Exam 3: Status Section B: Gender and Sexuality

From "Benefits for Nonhomophobic Societies: An Anthropological Perspective" by Walter L. Williams Williams discusses attitudes toward homosexuality/androgyny in cross-cultural perspective. Unlike in the contemporary U.S., many other societies show an appreciation for this type of diversity, and, critically, it leads to meaningful contributions for society across a variety of substantive/institutional contexts including the family, child rearing, and friendship. -Examining a wide range of societies allows Williams to conclude:

From "Hierarchies, Jobs, Bodies: A Theory of Gendered Organizations" by Joan Acker Acker discusses the "gendering" of women's work in organizations. This gendering is associated with patriarchal-based forms of inequality and oppression in the kind of work women do and its attendant rewards. The author views this gendering as, historically, a product of the gender-neutral rendering of stratification-based organizational dynamics. -Which of the following is not an aspect of de-gendered organizational analysis?

From "Comparative Gender Stratification" by Joan Huber The piece by Huber speculates about the causal factors that produce levels of gender inequality across modes of subsistence such as herding, hunting and gathering, and horticultural societies that characterize premodern societies. Huber argues that within these modes of subsistence central actors include interacting between work, war, and childbearing. -Which of the following is not associated with a rise in gender inequality?

From "Comparative Gender Stratification" by Joan Huber The piece by Huber speculates about the causal factors that produce levels of gender inequality across modes of subsistence such as herding, hunting and gathering, and horticultural societies that characterize premodern societies. Huber argues that within these modes of subsistence central actors include interacting between work, war, and childbearing. -How is "population maintenance" related to gender inequality across modes of subsistence?

From The Gendered Society by Michael Kimmel Kimmel bring historic and anthropological findings to bear on cultural/social variation in the dynamics of gender, namely, how it is defined, levels of inequality, the extent of the gendered division of labor, and the determinants of women's status in society. This piece provides support for a cultural/social rather than a biological interpretation of gender as a unit of differentiation in society. -Discuss evidence presented by Kimmel that there is considerable variation in definitions of gender.

"The Gender Pay Gap: Have Women Gone As Far As They Can?" by Francine D. Blau and Lawrence M. Kahn The authors examine trends in the rate and causes of the gender wage gap. Progress in closing the gap waxed and waned across time, with the gap narrowing in the 1980s, increasing in the 1990s, and, again, narrowing in the early 2000s. The causes of the gap appear to be fairly consistent with a combination of human capital and basic socio-demographic factors both playing a role, though their respective roles differ across time. -Which one of the following has not been considered to be a cause of the gender wage gap?

"The Gender Pay Gap: Have Women Gone As Far As They Can?" by Francine D. Blau and Lawrence M. Kahn The authors examine trends in the rate and causes of the gender wage gap. Progress in closing the gap waxed and waned across time, with the gap narrowing in the 1980s, increasing in the 1990s, and, again, narrowing in the early 2000s. The causes of the gap appear to be fairly consistent with a combination of human capital and basic socio-demographic factors both playing a role, though their respective roles differ across time. -What is "human capital" and how important is it in explaining the gender wage gap?

From "Hierarchies, Jobs, Bodies: A Theory of Gendered Organizations" by Joan Acker Acker discusses the "gendering" of women's work in organizations. This gendering is associated with patriarchal-based forms of inequality and oppression in the kind of work women do and its attendant rewards. The author views this gendering as, historically, a product of the gender-neutral rendering of stratification-based organizational dynamics. -What does the author mean when saying organizations are a "gendered process"?

From Masculinities by R. W. Connell The author puts forward a theoretically-based "social constructionist" account of gender. This account is predicated on understanding gender relationally and culturally, and is intimately tied into the structure of violence and domination creating "social practices" that define the parameters and substance of gender categories. -How, according to Connell, is gender a product of "crisis tendencies"?

From "Benefits for Nonhomophobic Societies: An Anthropological Perspective" by Walter L. Williams Williams discusses attitudes toward homosexuality/androgyny in cross-cultural perspective. Unlike in the contemporary U.S., many other societies show an appreciation for this type of diversity, and, critically, it leads to meaningful contributions for society across a variety of substantive/institutional contexts including the family, child rearing, and friendship. -Discuss the benefits for friendship that derive from being more open and tolerant toward homosexuality/androgyny.

