Lesson One: Sociological Constructs and Theories

Matriarchy and Patriarchy: A matriarchy is a societal or governmental system in which females hold the most power, while a patriarchy is a societal or governmental system in which males hold the most power. Patriarchy is the more common of the two, especially in Western and Westernized cultures, but some societies do fall into the matriarchal category.

Feminism and Feminist Theory: Feminism is the belief in the social, political, and economical equality of the sexes, and the social movements organized around that belief. Feminist Theory is considered one of the main theories of sociology. It looks at the gender inequality in society and the way that gender structures the social world, such as objectification and discrimination against individuals for their sex.

The Women's Movement: The women's movement (in the United States) can be categorized into three waves. The first wave, known as the suffrage movement, was spent gaining women the right to vote during the mid-nineteenth century; the second wave of the 1960s and 70s emphasized women's equal access to employment and education; the third wave, from the 1990s and on, focuses on the issues of diversity and the varying identities that women can possess.

The Men's Movement: Beginning the 1970's, male liberation-ism discussed the challenges of masculinity in our society. Since then the movement has split into two opposing groups: the men's rights movement, which feels that feminism creates disadvantages for men, and the pro-feminist men's movement, which feels that sexism harms both men and women and wants to fundamentally change society's ideas about gender.

Sociological Imagination: Sociological imagination is the ability to shift your perspective from an individualistic point of view to one that understands the broader, more complex social context in which the individual lives and is affected by. It is the understanding that our personal issues are rooted in the issues of our society.

Lesson Two: Biology, Sex, and Gender

Nature vs Nurture: Above is a teacher, representing nurture, and Mother Nature, representing nature, fighting to see who has more influence over individuals. In sociology, Nature vs Nurture is the scientific discussion of the respective roles of genetics and socialization. In truth, both biology and society play an important role in determining individual behaviors and traits.

Sex: One's sex is entirely dependent upon their physical characteristics, i.e. their genitalia. It is strictly biological. Typically, sex only allows for two categories: male and female. However, not all babies born are clearly one or the other. This third sex, called interest, is often overlooked and the individuals who fall into this category are often forced into one of the two "natural" sexes.

Intersex: Intersex regards a person's chromosomes and genitalia, however I decided to represent it using an individual with the upper body of a female and the lower body of a male. Intersex individuals' sex characteristics are not exclusively male or female. It is often the case that an intersex individual appears to have exclusively male or female genitalia, but testing shows an extra or missing chromosome, such as XXY, XYY, or XO. Despite 1 in 1,000 births being intersex, most societies only officially recognize male and female as proper sexes.

Social Emergency: A social emergency is the most common response to the birth of an intersex child. That is, if the newborn's genitalia does not meet the socially acceptable standard—a clitoris larger than 0.9 cm or a penis smaller than 2.5 cm—they are operated on. Turning the infant's "unnatural" genitals into one of society's two accepted versions.

Gender: Gender is the actions and characteristics associated with femininity and masculinity as defined by the society and/or culture one lives in. Despite their feminine clothing, the children above are expressing their genders as they see fit: feminine (blue), masculine (black & pink), or undefined (blue & red). Gender is not biological. Rather it is learned through observation and mimicry and being rewarded or punished through gender role socialization. Some argue that there are as many genders in the world as there are people—meaning that each individual's gender is uniquely their own.

Lesson Three: Culture and Ideology

Male is Default: In our society, there has always been a distinction between men and woman, both biologically and socially. In fact, in early medical texts, females were seen as an alternative to the norm of being born male. Today, we know this is not the case, but women are still treated this way socially. For instance, the sign above directs the viewer to bikes for all ages (and women too!) and sporting equipment and sporting equipment for women, emphasizing that woman are a deviation from the norm.

Western Beliefs about Sex and Gender: In Western cultures, particularly the United States, it is taught that there are only two genders. This gender matches up with/stems from an individual's biological sex, thus claiming gender is unchanging. Any deviation of this is considered unnatural. This is incorrect however as gender is not dependent on sex, concrete, or limited to only two versions. 

