Essentials of Sociology, 7th Edition

Essentials of Sociology 9th Edition

Chapter 10: Gender and Age

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Chapter Overview     

Issues of Sex and Gender How Females Became a Minority Group Gender Inequality in the United States The Changing Face of Politics Aging in Global Perspective

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The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective The Functionalist Perspective The Conflict Perspective

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2 Inequalities of Gender and Age

What’s Gender Stratification?

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“Unequal Access to Power, Prestige, and

Property on the Basis of Sex.”

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Sex and Gender  Sex – refers to biological characteristics  Gender – refers to social characteristics – ”Male and Female”  Each culture has its own definitions of gender  We inherit our sex and learn our gender

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Gender Differences in Behavior: Biology or Culture? Most sociologists believe that if biology was the compelling factor in human behavior males and females would act the same around the world Opening the Door to Biology:  A Medical Accident  The Vietnam Veterans Study

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5 Inequalities of Gender and Age

Gender Inequality in Global Perspective Every society sorts men and women into separate groups and gives them different access to property, power, and prestige. These divisions always favor men-as-a-group.  Females are therefore classified as a minority group

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The Origins of Patriarchy  Early On, Life was Short  Females Limited by Childbearing  Men Became Dominant as Hunters and Warriors  Weapons, Trade, and Knowledge gained from Contact with Others Gave Men Power  Ideology developed that women were less dominant than men

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The Three Feminist Movements

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Feminism – the belief that biology is not destiny and that stratification according to gender is wrong  1st Feminist movement – 1920s- Trying to win the right to vote for women  2nd Feminist movement – 1960s- Trying to earn equal pay for women  3rd Feminist movement-happening today-includes a greater focus on the plight of women in the Least Industrialized Nations

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Gender Inequality in the U.S.

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 Gender Inequality in Education – Gender tracking is evident  Gender Inequality in Health Care  Gender Inequality in Politics  Gender Inequality in the Work Place The Pay Gap The Glass Ceiling The Glass Escalator

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Figure 10.2 Changes in College Enrollment, by Sex *This sharp drop in female enrollment occurred when large numbers of male soldiers returned from World War II and attended college under the new GI Bill of Rights. **Projection by U.S. Department of Education 2008. Source: By the author. Based on Statistical Abstract of the United States 1938:Table 114; 1959:Table 158; 1991:Table 261; 2010:Table 272.

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10 Inequalities of Gender and Age

Figure 10.5 Women’s and Men’s Proportion of the U.S. Labor Force Note: Pre-1940 totals include women 14 and over: totals for 1940 and after are for women 16 and over. Broken lines are projections by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Sources: By the author. Based on Handbook on Women Workers, 1969:10; Manpower Report to the President 1971:203, 205; Mills and Palumbo 1980:6, 45; Statistical Abstract of the United States 2010:Table 575.

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Violence Against Women 

Forcible Rape-1 out of 1,000 U.S. girls and women between the ages of 12 and 50 is raped each year. Most victims know their attackers  Date Rape-Many victims are college women and it is often not reported  Murder-men are more likely than women to be killers  Violence in the Home

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Glimpsing the Future With Hope

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 Structural Barriers Coming Down  Abandoning Stereotypes  New Consciousness  Change in Relationships

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Aging in The Global Perspective

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 Social Construction of Aging  Tiwi vs. Abkhasians  Every society treats the elderly in different ways

 Graying of America – the growing elderly population in the U.S.  Life expectancy has increased with industrialization  7 million more elderly than teenagers today in the U.S. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Inequalities of Gender and Age

Figure 10.11 U.S. Life Expectancy by Year of Birth Sources: By the author. Based on Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970, Bicentennial Edition, Part 1, Series B, 107–115; Statistical Abstract of the United States 2010:Table 102.

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Figure 10.14 As Florida Goes, So Goes the Nation Source: By the author. Based on Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009:Table 17. Projections to 2015.

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Symbolic Interactionist Perspective

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 Ageism – Discrimination based on ones age  The “meaning” of growing old has changed through the years  In the U.S. the elderly used to be seen as an asset, today they are seen more as a liability  Why has this occurred?

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Functionalist Perspective

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 Disengagement Theory – There needs to be a smooth transition between those leaving their jobs and those entering the workplace  Activity Theory – the more informal and formal activities the elderly engage in the more they find life fulfilling  Continuity Theory – The more roles one continues to possess in retirement the more fulfilling life will be

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Conflict Perspective  The conflict perspective looks at the rising costs of the elderly and how money is being taken away from other age cohorts  Looks at how the Dependency Ratio is affecting Social Security  The ratio of workers paying into Social Security vs. those who are collecting Social Security

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Figure 10.16 Health Care Costs for the Elderly and Disabled Note: Medicare is intended for the elderly and disabled. Medicaid for the poor. About 22 percent of Medicaid payments ($58 billion) go to the elderly (Statistical Abstract 2010:Table 144). Source: By the author. Based on Statistical Abstract of the United States various years, and 2010:Tables 137, 144. Broken lines indicate the author’s projections.

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