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| Don’t sex and gender mean the same thing? Ans: While sex and gender are related, they are not the same thing. Sex refers to the biological differences between males and females. Gender refers to the activities, behavior, values, and ideas that a culture assigns to these differences. These activities, behavior, values, and ideas do not have any intrinsic basis in the biological differences. For instance, in the U.S. there is the expression "boys don't cry." Boys have the same biological capacity to cry as girls, it is just that American culture values boys who are tough and don't cry. While there are only two sexes, male and female, there can be more than two genders. For example, the Chukchee of Siberia recognize four genders: (1) a gendered male who is sexed male; (2) a gendered female who is sexed female; (3) a gendered female who is sexed male; and (4) a gendered male who is sexed female. Religious specialists generally assume the last two genders. Since sex is biologically determined, it is fixed. In contrast, as a cultural construction, gender varies from culture to culture and over time within a culture. Looking again at American culture, the role of women has changed dramatically over the last 50 years. While the U.S. still lacks gender equality, women's roles are no longer restricted to the domestic sphere. How is gender stratification related to economy? Ans: In general, gender stratification is directly related to the degree to which females directly contribute to the economy. In foraging and horticultural societies where women contribute substantially to the economy, gender stratification is reduced. As women's contributions to the economy decrease, gender stratification increases. In most agricultural societies, women do not play a primary role as cultivators. Agricultural subsistence activities tend to be male dominated, as women's work is concentrated in the home. As a result, gender stratification is more pronounced in agricultural societies than in foraging or horticultural ones. Initially, industrialization provided women with the opportunity to contribute directly to a family's income. When the first factories opened, most of the employees were young women, since most of the male labor force was occupied with agriculture. However, the European immigration after 1900 produced a large male labor force willing to work in factories for wages below that of the American-born laborers. Men, and the idea that women were unfit for factory work, began to gain ground. How is gender stratification related to rules of descent and post-marital residence? Ans: Rules of descent and post-marital residence play key roles in determining the degree of gender stratification in a society. In matrilineal descent systems, descent group membership, succession to political office, allocation of land, and overall social identity all come through female links. As a result, gender stratification tends to be reduced in matrilineal societies. In contrast, gender stratification tends to be increased in patrilineal societies in large part due to the fact that descent group membership, succession to political office, allocation of land, and overall social identity are passed through male links. Matrilocality disperses related males and guarantees that women are close to their supportive kin networks. This reduces the frequency of domestic violence against women. Patrilocality isolates women from their supportive kin networks, rendering them less protected and more likely to be the victims of domestic violence. Gender stratification tends to be least pronounced in matrilineal-matrilocal societies and most pronounced in patrilineal-patrilocal societies. |