Chapter 11 Flashcards
Describe why GENDER and SEX are DIFFERENT
MOST critical work on gender has been done by FEMINIST SCHOLARS, who first entered sociology in 1960’s.
SEX refers to the different anatomical or BIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS of women and men.
GENDER is a SOCIOLOGICAL term that refers to unequal TRAITS ASSIGNED to women and men by SOCIETY.
Describe GENDER ROLE
GENDER ROLE is a set of assigned BEHAVIOUR EXPECTATIONS that relate to SEX, at birth.
They VARY across CULTURE IN the EXPECTATIONS for each gender and HOW STRICTLY they are ENFORCED.
Describe 4 major strains of FEMINIST THEORY.
BEATRICE KACHUCK
Four major strains of feminist theory are
feminist LIBERALISM
feminist ESSENTIALISM,
feminist SOCIALISM, and
feminist POSTMODERNISM.
Describe FEMINIST LIBERALISM
WOMEN deserve the SAME RIGHTS as MEN.
Mostly concerned with work though
Feminist LIBERALISM argues that WOMEN, as a group, DESERVE SAME RIGHTS as MEN.
It is concerned with PAY EQUITY and is credited with securing MATERNITY BENEFITS for women in the workplace.
Criticisms of feminist liberalism center around that LIBERAL FAILS to ADDRESS more MARGINALIZED women concerns. The main beneficiaries of liberal feminist gains are white, Western, middle-class, heterosexual, educated
women.
Describe FEMINIST ESSENTIALISM
How SEXES THINK
WOMEN traits >= MEN
Feminist ESSENTIALISM looks at DIFFERENCES in how women and men THINK, and ARGUES for
INHERENT FEMALE EQUALITY (OR even female SUPERIORITY).
Feminist essentialists argue that women’s INNATE characteristics (e.g. maternal thinking) should be POSITIVELY VALUED. It helps generate questions to argue for theory.
One major CRITICISM of feminist essentialism is that it CONFUSES women’s COPING strategies under patriarchy WITH NATURAL phenomena.
It also universalizes the experience of gender and FAILS to ACCOUNT for CROSS-CULTURAL differences. It also implies women are still living in a Patriarchal society.
Describe FEMINIST SOCIALISM
CLASS and GENDER OPPRESSION
Feminist SOCIALISM looks at the INTERSECTIONS of OPPRESSION between CLASS and GENDER. Feminist socialists focus on the different struggles and resources available to women of different classes.
The main criticism of feminist socialism is that the focus on class IGNORES OTHER SOCIAL FACTORS such as sexual orientation, “race,” and ethnicity.
Describe FEMINIST POST-MODERNISM
Most SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONIST
STANDPOINT THEORY
QUEER THEORY to come!
Of these approaches, feminist POST-MODERNISM takes the STRONGEST SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONIST position— OPPOSED to feminist ESSENTIALISM.
Postmodernists view WOMEN ARE SUBJECTS, rather than objects, of sociological study and allow the PERSPECTIVES of the women studied to GUIDE RESEARCH, making STANDPOINT THEORY important to this type of feminism.
It constructs a FEMININE SPACE where intellectuals can debate ideas.
The main CRITICISM of feminist postmodernism is that it probematizes other people’s conclusions but DOES NOT PROVIDE ANY ORIGINAL CONCLUSIONS.
QUEER THEORY
JUDITH BUTLER
GENDER IS A CONTINUUM
Gender is PERFORMED
An important methodology within feminist POSTMODERNISM is QUEER THEORY. First articulated by philosopher Judith Butler, queer theory REJECTS the idea that GENDER CONNECTION to a BIOLOGICAL ESSENCE; it rejects the idea that male and female are natural binary opposites and instead views GENDER IS A CONTINUUM.
Queer theory argues that GENDER is PERFORMATIVE, with individuals performing variations along the continuum in different situations.
Describe GENDERED
Some occupations, and their related post-secondary programs, are GENDERED, or heavily DOMINATED BY 1 SEX.
PAYL SARGENT:
1. One gender > 85% population and
2. The field has terminology associated with gender roles of 1 sex.
Descriptions of nursing refer to concepts like “caring” and “nurturing” which are associated with women, while descriptions of policing make use of concept of “toughness” and “fraternity,” masculine traits.
There still appear to be separate spheres for men and women in
- post-secondary education (more men in engineering and applied sciences and more women in education and social sciences),
- Age of the worker,
- Full/part time employment because there is income disparity for part-time.
Describe FEMINIZATION
The FEMINIZATION of an occupational sphere occurs when a INDUSTRY comes to be dominantly ASSOCIATED with WOMEN.
ie. clerical work and nursing.
Feminization typically brings with it LOWER SALARIES, less JOB PROTECTION, and fewer BENEFITS than in other industries. Individuals working in gendered jobs as the “wrong” sex can experience profound effects on their gender performance.
Describe WOMEN STEREOTYPES
LOTUS BLOSSOM BABY
DRAGON LADY
MAMMIES (black)
INDIAN PRINCESS
SQUAW
“Race” and gender can intersect as forms of oppression. Racial prejudice and discrimination can often reinforce gender bias, and vice versa. Visible minority women are
often stereotyped into two extremes.
East Asian women may be stereotyped either as “easy” and CHILDLIKE LOTUS BLOSSOM BABIES or
as harsh and devious DRAGON LADIES.
BLACK WOMEN are stereotyped either as desexed, servile “MAMMIES” or as exotic, sexual objects.
ABORIGINAL women have been subject to the INDIAN PRINCESS, a beautiful, heroic aide to European men, and
SQUAW, who, as justification for colonial dominance, is portrayed as ABUSED by brutal ABORIGINAL MEN.
Describe treatment of Female Filipino Immigrants
Ethnicity and gender can also interact in immigration. Coloured men often arrived in Canada before women, this situation has been reversed in the case of Filipino women.
Many of these Filipino women had post-secondary education, but immigration policies only allowed them to enter the country as domestic workers.
As minority women and as temporary employees in an unregulated industry, these women were particularly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
Describe METROSEXUAL
METROSEXUAL means to describe a HETEROsexual person whose LIFESTYLE and CONCERN for personal APPEARANCE are SIMILAR to those of a HOMOsexual mans’.
Describe TRANSGENDER
A TRANSGENDER person REFUSES to CONFORM to
GENDER ROLE or BIOLOGICAL SEX
Describe INTRA- and INTER- SEXUAL
INTRA- has physical characteristics of 1 sex but WANTS SEX CHANGED SURGICALLY
INTER- has formed MALE/FEMale characteristics from
ABNORMAL GENES
