Sociology Now, Census Update

form of quid pro quo or hostile environment. Women

are also more responsible for balancing the load of work

and family than are men. Gender inequality also exists

in school and is embedded in the hidden curriculum.

7.What is the politics of gender? Gender politics includes

opposition to gender roles as too oppressive, restrictive,

and arbitrary. Women’s opposition to restrictions

became political as they banded together to fight gender

inequality. Men often also find their own gender roles

restrictive, and some believe the fight for women’s rights

has led to reverse discrimination. The U.S. women’s

movement began in the nineteenth century with the first-

wave feminists, who fought for entry into the public

sphere, including the right to vote and attend college.

The second wave of feminism occurred in the 1960s and

70s, when women were fighting obstacles to advance-

ment and were focusing on gender inequality in their

own relationships. The third wave of feminism is occur-

ring today among the younger women who interact with

and through mass media and consumerism. They tend

to focus on multiculturalism and believe that the second

wave of feminism is dead. Many young women do not

identify as feminists but believe in the principles of fem-

inism. They feel equal to men. Liberal feminism focuses

on individual work to remove obstacles to women’s free-

dom. Radical feminists believe inequality stems from

patriarchy, and multicultural feminists believe that all

women’s experiences are not the same and are affected

by intersections of race, class, sexuality, and so on.

312 CHAPTER 9SEX AND GENDER

KeyTerms

Evolutionary imperative (p. 283)
Feminism (p. 308)
Feminization of poverty (p. 297)
Feminization of the professions (p. 300)
Gender (p. 280)
Gender identity (p. 281)
Gender inequality (p. 282)
Gender polarization (p. 291)

Gender roles (p. 293)

Gender socialization (p. 290)

Gender wage gap (p. 297)

Intersections or intersectionality (p. 282)

Liberal feminism (p. 309)

Multicultural feminism (p. 310)

Patriarchy (p. 282)

Primary sex characteristics (p. 284)

Radical feminism (p. 309)

Secondary sex characteristics (p. 284)

Sex (p. 280)

Sex hormones (p. 283)

Sexual harassment (p. 302)

Social construction of gender (p. 292)

9.1 Gender Roles

This is actual survey data from the General Social Survey, 2004.

A man’s job is to earn money; a woman’s job is to look after the home and

family.In 2004, about 22 percent of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed

with this statement. About 65 percent disagreed, including 35 percent who strongly

disagreed. Men were more likely than women to agree with the statement.

CRITICAL THINKING|DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. How do you think these responses would be different if the survey were taken in the 1950s?
   How have historical events and social movements contributed to the greater acceptance of
   women working outside the home and men working in the home?


2. What do you think explains the gender differences in survey results? How might a conflict
   theorist explain the differences?

What

does

America

think

?