Sociology Unit 1A Topic 7 Gender

Front 1

What does was Mead's study and significance?

Back 1

Margaret Mead (1935) showed the culturalflexibility of gender in her famous study of three New Guinea tribes (NewGuinea is a set of islands in thePacific Ocean). Among the:

-Arapesh both sexes were gentle andsubmissive ('feminine'), among the

-Mundugamor both sexes were aggressive, roughand competitive ('masculine')

-Tchambuli the gender roles seemed the reverseof Western stereotypes (women made the sexual advances, and men enjoyed a goodgossip).

Front 2

What is the first process Oakley identified? (M)

[FEMINIST]

Back 2

Manipulation consists of encouraging behaviour that is seen as stereotypically acceptable for the child’s gender and discouraging behaviourthat is not considered the norm.

Front 3

What is an example of Oakley's first process identified?(M)

[FEMINIST]

Back 3

Examples could include: laughing if a boy gets muddy or congratulating him for attempting something adventurous, but discouraging a girl from doing anything that would involve getting muddy or dirty, or from attempting something adventurous.

Front 4

What is the second process Oakley identified? (C)

[FEMINIST]

Back 4

Canalisation refers to the way in whichparents channel children’s interestsinto toys and activities that are seen as ‘normal for that sex’. Boys will beencouraged to play with action figures, guns and football, while girls areexpected to play with dolls and toy ovens.

Front 5

What are Oakley's concerns regarding these processes?(C)

[FEMINIST]

Back 5

Asa feminist, Oakley is concerned that these processes can have a crucial role ingender identity. Children’s parents and other adults act as role models, if they see their motherdoing most of the housework and cooking then this will be an influence on howthey perceive their own roles in the future.

Front 6

What do other feminists comment on Oakley's study?

Back 6

Many feminists argue this is one way in whichpatriarchy is continued throughout time and across different societies.

Front 7

What did Sharpe conduct?

Back 7

Sue Sharpe conducted a study called ‘Just Like a Girl’ (1994) on the changing attitude of girls towards education. Sharpe carried out research on girls ambitions in the 1970s and then did it again with a new set of 15 year old girls in the 1990's.

Front 8

What were Sharpe's results?

Back 8

Sharpefound the girls’ priorities in the 1970s to be ordered in importance of love,marriage, husbands, children then careers and jobs. By the 1990s these had changed to careers,love/relationships, travel/leisure and then children.

Front 9

What could we argue lead to these changes occurring (Sharpe)?

Back 9

Perhaps we could argue that feminist values have influenced society and many dramatic legal and social changes have occurred.

Front 10

What were Tunstall's general findings in regards to gender?

Back 10

Tunstall (1983) found that media representations in the 60s and 70s show a bias because they put an emphasis on women’s domestic, sexual, consumerist and marital activities to the exclusion of all else.

Front 11

What were Tunstall's findings in how gender representations in the media showed a bias in who was represented in domestic or sexual roles?

2) What does the media ignore about men in reality?

Back 11

Women were depicted as busy housewives,as content mothers, as eager consumers and as sex objects in the media .

(BIAS) Although similar numbers of men are fathers and husbands the media has much less to say about these male roles; men are seldom presented nude, nor is their family or marital status quoted in irrelevant contexts. Just as men’s domestic and marital roles are ignored,

Front 12

What does the media ignore about women in reality? (Tunstall)

Back 12

The media also ignore that well over half of British adult women go out to paid employment, and that many of both their interests and problems are employment-related.

Front 13

What does Tunstall and other study's about women's representation in the media lead some to beleive?

Back 13

Further researchhas been conducted into television, magazines and advertising and found highlystereotypical images of women as sex objects leading many to argue that themedia is a patriarchal institution.

Front 14

What is does Connel argue about masculinity in the past?

Back 14

Until recently, most British men were socialised into what he calls hegemonic masculinity.

Front 15

What is hegemonic masculinity? (Connell)

2)What does Connel argue about this form of masculinity in regards to new types of masculinity

Back 15

They are expected to be financial providers and authority figures in the home,dispensing wisdom and firm discipline to their wives and children. Men were expected to be individualistic, aggressive, risk-taking and ambitious. They were not expected to participate in domestic work or to express their emotions.

2)Connell acknowledges that masculinity today is experiencing change. He documents the emergence of three other forms of masculinity.

