Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Soc of Women
Soc of Women
3 waves of feminism:
First Wave In the 1830s, the main issues were abolition of slavery
and womens rights. 1848 Womens Rights Convention held in
Seneca Falls, NY. 1920 the 19th Amendment guaranteed women
the right to vote.
Critique some flaws that seem to come from this way of thinking:
1. The claim that women can become like men if they set their minds
to it.
2. The claim that most women want to become like men.
3. The claim that all women should want to become like men, to
aspire to masculine values.
Theoretical Perspectives
Marxist Feminism
Class accounts for womens status and function in society.
Monogamous marriage is about private property.
The family is a microcosm of societys larger class relations.
Socialist Feminism
Class and gender intersect.
Both patriarchy and capitalism must be analyzed.
Theoretical Perspectives
Radical Feminism
Male power and privilege are viewed as the bases of social
relations.
The goal: the abolition of male supremacy.
Focus on establishing women-centered beliefs and systems.
Multiracial Feminism
Focus on the intersections of race, class, and gender.
How does the experience of domination shape the life experiences
of people of color?
Importance of human agency i.e. human beings as active and
creative.
Theoretical Perspectives
Postmodern Feminism
Women as Other notes advantages of otherness.
Feminist Standpoint Theory suggests that the location of the
knower shapes what is known; not all perspectives are
equally valid or complete.
Queer Theory
Sexual identities are viewed as socially constructed.
Focus on how sexual identity is performed and meanings
constructed.
Theoretical Perspectives
Cultural Feminism
There are fundamental differences between men and women, and
womens differences should be celebrated.
There is an attempt to recover lost or marginalized womens works
and traditions and create a culture that nurtures and supports
womens experiences.
Theories:
The berdache (i.e., those who have a mix of both genders) are
commonly accepted in many Native American tribes.
Viewed as having a special status, as if blessed by the gods.
Thought to be the middle gender, and seen as prophets
and visionaries.
Think about the portrayals of both women and men in music, movies,
television, comic strips, greeting cards, etc.
What is the goal with regard to portrayals in pop culture? What would
we like to see? What would seem like progress?
Gender and Culture
Media Theories
Elder Care
Assistance to persons age 65 or older with functional
impairments, provided through informal and/or formal
arrangements by family, friends, and service providers.
(More typically, elder care refers to unpaid, informal care
performed by family members).
Elder care as womens work?
Elder care has traditionally been viewed as a womens issue.
72.5% of all informal caregivers are women (the average age
of caregivers is 47)
Daughters are three times more likely to share a home with
an elder parent than are sons.
Other??
How does the definition
of work differ by
social class?
Questions to consider:
*What is the relationship between drinking and masculinity? If/when
women drink, are they perceived as masculine?
*To what extent are women excluded from mens drinking rituals?
*Do the traditional notions of women as guardians of morality affect
their drinking behaviors?
New Reproductive Technologies
Liberating possibilities?
Breathing new life into the eugenics movement?
Explanations/theories of rape:
1. Psychological theories
2. The social organization of rape (consider common rape
myths: rape is impossible; rape is perpetrated by a
stranger; rape is victim-precipitated).
3. Gender socialization consider how males and females
are socialized. Rape as expressed through traditional
gender roles of male domination and female
subordination.
Exemplary responses to essays:
26. A policy that would be beneficial to employees providing elder care to their
relatives could be likened to the mandatory time off (with pay) that is given
for new parents. Implementing a certain amount of time that could be set
aside for caring for elders would make life less stressful for employees. The
employees could be given a certain number of pay days equated with elder
care that may be used at one time or maybe could be split up, for
unexpected situations. Maybe they could implement some policy like this
that ensures a better understanding and concern for home life/out-of-work
situations, therefore alleviating some of the stress that comes with elder
care. They could also try to accommodate by allowing out-of-home options
for working, if possible, for an allotted period of time.
27. One occupation where a great deal of emotion work is required is flight
attendants. One companys catch phrase says exactly what they should act
like, come fly the friendly skies. They are expected to be polite, friendly,
and accommodating regardless of how they really feel or what the situation
is. One implication this has is that people in these positions may not be able
to express their emotions and keep them inside, which could be destructive
for the individual. Another implication is that the individual may then release
their frustrations at home and blow up at a family member. This is important
to consider because the effects that a high amount of emotion work may
produce extends beyond the individual. As described previously, it can have
an effect on the family as well as beyond that. It may lead to burn-out and
lower employee retention rates which can have an effect on the economy. It
is also important for society to realize the effect these jobs have on people
and maybe help us all be more understanding if someone does not act
according to what we expect. As the term describes it really is work.
28. Male identification includes females identifying with males, females that
reject the feminine identity and the socially constructed feminine ideals.
Some women pursue it because they feel that men are powerful and they
want to be on the same playing field as men so to speak. They want to be
able to play power games. A woman, in the 3rd Wave book did the feminine
thing by wearing skirts and low cut blouses but was harassed by a male
grad student and from then on wore short hair, piercings and big baggy
clothes. One woman decided to become a feminist and male-identified
because of a movie she saw in grad school that portrayed women only in
certain ways (as angels or prostitutes). She didnt want to fit into that
stereotypical femininity role. This answers the question that yes, one can be
a feminist and male-identified. These women, by being male identified are
not fitting into typical feminine roles. By being one of the boys they are
rejecting the social construction of femininity and standing up for
themselves, being independent, and not letting societys ideal of a woman
guide their lives (This is being feminist).
29. Analyzing family from a feminist perspective means to look at the concept
of family in terms of a socio-cultural perspective, not of traditional male-
centered ideas. According to the old ideas of ideal family, women are a
moral representation of the family and are always connected to the inside of
the household. However, feminists address different ideas; one of them is
that males and females experience the house differently. This idea
suggests that wives might not be satisfied with the current family situation
even if the husbands are fully satisfied, so the old idea that husband and
wife share feeling doesnt necessarily hold true. The other idea is that each
family member may or may not establish the strongest emotional connection
outside of the household. The old ideal perspective assumes that a
household is always the center of emotions or feelings of all family
members, but this is not necessarily true. Consequently, old perspectives
still can fit todays families, but it doesnt always reflect the contemporary
situations because of the widely varied family style and social context.
Religion
Describe your religious backgrounds. What did your religion teach
you about womens roles? How have these ideas influenced the
way you think of women, yourself, religion? (Any reactions to Pastor
Linda Quanstroms presentation?)
*Prejudice has taught people to think that women are not well
suited to politics.
*There arent many role models.
*Being an incumbent is a big advantage. (Most of these
positions are held by men).
Women, Power, and Politics
Currently, of the 435 members of
the House of Representatives,
68 are women. And 14 senators
are female. Nine states have
female governors.
Here is Michigans governor,
Jennifer Granholm. [She was
asked to throw the opening pitch
for the Detroit Tigers (April
2005), but insisted that disability
policy advisor Pat Cannon do it,
given his dedication to the team
(having attended some 500
Tigers games since 1955) ].
Women, Power, and Politics
Re-Thinking the Political
The political is not only that which occurs in the formal, public
sphere. Consider, also: community activism, grassroots activism,
social justice work done through churches, etc.
Gender and Education
PERCENTAGE OF DOCTORATE DEGREES EARNED BY
WOMEN IN SELECTED DISCIPLINES
Year Soc Econ Poli Sci Psych Physical Sciences Biological Sci
1970-74 23.1 6.1 11.9 27.3 6.5 18.5
Source: ASA
Gender and Education
Social Cliques
What impact do social cliques have on both boys and girls
in school?