Week 2: Gender at the Individual Level
● Gender Binary = categorizes gender into two distinct and opposite groups: male and female. It suggests that there are only two genders, each with specific, fixed traits and
roles.
● Gender identity = an individual's personal sense of their own gender, which may or may not align with the sex they were assigned at birth
● **Embodiment = thinking about not necessarily your gender identity but the way in which masculinity and feminity play out in your body (exercise, the way you move through
the world, how you eat, or what your diet consists of based on how you want to look
● *Embodiment = (cultural norms) our bodies are actively shaped by social and cultural norms; from infancy and onward we are subjected to messages about how boys and
girls should look, move, and use their bodies; these gendered practices, which are often subtle and seemingly harmless build up over time to produce the bodies that society
deems appropriately masculine or feminine (ex: Boys are more likely to be allowed to engage in physically expansive behaviors while girls are encouraged to be more
physically restrained; this repeated pattern day after day can lead to embodied differences in how boys & girls move, occupy space, and perceive their own physical
capabilities
● “Giving birth like a girl” (Martin) = internalized technologies of gender are aspects of the gender system that individuals internalize and shape their understanding of
themselves as men or women; this internalization process shapes how individuals think about and understand themselves as gendered beings; these internalized
technologies can be seen as discourses and practices that construct gendered subjectivity
● “Socially Constructed Body” (Lober & Martin) - argue that the body is not just a biological entity but is shaped by social norms and expectations, including those
related to the gender binary; that gender identity is not just a personal or internal phenomenon but is shaped by social forces. Society creates and enforces
norms about how bodies should look and behave, which in turn affects how individuals perceive and express their own gender identities
● “Becoming a Gendered Body” ( Martin) - explores how children are socialized into the gender binary from an early age
Week 3: Interactional Perspective
● Doing gender = concept that gender is not an inherent trait of individuals, but rather something people do in interaction with others; ppl act in ways that align with societal
expectations of masculinity or femininity ( a teacher only calling on male students to help carry or lift something heavy)
● Cultural frame = gender is a key cultural frame; is just a way we automatically fit into those stereotypes; set of cultural beliefs that people draw on to coordinate behavior
and organize social relations
● Gender stereotype = a society’s shared beliefs about how men and women typically behave; gender stereotypes are on element of the larger cultural frame of gender,
and they inform the ways in which individuals ‘do gender’; are based on an exaggeration of difference that lead to inequality between men and women
● Status expectations theory = the expectation that men have a higher status; hold women to higher standards and expect a higher performance; women will systematically
undermine and underestimate their performance for a “male-enforced task” (ex: in a business meeting, a women may need to provide more evidence/explanation to support
her ideas, while a man might be taken more seriously with less justification; leads to women feeling undervalued and doubting their abilities; tech industry proves this)
● “Doing Gender” (West & Zimmerman)
- Sex = the biological attributes that classify peopple as male or female
- Sex category = social classification based on observale physical factors that are used to determine male or female
- Gender = behaviors, activities, & roles that society considers appropriate for men & women, which are actively performed by individuals
- Socially required identificatory displays = actions, appearances, & behaviors that ppl use to demonstrate their gender identity, aligning themselves with the norms
associated the their sex category
● “No Way My Boys are going to be like that” (Kane)
- Status expectation theory
- If we didn’t have some sort of rules for the ways we interact with others, there would be total chaos in society
- What does Ridgeway claim when it comes to gender and status? Generally, we see that men are afforded higher status in society in society, across many
and most cultures; bc of this we are going to assume that men are “better” or more competent at tasks; you are going to offer them more of an
opportunity to lead a group; this expectation is heightened when you are in a male-dominated environment; women are going to work twice as hard to
prove their competence in these environments such as tech industry
● “Framed Before We Know It” (Ridgeway) - These cultural frames are deeply ingrained societal norms that guide expectations about how men and women should
behave; stereotypes are part of cultural frames (ex: women might be stereotyped as more nurturing, leading to assumptions that they are naturally better at
caregiving roles, while men might be seen as more competent in leadership positions.)
Week 4: Gender as an Institution/Social System
● Gendered organizations = institutions/workplaces where practices, processes, & structures are built around & reinforce gender nromas & inqualities (Acker argues that
organizations are inherently gendered because they are structured in ways that reflect and perpetuate societal gender norms)
● Gender structure theory = explains how gender operates at multiple levels ( individual, interactional, & institutional) to shape behvaiors, identities,& social systems;
((Scarborough & Risman) ( Individual Level: How people internalize gender norms and expectations, which influences their actions and identities.; Interactional
Level: How people "do gender" in interactions, reinforcing or challenging gender norms through their behavior.; Institutional Level: How policies, rules, and
organizational structures maintain and reproduce gender inequalities.)
