Women, Men, and Society (6e)

Overview of gender and gender inequality

The authors assist students in connecting a central element of their own lives — their personal gender experiences — with the social and political world in which they live.

This popular book looks at the ways in which gender is socially constructed, how sexism and gender inequality affect men and women, and how other variables compound the problem of gender inequality.

Learning Goals

Upon completing this book, readers will be able to:

• Connect a central element of their personal lives — their gendered experiences — with the social and political world in which they live
• Look beyond the boundaries of their own lives so they can understand the complexity and diversity of gendered experiences in terms of race and ethnicity, cultural context, social class, sexual orientation, age, and physical ability/disability
• Understand how the constraints imposed on women and men by specific social constructions of gender may be tightened when combined with a devalued racial/ethnic status, sexual orientation, age, economic status, or physical trait or challenge
• Understand the diversity that makes up contemporary feminism, turning the analytic lens so that they see an issue from various feminist perspectives

Part I: Women and Men: What’s the Difference?
Chapter 1:   Studying Gender: An Overview
Chapter 2:   Biology, Sex, and Gender: The Interaction of Nature and Environment
Chapter 3:   Ancestors and Neighbors: Social Constructions of Gender at Other Times, in Other Places

Part II: Teaching Us to Know Our Respective Places
Chapter 4:   Gender Socialization in Childhood and Adolescence
Chapter 5:   Schools and Gender
Chapter 6:   The Great Communicators: Language and the Media

Chapter 7:   Gender and Intimate Relationships
Chapter 8:   Gender, Employment, and the Economy
Chapter 9:   Gender, Crime, and Justice
Chapter 10: Gender, Politics, Government, and the Military
Chapter 11: Gender and Spirituality
Chapter 12: Gender and Health

PART I: WOMEN AND MEN: WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

Chapter 1: Studying Gender: An Overview
Sociological Perspectives on Gender
Feminism in Historical Perspective
Contemporary Feminisms
The Perspective of This Text
Key Terms
Suggested Readings
Notes

The Sex Chromosomes and Sexual Differentiation
The Case for His and Hers Brains
“My Hormones Made Me Do It”
The Interaction of Biology and Culture
Key Terms
Suggested Readings
Notes

Chapter 3: Ancestors and Neighbors: Social Constructions of Gender at Other Times, in Other Places
Bones and Stones: The Archeological Record
Our Primate Relatives
Women and Men Elsewhere: Are Western Constructions of Gender Universal?
Gender, Evolution, and Culture
Key Terms
Suggested Readings
Notes

PART II: TEACHING US TO KNOW OUR RESPECTIVE PLACES  

Chapter 4: Gender Socialization in Childhood and Adolescence
Learning Gender
Growing Up Feminine or Masculine
Early Peer Group Socialization
By the Time a Child is Five
Key Terms
Suggested Readings
Notes

An Historical Overview of Women and Men in Education
Educating Girls and Boys: The Elementary Schools
Educating Teenage Girls and Boys: The Secondary Schools
Educating Women and Men: Colleges and Graduate Schools
Structuring More Positive Learning Environments
Gender, Education, and Empowerment
Key Terms
Suggested Readings
Notes

Chapter 6: The Great Communicators: Language and the Media
Sexism and Language: What’s in a Word?
Gender and the Media
Images of Gender in the Media: What Are Their Effects?
Language and the Media as Shapers of Gender
Key Terms
Suggested Readings
Notes

Chapter 7: Gender and Intimate Relationships
Sociology Constructs the Family
Evaluating the Functionalist Perspective of the Family
Sexuality, Sexual Orientation, and Reproductive Freedom
Varieties of Intimate Relationships
Violence in Families and Intimate Relationships
Families and Other Intimates: The Idea and the Real Revisited
Key Terms
Suggested Readings
Notes

U.S. Working Women and Men in Historical Perspective
Sex Segregation in the Workplace
Consequences of Occupational Sex Segregation
The Male/Female Earnings Gap
The Work World: Ideology and the Role of Law
The Intersection of Home and the Work World
Key Terms
Suggested Readings
Notes

