mcgraw-hill © 2004 the mcgraw-hill companies, inc. all rights reserved. 11 stratification by gender...

McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

11STRATIFICATION BY GENDER AND AGESTRATIFICATION BY GENDER AND AGE


Chapter Outline

• Social Construction of Gender• Explaining Stratification by Gender• Women: The Oppressed Majority• Aging and Society• Explaining the Aging Process• Age Stratification in the United States• Social Policy and Gender Stratification: T

he Battle over Abortion from a Global Perspective


Social Construction of Gender

•Gender roles are expectations regarding the proper behavior, attitudes, and activities of males and females.

•Gender roles are evident in our work and also in how we react to others.

Gender Roles in the United States



Gender-Role Socialization

--Boys must be:

masculine

aggressive

tough

daring

dominant




Gender-Role Socialization--Girls must be:

femininesoftemotionalsweetsubmissive




Women’s and Men’s Gender Roles

--Self-image develops in males and females through:

identification with the same gender

families

media



Explaining Stratification by Gender

•Gender differentiation contributes to social stability.

•Women take on expressive, emotionally supportive roles.

•Men take on instrumental, practical roles.

The Functionalist View



•The relationship between men and women is one of unequal power.

•Men have a dominant position over women.

•Gender differences are a result of the subjugation of women by men.

The Conflict Response



•This perspective often views women’s subordination as part of the overall exploitation and injustice in capitalist societies.•This perspective sometimes argues that women’s subjugation coincided with the rise of private property during industrialization.

The Feminist Perspective



•This approach focuses on everyday behavior.

--Men are more likely than women to:

change topics of conversation

ignore topics chosen by women

minimize ideas of women

interrupt women

The Interactionist Approach


Women: The Oppressed Majority

Sexism

--Sexism is the ideology that one sex is superior to the other.

--Sexism is generally used to refer to male prejudice and discrimination against women.

Sexism and Sex Discrimination



Sexual Harassment: Behavior that occurs when work benefits are made contingent on sexual favors or when touching, lewd comments, or the appearance of pornographic material creates a “hostile environment” in the workplace.Sexual harassment must be understood in the context of continuing prejudice and discrimination against women.

Sexual Harassment



•Women’s subordination is institutionally sanctioned.

•Women remain in second-class positions in most of the world.

•Women are exploited for labor in many developing countries.

The Status of Women Worldwide



•Women’s participation in the paid labor force of the United States increased steadily throughout the twentieth century.

•Yet, women entering the job market find their options restricted in important ways.

•Women are underrepresented in occupations historically defined as “men’s jobs,” which often pay more.

Continued….

Women in the Workforce of the United States



•Glass Ceiling: An invisible barrier that blocks the promotion of a qualified individual in a work environment because of the person’s gender, race, or ethnicity.

•These workplace patterns have one crucial result: women earn less money than men.

•Women are more likely to be poor than men.




•Social Consequences of Women’s Employment

--The “Second Shift”: The double burden that working women face—work outside the home followed by child care and housework—and which few men share equitably.

--Studies indicate that there continues to be a clear gender gap in the performance of housework, although the differences are narrowing.

--Taken together, a woman’s workday on and off the job is much longer than a man’s.




•The feminist movement of the United States originated in upstate New York in 1848.

•Early concerns were political and legal equality for women.

•The movement re-emerged in the 1960s to battle sexist attitudes and the position of women in the workforce.

•Feminism is very much alive today in the growing acceptance of women in nontraditional roles and even the basic acknowledgment that a married mother not only can be working outside the home but also perhaps belongs in the labor force.

Women: Emergence of a Collective Consciousness


Aging and Society

•“Being old” is a master status that commonly overshadows all others in the United States.

•Once individuals are labeled as “old,” this designation has a major impact on how others perceive them and how individuals view themselves.


Explaining the Aging Process

Functionalist Approach

Disengagement Theory

--Society and the aging individual mutually sever many of their relationships. Thus social roles are passed to another generation.

--The passing of social roles to another generation ensures social stability.



Interactionist Approach

Activity Theory

--This theory argues that the elderly persons who remain active and socially involved will be the best-adjusted.

--This theory contends that old people have the same need for social interaction as other groups.



The Conflict Approach

•The treatment of older people in the United States reflects the many divisions in society.

•The low status of older people is seen in the prejudice and discrimination against them:

age segregation

unfair job practices


Age Stratification in the United StatesThe Graying of America

•We are, as a nation, getting older.

•In 1900, 4.1% of the population of the United States was age 65 or older.

•By 2003, 12.6 % of the population of the United States will be age 65 or older.


Age Stratification in the United States

Competition in the Labor Force•Older workers face discrimination in the labor force.

•Younger adults tend to view older workers as “job stealers.”

•Older workers face discrimination when applying for jobs.


Age Stratification in the United StatesThe Elderly: Emergence of a

Collective Consciousness

•Awareness of the social power of the elderly has been growing.

•AARP—the largest organization representing the elderly—has enormous power and is the third largest volunteer organization in the United States.

•The elderly in the United States are better off today financially and physically than ever before.


Social Policy and Gender StratificationThe Battle over Abortion from a Global Perspective

The Issue

--Roe vs. Wade, 1973, was based on a woman’s right to privacy and granted a woman the right to terminate pregnancies.

--The ruling was condemned by pro-life groups who believe that life actually begins at the moment of conception and that abortion is an act of murder.


Social Policy and Gender StratificationThe Battle over Abortion from a Global Perspective

The Setting

--The debate following Roe vs. Wade revolves around prohibiting abortion altogether or, at the very least, putting limits on it.

--Changing technology, such as the “day-after” pill available in some nations, make abortions easier to perform, even the day after conception.

--The people of the United States appear to support their right to a legal abortion, but with reservations.


Social Policy and Gender StratificationThe Battle over Abortion from a

Global Perspective•Sociological Insights

--Sociologists see gender and social class as largely defining the issues surrounding abortion.

--The intense conflict over abortion reflects broader differences over women’s position in society.

--In terms of social class, the first major restriction on the legal right to abortion affected poor people.

--Viewed from a conflict perspective, this is one more financial burden that falls especially heavily on low-income women.


Social Policy and Gender StratificationThe Battle over Abortion from a

Global PerspectivePolicy Initiatives

--The Supreme Court currently supports the general right to terminate a pregnancy by a narrow margin.

--Many European nations also legalized abortions in the 1970s, although Ireland, Belgium, and Malta continue to ban it.

--It is primarily in Africa, Latin America, and parts of Asia that women are not allowed to terminate a pregnancy upon request.

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