Sociology of Gender, Spring 2005
Study Guide: Readings Jan. 19 - Feb. 25

Renzetti & Curran: Chapter 1; Chapter 2; Chapter 3; Chapter 4; Chapter 5; Chapter 6
Disch & other articles

These are questions/suggestions to help guide your reading. Read all of the pages assigned, but these are some core concepts to focus on -- if you can answer the questions you've probably got the main ideas down. In general, try to go beyond label recognition – be sure you understand the concepts enough to explain them in your own words. No need to memorize things word-for-word.

Study hint: when preparing for exams, you might try going through the study guide and treating it like a worksheet -- answering the questions in writing. Working with the material this way might help it sink in.

Renzetti & Curran (Women, Men & Society)
In general, check out the terms and definitions at the end of the chapters.

Chapter 1 (pp. 1-12 only)
What's a sex/gender system and what are its components?
What's patriarchy? Sexism?
The basics of structural functionalist theory of gender, especially the idea of "gender roles" (chart on p. 8 will help)
The feminist sociological critique of structural functionalist theory on sex/gender -- what does power have to do with it? (pp. 5-6)
The basics of feminist sociology (of gender) and its influence on sociological research (chart on p. 8, pp. 9-11)

Chapter 2 (you don't need to memorize the different "syndromes" at the end of Ch. 2).
Sexually bipotential 32-34
What does genital ambiguity teach us about gender? 40
Why are different people either happy or unhappy with the suggestion that homosexuality is biologically based? 42-43
Why do you think we as a society are so interested in the above question?
What do we know about testosterone and competitive challenges among boys and men? 46-47
What do we know about PMS? Why do we need to be careful in interpreting findings about PMS? 47-52
Biological determinist, social constructionist, and "transformative" accounts of gender development.

Study question:
What do unusual prenatal occurrences teach us about the relationship between sex and gender? (Come up with your own answer to this question -- not just the textbook's answer -- the Fausto-Sterling article, video and discussion on intersex are part of this)

Chapter 3
What are ethnocentrism and androcentrism, and how do the authors say they influence the "Man the Hunter" theory of evolution?
What is gender attribution? Gynecentrism? Matrifocal social organization?
What conclusions can be drawn from cross-cultural data on gender relations in contemporary foraging societies? 64-67
What do concepts of gender in other societies suggest about the dichotomous categories of gender most popular in U.S. society?

Chapter 4
What is socialization?
Basics of Psychoanalytic, Social Learning, and Cognitive Developmental theories of childhood gender socialization (table on 84 is helpful)
Bem's three lenses of gender - what are they and how do they work in our society?
How does parent-child interaction differ by sex of the child?  How do efforts to raise children in non-gender-polarizing ways affect socialization? 87-89
How do toys and children's books contribute to gender socialization?
How do childhood peers socialize one another re: gender? 94-95

Chapter 5
Basic trends in women's participation in education during the 20th century -- why did it go up, then down, then up again?  102-104
How do teachers treat students differently according to sex, race and class?
What are other ways children receive messages about gender in school?  What are those messages? 110-112
What are the most important sources of prestige and popularity in secondary school for boys and girls?
Major trends in the proportion of college and graduate students who are women in different fields of study and at different levels of higher education
What is Title IX and what have been its effects?
What are micro-inequities and how do they contribute to patterns in gendered experiences and behavior?
What are the two types of sexual harassment?  How does sexual harassment affect the educational experience?
What are the pros and cons of single-sex education?

Chapter 6
What is semantic derogation and what is the process by which it happens? 139
What is linguistic sexism?  What are the arguments for and against its importance?  How can it be changed?  140-141
What have different researchers found about men's and women's styles of communication?  What do power and status inequalities have to do with it? 142-143
What is the reflection hypothesis? 143
What is symbolic annihilation?  How does it work in newspapers, magazines, TV and advertising?  145-158, 162
How do magazines for women and men differ?  How does this vary across ethnic groups?  148-151
How much time do U.S. residents and households spend watching TV?  What are the prominent messages about gender conveyed by most TV programs? 151-153
How do gender stereotypes on TV intersect with racial and ethnic stereotypes, disability and sexuality? 153-155
How do different researchers explain the strong correlation between violent TV and film viewing and violent behavior?  (3 theories) What is the role of probabilistic causation in this correlation? 159-160

Study question:
Some say the media "mirrors" already-existing social norms.  Others say the media is important in creating/shaping those norms.  Which do you think is more true?  Why?  Give examples of how your argument is true for TV, magazines and newspapers.
(See R&C pp. 143-162 as a starting place)

Disch Anthology & other articles

Online Learning Center for Reconstructing Gender

Espada (Disch)
What is Espada's relationship to violence in his own life, his wife's and his son's?
What does Espada say about the Anglo use of the word "macho?"
On p. 50 he says "I would not deny [my son] the option of physical self-defense." What does he mean by this? Do you agree/disagree with his position? Why?
Who/what are the "puppeteers?"

Fausto-Sterling articles (reader, along with the video & discussion on intersex)
To what does the term "intersex" refer?
What are the "five sexes?" (Be able to explain each of the five)
What are different estimates of the frequency of intersexuality?
What does "Emma" mean in saying her vagina is her "meal ticket?" (5 Sexes p. 23)
According to Fausto-Sterling, how did early explanations and treatment of intersexed contribute to/exemplify Foucault's concept of "biopower?"
How many instances of psychosis and/or suicide were reported among intersexual people between 1930 and 1960?

Coventry
How often is "gender-corrective" surgery performed on a child in the U.S.?
What is the role of truth/lies in communication among doctors, parents and children in relation to intersex?
How does discussion of clitoral surgery on intersex children compare to discussion of FGM in the U.S.?

Lorber
What do West & Zimmerman (and Lorber) mean by "doing gender?"
What's the difference between transgender, transvestite and transsexual?
How does Lorber describe gender as 1) an institution, 2) a process, 3) a stratification system, and 4) a structure? What purposes does gender serve in these various capacities?

Thompson, Haubegger, Staples, Kriegel, MacDonald etc. for 2/14 & 2/16
What social messages about gender are these authors talking about, and how do these messages affect them (or the people they're writing about)? How are these messages influenced by dynamics of race, ethnicity, culture, disability and age?

Fung (reader) & Fong-Torres
What are the prevalent stereotypes about Asian men and women in U.S. society? What are the stereotypes about Asian male and female sexuality?
How do these stereotypes affect Asian men seeking jobs as news anchors?
How do they affect Asian gay men? How do portrayals of Asian gay men's sexuality affect Fung's daily life experience?
How do sexism, racism, homophobia/heterosexism and capitalism play into these dynamics?

(You are also responsible to know the main ideas of other articles in the syllabus: Zia, Gunn Allen, Katz, etc.)