Chapter 9: Gender, Crime, and Justice
Women and Men as Offenders
With Justice for All?
Criminal Victimization: Gender Power, and Violence
Power, Crime, and Justice
Key Terms
Suggested Readings
Notes

Chapter 10: Gender, Politics, Government, and the Military
The Gender Gap: Political Attitudes and Activities
Gender and Public Office
Women and Men in the Military
The Politics of Gender
Key Terms
Suggested Readings
Notes

Chapter 11: Gender and Spirituality
Gender and Religiosity
Goddesses and Witches
Traditional Religious Teachings on Gender
Religion, Politics, and Social Change
Challenges to Religious Patriarchy: Feminist Spirituality
Key Terms
Suggested Readings
Notes

Chapter 12: Gender and Health
Gender and Mortality
Sexism in Health Care
Gender, Sport, and Fitness
The Politics of Mental Health and Mental Illness
Toward a Healthy Future
Key Terms
Suggested Readings
Notes

MySearchLab with eText can be packaged with this text.

• MySearchLab provides engaging experiences that personalize learning, and comes from a trusted partner with educational expertise and a deep commitment to helping students and instructors achieve their goals.
• eText – Just like the printed text, you can highlight and add notes to the eText or download it to your iPad.
• Assessment – Chapter quizzes and flashcards offer immediate feedback and report directly to the gradebook.
• Writing and Research – A wide range of writing, grammar and research tools and access to a variety of academic journals, census data, Associated Press newsfeeds, and discipline-specific readings help you hone your writing and research skills.

Part I: Women and Men: What’s the Difference?

Chapter 1:  Studying Gender: An Overview 

• Introduces the concept of gender structures (Risman, 2004)
• Discusses that the limited extent gender has been “mainstreamed” into sociology courses despite the growth in the number of gender-focused courses
• New information on feminist movements historically
• Expansion of the section on contemporary feminisms, especially the future of feminism and cultural differences in Third Wave feminism
• Box 1.3 Men, Masculinity and Feminism (replaces Men and Liberation)

Chapter 2:  Biology, Sex and Gender 

• Genital Ambiguity: What Can It Teach Us About Gender
• Significantly revised discussion of intersexuality to include the standpoint of intersexed individuals
• Sex, Gender and the Brain (replaces section on The Case for His and Hers Brains): incorporates most up-to-date research on gender differences in brain functioning
• Hormones and gender: shortened, particularly with regard to gender and criminal behavior; new material on neurotransmitters
• Box 2.1 Biology and Sexual Orientation (replaces Sexual Orientation and the Brain); reviews the most recent research on biological causes of homosexuality

Chapter 3:  Ancestors and Neighbors: Social Constructions of Gender at Other Times, in Other Places 

• Our Primate Relatives
• New primate research (bonobos)
• Women and Men Elsewhere: Are Western Constructions of Gender Universal?
• New research on matriarchal (matrifocal/matricentric) societies
• New research on gender crossing and multiple genders (hijras, berdaches or two spirits)

Part II: Teaching Us to Know Our Respective Places

Chapter 4:  Early Childhood Gender Socialization  

• Cognitive Developmental Theories
• Gender attitudes of second born children
• Gender socialization of Latino children
• Expansion of section on gender socialization of African American children
• Parent-Child Interactions
• Addition of research comparing gender attitudes of lesbian parents to heterosexual parents
• Toys and Gender Socialization
• Review of toys displayed on websites in 2010 (F.A.O. Schwarz, Fisher-Price, Toys R Us)
• Discussion of newer Barbie® dolls and how they continue to portray gender stereotypes and provide messages for what should be important to girls (i.e. Barbie® Wedding Day Sparkle Doll, the Barbie® Fairy-Tastic Princess Doll, the Barbie® Loves Hair Doll, and the Barbie® Loves Nails doll)
• Mattel released a new line of African American Barbie dolls, So In StyleTM dolls in 2009
• Discussion of Bratz dolls (released in 2001) and how they have been criticized for their sexualized nature
• Discussion of Disney’s princess line
• Disney’s first African American female lead character in an animated feature film (Princess Tiana in The Princess and the Frog, 2009)
• Gendered Images in Children’s Literature
• Discussion of one exception to the lack of independent female characters in children’s literature (Dora the Explorer)
• Box 4.1 Where Have All the Young Women Gone?  Sex Preference and Gendercide
• Review of the continuing debate over sex selection