Front 16

What is Complicit masculinity?

Back 16

Complicit masculinity refers to those men whobelieve that men and women should share roles within families.

Front 17

What is Subordinate masculinity?

Back 17

Subordinatemasculinityrefers to homosexual men. Although there is greater tolerance and acceptance ofhomosexuality in society today, it still generally remains a subordinate andstigmatised identity.

Front 18

What does Connel argue concerning these identified types of masculinity?

Back 18

Marginalised masculinity is a response to the fact that the traditional masculine identity of male protector/breadwinner may be changing. Working-class men in particular can see that economic recession has led to the decline of manual work and to large-scale unemployment. They can see that women are taking many of the new jobs.

Front 19

What does Mac and Ghail argue about how some men react to how masculinity is changing?

Back 19

MairtinMac an Ghaill (1996) describes the insecurity faced by some working-classmen as a ‘crisis of masculinity’.Their traditional masculine identity is no longer relevant yet they are notcomfortable with alternative male identities. Men may respond to this ‘crisis’in a number of ways including becoming depressed, fatalistic (giving up),turning to crime or domestic violence or by adopting new identities.

Front 20

1)What does research does Wilkinson base her arguments off?

2)What is the base belief of her arguments?

Back 20

1)She refers to research she conducted on a national sample of 18-34 year olds

2)She argues that there has been a fundamental shift in values amongst women aged under 35. She argues that this shift is so dramatic that it has a 'genderquake' and has led to a profound change in the distribution of power between men and women.

Front 21

What does Wilkinson argue these dramatic changes are?

Back 21

-She argues that more women at work than ever before has led to the feminisation of the workplace and to a revolution in women’s ambitions.

-Family commitments no longer have priority in women’s wives. Working and pursuing a career are now the defining feature of young women’s identity and self-esteem.

-Women are more willing to take risks, live life ‘onthe edge’, and seek pleasure and fun. Many of them reject the notion of separate spheres for men and women. They have discarded the stereotypes of‘male breadwinners’ and ‘female homemakers’.

-Most of these women have grown up assuming that sexual equality is their birthright. -

Front 22

What is sex?

Back 22

The physical and biological difference between males and females. They have different genes,hormones,genitals and secondary sexual characteristics i.e breasts,hairiness of body etc.

Front 23

What is gender?

Back 23

The cultural expectations attached to a person sex. Ie men are associated with masculine norms and values such as being aggressive,assertive competitive. Women with feminine norms and values ie being affectionate gentle and cooperative.

Front 24

What do biological determists believe that gender differences come from?

Back 24

Gender is based on nature. The genetic differences between males and females create natural difference in their attitudes and abilities and this explains why they end up in different social roles.

Front 25

What does social constructionists beleive gender differences come from?

Back 25

Gender is based on 'nurture' in other words socialisation. Each society creates its own set of gender expectations an steers men and women in the chosen directions. Gender differences cannot be genetically programmed since there are wide variations in masculine and feminine behaviour between societies and over time.

Front 26

Guantlett

Back 26

Gauntlett (2002) argues in some ways,these magazines can be said to turn the tables on men by encouraging women tobe sexual aggressors rather than sexual objects.

Front 27

Changing Male identity?

1)New Man

2)Lads

3) Metrosexual

Back 27

1)TheNew Man was a non-sexist,non-aggressive male who was sensitive and considerate, sharing and caring. Butin the 1990s this sensitive type was upstaged by the rising popularity of:

2)yobbish ‘lads’. It became fashionable once again for young men to have a goodtime through sex, lager, football and loutish behaviour. Some journalistsdubbed this new style ‘lad culture’. It was celebrated in television programmessuch as Men Behaving Badly and in men’s magazines such as Loaded. Its heroes (role models) were football stars or rock stars who behavedin outrageous ways.

3)From 2000 onwards celebrities like David Beckham have madethe metrosexual identity popular,which is a resurgence of the new man with a focus on men taking care of theirphysical appearance (traditionally reserved for feminine identity).

Front 28

Dunscombe and Marsden

Back 28

as Dunscombeand Marsden argue that while gender roles are changing, women still take ona triple shift

Front 29

Jackson Ladette relevance to gender

Back 29

Youngfemale celebrities like Lindsey Lohan, and Miley Cyrus take great pleasure inalcohol, behaving badly and possess a new free sexual identity.