On Gender Ch.

12

1. The social Construction of gender means how society perceives what a male is and what a
female is. As it explains in the book sex is the biological differences between and male and
females natural appearance and gender is the social and culture differences that we apply to
the biological differences. Has babies are born if by any means the baby is born male with
female parts and vice versa the physician will make the decision for them and this causes the
construction of gender what we as society perceive is right. Throughout life of an individual
he or she are reinforce what male and female differences are through actions. Boys are
expected to play with boy toys like trucks, blocks, and toy soldiers and girls are expected to
play with dolls, make up, or kitchen toys. This at adult life causes gender roles where women
have to look skinny and make up or be housewives and men are the dominant ones by
working and coming home to food from the women or play sports.
2. Feminism means the equality for women in social, economic, and political. The first
second and third waves were to the feminism movements which started in New York in the
town of Seneca Falls in the summer of 1848. In the first wave was all about using the 19th
amendment of the Constitution which expressed that women have the right to vote in national
elections. The second wave was argued with Betty Friedman's book called The Feminine
Mystique that argued about women's rights. It explained that women lacked resources
including money and power in the workplace and she explained that this was the real
problem. This wave also explained how women wanted a development of a new structure
with opportunities of women making more choices to what they want in life. The third wave
is about the 1990's was used to share experiences that women go through which added a
voice and expressions to be heard. This was the idea to let others global perspective to have
the opportunity of other women to voice and be heard. Feminists address sexism, institutional
discrimination and the glass ceiling as unfair because of their sex differences. In Sexism it
claims that men are dominant over women or in other words one sex is superior to the other.
In institutional discrimination means that through society as norm is to treat women with less
rights and limit their resources and opportunities. The Glass Ceiling is in corporate jobs like
government or CEO positions explains that when you climb up the ladder you start to see
less and less women which are the positions of higher wage and greater power. It is a
invincible barrier that limits an individual for promotions because of their gender, race, or
ethnicity.
3. Occupations for men are more likely to be chief executive, marketing, sales manager,
lawyer, or physician and women occupations are likely to be social worker, teacher, and
registered nurse. According to the book it states that in 2013 full time year round men median
income overall was $50,033 and women was $39,157. Men are likely to earn more because
women earns 78 percent for every dollar men earn overall. What accounts for a wage gap
between men and women is that being a men is an asset and in reverse it does not work for
women to become a useful quality or valuable person. I think that wage gaps can be corrected

once women show that they can do the same job as equal to men even as a construction
worker.
4. The second shift is when women are done from their wage jobs and come home and play
the second role of housework and child care. Culturally it is impossible to equalize the
second shift if men continue to think that they are dominant but it can change if men don't see
cleaning as non masculine work or taking care of their child/s too.