Sex, Sexuality and Gender

Sociological Concepts

Status-a category or position a person occupies that is a significant determinant of how

he/she will be defined and treated, Status set-number of statuses possessing
simultaneously, Achieved status- that achieves by ones efforts, Ascribed Status-status
that one is born into.
Social Stratification-categorizes members based on their status
Roles (expected behavior associated with status) and norms (shared rules that guide
people's behavior in particular situations)
Stereotypes (oversimplified conceptions that expect people who belong to a particular
status to behave in a particular fashion)
Sexism (as a result of negative stereotypes, the belief that the status of the female is
inferior to that of the male )
Patriarchy (male dominated social structures)
Social, cultural, psychological traits related to male and female
Gender socialization- helps to convey expected attitudes and behaviors to the
individuals. It is the process of learning social expectations and attitudes associated with
ones sex.

Gender Expectation-instrumental roles and expressive roles

Sexual Orientation-describes how one identifies ones own sexuality

Anticipatory socialization- social interactions that expect individuals to behave in a particular

fashion and with this expectation they pass some cues to the individuals and expect them to
perform in that manner.
Sociological perspectives
Functionalism
Values-gender roles
Functions gender roles
Instrumental and expressive roles
Critique

Male dominance
Strain in the division of labour
Dysfunctional
Superwoman syndromeMarjorie Hansen Shaevitz

Conflict Theory

Emancipation of women through active participation in production

Not domestic labor only
Social placement
Critique

Second shift-Arlie Russel Hochschild

Sex refers to the biological characteristics distinguishing male and female. This definition
emphasizes male and female differences in chromosomes, anatomy, hormones, reproductive
systems, and other physiological components.
Gender refers to those social, cultural, and psychological traits linked to males and females
through particular social contexts. Sex makes us male or female; gender makes us masculine or
feminine. Sex is an ascribed status because a person is born with it, but gender is an achieved
status because it must be learned.
Sexual Revolution and Birth Control----The sexual revolution, occurring in the 1960s and 70s,
happened to be an era of free love. Women also began to take active roles in sexual matters.
The introduction of penicillin in 1940 decreased fears about sexually transmitted diseases and
infections. In the 1960s, the availability of birth control allowed for sexual freedom amongst
women. This emergence of birth control also allowed for spontaneity in sexual endeavors. The
separation between sexual pleasure and reproduction emerged allowing for more emphasis on
sexual pleasure in society. Then in the 1980s, HIV/AIDs surfaced to existence.
Feminist philosophers such as Judith Butler and Simone de Beauvoir contend that femininity
and masculinity are created through repeated performances of gender; these performances
reproduce and define the traditional categories of sex and/or gender.
Women and men experience different types of mobility within the workplace. Women tend to
experience a glass ceiling, an invisible barrier that prevents them from moving up the corporate
ladder. Men in jobs traditionally held by women, such as nursing, elementary school teaching,
and social work, experience a glass escalator effect in which they are able to quickly ascend
the job hierarchy to become managers and principals.
One is not born a woman but one becomes a woman Simone de Beauvoir
Gender identity is learned and created; it refers to a societys notion of masculinity and
femininity, socially constructed meanings associated with male and female, and how the
individuals, construct their identity within these constraints. Social stratification system, and
individuals are expected to act appropriately for their sex category.
Masculinities/femininities

Hegemonic masculinity
Cultural images of masculinities

Beauty Concepts through Ages and Countries

In Western cultures, the ideal of feminine appearance has traditionally included long, flowing
hair, light skin, a narrow waist, and little or no facial hair. In other cultures, however, these
standards may vary. For example, in many parts of the world, underarm hair is not considered
unfeminine.
These feminine ideals of beauty have been criticized by some feminists and others as
restrictive, unhealthy, and discriminatory. In particular, the prevalence of anorexia and other
eating disorders in Western countries has frequently been blamed on the feminine ideal of
thinness.

Body alteration is the deliberate altering of the human body for aesthetic or nonmedical purpose. Practice of foot binding in China
In a few parts of Africa and Asia, neck rings are worn in order to elongate the neck. The
Padaung of Burma and Tutsi women of Burundi
In Western cultures, the ideal of feminine appearance has traditionally included long,
flowing hair, light skin, a narrow waist.
Koinophilia-- - Johan Koeslag, when sexual creatures seek a mate, they prefer that mate
not to have any unusual, peculiar or deviant features)
Barbie as a teaching tool for femininity-anorexia nervosa

Sexuality is the capacity to have sexual experiences and responses

Homosexuality (same sex)

Heterosexuality (opposite sex)
Bi sexuality (either sex)
Pan sexuality (all gender identities)
Asexuality (no sexual attraction)
Sexual orientation of the individuals because of the influence of the society.

Intersectionality suggests that forms of inequality, oppression, and privilege shaped by

interconnected axes of identity are mutually reinforced by social interactions and by social,
political, and economic structures, such as capitalism, patriarchy, and institutionalized
heteronormativity. Intersectionality emphasizes that race, class, gender, and other markers of
identity are social constructions. This theory disassembles the assumption that systems of
power relations are normative and can hold individuals accountable for their own character and
efforts.