Chapter 5:  Schools and Gender

• Women and Men in Education during the Twentieth Century
• Discussion on how girls are now being favored over boys in elementary schools
• Claim is that males are now at a disadvantage and the success of females is at males’ expense. 
• Backlash against female’s success in education
• Educating Girls and Boys: The Elementary and Middle Schools
• More detailed discussion of how teachers’ expectations for future educational achievement is influenced by students’ gender, race and SES
• Educating Teenage Girls and Boys: The Secondary Schools
• Review of recent research indicating that girls’ high school GPA’s are slightly higher than boys’ GPA’s
• Lack of same-sex sexuality mentioned in texts
• Educating Women and Men: Colleges and Graduate Schools
• The use of race and gender in public university admission decisions was banned in Michigan in 2007
• Subtle and blatant gender biases found in college textbooks
• Lack of attention to racial and ethnic diversity in text books
• Gender differences in stress and emotional distress for college students
• Women Faculty and Administrators
• Discussion of  President of Harvard University, Lawrence Summers 2005 comments on women’s underrepresentation in tenured positions in science and engineering at top universities and research institutions
• Sexual Harassment
• More detailed discussion of sexual harassment  in elementary and secondary schools
• Influence of race/ethnicity and social class on sexual harassment
• Structuring More Positive Learning Environments
• Discussion of growing movement toward single-sex public education (single-sex schools  and single-sex classes
• In 2006, the U.S. Department of Education changed the Title IX regulations to allow for more flexibility in offering of single-sex education in public schools
• Discussion of the recent push to increase diversity education
• Availability of undergraduate degree, minors, certificates, or concentrations in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender studies
• Text box changed to Gender and Education in Developing Countries (Box 5.1)
• Box 5.2 The Middle and High School Experiences of Lesbian and Gay Youth
• Inclusion of bullying of gay, lesbian, or bisexual students
• Transgender students are even more likely than lesbian, gay, or bisexual students to experience harassment
• Box 5.3 Gender, Mathematics, and Computers
• International differences in boys’ and girls’ achievements in science, reading, and math using
• Box 5.4 New text box on cyberbullying
• All tables updated (2007, 2008, 2009 data) 

Chapter 6:  The Great Communicators: Language and the Media 

• Overview of how modern technology has also changed the way Americans receive media (i.e. DVRs, Broadband Internet, Smartphones or mobile phones with advanced operating systems)
• The Written Word: Gender Messages in Newspapers and Magazines
• Discussion of how the number of people getting their news online has increased
• Updated analysis of popular women’s and men’s magazines           
• Television: The Ubiquitous Media Socializer
• Discussion of the increase gay or lesbian characters on prime-time television programs as well as changes in how they are portrayed
• Box 6.2 Gender Differences in On-line Communication
• Gender differences in use of social networking websites

Part III: Keeping Us in Our Respective Places

Chapter 7: Gender and Intimate Relationships  

• Contemporary Families: Diversity and Change
• Review of how recent economic downtown has influenced the family and men and women’s participation in the paid labor force
• Sexuality, Sexual Orientation, and Reproductive Freedom
• The “pledging movement” that supports abstinence before marriage and encourages teens to promise or pledge that they will not engage in premarital sex
• Reproductive Freedom
• Contraception and Abortion.  
• Update on state laws regarding parental consent for abortion
• New Reproductive Technologies. 
• The controversy surrounding assisted reproductive technology due to birth of eight children by Nadya Suleman (Octomom)
• Varieties of Intimate Relationships
• Caregiving  
• Increase in children living in a household with a grandparent present and possible reasons for increase
• Expansion of discussion on caring for elderly parents
• Single-Parent Families
• Father’s rights groups concerned with how child custody laws, child support laws, and visitation arrangements affect fathers
• Criticism that father’s rights groups are an example of anti-feminist
• Singles and Domestic Partnerships
• Gay and Lesbian Singles and Domestic Partners  
• Comparison of happiness of partnered gays and lesbians to legally married heterosexuals, cohabitating heterosexuals and single gays
• State rulings that ban same-sex couples from adopting or fostering children
• Violence in Families and Intimate Relationships
• Elder Abuse
• Research on the experiences of elder abuse across racial and ethnic groups
• Expansion of discussion on intimate partner violence experienced by older women
• Box 7.1     New text box on same-sex marriage and civil unions
• Box 7.4     New text box on victims of domestic violence with disabilities

