SYG 2000: Lecture 22. Chapter 8: Gender, Biology, and Inequality

I. Gender dif: behaviors/attitudes consider proper males/females; social, not, biological char

A. why men >aggress than fem?: XY=men, XX=fem chromosome?/wld diversity suggests soc

1. Cynthia Fuchs Epstein (’86,’88,’89): tot soc: anthro record show earl soc, >= than thought

a. activities: both fem/male hunt sm game/made tools/gath food; hunt/gath soc exist w/ = role

b. rising crime rates around world for women: indicate soc factors influence aggression

B. fem>prep parent? Alice Rossi ’77,’84: fem >sensitive infant’s soft skin/nonverb communic

C. example of Brenda: penis burned off 7 mo old 1963; parents give sex-change 22 mo old

1. 4 yrs:give dress/no like dirty—imitate mom/ident twin broth can’t wash face—imitate dad

2. later no adapt feminity:no like dolls/urinate stand up/like tumble games/14expel beat up fem

3. age 25: married fem & adopted her children/ opens door to biological explanation

D. research find men >testosterone tend >aggressive: eg rowdy frat v. frat w/ acad success (’66)

E. study prisoners: commit sex crimes/violence >testosterone than those commit property crime

F. ’85: US gov health study Vietnam vets: sample 4462 men confirm earlier studies w/ sm samp

1. eg: boys >testos >likely trouble w/ par/teachers & be delinquent; as adult >likely drug abuse

a. also as adult: >fights, <status job, >sex partners, <likely marry,>likely affairs/hit wife/div

b. yet class factor: >testos men from >class <likely antisocial behave than men from <class

c. conflict: increases testosterone, so we can’t be sure hi testos is cause or result of conflict

II Gender inequality: some speculate men/fem = in hunting/gathering soc; <in hort soc than now

A. hort soc: fem may contribute 60% tot food

B. matriarchy?: Learner ’86 (feminist):no society fem-as-a-group decis-make power over men

C. George Murdock 374 soc: all have sex-typed activities;yet act fem in 1 soc are male in other

1. eg: taking care cattle is male in 1 group female in another/metal work exception all soc men

2. 3 activities @ universally male domain: making weapons, pursuing sea mammals, hunting

3. most fem: make clothes/cooking/carry water/grind grain; no specific work assign only fem

4. conclusion: nothing from biology requires men/wom to be assigned dif work

D.India: fem do quarry work, construction;Tamil Nadu, fem put sugar cane in belt-driven mach

F. prestige: universally more prestige given to male work regardless of what those activities are

1. conclusion: not work but sex that provides prestige

G. 4 additional aspects of global gender discrimination:

1. educ: fem 2/3 of 1 billion adults in wld who can’t read; Africa, sex differential 20% or more

2.politic:fem no= access decision-make@wld;>close Sweden 43% legislator fem v 1%Jap/Iran

a. also: most nations fem hold 11% seats congress/parl; Kuwait/Unite Arab Emirates no vote

3. pay gap: every nation, wom earn less pay than men; in US, full-time avg 65% of men make

H. violence against women: global human rights issue; eg footbinding China; witch burning Eur

1. also suttee: in Indian burning the living widow with her dead husband’s body

2. notorious example: female circumcision

3. honor killing:Pakistan,/Jordan,/Kurdistan: fem thought disgrace fam killed by male relative

a. killer: usually husband/brother, but often father/uncles; usually for sex outside marriage

b. Iraq: even woman who has been raped is in danger of becoming victim of honor killing

i. purpose: removes the “stain” she has brought to the family, restoring honor in community

ii. police: generally ignore killings, viewing it as a family matter