Sex and Gender - Sex Inequality - Lecture Slides, Slides of Psychology of Sex

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Lecture Note 2

Sex and Gender

Sex and Gender

• Sex: classification of people based on genitalia - Gender: a process of creating distinguishable social statuses for the assignment of rights and responsibilities between males and females

Gendering the Sex Roles

Sex Category Men Women

Biological differences

Sperms, etc. Eggs, etc.

Gendering social expectations

Masculine: aggressive, strong, determined, rational, etc.

Feminine: docile, compile, subordinate, submissive, emotional, self- denial, etc. Docsity.com

How does the bi-polar gender system work?

• Example 1: clothing
• Example 2: the “sex-role model”
• Example 3: schooling
• Example 4: the social construction of

hetrosexuality

• Example 5: force a transsexual to change

From Sexism to Homophobia

• Masculinity as Homophobia: men’s fear of not being “men” enough; the attempt of keeping distance from any effeminate behavior
• Definition of Homophobia: “Homophobia is more than the irrational fear of gay men, more than the fact that we might be perceived as gay…. Homophobia is the fear that other men will unmask us, emasculate us, reveal to us and the world that we do not measure up, that we are not real men. We are afraid to let other men see that fear” - Kimmel, Michael S., in Rothenberg, 2004: 88.

From Homophobia to Racism

• Why would homophobia develop into racism?
• The “Real Men” vs. the “Others”: The manhood is constituted by masculinity. But the idea that masculinity only belongs to a distinct group leads to anxiety. Therefore, those self-proclaimed “real men” would try to prevent the “others” from achieving masculinity. The “others” include women, gay men as well as other men who do not share the same manhood.

Racist Image (1)

• A Chinese immigrant was portrayed as a weak subject. The cartoon was circulated in British Columbia in the late 19 th^ century when gold rushes ended and economic recession set in.

Source: Canada’s Digital Collection (http://collections.ic.gc.ca/generations)

Racist Image (2)

• A depiction of Japanese wonu , or “dwarf slave”, a derogatory term applied to the Japanese from Han dynasty onward. Chen Yinghuang, Renleixue [Anthropology], Shanghai,

   - Cited from Frank Dikotter, _The_ _Discourse of Race in Modern_ _China_ , CA: Stanford U. Press, 1992, p. 160. 

Betty Friedan, The Feminie Mystique (1963 [1973])*

• “How could we ever really know or love each other as long as we kept playing those roles that kept us from knowing or being ourselves? Weren’t men as well as women still locked in lonely isolation, alienation, no matter how many sexual acrobatics they put their bodies through? Weren’t men dying too young, suppressing fears and tears and their own tenderness? It seemed to me that men weren’t really the enemy—they were fellow victims, suffering from an outmoded masculine mystique that made them feel unnecessarily inadequate when there was no bears to kill.”
• • Cited from Michael S. Kimmel, Manhood in America: A Cultural History (1996: p. 261).

From bi-polar gender system to the dichotomy between “Men’s Work, Women’s Work”

Sex Category Men Women

Sexual Division of Labor

Production Reproduction “Breadwinners” “Housewives” and mothers Workplace Household Paid work Unpaid domestic work Public Sphere Private Sphere “Men’s work” “Women’s work”

Why Gendered Work is Unfair to Women?

• Women’s work is mostly devaluated
  • E. g. Women are paid less
• The construction of gender on the job
  • When a new job is created, employers often have a particular sex in mind.
  • Oftentimes the required personality for high-level jobs are associated with the social expectations of men’s characteristics (such as aggressive, self- motivated, independent, etc.)

Gender and Job Advertisement 1: Receptionist

• BENETTON Group, is looking for high caliber candidates to join us.
• RECEPTIONIST Job Description - To provide professional reception services - Handle all incoming calls and greet visitors - Receive, distribute and register all incoming mails - Handle conference room booking - Provide a variety of administration and clerical support
• Requirements
  • F. 7 Graduate with minimum 3 years' relevant experience in MNC
  • Fluent in spoken English, Chinese and Mandarin
  • Excellent telephone manners, smart, pleasant and helpful
  • Good communication and interpersonal skills
  • Some computer knowledge in MS Word, Excel and Powerpoint (Personal data collected will be used for recruitment purpose only)
• Source: http://www.classifiedpost.com,05, Feb. 2004.

Gender and Job Advertisement 3: Customer Services Officer

• CUSTOMER SERVICES OFFICER
• You will handle telephone responses from existing and new recruited customers.
• You will be involved in building customers relationships, providing information and dealing with enquiries over the telephones and mails. As well as communication and problem solving skills, you should be proactive, patient, self-motivated and be able to work independently. Good command of English and Chinese is essential.
• You will join as at a time of exciting expansion. What's more, you will benefit from all the advantages of a newly established with commitments in our society and the next generation.
• We offer a wide-ranging salary-packaging scheme including MPF, medical, life insurance and year-end bonus. Source: http://www.classifiedpost.com,05, Feb. 2004

From Bi-polar Gender System to Gendered Work Men Women

Biological differences classified by reproduction function

Sperms Eggs

Gendering social norms between men and women

Masculine: aggressive, strong, determined, rational

Feminine: docile, compile, subordinate, submissive, emotional Sexual Division of Labor in Economic Life

Production Reproduction “Breadwinners” “Housewives” and mothers Workplace Household Paid work Unpaid domestic work Public Sphere Private Sphere “Men’s work” “Women’s work”