Ch 7 - Sex and Gender Flashcards
(34 cards)
What are the socialogical perspectives?
Functionalism, feminist perspectives, conflict, symbolic interactionism
Functionalist perspective
Looks are rules and functions of each “player in the game” (doctors write prescriptions, nurses are first point of contact, patient is ailing and needs care). Interdependence of each individual.
Feminist perspective
Extension of conflict perspective. (Healthcare: Woman more likely to be nurse, janitor more likely to be minority. Nurses always fighting for higher pay, women tend to get paid less in general.)
Conflict perspective
Dysfunction within systems: inequality, power dynamics, social classes, scarcity of resources. (Healthcare: Doctors of the most power, janitors are considered lowly, even though they do the dirty work, nurses are low on the rungs, even though they are worked very hard)
Symbolic interactionism perspective
Meaning, symbols, attire, sounds, interpretation, understanding. (Healthcare: White coat - cleanliness, authority, power. Sirens - emergency, priority. H = sign for way to hospital.
Who are the players in the health care system?
Doctors, nurses, janitors, patients, ambulance attendees, etc..
Difference between sex and gender?
Sex is biological, gender is socially constructed.
Sex
Biological and anatomical. identified by genitalia, secondary identification physical traits like breasts, hips, size, muscularity.
Gender
Culturally and socially constructed differences between males and females. Meanings, beliefs and practices associated with femininity and masculinity. (clothes, roles, emotions, etc.)
Social significance of gender
Social stratification: education, occupation. Women pressured to look a certain way.
Sexism
Descrimination based on not fulfilling expectations of gender roles. Typically subordination of one sex, usually women.
Examples of sexism
undervalued women’s wages, “glass ceiling” restricting women from progressing through power ladder. Objectification.
Gender stratification beginnings
Hunter gatherer societies where men hunted and women gathered berries, cooked. Both participated, more equal.
Gender stratification evolution
Supply and demand for labour. Stress on production levels causing women to be stuck at home with children because they could not keep up with the hard labour. Then, bringing women into the workforce, needing to bring women in when men were away at war, etc..
When did gender stratification/inequality begin?
Agrarian societies, when women were left behind because they could not keep up with the men for hard labour with high demand for productivity.
When did gender gap begin to close?
Post industrial - women started getting education, working outside the home. Still have issues. Women still have to take care of children, so more single moms, more poverty and stress.
Gender-segregated work
concentration of women and men in different occupations, specific roles (trades mostly men, nurses mostly women)
Labour market segregation
Concentration of women and men in different labour groups (health, professional positions)
Gender wage gap
disparity between women’s and men’s earnings, even within the same job.
Pay equity
reflects the belief that wages ought to reflect the worth of the job, not the sex or race of the person doing said job.
Employment equity
strategy to eliminate the effects of discrimination and to fully open the competition for job opportunities to those who have been excluded historically.
Gender and functionalism
importance of traditional gender roles (women best to take care of home and children, while men do the labourious work, make the money)
According to functionalists, why is there chaos in feminism?
Because if women stuck to their roles and men stuck with theirs, there would be more order.
Human Capital Model
acquired by education and job training and can be measured in terms of the return on the investment. This is why when women have less opportunity for education, they have lower value of human capital. Because they take time off to have kids, etc..