● “Hierarchies, jobs, bodies”(Acker)
● “Barbie Girls & Sea Monsters” (Messner)
● **”Changes in Gender structure” (Scarborough & Risman)
- Ways in which we have seen change & lack of change across things like the workplace, the family, and gender
Week 5: Intersectionality
● Intersectionality = framework that examines how different social identities (i.e. race, gender, class, sexuality) intersect and create overlapping systems of oppression &
discrimination; coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw to address the ways in which traditional approaches to social justice often fail to consider the compounded effects of multiple
identities
● Controlling images = stereotypes that serve to reinforce power structures by limiting how certain groups are viewed & treated
● Emphasized femininity = refers to a form of femininity that conforms to dominant, patriarchal standards of female behavior, often chaarcterized by submissiveness, nurturing &
compliance to male authority; a way femininity is “performed” to support male dominance
● Hegemonic femininity = form of femininity that aligns with & supports dominant social structures (i.e. race, class, & gender); can participate in maintaining power sructures
rather than simply being submissive to them
● Femininity premium = refers to the advantages & rewards women can receive for conforming to traditional standards of femininity; can include social, economic, or cultural
benefits, ( like being seen as trustworthy, likeable, or competent in certain roles)
● Intersectional domination = how systems of power & oppression overlap to create unique forms of discrimination against individuals who inhabit multiple marginalized
identities
● Gender complementarity = idea that men and women have distinct but complementary roles that fit together to create a balanced whole
● “Mapping the Margins” (Crenshaw) = 3 different aspects of intersectionality (structural, political, representational)
- Emphasizes issues such as DV and SA affect women of color differently bc they face intersecting oppression
● “Hegemonic Feminities and Intersectional Domination”(Hamilton et al)
Week 6: Masculinity
● *Hegemonic masculinity = justifies gender inequality and men’s dominant position in society
● *Hybrid masculinity = allows men to attempt to control meanings associal with their identities as men; incorporating elements of marginalized and subordinated masculinities
(& even feminities) into men’s gender performances & identities; all men enact hybrid masculinity, but privelegd men (i.e. white, wealthy, heterosexual) are most free to do so
without social sanctions
● Gender Binary = categorizes gender into two distinct and opposite groups: male and female. It suggests that there are only two genders, each with specific, fixed traits and
roles.
● Gender identity = an individual's personal sense of their own gender, which may or may not align with the sex they were assigned at birth
● **Embodiment = thinking about not necessarily your gender identity but the way in which masculinity and feminity play out in your body (exercise, the way you move through
the world, how you eat, or what your diet consists of based on how you want to look
● *Embodiment = (cultural norms) our bodies are actively shaped by social and cultural norms; from infancy and onward we are subjected to messages about how boys and
girls should look, move, and use their bodies; these gendered practices, which are often subtle and seemingly harmless build up over time to produce the bodies that society
deems appropriately masculine or feminine (ex: Boys are more likely to be allowed to engage in physically expansive behaviors while girls are encouraged to be more
physically restrained; this repeated pattern day after day can lead to embodied differences in how boys & girls move, occupy space, and perceive their own physical
capabilities
● “Giving birth like a girl” (Martin) = internalized technologies of gender are aspects of the gender system that individuals internalize and shape their understanding of
themselves as men or women; this internalization process shapes how individuals think about and understand themselves as gendered beings; these internalized
technologies can be seen as discourses and practices that construct gendered subjectivity
● “Socially Constructed Body” (Lober & Martin) - argue that the body is not just a biological entity but is shaped by social norms and expectations, including those
related to the gender binary; that gender identity is not just a personal or internal phenomenon but is shaped by social forces. Society creates and enforces
norms about how bodies should look and behave, which in turn affects how individuals perceive and express their own gender identities
● “Becoming a Gendered Body” ( Martin) - explores how children are socialized into the gender binary from an early age
Week 3: Interactional Perspective
● Doing gender = concept that gender is not an inherent trait of individuals, but rather something people do in interaction with others; ppl act in ways that align with societal
expectations of masculinity or femininity ( a teacher only calling on male students to help carry or lift something heavy)
● Cultural frame = gender is a key cultural frame; is just a way we automatically fit into those stereotypes; set of cultural beliefs that people draw on to coordinate behavior
and organize social relations
● Gender stereotype = a society’s shared beliefs about how men and women typically behave; gender stereotypes are on element of the larger cultural frame of gender,
and they inform the ways in which individuals ‘do gender’; are based on an exaggeration of difference that lead to inequality between men and women
