SOCI 1121 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Racial Segregation In The United States, High-Heeled Footwear, Graham Lowe
27 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Sociology 1121
Gender Inequality
“We’ve come a long way, baby” – slogan for women’s movement as well as
cigarette slogan when women began smoking in public
obefore this time it was not socially acceptable for respectable women to
smoke
owent from being dirty to being classy
Since the advent of the women’s movement, gender relations have evolved far
beyond the days when
o1. Women and children were regarded as male property
o2. Rape within marriage was dismissed as a contradiction in terms
o3. A woman’s place was in the kitchen/bedroom, not boardroom/office
o4. Unwed moms were stigmatized/ shunned
o5. Universities and colleges were institutes for snaring husbands rather
than recurring credentials
However, no country treats its women as well as its men, with wildly varying
degrees of gender inequality
Women are increasingly subject to violence, with recourse to mass rape as a
weapon of war
Women represent about ½ the world’s population and preform nearly 2/3rds of
the work, but earn about 1/10th of the income, while owning less than 1/100th of
the property
World Economic Forum (WEF) Report (2016) on global gender inequality:
oCanada ranked 35th out of 144 countries (repping +90% of the global pop)
oUS ranked 45th
oIceland =1, Finland= 2, Norway=3, Sweden=4, Rwanda=5
oSyria= 142, Pakistan=143, Yemen=144 (the worst ones)
WEF argues that women’s position compared to men’s within a nation influences
the growth or development of that nation
oArgue that gender roles in a nation are a big impact on their society
oThis is why Rwanda bounced back because they rebuilt with men and
women hand in hand
Examines the gap between men and women in the following areas:
oEducational Attainment(ranked #1)
Literacy, access to education
oEconomic participation and opportunity (ranked 36th)
Labor force participation(25th), wage equality for similar work (68th)
Still have a lot of wage inequality
oPolitical empowerment (ranked 49th)
Women in higher positions overall
Less women in politics
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
oHealth and survival (ranked 108th)
Healthy life expectancy (117th), sex ratio at birth
We have lg. pops of people who don’t have the same
amount of access to health care (ex. Immigrants and
aboriginal pops) these people have a lower life expectancy
Sex vs. Gender
Sex refers to the biological division into male and female- refers merely to the
anatomical or biological characteristics of males and females
Gender, on the other hand, is cultural, referring to the behaviour, power, and
privelages a society attatched to being male/female
Gender therefore is “socially constructed” as there is no biological reason for
men to be treated better than women, or to be considered superior to women
Sexuality therefore Is both biological and a cultural issue:
oBiological:
Sex is determined at conception
Males and females have different primary and secondary
characteristics
Intersex people- people whose bodies, including genitals, have
both female and male characteristics
oCultural:
Sex is a matter of cultural meaning and personal choice rather than
biological programming
Sexual practices vary considerably from one society to another
LGBTQ+
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer +
Used to designate a community of people whose sexual or gender identities can
create shared political or social concerns
most inclusive acronym – LGBTTIQ2SA – lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered,
transsexual, intersex, queer/questioning, two-spirited, asexual
Transgender is a broad concept that applies to people who challenge the
conventional cultural norms defining male and female appearance and behaviour
oPeople in the trans community do not think of themselves or express their
sexuality according to conventional standards
oRather, they disregard conventional ideas about femininity or masculinity
in favour of combining feminine and masculine traits or perhaps
embodying something entirely different
Transgender is NOT a sexual orientation
NOT trans-sexual, transgender is more about the category you IDENTIFY with
Transgender people may think of themselves as gay or lesbian, heterosexual,
bisexual or asexual, or some combination of these categories, or in entirely
different terms altogether
Researchers estimate that about 3/1000 adults have trans identities- which is
why we commonly refer to the LGBTQ+ pop.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Because someone who may identify with more than one of these categories, no
exact number can be placed on the size of the LGBTQ+ pop.
Some estimates suggest almost 4% of adults belong to the LGBTQ+ community
Most people transition as adults, but the younger you transition, the easier the
change is
oEx. When you’re a grown man you’ll never be able to get rid of low voice,
adam’s apple etc.
oBrings up the debate should we allow young children to have hormone
blockers or other chemicals/treatments so that they can change and feel
more comfortable in their body
Gender Identity – How you, in your head, define your gender, based on how
much you align or don’t align with what you understand to be the options for
gender.
Gender Expression – The ways you present gender, through your actions,
dress, and demeanor, and how those presentations are interpreted based on
gender norms.
Biological Sex – The physical sex characteristics you’re born with and develop,
including genitals, body shape, voice pitch, body hair, hormones, chromosomes,
etc.
Transgender people are at a high risk of rejection and discrimination, as well as
physical or sexual violence—this can be a reason to consider suidide
In Canada:
oMay 2016 liberal gov’t introduced legislation that makes it illegal to
discriminate on the basis of gender identity/ expression (bill was passed in
Oct 2016)
oBill C-16 amends the Canadian Human Rights act and the Criminal code
prevent hate speech based on gender identity and expression
Considered a hate crime, bullying and especially cyber bullying
Debates continue in schools and public venues as to questions about use of
washrooms, locker rooms and participation in sports
JORNAL: WASHROOM USAGE FOR TRANS PEOPLE ETC
Gender Roles in Society
There is no single form of masculinity or femininity in Western society but there
are culturally dominant forms
oHegemonic masculinity
oEmphasized femininity
BOTH are socially constructed- gender is something we DO, not something we
ARE
Vary by culture- what is masculine/feminine in one culture may not be in another
Hegemonic Masculinity:
oThe normative ideal of masculinity that men are supposed to strive to
achieve
oNot necessarily the most prominent form- the one that is socially endorsed
oRequires a large measure of consent
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Since the advent of the women"s movement, gender relations have evolved far beyond the days when: 1. Women and children were regarded as male property: 2. Rape within marriage was dismissed as a contradiction in terms: 3. A woman"s place was in the kitchen/bedroom, not boardroom/office: 4. Universities and colleges were institutes for snaring husbands rather than recurring credentials. However, no country treats its women as well as its men, with wildly varying degrees of gender inequality. Women are increasingly subject to violence, with recourse to mass rape as a weapon of war. Women represent about the world"s population and preform nearly 2/3rds of the work, but earn about 1/10th of the income, while owning less than 1/100th of the property. Examines the gap between men and women in the following areas: educational attainment(ranked #1) Literacy, access to education: economic participation and opportunity (ranked 36th) Labor force participation(25th), wage equality for similar work (68th)
