficial arrangements that frees up jobs
for younger people while also benefitting the retired
 Elderly don’t really “disengage”, they exchange one ser of goals
for another
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Functionalist Perspective
◦ Analyze how parts of society work together
◦ 4 TERMS:
 Activity Theory – some people are happier when they
are more active and others are happier when less
involved
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Functionalist Perspective
◦ Analyze how parts of society work together
◦ 4 TERMS:
 Continuity Theory – how elderly maintain ties with
their past
 A CEO might be a consultant (people used to multiple
roles in life make this transition smoother – applies to all
ages)
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Conflict Perspective
◦ Fighting for resources – Social Security legislation…
◦ Intergenerational Competition and Conflict – one + of
every four tax dollars (28%) is spent on Social Security
and Medicare
◦ Intergenerational Conflict – jobs…baby boomers leaving
the job market (but until they do…)
 What about media and preference to young/attractive as
newscasters? What have you noticed?
◦ High levels of child poverty creates tension as funding
goes to the elderly
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NEW VIEWS OF AGING:
◦ New Period of Life
◦ New Challenges
◦ Time to be enjoyed and celebrated
◦ New “freedom”