Chapter 8: Gender, Employment, and the Economy  

• Discussion of the effects of the recession on employment of both men and women
• While the economic recession hurts both men and women, men have been becoming unemployed more quickly than women have 
• Many women who left the paid labor market to raise children are now attempting to find employment because their husbands are unemployed, their husbands’ salaries have been reduced, or family investments have dropped in value
• Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
• Brief discussion of 2004 Supreme Court ruling that an employee faced with a situation in which a "reasonable person” would have felt compelled to quit could bring suit even if she had not filed a report with the employer before resigning
• Legislation for Equality in the Workplace
• Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009
• This law supersedes a 2007 Supreme Court decision (Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co) that supported the requirement in Title VII that plaintiffs file suit within 180 days after the alleged unlawful employment practice happened.  The Ledbetter Act amends Title VII so that the time limit for filing suit begins each an employer issues a paycheck.
• Box 8.1 Gender and Homelessness
• Discussion of how the economic recession and the home foreclosure crisis has affected the gendered nature of homelessness

Chapter 9:  Gender, Crime, and Justice 

• Women and Men as Offenders
• Research that examines if the gender gap in violent offending has changed by looking at victimization data
• The Administration of Justice
• Expansion of discussion on sexual harassment of police officers
• Examples of sexual harassment law suits won by female police officers
• Discussion of American Bar Association Commission of Women in the Profession reports on harassment of minority women attorneys
• Expansion of discussion on gender differences in how judges evaluate evidence and determine sentences
• Do the Punishments Fit the Crimes?
• Gender and Juvenile Offenders  
• Discussion of alarm over the increase in the number of girls arrested, the fact that girls’ arrest rate has not declined as much as boys’ arrest rate, and girls’ arrests are increasing for simple and aggravated assault. 
• Media portrayal of girls being as violent as boys
• Inaccuracy of stating that girls are becoming more violent when really “get tough” on crime approach may be impacting girls’ arrest rates
• Increased attention to girls’ use of violent behavior in self-defense
• Comparison of girls’ gang involvement to boys’ gang involvement
• Gender and Corrections
• Lack of programs in correctional institutions that effectively address the problems associated with physical and sexual abuse
• Problems for female inmates that arise from their separation to their children
• Prison nursery programs
• Criminal Victimization: Gender, Power, and Violence
• Rape
• Discussion of why many victims of rape do not label their experience as rape
• Box 9.1 Drugs, Crime, and Gender
• Research that explores how the strategies to acquire marijuana and crack differ by gender
• Box 9.2 Hate Crimes
• The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (2009)
• Box 9.3    Pornography on the Internet
• Youth exposure to Internet pornography
• Box 9.4    Violence Against Women as Human Rights Violations
• Rape in countries divided by civil war such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Darfur, and the Republic of Burundi in Eastern Africa
• Box 9.5    New text box on sex trafficking of women

Chapter 10:  Gender, Politics, Government and the Military

• Gender and Public Office
• New data on the significant increase in women office holders and cabinet appointments
• Discussion of the politics of gender in the 2008 presidential election
• Discussion of the problem of equating woman with feminist
• Women and Men in the Military
• New roles for women in the military
• Discussion of gays and lesbians in the military (incorporated into the chapter instead of assigned to a text box)
• Box 10.1  Violence Against Women in the Military
• Discussion of data showing disproportionately high rates of sexual harassment and sexual assault of female military personnel; discussion of the official response to the problem
• Box 10.2  Women Terrorists (new textbox)