Gender Inequality: Gender inequality can be found across all societies in both the past and present. Because most of their time and energy was spent on bearing and raising children, the activities of women were limited compared to those of men. There are several theories as to why gender inequality still exists today: women and men are naturally suited for certain roles, men have always had the most power so it is in their best interest to try and maintain that power, or that gender is socially constructed, maintained, and reproduced in our everyday lives.

Gender Role Socialization: Gender roles are the everyday expressions of maleness or femaleness within a society or culture. Gender role socialization is the never-ending process of learning what is expected of each role through observation and mimicry and the rewards or punishments received for either adhering to or going against the individual's perceived gender. Historically, most people in the West have equated sex with gender, thus punishing those who attempt to express themselves the 'wrong' way.

Gendered Language: The words we speak and the way they use them also reflect gender and gender inequality. For instance, in the words listened above there are gender neutral words such as parent and sibling, however most individuals would be more likely to refer to themselves as a father or a sister, preferring the gender specific title over the neutral one. Similarly, it is more common to use language that make men appear active and women passive, especially in situations involving sex.

Lesson Four: Learning and Doing Gender

Gender Identity: As stated in a previous lesson, gender is the actions and characteristics associated with femininity and masculinity as defined by the society and/or culture one lives in. Therefore, gender identity is the personal sense of being masculine or feminine. For example, my gender identity is not straightforward. Some days I feel feminine, others masculine, and sometimes both or neither. The above picture is of myself on a day when I felt mostly feminine and slightly masculine.

Gender Roles: Gender roles are the everyday expressions of maleness or femaleness within a society or culture. Often times gender roles become stereotyped, vastly generalizing how men and women should express and present themselves. For instance, when asked to express how they felt the average male and female would react to in a dark cave, the female chose to act frightened and weak while the males chose to act unafraid or strong and eager to venture further.

Hypersexualization: Hypersexualization is the growing trend of excessively sexualizing women and girls. In particular, female children are being sexualized and objectified at younger and younger ages. This happens when children look up to older sexualized teens and adults, and when children see themselves as being portrayed in a sexual manner in the media.

Doing/Performing Gender: Doing gender is the idea that, instead of gender being the quality of an individual, is instead a psychologically ingrained social construct apparent in everyday social interactions. For example, when choosing which restroom to use, you are doing gender. When someone wears masculine or feminine clothing they are performing gender, or presenting their gender to society based on that way they act and dress.

Leaning Gender: Gender is a human invention created to categorize people. We are not born knowing our gender, rather we are taught it through the socialization of what is expected of us based on our sex, such as girls baking. Despite being rewarded for going along with these expectations and punished for not, some people simply do not feel comfortable identifying their gender with their biological sex. These individuals are known as gender-queer, and those whose gender and sex match up are known as cis-gender.

Lesson Five: Intimate Relationships and Family

Lesbian/Bisexual Chic: A lesbian woman realizing the "girl-on-girl" porn she's watching was made for the male gaze—heterosexual, cis-gendered males—and not lesbians. Lesbian/Bisexual Chic illustrates a mismatch between sexual behavior and sexual identity in certain, excusable circumstances. It mainly occurs between two heterosexual females for the viewing pleasure of heterosexual males.

Heterosexual Privilege: Two heterosexuals publicly displaying their affection for one another without fear of retribution. Heterosexuals are free to express their sexuality in ways that people of other sexualities cannot. For instance, a heterosexual will not have to worry about bringing their partner to social gatherings in the ways a homosexual might.

The Second Shift: A mother arrives home from her full-time job, only to start her "second shift". The second shift is the unpaid, at-home labor expected of women, such as cooking, cleaning, and caring for the children. Unlike mothers, most fathers do not experience the second shift and are able to relax and unwind after work. At-home labor is extremely undervalued by capitalist societies, because it does not bring money into the home.

