Assignment 4

1)     According to the lecture slides what is the difference between sex and gender? Use your own words.

Sex is your biological make up of having either a vagina and breasts or a penis. Sex also includes having either testosterone or estrogen.

Gender is how you act. Gender can be interchangeable and does not have to match up with your sex. Gender is based on society roles given to us.

2) Give an example from your own life of doing gender (i.e. acting in a gender stereotypical way). I was doing gender when I went and got my nails done. I do gender everyday when I put my makeup on, dye my hair, and wear high heels.

3) According to the chapter by Reisman and Seale:

A) The researchers had a sample size of 44 middle school student and used interviews.

B) The entire research was based off of what they were told. There were no first hand experiences.

C) The tweens told the researchers that all jobs should be equal. They then started discussing male and female jobs contradicting their equality statements.

D) A girly-girl is describes as someone who does not want to get dirty and a tom boy is someone who plays sports.

E) I think that children are taught their gender behavior through society. Advertisers gear pink toys, dolls and kitchen sets for example to girls. Girls are not given dinosaurs or trucks to play with. Children have no idea what a girl toy is or a boy toy until they are told. As soon as they are born society wraps them in respective pink or blue blankets to go home in. They are most likely given a pink or blue room and clothes. If girls were not given clothes that are pink and purple and boys blue and green they might have different favorite colors and colors can be de gendered by society.

I think society has us trained to put a doll in front of a girl and a truck in front of a boy and assume that’s their toy of choice. If children knew no one cared what they played with they might chose a toy not designed for their sex. I think little boys are yelled at when they cry and are told not to act like a girl and toughen up making emotions and crying a girl thing. Girls are yelled at when they come in with dirty clothes or were wrestling with friends and told to act more lady like.

1. 
   __F___ In the year 2000, 64.6 percent of mothers with children younger than age 6 were part of the labor force.
2. __F___ The number of working mothers with children ages 6 to 17 increased by 15 percent between 1975 and 1980.
3. ___F__ During the period 1995 to 2001, the number of working mothers with children younger than age 6 increased by more than 5 percent.
4. ___T__ In the last five years on the chart, the percentage of working mothers with children younger than age 18 decreased.
5. __T___ The number of working mothers with children younger than age 6 went above the 50 percent mark for the first time between the years 1980 and 1985.
6. ___F__ The number of working mothers with children ages 6 to 17 has not been below 70 percent since 1980.
7. __T___ The number of working mothers with children younger than age 6 decreased between 1997 and 2001.
8. __F___ In 1955, fewer than one-fourth of all mothers with children under age 18 were part of the U.S. workforce.
9. ___T__ Working mothers with children younger than age 6 have always made up a smaller percentage of the workforce than those who have children ages 6 to 17.
10. _T____ In the year 2001, more than three-fourths of all mothers of children ages 6 to 17 were part of the labor force.

6) Do you think women are doing as well as you as expected, less well, or better and why?

I think women  are doing as well as I expected. There are many women in the workforce today than in 1955. The statistics show between 60-70 percent of all women. I think this is accurate when taking into consideration stay at home moms. I think it is interesting to see how many mothers of young children also are going into the workforce.