gender socialization jess macdonald. the historical context of the study of gender feminism: the...
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GENDER SOCIALIZATION Jess MacDonald
The Historical Context of the Study of Gender Feminism:
The belief that women and men are or should be equal
3 Waves of Feminism: 1st Wave: 1848-1920 (political rights)
Seneca Falls Convention “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men
and women are created equal” 19th Amendment
2nd Wave: 1960s-1970s (social/civil rights) 3rd Wave: 1980s-present (economic rights)
Feminist Theory and the Study of Gender
Broad wide ranging theories that look at social phenomena and ask: What about the women? Why are the structures set up the way they are?
How can we change it?
Sex vs. Gender
Sex The biological characteristics that differentiate women and men (XX or XY Chromosome)
Gender The socially constructed patterning of masculinity and femininity, and of relations between women and men
“Doing Gender”: Socializing Gender in Society
Doing Gender: (West and Zimmerman, 1987) the ongoing process through which people create gender for themselves and others by acting and appearing the way we “should” as men and women.
Gender as a social construction Symbolic interaction
Significant Others
Birth Parents
Mead: Play stage Education System/ Teachers
Women and Men
Women and Men
Women and Men?
Socialization: The Importance of Peers and Others in Society
Cognitive categorization into one group of the other
Gender expectations for women and for men
Sanctions for not behaving the way a man or woman is supposed to behave
Socialization: The Media
Film, TV, advertising
Reinforce men’s and women’s roles
Jean Kilbourne: Killing Us Softly
Implications of Gender and Gender Inequality
Violence against women Around 18% of American Women have been raped But only 26%-37% of rapes are reported
1 in 4 college women will survive an attempted or completed rape
A woman is battered every 15 seconds in America
Implications of Gender and Gender Inequality
Disordered Eating 50% of girls 11-13 feel that they are
overweight 8 million people in the US have an eating
disorder 7 million women 1 million men
1 in 200 women in the US have anorexia nervosa
Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate out of any mental illness
Implications of Gender and Gender Inequality
Prohibits gender equality: Family and Home relations Work and economic opportunity