Heteronormativity: Society is structured in such a way that heterosexuality is always the default or presented as the norm. This is called heteronormativity. Heteronormativity spurs from the idea of heterosexism, the anti-homosexual beliefs and practices embedded within a culture. Thus, it also refers to the invisibility of non-heterosexual couples in social life and that all sexual/romantic relationships are expected to follow the scripts of heterosexual ones.

Domestic Violence: Domestic violence refers to physical, verbal, financial, sexual, and/or psychological abuse within the home. It is the most common form of family violence. Women are generally more likely to experience domestic violence than men, but the opposite does occur. Domestic violence can occur in any family, regardless of race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, and/or religion if the victim(s) and abuser.

Lesson Six: Education

Gender & Appearance vs Content: In the above, a male student has received praise for his work while the female has received praise for her penmanship. Teachers are more likely to praise female students for their appearance and the appearance of their work, while praising male students more for their academic performance. This is generally done unintentionally, but it still sends an underlying message to girls: aestheticism is rewarded more than the content of their work.

Gender & Self-Esteem: A young girl hiding her face from the camera for fear of other people seeing and judging her appearance. Since a female's self-worth generally relies more heavily on appearance, it is no surprise that their self-esteem drops significantly during adolescence. The average girl's self-esteem drops from a 4 to a 2.8. These results are even more remarkable when compared to the average boy's self-esteem, which only drops from a 5 to 4.8.

Math & Science and Gender: Intentionally or not, children are often taught that math and science are masculine fields while caregiving is a feminine field. Women in college now outnumber men in Geometry, Algebra II, Biology, and Chemistry courses, and are only slightly behind in Calculus and Physics courses. However, because these fields are still identified as masculine, women are less likely to recognize their abilities and pursue careers in these areas.

Gender, Dropping Out, and Vocational Education: A high school dropout kneeling in front of the Corvette he earned after years of trade work. It is more common for a male to drop out of school than a female. These kids will often seek out vocational education. For women, this means being prepared for a low-wage job, such as hairdressing or secretarial work. Men on the other hand are often trained for higher paying skilled trades, such as welding, plumbing, electrical work, automotive work, and more.

Water and Education: The lack of access to water and sanitation is a major barrier to girls in poor countries. Because carrying water is usually considered women's work, and can take up to four hours daily, girls are not always able to attend school. Moreover, if a school does not have a toilet, boys are send out to the fields while girls must wait until they get home or find a community toilet after school. When these girls have their periods, they must stay home because the schools do not have the means to allow them a place to sanitize and care for themselves.

Lesson Seven: The Economy and Work

The Ideal Worker: White, male, middle-class fathers enjoy themselves at a work-related function. In a capitalist society such as ours, the "ideal worker" is white, male, and a father. He is dedicated to his work because he needs to provide for his family, but unlike mothers he is less likely to take time off work for child-related reasons such as sickness.

Gender Wage Gap: The wage gap is the general earning difference between men and women in the workforce. From 1960 on, the wage gap steadily decreased until about 1990, when the progress began slowing. In 2013, the average woman earned 78 cents to every dollar a man made. The gap is greater for minorities with the average Hispanic women earning 54 cents to a Caucasian man's dollar.

The Glass Ceiling: The glass ceiling is an invisible barrier that prevents females, and most non-whites, from advancing to top-level positions based on attitudinal or organizational bias. It is a global phenomenon; no matter where you go, the higher positions are almost exclusively male and racially of the majority. This is not always intentional, as sexism (and racism) can often be unconscious and unintentional.

Breast Feeding & the Workplace: Despite most experts agreeing that breast milk is better for babies, most mother's cannot afford it. Rarely is there space within a workplace where mother's can express and store their milk. Those women who do chose to breastfeed often face a steep income decline in the first five years of their child's life, which only worsens the longer the mother breastfeeds.

Motherhood Penalty: Mothers in the United States suffer a per-child wage penalty of approximately 5%. Compared to mothers, women without children are more than twice as likely to receive interview requests and are often offered, on average, $11,000 more a year in compensation. Studies have concluded that poorer woman are more affected than wealthy women and are often penalized more harshly.