Gender and Inequality

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Chapter 12

• Gender and Inequality

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Gender Inequality in Premodern Societies
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Gender Inequality in Premodern Societies
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A job is alright, but what most women really
want is a home and children.
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Most societies then and now are patriarchal

• Patriarchy means rule of the fathers males
  dominate females
• Patriarchy often stems from sexism belief that
  one sex innately superior to other
• Or is it the other way around (status inequality
  causes conflict?)
• No clear case of Matriarchy, but womens power
  sometimes does rival mens (e.g., industrialized
  countries, especially Scandinavian countries)

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Roots of patriarchy?

• Hunting and gathering roots?
• Bible and other religious teachings?
• Once patriarchy in place culture and
  socialization take over
• Pink world, blue world
• Interesting to imagine the various places males
  and females encounter these differences (family,
  media, school)

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Focus of Chap 12 narrow - Sex Ratios - Males per
100 Females

• Ratios rarely the same many factors influence
• Migration patterns
• Wars
• Infanticide
• Other factors?
• Until the end of World War II, men outnumbered
  women in the United States.
• The 1990 census counted 95.5 males per 100
  females.

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Geography of Gender

• Western states (Alaska, Nevada, Hawaii,
  California) are the most male states.
• East and southeast (Mississippi, New York,
  Alabama, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and
  Massachusetts) are the most female states

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Unbalanced Sex Ratios Geographical Mobility

• Unbalanced sex ratios often are caused by
  migration or immigration.
• During the California Gold Rush in 1850
• In California men outnumbered women by 12 to 1.
• Immigrants often male (e.g., Chinese)

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Unbalanced Sex Ratios Female Infanticide

• Most human societies have killed a substantial
  proportion of female infants.
• In China, 1870 census 430 boys for every 100 in
  some areas
• Infanticide still practiced today, mostly in
  rural areas (1 child policy criticized by human
  rights groups)
• But not just China part of history

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Why would ratios matter?

• Guttentag and Secord, Too Many Women? The Sex
  Ratio Question
• A creative and very sociological theory
• Theory has a micro and macro level
• Dyadic power- micro level
• Structural power macro level

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Dyadic power micro level

• Rational choice theory maximize rewards and
  minimize costs
• Dyadic 2 what happens to dyads when one sex
  is in short supply?
• Gottentag and Secord quote When on sex is in
  short supply the individual is in a stronger
  position and is less dependent on the partner
  because of the large number of alternative
  relationships available
• Power dependency in relationships when your sex
  is in short supply

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Structural power macro level

• Conflict theory organized activities of gender
  groups
• If you lack dyadic power, you have structural
  power
• Organize yourselves to protect yourself in dyadic
  relationships

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Historically, women in short supply (migration,
immigration, infanticide main reasons)

• Women have dyadic power
• Women can drop one, go for another
• Men must compete for affections
• Men have structural
• Over time, organize themselves to protect
  themselves
• Shape social structure and culture to favor them

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How do they protect themselves? Over time,
cultural norms emerge

• Brides shall be virgins and wives chaste
• Women should not form alternative relationships
• Women should be wives and mothers
• Discourages divorce, keeps women home
• Women unsuited for positions of power and
  authority
• Men control laws and customs

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Ratios may shift over time, but patriarchy
remains part of the culture

• Excess of women does not immediately translate
  into structural power
• Culture of male superiority may be firmly in
  place
• But over time, chastity and virginity norms
  disappear
• Women organize themselves to increase structural
  power

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Ancient Athens Too Few Women

• Women were considered property
• Married at pre-puberty to older men
• Sex (for women) outside marriage severely
  punished
• Respectable women should not sexually appeal to
  others (clothing, etc.)
• Women could not easily divorce
• No political power
• Not educated
• Prostitution common

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Ancient Sparta Too Few Men

• Constantly at war infanticide practiced, but
  for boys and girls
• Spartan women managed the estates
• Men tend to hang out with men
• Women political power and were educated
• Laws protected women in marriage
• Compared to Athenian women, not submissive
  outspoken and witty
• More provocative dress
• Norms of virginity and chastity relaxed

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Point of Sex Ratios theory?

• When women scarce they are treated by men as
  precious but also property
• Precious (men compete for affection) and property
  (few rights, strict sexual norms)
• When women in excess they have more power (so
  there is less inequality) structural inequality
  (women have more power, are educated, etc.)
• Men less dependable in relationships
• Women more likely to strut their stuff (and
  interestingly, be treated as sexual object)

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The Woman Movement (mid 1800s)

• Theory predicts that when women in excess will
  organize themselves
• Culture of male dominance powerful, change comes
  slowly
• So When and Where does the Woman Movement begin?
• Declaration of Sentiments All men and women
  created equal
• Goals broad to begin with, eventually narrowed to
  womens suffrage
• Culminated in ratification of the Nineteenth
  Amendment on August 26, 1920 giving women the
  right to vote
• Movement lost steam after this

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The Feminist Movement

• Definition of Feminism (Cott) Opposition to all
  forms of stratification based on gender
• Continued to grow fueled by two other trends
  changing the circumstances of American women
• Women in the labor force
• The Sexual Revolution

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American Females Employed Full Time Outside the
Home
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Married American Mothers With Children Under Age
6 Employed Full Time Outside the Home
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Do women earn less than men?

• US Census Bureau says - .76 to 1
• Women workers younger than men (reflects trend in
  entering workforce)
• More likely to take time off for children, stay
  home with sick children
• May enter lower paying careers (socialization -
  may not see themselves as primary bread winner)
• Job turnover rate higher for women

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Sex ratios and sexuality

• 1850 1 in 10 first child births to unwed or
  married after pregnant, 1900 1 in 4.
• Abundance of women gave men dyadic power chance
  to explore sexually
• Women released from restrictive norms
• Feminist movement encouraged women to express
  themselves sexually

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Produces ironies

• Few women few rights, strict sex norms (at
  home and pregnant, where she belongs)
• Excess women more rights, relaxed sex norms
• So woman movement (and later feminist movement)
  produced rights (including sexual rights) but
  also the idea of women as sex objects

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Why Are African American Men In Short Supply?

• The sex ratio is nearly even at birth for African
  Americans.
• African Americans have a higher infant mortality
  rate and male infants are more likely to die.
• Young African American men have high mortality
  rates from accidents, drugs, and violence.

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Effect on African American family?

• Excess of women irresponsibility of men (always
  has)
• Excess of women sexual exploitation of women
  (always has)
• Excess of women great promiscuity of men and
  women (always has)
• Excess of women increase in illegitimacy ratio
  ( births out of wedlock approx 65 in AA
  families, 20 in white)
• Puerto Rican patterns very similar to AA