Embodiment may be defined as the ways in which cultural ideals of gender in a given society
create expectations for and influence the form of our bodies. There is a bidirectional
relationship between biology and culture; by embodying societally determined gender roles we
reinforce cultural ideals and simultaneously shape, both temporarily and permanently, our
bodies, which then perpetuates the cultural ideal. While there is actually more variation in body
type within the male and female sexes than there is between the two sexes, embodiment
exaggerates the perceived bodily differences between gender categories. Social embodiment,
for both men and women, is variable across cultures and over time. Examples of women
embodying across cultures include foot binding practices in Chinese culture, neck rings in
African and Asian cultures, and corsets in Western cultures. Another interesting phenomenon
has been the practice of wearing high heels, which shifted from a masculine fashion to a
feminine fashion over time. In the United States, the ideal body image and dimensions have
changed for both women and men, with the body ideal female body shape becoming
progressively slimmer and the body ideal for men becoming progressively larger. These
differences are epitomized in the example of childrens toys; G.I. Joe dolls depict the physical
ideals for boys and Barbie dolls embody the ideals for girls.
Gender identity is a person's own sense of identification as female, male, both, neither, or
somewhere in between. Sexual behavior and intimate relationships are strongly influenced by a
persons sexual orientation. Sexual orientation refers to your degree of emotional and physical
attraction to members of the opposite sex, same sex, or both sexes.
Certain general facts about gender inequality
When India's Human Development Index is adjusted for gender inequality, it becomes south
Asia's worst performing country after Afghanistan, new numbers in the UNDP's Human
Development Report 2013 show. Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, which are poorer than India
and have lower HDIs, all do comparatively better than India when it comes to gender equality.

The new UNDP report, released on Thursday, ranks India 136th out of 186 countries, five ranks
below post-war Iraq, on the HDI. The HDI is a composite indicator composed of three equally
weighted measures for education, health and income.
On the newly constituted Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which identifies multiple
deprivations in the same households in education, health and standard of living, only 29
countries do worse than India (though data-sets are from varying periods of time across
nations). The MPI puts India's poverty headcount ratio at 54%, higher than Bangladesh and
Nepal.
This was even as India did extremely well economically. India and China doubled output per
capita in less than 20 years, at a scale the UNDP has said was "unprecedented in speed and
scale". "Never in history have the living conditions and prospects of so many people changed so
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dramatically and so fast," the UNDP said; it took Britain 150 years to do the same after the
Industrial Revolution and the United States, which industrialized later, took 50 years.
Gender Equity Issues in India
Gender discrimination continues to be an enormous problem within Indian society. Traditional
patriarchal norms have relegated women to secondary status within the household and
workplace. This drastically affects women's health, financial status, education, and political
involvement. Women are commonly married young, quickly become mothers, and are then
burdened by stringent domestic and financial responsibilities. They are frequently
malnourished since women typically are the last member of a household to eat and the last to
receive medical attention. Additionally, only 54 percent of Indian women are literate as
compared to 76 percent of men. Women receive little schooling, and suffer from unfair and
biased inheritance and divorce laws. These laws prevent women from accumulating substantial
financial assets, making it difficult for women to establish their own security and autonomy.
In Rajasthan, all of these problems are aggravated by high levels of seasonal migration. For
many men in Rajasthan, migration is required since rural parts of Rajasthan often lack a
sufficient economy to provide income for a family year-round. Women are commonly left
behind to care and provide for the entire household. This is increasingly difficult because it is
estimated that an average woman's wage is 30 percent lower than a man's wage working in a
similar position. While these mothers work, they must also tend to domestic responsibilities.
This formula for supporting Rajasthani families leaves little resource for the growth and
development of women's rights and education levels.
A strong "son preference" exists in the region, as it does throughout the country, and high rates
of female infanticide and female feticide plague the area. In 2001, for every 1,000 males living
in Rajasthan there were only 922 women (Marthur et. al., 2004). Having sons is economically
advantageous to families due to cultural institutions; these institutions serve to drastically
devalue the roles women play in the traditional society. Women continue to struggle to achieve
equal status to men, making gender equity an issue of particular importance for Rajasthan.
In Rajasthan several NGOs that have hosted FSD participants are instrumental in providing
opportunities for women. These organizations help to build networks among women to create
financial self-help groups. They introduce ideas about microfinance, allowing women to
participate in management activities. Other local NGOs implement projects that export the
skills of women abroad to generate significant income. In 2006, Olen Crane, an FSD intern,
helped nearly 400 women artisans in the Udaipur area by collecting samples of their textile
products and shipping them abroad to sell to American companies. Similar projects have
enormous potential to improve the financial and social status of Rajasthani women. Organizing
change at a local level and planning participatory action will help to eliminate bias and
stereotypes, and generate awareness of the significant gender divide that exists within Indian
society.

The UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon issued this statement: Violence against women must
never be accepted, never excused, never tolerated. The UN Entity for Gender Equality and the
Empowerment of Women called on the Indian Government to do everything in their power to
take up radical reforms, ensure justice and robust public services to help women. Responses
have led to Indians questioning cultural mindsets and the effectiveness of the states legal
status to protect women.
Let us firstly look at the cultural obstacles many women face not only in the Indian
Subcontinent but also in many other countries in South East Asia and Africa for example.
Amartya Sen has explored these issues greatly and highlights key obstacles to the betterment of
women and the realization of gender equality. Sen argues that all too often the burden of
hardship falls disproportionally on women; gender inequality in India is not one homogenous
phenomenon but a collection of disparate and interlinked problems. We see this in mortality
rates and natality inequality where the parent prefers a male child to a female. Moreover this is
reinforced by inequality of basic facilities to women and lack of opportunities, further
deepened by cultural attitudes of womens roles in the public domain. Later in life this is also
seen in property rights in rural societies and rights to inheritance in patriarchal family systems.
This does not seem to fit the modern, upcoming Indian middle class image projected to the
world. India now faces the problem in redressing these social ills in light of its economic boom
and newfound image.
References:
Amartya Sen, The Many Faces of Gender Equality, From the New Republic, September 17
2001
The Times of India, March 15, 2013.
The Sociology of Gender: Theoretical Perspectives and Feminist frame works
http://www.pearsonhighered.com/assets/hip/us/hip_us_pearsonhighered/samplechapter/013
2448300.pdf
wikipedia