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Gender Inequality: (Discussion Points from Chapter 4)

 

 

1.   The distinction between “sex” and “gender”—Sex is biologically determined while gender is socially determined.  Biologically, there can be but two sexes (excluding hermaphrodites) socially, there can be many genders; (Example; the “nadle” of the Navajo).  What is meant by the term, “gendered social order”? (This term is similar to what the text describes as gender stratification).

 

2.   Why is it that even though women comprise approximately 46 percent of the U.S. workforce, female workers earn only 77 percent of what males earn in median earnings for full-time workers?  Give some examples of institutionalized sexism in the U.S.

 

3.   Cite examples of how women’s bodies and female sexuality are subordinated in male-centered cultures.  Are there any practices that suggest that this exists in the contemporary U.S.?  (Hysterectomy is the second most common surgery in the U.S.; Anorexia nervosa (see Chapter 10, p. 258); and bulimia nervosa).

 

4.   Discuss the role of biology versus socialization in the development of gender roles.  What are some of the cultural differences in gender role socialization that are discussed in the text? 

 

5.   How do each of the theoretical perspectives discussed in the chapter—(functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism, and feminist theories) explain the place of gender in society and the relation of gender to social problems?  Discuss intersection theory, Parsons’ theory, Marxist theory, the use of gender-biased language, and feminist perspectives on gender inequality.

 

6.   Of those individuals suffering from anorexia, 85-95 percent are women and between 4 and 9 percent of female college students may be clinically diagnosed as suffering from this illness.  Why?  What is the counterpart for males?

 

7.   What is the “second shift;” the “time bind”?

 

8.   Compare labor force participation rates of women by race and ethnicity, (e.g. Black, White, Hispanic).  How do the ratio of earnings between males and females compare within these groups? (Median Weekly Earnings, Full-Time Workers)

 

Race/Ethnicity

Percent of female earnings to male earnings (2nd Qtr, 1999)

Percent of female earnings to male earnings (2002) (Stat. Abstract. 2003, p.423)

White

73     ($506/$689)

78     ($549/$702)

Black

83     ($419/$504)

91     ($474/$523)

Hispanic

84     ($363/$433)

88     ($396/$449)

All groups

74     ($494/$665)

78     ($530/$680)

 

 

White Male

White Female

Black Male

Black Female

Hispanic Male

Hispanic Female

MD weekly earnings (2002)

$702.

$549.

$523.

$474.

$449.

$396.

% of White Male

100%

78%

74%

67%

64%

56%

 

9.   Discuss advances made by women in the fields of medicine, dentistry, and law. How have women fared among Fortune 500 companies in recent times?

 

10.   Discuss the “feminization of poverty” and the fact that while families maintained by a women represent 18 percent of all American families, they represent over 50 percent of the households below the poverty level.

 

11.   What is sexual harassment and what are some of the estimates of its prevalence in U.S. society?

 

12.   Discuss liberal and conservative perspectives on gender equality.

 

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