Chapter 9 - Gender Inequality

Question 1

Your friend Meghan overhears you talking about the difference between sex and gender with your classmate Roger. Confused, Meghan chimes in: “Wait a minute! I thought sex and gender were the same thing!” You explain that

A. sex refers to the physical characteristics in the body, whereas gender concerns social and cultural expression.
B. sex is what couples to do conceive, whereas gender is an attribute of their baby.
C. a culture’s understanding of gender determines what types of physical intimacy constitute sex.
D. sex concerns psychological, social, and cultural differences, whereas gender refers to the physical differences in the body.

Answer 1

A. sex refers to the physical characteristics in the body, whereas gender concerns social and cultural expression.

Question 2

People begin to treat children in specific ways because of their gender:

A. from the moment they are born
B. when they begin kindergarten
C. at the onset of puberty
D. when they enter college

Answer 2

A. from the moment they are born

Question 3

Variations in gender roles across cultures demonstrate that:

A. gender roles are biologically determined
B. gender roles are culturally determined
C. Western social scientists have a bias that distorts their understanding of gender roles
D. there is no such thing as gender roles

Answer 3

B. gender roles are culturally determined

Question 4

What is the definition of the term “patriarchy”?

A. the practice of passing down property through male lineage
B. societies in which male religious leaders control the government
C. societies in which women are legally recognized as property of their fathers or husbands
D. male dominance in a society

Answer 4

D. male dominance in a society

Question 5

From 1970 to 2009, the gender gap in earnings (women’s earnings as a percentage of men’s) has

A. remained the same.
B. narrowed.
C. widened.
D. narrowed until 1990 and then remained the same.

Answer 5

B. narrowed.

Question 6

What does it mean for people to “do gender”?

A. to present ourselves as a particular gender through our choice of behavior and appearance.
B. the institutionalized domination of men
C. to designate occupations as feminine, masculine, etc.
D. the process by which children learn about traditional conceptions of gender roles.

Answer 6

A. to present ourselves as a particular gender through our choice of behavior and appearance.

Question 7

What is gender typing in occupations?

A. It refers to the process of designating occupations as most appropriate for a particular gender.
B. It is the inequality between the genders in terms of wealth, income, and status.
C. It is a promotion barrier that prevents gender minorities’ upward mobility within an organization.
D. It refers to traditional conceptions of gender roles: men should be out at work providing for their families, and women should be at home looking after the children.

Answer 7

A. It refers to the process of designating occupations as most appropriate for a particular gender.

Question 8

Intersectionality

Answer 8

Being a part of several different minority groups. For example, being a black female is different from that of a white female, or a black male.

Question 9

Sex

Answer 9

Biological differences. Male, female, and intersex.

Question 10

Gender

Answer 10

Social expectations about behavior. Gender refers not to the physical attributes distinguishing men and women but to socially formed traits of masculinity and femininity.

Question 11

Biological essentialism

Answer 11

The view that differences between men and women are natural and inevitable consequences of the intrinsic biological natures of men and women

Question 12

Gender socialization

Answer 12

The learning of gender roles through social factors such as schooling, peers, the media, and family

Question 13

Social construction of gender

Answer 13

A perspective holding that gender differences are a product of a social and cultural norm and expectations, rather than biology

Question 14

How do biology and gender socialization contribute to differences between men and women?

Answer 14

Biology creates physical differences, while socialization creates personality differences

Question 15

What is ‘doing gender’?

Answer 15

Acting the roles that we are expected to have due to socialization of gender

Question 16

How can studies of gender in other cultures contribute to the argument that gender is socially constructed?

Answer 16

Every culture has a different concept of what gender is and how individuals should behave regarding it

Question 17

Gender inequality

Answer 17

The inequality between men and women in terms of wealth, income, and status

Question 18

Gender typing

Answer 18

Designation of occupations as male or female.

Question 19

Sex segregation

Answer 19

The concept of men and women in different jobs

Question 20

Glass ceiling

Answer 20

A promotion barrier that prevents a women’s upward mobility within an organization

Question 21

Second shift

Answer 21

The excessive work hours born by women relative to men. These hours are typically spent on domestic chores following the end of a day of work outside the home

Question 22

How do inequalities in the home, especially with regard to housework and child care, reflect larger gender inequities in society?

Answer 22

Women are expected to do all this work, and so are less likely to be hired for a job with a high workload if they have children, and are also more likely to be called from work if the child is sick at school

Question 23

Infanticide

Answer 23

The intentional killing of a newborn. Female babies are more likely than male babies to be murdered in cultures that devalue women.

Question 24

Rape culture

Answer 24

Social context in which attitudes and norms perpetuate the treatment of women as sexual objects and instill in men a sense of sexual entitlement

Question 25

Feminist theories

Answer 25

A sociological perspective that emphasizes the centrality of gender in analyzing the social world and particularly the experience of women.

Question 26

Liberal feminism

Answer 26

Form of feminist theory that believes that gender inequality is produced by unequal access to civil rights and certain social resources, such as education and employment, based on sex. Liberal feminists tend to seek solutions through changes in legislation that ensure that the rights of individuals are protected.

Question 27

Radical feminism

Answer 27

Form of feminist theory that believes that gender inequality is the result of male domination in all aspects of social and economic life.

Question 28

Black feminism

Answer 28

A strand of feminist theory that highlights the multiple disadvantages of gender, class, and race that shape the experiences of nonwhite women. Black feminists reject the idea of a single unified gender oppression that is expirenced evenly by all women.

Question 29

Transnational feminism

Answer 29

A branch of feminist theories theory that highlights the way that global processes shape gender relations and hierarchies.

Question 30

Suffragettes

Answer 30

Members of early women’s movements who pressed for equal voting rights