From "Doing Gender" by Candace West and Don H. Zimmerman The authors attempt to reconceptualize gender as a routine and recurring phenomenon grounded in social practices of everyday life. Their perspective involves analyzing gender as a complex of socially guided perceptual, interactional, and micropolitical activities that cast pursuits as manifestations of masculine and feminine "natures." -Which of the following does not constitute a social practice within the authors' formulation?

From "Hierarchies, Jobs, Bodies: A Theory of Gendered Organizations" by Joan Acker Acker discusses the "gendering" of women's work in organizations. This gendering is associated with patriarchal-based forms of inequality and oppression in the kind of work women do and its attendant rewards. The author views this gendering as, historically, a product of the gender-neutral rendering of stratification-based organizational dynamics. -Discuss what the author means when saying that early work on gender by sociologists such as Kanter and Ferguson were limited because they worked on the assumption that organizations are gender-neutral phenomena.

From Masculinities by R. W. Connell The author puts forward a theoretically-based "social constructionist" account of gender. This account is predicated on understanding gender relationally and culturally, and is intimately tied into the structure of violence and domination creating "social practices" that define the parameters and substance of gender categories. -According to Connell, a "relational" approach to gender encompasses:

"The Gender Pay Gap: Have Women Gone As Far As They Can?" by Francine D. Blau and Lawrence M. Kahn The authors examine trends in the rate and causes of the gender wage gap. Progress in closing the gap waxed and waned across time, with the gap narrowing in the 1980s, increasing in the 1990s, and, again, narrowing in the early 2000s. The causes of the gap appear to be fairly consistent with a combination of human capital and basic socio-demographic factors both playing a role, though their respective roles differ across time. -How much does the differential allocation in occupations and industry explain the gender wage gap?

From The Gendered Society by Michael Kimmel Kimmel bring historic and anthropological findings to bear on cultural/social variation in the dynamics of gender, namely, how it is defined, levels of inequality, the extent of the gendered division of labor, and the determinants of women's status in society. This piece provides support for a cultural/social rather than a biological interpretation of gender as a unit of differentiation in society. -How, according to Kimmel, does circumcision constitute a ritual that is associated with male domination over women?

From "Doing Gender" by Candace West and Don H. Zimmerman The authors attempt to reconceptualize gender as a routine and recurring phenomenon grounded in social practices of everyday life. Their perspective involves analyzing gender as a complex of socially guided perceptual, interactional, and micropolitical activities that cast pursuits as manifestations of masculine and feminine "natures." -Discuss how the authors incorporate "accountability" into the analysis of gender.

From "Hierarchies, Jobs, Bodies: A Theory of Gendered Organizations" by Joan Acker Acker discusses the "gendering" of women's work in organizations. This gendering is associated with patriarchal-based forms of inequality and oppression in the kind of work women do and its attendant rewards. The author views this gendering as, historically, a product of the gender-neutral rendering of stratification-based organizational dynamics. -Which of the following is an example of the gendering of occupations in the workplace?

From Masculinities by R. W. Connell The author puts forward a theoretically-based "social constructionist" account of gender. This account is predicated on understanding gender relationally and culturally, and is intimately tied into the structure of violence and domination creating "social practices" that define the parameters and substance of gender categories. -What does Connell mean when he says that gender is a "structure of social practice"?

From The Gendered Society by Michael Kimmel Kimmel bring historic and anthropological findings to bear on cultural/social variation in the dynamics of gender, namely, how it is defined, levels of inequality, the extent of the gendered division of labor, and the determinants of women's status in society. This piece provides support for a cultural/social rather than a biological interpretation of gender as a unit of differentiation in society. -According to Kimmel, which of the following is alleged to explain gender inequality in the economic division of labor:

From "Doing Gender" by Candace West and Don H. Zimmerman The authors attempt to reconceptualize gender as a routine and recurring phenomenon grounded in social practices of everyday life. Their perspective involves analyzing gender as a complex of socially guided perceptual, interactional, and micropolitical activities that cast pursuits as manifestations of masculine and feminine "natures." -Discuss the authors' "social doings" approach to gender.