Chapter 11:  Gender and Spirituality 

• Religion, Politics, and Social change
• Discussion of religious fundamentalism (not simply Christian fundamentalism) in the context of gender

Chapter 12:  Gender and Health 

• Gender and Mortality
• Box 12.1  Intimate Partner Violence and HIV Risk (replaces textbox on AIDS prevention
• Gendered Mental Health and Illness (new section title; replaces The Politics of Mental Health and Mental Illness)
• Discussion of new research on the gendered distribution of mental disorders, including eating disorders and self-harm
• Box 12.3 on Beauty Norms includes more data cross-cultural beauty norms and on cosmetic surgery for men

• Authors' goal is to assist students in connecting a central element of their own lives—their personal gender experiences—with the social and political world in which they live.
• Takes a critical, conflict approach, but provides a balanced view of other theoretical perspectives.
• Draws on a wealth of current research on gender, primarily from sociologists but also the work of biologists, anthropologists, psychologists, economists, historian, and others.
• “Intersecting Inequalities” boxes examine the ways in which gender inequality is compounded by other sociological variables: race, social class, age, and sexual orientation (ex. p. 22).
• Focuses primarily on women and men in the U.S., but also incorporates issues and data from other societies (ex. p. 24).
• Includes extensive statistics, including the most recent census data, both within the narrative and in the tables (ex. p. 196).
• MySearchLab with eText can be packaged with this text.

  • MySearchLab provides engaging experiences that personalize learning, and comes from a trusted partner with educational expertise and a deep commitment to helping students and instructors achieve their goals.

  • eText — Just like the printed text, you can highlight and add notes to the eText or download it to your iPad.

  • Assessment — Chapter quizzes and flashcards offer immediate feedback and report directly to the gradebook.

  • Writing and Research — A wide range of writing, grammar and research tools and access to a variety of academic journals, census data, Associated Press newsfeeds, and discipline-specific readings help you hone your writing and research skills.

Claire M. Renzetti is the Judi Conway Patton Endowed Chair in the Center for Research on Violence Against Women, and Professor of Sociology at the University of Kentucky. She is editor of the international, interdisciplinary journal, Violence Against Women; co-editor with Jeffrey Edleson of the Interpersonal Violence book series for Oxford University Press; and editor of the Gender, Crime and Law book series for Northeastern University Press. She has authored or edited 16 books as well as numerous book chapters and articles in professional journals. Much of her research has focused on the violent victimization experiences of socially and economically marginalized women. Her current research includes an ethnography of a faith-based organization involved in anti-trafficking work; a pilot study of NGOs that provide services to sex trafficking victims; a national web-based survey examining the effects of religiosity on intimate relationship quality and conflict; and an empowerment education project with the Women’s Justice Program, in the Cook County (Chicago), IL Sheriff’s Office. Dr. Renzetti has held elected and appointed positions on the governing bodies of several national professional organizations, including the Society for the Study of Social Problems, the Eastern Sociological Society, and Alpha Kappa Delta, the sociological honors society. In 2009, the Women and Crime Division of the American Society of Criminology honored her with the Saltzman Award for Contributions to Practice, an award that recognizes a criminologist whose professional accomplishments have increased the quality of justice and the level of safety for women.

Shana L. Maier,Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Criminal Justice Department at Widener University.  She received her B.S. and M.S. degrees from Saint Joseph’s University, and her Ph.D. from the University of Delaware.  Her research interests include intimate partner violence, the treatment of rape victims by the criminal justice, medical and legal systems, the transformation of rape crisis centers, and the experiences and struggles of rape victim advocates and Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners.  Her research on rape victim advocates has been published in Violence Against Women, Feminist Criminology, Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice, and Women & Criminal.   Manuscripts on the experiences of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners have been accepted for publication by the Journal of Interpersonal Violence and the Journal of Forensic Nursing.  She also co-authored of articles appearing in Deviant Behavior, Journal of Women, Politics & Policy, International Review of Victimology and Women’s Health and Urban Life.  Her current research focuses on police officers’ experiences responding to rape victims and investigating rape allegations.