SOC101Y

Introduction to Sociology Professor Robert Brym Lecture #6 Gender and Sexuality 26 Oct 11

Office and online hours: http://projects.chass.utoronto.ca/soc101y/brym/contacts.html

   

Sex

refers to anatomical, chromosomal and hormonal features that typically make one male or female.

Gender

consists of the feelings, attitudes and behaviours typically associated with being male or female.

Gender identity

is one’s sense of belonging to a particular sex biologically, psychologically and socially. Adopting a

gender role

involves behaving according to widely shared expectations about how males or females are supposed to act.

Essentialism stresses the biological roots of gender and sexuality, thus ignoring:

1.

The historical and cultural variability of gender and sexuality.

 Gender differences change over time.

 Gender inequality varies across societies.

2.

The role of power in maintaining behavioural differences between women and men.

Winners First Google Science Fair, 2011

Gender Inequality Index, Top 10 and Bottom 10 Countries plus Canada and the USA, 2008

Note: The Gender Inequality Index reflects inequality between women and men in reproductive health, empowerment and the labour market. It varies between zero (when women and men fare equally) and one (when men or women fare poorly compared to the other). The health dimension is measured by maternal mortality ratio and the adolescent fertility rate. The empowerment dimension is also measured by the share of parliamentary seats held by each sex and by secondary and higher education attainment levels. The labour dimension is measured by women’s participation in the work force. Canada ranks 16 th of 138 countries for which data are available. The United States ranks 34 th .

Indicators of Gender Inequality cjsonline.ca/articles/brymetal05.html

  Ratio of males to females in primary, secondary, and tertiary education.

level of gender inequality.

Men as a percent of parliamentarians in the lower house (or the single house in unicameral political systems) . The higher the ratio, the higher the level of gender inequality.

The higher the ratio, the higher the   Participation rate of women in the paid labour force.

The lower the rate, the higher the level of gender inequality.

Prevalence of female genital mutilation.

the prevalence, the higher the level of gender inequality. The higher

Testing for Spuriousness by Statistical Control

X often says he loves Y.

X Y

However, we decide to control for context, that is, to examine the relationship between X and Y when X is drinking (context Z 1 ) and when he is sober (context Z 2 ).

When sober, X does not say he loves Y.

Z 2 X Y

In general, to determine whether a relationship (such as the relationship between X and Y) is spurious or phony, we examine what happens to it in different contexts, i.e., within categories of a control variable (e.g., “drunk” and “sober” are categories of the control variable “sobriety”).

Main Determinants of Gender Inequality Worldwide: Multiple Regression Analysis

1. GDP per capita (-) Effect of variation in percent Muslim for countries matched in economic development and former 2. Percent Muslim* (+) communist regime Variation in gender inequality 3. Former communist regime (-) * Indicator of cultural practice, not religious doctrine.

The “White Rock Girl”

1894 1947 2002

Percent of Adults Who are Overweight, Selected Countries, ~ 2007

Percent 2.3% increase, 2001-07 1.0% increase, 2001-07 Note: Overweight adults have a BMI of 25 or higher (BMI = weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in metres.)

Body Dissatisfaction, University Graduates, North America, 1972-97 (in percent, n=4,000) and SOC101 Students 2011

Percent dissatisfied Note: The average age of SOC101 students is lower than the average age of North American university graduates.

Sex / Body Part

Percent of University Students Who Severely Assaulted a Dating Partner in the Past Year, by Country, 2001-05 (n = 6,700)

Greece (27.5%) China Mexico United Kingdom United States Russia Hong Kong New Zealand

Canada (10.9%)

Lithuania Israel Australia Belgium Germany Brazil Switzerland Singapore Portugal Netherlands Sweden (1.7%) South Korea

Percent of students who used knife or gun on partner, punched or hit partner with something that could hurt, choked partner, slammed partner against wall, beat up partner, burned or scalded partner, or kicked partner in year preceding the survey.

   People are

transgendered

when their gender identity does not exactly match the sex assigned to them at birth. They blur widely accepted gender roles by, for example, cross-dressing. About 1 in every 5,000 to 10,000 people in North America is transgendered.

Transsexuals

identify with the opposite sex from that assigned to them at birth, causing them to change their appearance or resort to medical intervention. About 1 in every 30,000 people in North America is a transsexual.

Homosexuals

are people who prefer sexual partners of the same sex, and

bisexuals

are people who prefer sexual partners of both sexes.

Homosexuality Indicators, North American University Students 2004 and SOC101 2011 (in percent)

Notes: (1) Many people have had same-sex sexual experiences or desires but do not identify themselves as gay or lesbian. (2) Why do so many more women than men say they have had same-sex sexual experiences or desires? Some sociologists say it’s because many women are trying to appeal to men, who find it titillating when, say, they see women kiss each other in a club.