Weeks
Week 12-13 – Continuing Gender + Body with a Focus on Sex/uality
Here’s the activity, a la a different sociologist. Don’t worry about answering question 4; we’ll do that in class.
For this week read:
Uecker, J. and Mark Regnerus. 2010. “Bare Markets: Campus Sex Ratios, Romantic Relationships, and Sexual Behavior,” The Sociological Quarterly, 51(3): 408-435.
(You’ll probably need to look that one up using the libraries electronic resources)
–And–
Anne Koedt’s classic, “The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm”
–One More–
Susan Bordo on the Male Body: Excerpts from her book by that title.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Week 11-12 – Gender and Body
How is gender connected to body parts? Explore.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Week 10-11 – Gender Bender Friend-her(?)
This week’s activity is findable here.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Week 9-10 – Holy Cow, it’s almost Halloween.
I mean: Gender & Media.
Halloween Costume Analysis here.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Week 8-9 – Gender and Work
Mancession? Activity here.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Week 7-8 – Gender and Religion
The activity can be found here.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Week 6-7 – Revisions
Check out additional resources for Digital Storytelling here.
Prompt for Ma Vie En Rose reaction post:
Our readings on the social constructionist perspective on gender as well as the article for last week by West and Zimmerman help us to understand gender as something we do, a set of behaviors we perform, rather than something we are. Learning how to do gender is social, and our early socialization into gender begins at birth and in the family. As we age, we are also socialized by other groups–e.g., school, religious organizations, peers–to behave in ways that are normatively appropriate for our gender.
In Ma Vie En Rose, Ludovic, the male protagonist, is convinced that, in spite of being born with XY chromosomes, he was meant to be a girl and decides that he will become one. Using the framework of doing gender, explain how he accomplishes this (or attempts to). Further, explain the import of an audience for doing gender. Finally, Ludovic is part of various social groups (like those listed in the preceding paragraph) that attempt to enforce or encourage particular gender role behavior. Explain the role of power and authority in terms of learning and doing gender and in developing a gender identity.
Posts should be well-developed, likely between 750-1000 words. Feel free to draw on the readings in your conceptual discussion of gender (but write as much as it takes).
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Week 5-6 Theme: Inhale, Exhale, Break
Instructions:
This week we’re taking a break from you all leading discussion and DS creation. You will still complete objectives, or something like them. For this week, a happy medium:
1. Read the chapter.
2. Write 12 summary statements of important points/themes from this chapter (6). i.e. summarize arguments into statements.
Here is an example:
Much of the debate over whether the family is in decline is rooted in an image of the family that became normative in the 1950s–an image based on a white, middle prototype operating through traditional gender roles.
Here is NOT an example:
Kimmel explains that the family form has changed over US history.
3. Bring them to class next Wednesday.
4. Turn them in.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Week 4-5 Theme: Deepening Fluency
Instructions:
Choose one from the following list that you will be responsible for illustrating in class (either in discussion or for your DS). You will more than likely be working with one or more other people on this topic, but no more than 3 to a topic please. Indicate that you are responsible for that topic by editing this page and putting your name next to the item in red. For the remaining objectives, complete them in written form and turn them in at the beginning of class next Wednesday. Note that if there is a topic or point of interest from the reading that you believe is important and would like to cover but do not see here, email Ashley about it.
Topics and Objectives:
1. Explain the 4 elements of the social constructionist perspective. Tyler
2. What are the 4 problems that sociologists have identified with respect to sex-role theory and how does sociology improve on them? Alex
3. In this chapter, Kimmel makes the point that individuals/groups often understand identity not by stating what they are, but by what they aren’t. In other words, masculinity and femininity are defined oppositionally– by what they are not, rather than by what they are. Explain this and provide examples of oppositional definitions for masculinity and femininity. Ginnie
4. Sociologists understand power as a property structured into social arrangements and group life rather than something that one individual wields over another. Explain what it means that power is a property of group life. How does this apply to gender? Amy&Janel
5. Sociologists used to think that socialization was a process limited to development in childhood and adolescence. We now understand socialization as a process that occurs throughout the life course. How do we continue to be socialized into masculinity and femininity across the life course? Provide examples. Mary, Erin, Kayla
6. We discussed in class (and ch. 5 and West and Zimmerman reiterate) the arbitrary nature of segregating public bathrooms according to gender. In fact, Erving Goffman first used gender segregation by restrooms to illustrate that gender segregation in social life produces gender difference instead of reflecting an inherent difference. In his words, “Toilet segregation is presented as a natural consequence of the difference between the sexes when in fact it is a means of honoring, if not producing this difference.” Explain this in your own words and find additional examples of this point in social life. –Brittany, Kashena, Dylan
7. Organizations often appear to be gender-neutral but are, in fact, structured according to gender. Sociologically, this means that advantage and disadvantage are built into the functioning of organizations on the basis of gender. Explain how this manifests and provide an illustration. It might be helpful to refer to Acker’s gendered processes (pp. 127-8) Kayla B.
8. West and Zimmerman argue that gender is not something we are but something we do. What does this mean? Provide 3 distinct examples in which individuals demonstrate their gender in social interactions. How does each (male and female) demonstrate gender in the interaction? (Hint: could the behaviors be reversed?) Erica & Hannah
9. In the article on doing gender by West and Zimmerman, the authors differentiate “sex,” “sex category,” and “gender.” Define each of these terms explaining how they are separate and provide an example of each. Julia
10. How does sociology understand rape and how does this vary from other perspectives on rape that Kimmel has covered? Nipa & Amanda
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Week 3-4
In addition to chapter 4 in the Kimmel text, we will also read a well-known article on gender by Candace West and Don H. Zimmerman called “Doing Gender.” It was published in Gender & Society in 1987, i.e. before some of you were born (weird!), but anybody who knows anything about the sociology of gender knows this article. That means you should read it, too. Get it here.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Week 2-3 Theme: Down to Business, Business That Is Creative & Fun
Our meeting time for next week will be divided into 3 parts — DS group, discussion group, a