SOCIALOGY 247 - Chapter 1

Sociology is defined as the study of societies and cultures and social behavior.

Sex: Biology given maleness or femaleness.
Gender is how society categorizes sex. Attitudes and behavior.
Gender Roles are social roles that are prescribed for a certain sex.
Gender Sterotypes are stereotypes given to a sex. (Masculine Male/Feminine Female) Over simplified summary description
A paradigm is a school of thought that guides scientists to choose problems to be studied. Selecting methods to study and explaining whats found.
Patriarchy is a sex/gender system where men dominate women

Structural Functionalism
- Stable society
- Orderly system
- Share common values
- See gender differences as a natural phenomonon (portraying masculinity and femininity as natural)
PROBLEM with Structural Functionalism is that it might be naturally discriminating on the basis of sex. Women are lower state then men.
- Elements of structural functionalism maintains equalibrium.
- Men and women are biologically different therefore have different roles.
- Men and women roles are oppisite but complementary.

It may be that biological factors make us different but that does not mean that one gender is superior to another.

Gender in Terms of Roles
Power - the ability to impose ones will on others. Usually the one who controls the largest share of resources. Money, Property, etc. and phsical force.
In society, the resources are often unfarely distributed. Race, sex, age, ethenicity.

Paradigm revolution is when society changes to prove the paradigm wrong.
In 1960's revolutions and the womens rights, civil rights changed society and changed the structural functionalism.
Then came the Femenist Paradigm

Femenist Paradigm acknowledges the importance of nature and learning in the aquisition of gender. Impossible to seperate precise influences of biology. Learning process begins after birth. Genders is initially socially created rather than innately determined. Social expectations that is created and transmitted through a process of social learning. Political and Socioeconomic structure.

Empathic Stance
They do not exclude males in research but includes females. Researchers allows the subject to speak for themselves rather then the researcher imposing ideas. Femenist research knows that there is socialogical dualistic; it has both subjective and objective dimensions.

Sexism is the differential valuing of ones sex. No identical to all groups of men and women.

Social Movement: a group that has organized to promote a particular cause through social action.

First Wave of Feminism
1830 - 1920. Women protested against patriarchal opression. Women protested for equal rights.
- Elizabeth Blackwell - gave up marrage for phsician job. Fought for better health conditions; first female phsician.
- Charlotte Perkins Gilman - wrote about sex differnces; women and work. Tried to change practices of childcare and housework.
- Margaret Sanger - Avocated for Reproductive Freedom.
- Maria Stewart - Black women delivered a public lecture, told women to educate themselves and and express talent.
- Sojourner Truth - Avocated for abolition.
- Frances Willard - Founder of WCTU (Womens Christian Temperance Society).
- Victoria Claflin Woodhull - Operated Wall Street brokerage firm, ran for president.
Feminist Consciousness - Did not know women before them fought against inequality.

Second Wave of Feminism
NOW National Organization for Women formed by Betty Friedan.
Second wave was hardly homogenious. Ex: Pro-feminist Men's Movement.