Study Guide

Sociology of Gender, Spring 2005
Study Guide, Readings Feb. 28-April 6:

Renzetti & Curran: Chapter 7; Chapter 8; Chapter 10; Chapter 9

Study Guide/Reading Questions for Exam 1 (Jan. 19-Feb. 25)

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, look at terms and definitions at end of chapters -- emphasize conceptual understanding rather than memorization.

Chapter 7
Functions of the family- how have they changed acc'd to Parsons?
Instrumental vs expressive understanding of roles in the family, problems w/ the functionalist theoretical construct (esp. public/private split) 167-69
Chosen & blended families
What do the authors say are the defining characteristics of families? 170
Sexual double standard 171-2
How are teen pregnancy rates and reproductive choices/freedom in general affected by race, class, education?175-76
How are housekeeping and caregiving treated as work in U.S. society? What's the "second shift" and who coined the term? 181-3
Gender differences in parenting and kinkeeping 184-187
What proportion of families w/ kids are headed by single-parents? What problems/lack of support to single mothers face? 187-89
What are the economic impacts of divorce for men and women? (Esp. no-fault divorces) 189-90
What is meant by "feminization of poverty?" 190
Gay relationships - stability, meaning & function of friendships in gay communities. Laws, institutional attitudes toward gay people (DOMA, marriage, adoption, problems of gay "marriage") What's R&C's position on the "homosexual lifestyle?" 173, 197-99
How does gay parenting affect children's well-being and sexual orientation? 199
What proportion of domestic violence incidents are reported to authorities (estimated)? 200
How is domestic violence affected by race, class and gender differences? 201-203
Construction of "the family" (as "normal" vs "abnormal") 207-8

Chapter 8
What forces have shaped men's and women's participation in the labor force? (Differences across race and class?) 212-216
Understand occupational sex segregation! 216-225
Dissimilarity index - what is it and what's the U.S. figure? 216-17
What's the dual labor market? 219
What's tokenism and who is known for discussing it? 223
What's the glass ceiling? The glass escalator? 224
What are important causes of the earnings gap? 227-242
What's human capital theory and what are the problems with it? 234-242
What's statistical discrimination? 243
Impacts of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Executive Order 11246, and Equal Pay Act of 1963 (pp. 247-250)

Chapter 10
Political power differentials between men and women in government, courts, the military
What's the "gender gap" in voting and political attitudes?
What issues to women tend to favor in politics? Men?
Gender differences in political candidates, as opposed to BELIEFS about gender differences in politics
Differences in media portrayals of candidates across gender
Gender differences in military
Impact of sexual harassment in military
" Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in the military

Chapter 9
How do rates of male and female offending compare?
What's the emacipation theory of female crime, and how does it stand up to critique?
What best explains recent increases in numbers of women involved in property crimes and drug offenses?
How does community policing differ from traditional policing?
Impact of race, class and gender on sentencing disparities
Relationship between the sexual double standard and girls being charged w/ status offenses
Differences between men's and women's prisons
Problems w/ women's prisons
Definition of rape
Rates of male rape
Myths that contribute to rape
Acquaintance rape and marital rape - definitions and rates
Treatment of rape victims in criminal justice system
U.S. as a "rape-prone" society
Conclusions of research on the relationship between viewing pornography and violence against women

Disch Anthology & other articles

Online Learning Center for Reconstructing Gender

Disch 303-306
What's the 2nd shift/double day?
What are the effects of poverty on communities of color/networks?

Rubin
Generational differences in gender expectations in the household
Emotional work
How and why do black men differ from other men as parents? 213
Child care issues & challenges
child care among parents who work different shifts 314

Gerson
What are the choices fathers face?
How are their choices shaped by various social supports, obstacles, rewards, payoffs?
What's Gerson's position on lack of workplace & domestic supports for fathers?

Lorde
Advantages/challenges of parenting a son as an African American lesbian

Kimmel
How is homophobia related to the "cultural" definition of manhood?
Fear of being a sissy as related to masculinity
Kimmel's definition of homophobia 104
How does power affect definitions of masculinity?
How does Kimmel say women/feminists "experience masculinity," and what does he challenge about this definition?" 106

Stoltenberg
According to Stoltenberg, how does the way men are taught/conditioned to have sex relate to their masculinity/gender as men? What does he mean by: "sexuality does not have a gender, it creates a gender"?

Sabo
How do organized sports affect cultural concepts of gender?

Rust
How does racism interact with heterosexism?
How do different bisexual, lesbian and gay people respond to this interaction?

Som
What does Som need from queer communities? What challenges does she face in straight and queer communities?

Reskin
Sources of fears about reverse discrimination
Media emphasis on quotas
What's the ffect of affirmative action on productivity, stock prices?
What are the positions of businesses and most Americans on affirmative action?
Under what circumstancees are race- and gender-conscious practices legal?

Albelda & Tilly
How does AFDC serve the same function as unemployment insurance? 421
What's the triple whammy?
Why attack AFDC? 423
Three dead ends dominating welfare reform debates 424
What could be done instead?

Praeger
Where does Praeger's AFDC income put her in relationship to the federal poverty line? 585
Popular images of welfare recipients 586-7
How has organizing affect Praeger's life and survival? 590-92

Gray
What is the threat to men if women are not treated well in the workplace? WHat are the costs of sexist workplace culture for men? How does sexism undermine the dignity of labor? (446, 448)
What were the arguments on both sides from men in the union? Contradictions/double standards on the anti-women workers side? 442-5
How does Gray apply class principles to sexism? According to him, how is working-class masculinity constructed in response to classism?

Enloe "Globetrotting Sneaker"
How do international trade agreements affect women's labor conditions? How have women workers responded?
How do hourly wages compare to profits for shoe companies?

Petchesky
What parallels does Petchesky see between global capitalism and terrorist networks?
What does she identify as the global context for recent terrorist acts? 12-13
What's her position on the war? What does she suggest as an alternative response?

Steinem
What does Steinem say would have been different if Afghan and American feminists had been listened to earlier? What does she say we have learned "the hard way?"

hooks
What is hooks' critique of the "women's movement?"
What does she mean by colonialism, neocolonialism and imperialism in the context of feminism?

Connell
What's the globalization of gender and how does it work?
How are masculinities reconstructed and reconstituted?
What are globalizing masculinities?
Critiques and challenges to hegemony and dominant forms of masculinity 66-7

Enloe "Sneak Attack"
How does Enloe define militarism? How does she portray the relationship between militarism and gender dynamics in society?

Disch 473-77
Which groups in U.S. society are more frequently victims of violence and hate crimes?
What is the restorative justice movement seeking to do?

Kaye/Kantrowitz
Different definitions/conceptions of violence, institutionalized violence: what is her main argument re: women and violence? What do you think of her argument?

Jensen
What can be concluded from experimental studies on pornography use and violence? What are the advantages of qualitative approaches?
Who were Jensen's interview subjects? What role do gender, race, class and sexual orientation play in his selection of subjects? How do you think his choice of subjects affects the data he's collected?

Zia
What is the discourse now taking place in the Asian American antiviolence/feminist community re: movements and legislation against hate crimes? What is Zia's argument? What role does race play?

Marable
What is the spectre/illusion Marable refers to and whom/how does it haunt?
What two crises does he identify as facing African American communities? How do these two crises interact?
What different forms of violence does Marable identify? What does his discussion imply with regard to contextualizing violence within the larger social structure?