● Status expectations theory = the expectation that men have a higher status; hold women to higher standards and expect a higher performance; women will systematically
undermine and underestimate their performance for a “male-enforced task” (ex: in a business meeting, a women may need to provide more evidence/explanation to support
her ideas, while a man might be taken more seriously with less justification; leads to women feeling undervalued and doubting their abilities; tech industry proves this)
● “Doing Gender” (West & Zimmerman)
- Sex = the biological attributes that classify peopple as male or female
- Sex category = social classification based on observale physical factors that are used to determine male or female
- Gender = behaviors, activities, & roles that society considers appropriate for men & women, which are actively performed by individuals
- Socially required identificatory displays = actions, appearances, & behaviors that ppl use to demonstrate their gender identity, aligning themselves with the norms
associated the their sex category
● “No Way My Boys are going to be like that” (Kane)
- Status expectation theory
- If we didn’t have some sort of rules for the ways we interact with others, there would be total chaos in society
- What does Ridgeway claim when it comes to gender and status? Generally, we see that men are afforded higher status in society in society, across many
and most cultures; bc of this we are going to assume that men are “better” or more competent at tasks; you are going to offer them more of an
opportunity to lead a group; this expectation is heightened when you are in a male-dominated environment; women are going to work twice as hard to
prove their competence in these environments such as tech industry
● “Framed Before We Know It” (Ridgeway) - These cultural frames are deeply ingrained societal norms that guide expectations about how men and women should
behave; stereotypes are part of cultural frames (ex: women might be stereotyped as more nurturing, leading to assumptions that they are naturally better at
caregiving roles, while men might be seen as more competent in leadership positions.)
Week 4: Gender as an Institution/Social System
● Gendered organizations = institutions/workplaces where practices, processes, & structures are built around & reinforce gender nromas & inqualities (Acker argues that
organizations are inherently gendered because they are structured in ways that reflect and perpetuate societal gender norms)
● Gender structure theory = explains how gender operates at multiple levels ( individual, interactional, & institutional) to shape behvaiors, identities,& social systems;
((Scarborough & Risman) ( Individual Level: How people internalize gender norms and expectations, which influences their actions and identities.; Interactional
Level: How people "do gender" in interactions, reinforcing or challenging gender norms through their behavior.; Institutional Level: How policies, rules, and
organizational structures maintain and reproduce gender inequalities.)
● “Hierarchies, jobs, bodies”(Acker)
● “Barbie Girls & Sea Monsters” (Messner)
● **”Changes in Gender structure” (Scarborough & Risman)
- Ways in which we have seen change & lack of change across things like the workplace, the family, and gender
Week 5: Intersectionality
● Intersectionality = framework that examines how different social identities (i.e. race, gender, class, sexuality) intersect and create overlapping systems of oppression &
discrimination; coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw to address the ways in which traditional approaches to social justice often fail to consider the compounded effects of multiple
identities
● Controlling images = stereotypes that serve to reinforce power structures by limiting how certain groups are viewed & treated
● Emphasized femininity = refers to a form of femininity that conforms to dominant, patriarchal standards of female behavior, often chaarcterized by submissiveness, nurturing &
compliance to male authority; a way femininity is “performed” to support male dominance
● Hegemonic femininity = form of femininity that aligns with & supports dominant social structures (i.e. race, class, & gender); can participate in maintaining power sructures
rather than simply being submissive to them
● Femininity premium = refers to the advantages & rewards women can receive for conforming to traditional standards of femininity; can include social, economic, or cultural
benefits, ( like being seen as trustworthy, likeable, or competent in certain roles)
● Intersectional domination = how systems of power & oppression overlap to create unique forms of discrimination against individuals who inhabit multiple marginalized
identities
● Gender complementarity = idea that men and women have distinct but complementary roles that fit together to create a balanced whole
● “Mapping the Margins” (Crenshaw) = 3 different aspects of intersectionality (structural, political, representational)
- Emphasizes issues such as DV and SA affect women of color differently bc they face intersecting oppression
● “Hegemonic Feminities and Intersectional Domination”(Hamilton et al)
Week 6: Masculinity
● *Hegemonic masculinity = justifies gender inequality and men’s dominant position in society
● *Hybrid masculinity = allows men to attempt to control meanings associal with their identities as men; incorporating elements of marginalized and subordinated masculinities
(& even feminities) into men’s gender performances & identities; all men enact hybrid masculinity, but privelegd men (i.e. white, wealthy, heterosexual) are most free to do so
without social sanctions
