Stratification by Gender and Age
by Megan Cadreau
1. Social Construction of Gender
1.1. Gender roles were defined as expectations regarding the proper behavior, attitudes, and activities of males and females. The applications of traditional gender roles leads to many forms of differentiation between men and women.
1.2. In any society, gender stratification requires not only individual socialization into traditional gender roles within the family, but the promotion and support of those traditional roles by other social institutions, such as religion and education.
2. Explaining Stratification by Gender
2.1. Functionalist View: Maintain that gender differentiation has contributed to overall society stability. Conflict Response: the functionalist approach masks the underlying power relations between men and women.
2.1.1. Expressiveness- denotes concern for the maintenance of harmony and the internal emotional affairs of the family
2.2. Feminist Perspective: argue that until recently, the very discussion of women and society, however well meant, was distorted by the exclusion of women from academic thought. Interactionist Approach: The simple day-to-day exchanges are one more battleground in the struggle for gender equality- as women try to get a word in edgewise in the midst of men's interruptions and verbal dominance.
2.2.1. Homophobia- Fear of and prejudice against homosexuality.
2.2.2. Instrumentality- refers to an emphasis on tasks, a ficus on more distant goals, and a concern for the external relationship between one's family and other social institutions.
3. Women: The oppressed Majority
3.1. The workplace patterns described here have one crucial result; women earn less than men in the paid labor force. On average, women earned only about 78 cents for every dollar earned by men.
3.1.1. Institutional Discrimination- the denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups that result from the normal operations of a society.
3.2. Just as African Americans are victimized by racism, women suffer from sexism in our country. Sexism is the ideology that one sex is superior the other.
4. Aging and Society
4.1. There is one crucial difference between older people and other subordinate groups, such as racial and ethnic minorities or women: all of us who live long enough will eventually assume the ascribed status of an older person.
4.1.1. Glass Ceiling- refers to an invisible barrier that blocks the promotion of a qualified individual in a work environment because of a person's gender, race, or ethnicity.
4.2. "Being old" is a master status that commonly over-shadows all others in the United States. The insights of labeling theory can help us in analyzing the consequences of aging
5. Explaining the Aging Process
5.1. The particular problems of the elderly have become the focus for a specialized field of research and inquiry. Gerontology is the scientific study of the sociological and psychological aspects of aging and the problems of the aged.
5.2. Illness and chronic disease are no longer quite the scourge of the elderly that they once were. The recent emphasis on fitness, the availability of better medical care, greater control of infectious diseases, and the reduction of fatal strokes and heart attacks have combined to mitigate the traumas of growing old.
6. Age Stratification in the United States
6.1. There is a significant variation in wealth and poverty among the nation's older people. The older people who enjoy the middle-class while the younger tend to remain better off after retirement.
6.2. The elderly in the United States are better off today both financially and physically than ever before. Many have strong financial assets and medical care packages that will take care of almost any health need.
6.2.1. Ageism- refers to prejudice and discrimination based on a person's age.