Chapter Summary

Men and women differ in their access to privilege, prestige, and power. The distribution problem of who gets what, when, and how has traditionally been answered in favor of males. Sex is a biologically determined characteristic; gender is a socially constructed characteristic. All societies use anatomical differences to assign gender roles. Gender identities are the conceptions we have of ourselves as being male or female.

• Sexism and Patriarchy.  Sexism operates at both an individual level and an institutional level. The most pervasive form of institutional sexism is patriarchy. Women exhibit four of the five properties associated with a minority group.

• Gender Inequality around the World.  No nation treats its women as well as its men. Women in many countries suffer discrimination and abuse, yet women around the world do considerably better than U.S. women in some areas.

• Gender Inequality in the United States.  U.S. women do most of the household work and childrearing. Despite increasing involvement in the paid workforce, women continue to be excluded from top jobs and to earn less than men. Sexual harassment remains a common workplace hazard for women, and somewhere between 10 and 25 percent of women have been raped. Men still dominate U.S. political life.

Gender roles can be seen as arising from biological development or cultural contributions.

• Gender Roles and Biology.  The biological aspects of gender consist of the physical differences between men and women, but the role biology plays in producing behavioral differences between men and women is shrouded in controversy.

• Gender Roles and Culture.  Gender roles probably represent the earliest division of labor among humans. Various societies have specific social definitions of approprate behavior for males and females.

• Gender Roles and Identity.  Gender identities are the concepts we have of ourselves as being male or female. Theories of the acquisition of gender identities include Freudian, cultural transmission, and cognitive-development. Differences in self-construal may explain gender differences in the United States.

The major sociological perspectives offer interpretations of gender stratification that resemble and parallel their positions on class and racial or ethnic stratification.

• The Functionalist Perspective.  Functionalists suggest that families are organized along instrumental-expressive lines, with men specializing in instrumental tasks and women in expressive tasks.

• The Conflict Perspective.  Conflict theorists contend that a sexual division of labor is a social vehicle devised by men to ensure themselves of privilege, prestige, and power in their relationships with women.

• The Interactionist Perspective.  Interactionists argue that gender inequality persists because of the way we define men and women and their appropriate roles in society. Language helps perpetuate inequality.

• The Feminist Perspective.  Feminism is not a single theory but an evolving set of theoretical perspectives. Feminists argue that women are disadvantaged because society is patriarchal; the assignment of group differences is socially costly and repressive. Everyday interactions between men and women recreate and support the gender system.