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. -Discuss the benefits for children that derive from being more open and tolerant toward homosexuality/androgyny.

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 societal factors is not alleged to increase 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." -The "doing gender" approach encompasses assessing the creation of differences between girls and boys and women and men that are not natural, essential, or biological.

"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 is "discrimination" conceptualized in the context of the gender wage gap?

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 criticizes gender for being too "essentialist"?

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. -The Navaho notion of nadle has persisted to the present day.

"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. -The gender wage gap is found:

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 to the family that derive from being more open and tolerant toward homosexuality/androgyny.