Cherlin midterm 2

two-spirit people

in Native American societies, men or women who dressed like, performed the duties of, and behaved like a member of the opposite sex

berdaches

men dressed like women, performed women's work, behaved like women

-were accepted members of adult society

where female two-spirits were found

in smaller numbers, in egalitarian cultures

ways to become a two-spirit

-parents thought child displayed two-spirited characteristics

-spiritual visions experiences at adolescence or later

sex with a two-spirit

married and had sex with people and the same sex

difference between sex and gender

-sex: biological characteristics that distinguish men and women (chromosomes, organs, hormones **biological creation)

-gender: social & cultural characteristics that distinguish in society (clothing, crying **social creation)

how many genders

-"half-man-half-woman"

-"man-woman"

"would-be-woman"

intersexuals

person born with ambiguous sexual organs

most have surgery as children & take hormones

gestation

9-month development of the fetus inside the mother's uterus

sex organs during gestation

for the first few weeks they are identical

second trimester

middle three months

development in 2nd trimester

-testes produce androgens

-if low levels, develop into a female

-brain may develop differently too

androgens

male sex hormones

30-year study on sex hormones

the higher the level of male sex hormones in a mom's blood in the 2nd trimester, the more masculine was the gendered behavior of their daughters 27-30 years later

biosocial approach to gender differences

gender identification & behavior are based in part on people's innate biological differences

three qualifications of biosocial approach

-biologically-based differences in gendered behavior exist only "on average" (wide range of behavior)

-whether biological predispositions lead to actual behaviors depends on environment

-social influences can counteract predispositions

childhood construction of gender

parents treat boys and girls differently

socialization

processes by which we learn the ways of a given society or social group so as to adequately participate in it

socialization approach to gender differences

gender identification & behavior are based on children's learning that they will be rewarded for the set of behaviors considered appropriate to their sex but not for those appropriate to the other sex

feedback loop of socialization approach

created in which differences in predispositions make people respond differently which in turn makes behaviors more distinctive

the media and gender construction

children who watch TV extensively have more stereotyped attitudes about gender than children who watch little TV

peer group

group of people who have roughly the same age and status as one another

age 2-3 and peer groups

sort selves into same-sex peer groups

Eleanor Maccoby on boy peer groups

reinforce a competitive, dominance-oriented interaction style that carries over into such adult male communication tactics as interrupting, boasting, contradicting, & threatening-- restrict conversation

Eleanor Maccoby on girl peer groups

reinforce expressing agreement or support, asking questions rather than making statements, acknowledging other persons' comments

symbolic interctionists and peer groups

children develop a gendered sense of self through activities such a as peer group play

Barrie Thorn on degree of separation between girls' and boys' worlds

it is overstated

the continual construction of gender

gender is fluid, fragile, in need of constant reinforcement

continual construction & maintenance of gender differences throughout adulthood

interactionist approach to gender differences

gender identification and behavior are based on the day-to-day behavior that reinforces gender distinctions

(opposite of socialization approach)

"doing gender"

daily things reinforce and re-create gender differences

precarious gender differences

interactionists believe social order is more precarious than we think

Fenstermaker

the household becomes a gender factory that produces the shared reality of gender relations along with crumb-free tables

feminist research methods

-"kids" instead of "children"

-feminist theory & postmodern perspective

-learn P.O.V. of subjects studied ("connected knowing"

-minimize power differences between researchers & the groups they study

-objectivity nearly impossible to achieve

current proportion of American families that have children under age 18

at a low of 46%

high point of families with children under 18

1960s at 57%

most common number of children in a family under age 18

one, next is two

what parents are supposed to do for children

-supply love, nurturing, care

-train skills to become autonomous

-provide guidance, support, discipline

2 ways parents act in when socializing children

-provide emotional support

-exercise control (coercive or inductive)

coercive

use threat of punishment or force

inductive

set consistent limits, explain reasons for limits, request for compliance, praise the compliance

Diana Baumrind: 3 styles of parental behavior

autoritative

permissive

authoritarian

authoritative style

parents combine high levels of emotional support with consistent, moderate control of their children

produces more socially-competent children

permissive style

provide emotional support but exercise little control over their children

authoritarian

combine low levels of emotional support with coercive attempts at control of their chilren

group more likely to use physical punishment

African Americans

group more likely to insist on disciple and obedience

Asian Americans

spanking or slapping in first five years of life and early adolescence

associated with more behavior problems in white kids but less in African American kids

African Americans don't see spankers as less warm but white people do

norms

widely accepted rules about how people should behave

values

goals or principles that are held in high esteem by a society

Japanese mothers of babies compared to American mothers

wean children from breast feeding later, often sleep with children

Japanese mothers emphasize interdependence

fitting in with the group

getting along with others

differences on socializing between classes are

overstated

what middle-class parents emphasize

autonomy and self-direction

working-class and poor emphasize

obedience and conformity (accomplishment of natural growth)

kind of process that socialization is

a two-way process in which children and parents influence each other

two parts of socialization

-predispositions allow children to influence how parents threat them

-parents then make decisions that reinforce differences

conservative protestant fathers

more authoritarian with children

men are head of family, encourage strict, discipline-oriented, distant style of fathering

spank children more often

but also hug & praise more, yell less, spend more time in leisure activites

kinds of support that are important to provide children with

-material: food, clothes, shelter

-emotional: love and nurturing

encourage androgynous behavior in children

behavior that has characteristics of both genders

adolescents in two-parent families who reported a more positive relationship with their fathers...

were less likely to engage in delinquent acts

fathers relate to young children differently than mothers

-playfulness, physical activity, autonomy

-rough & tumble play helps regulate emotions, learn limits of excitable behavior

fathers' influence is often indirect

-works through mothers

-emotional support or backing up authority

-the better quality the parents' relationship, the better the child's behavior and school achievement

-provide income

generativity

feelings of concern about, or interest in, guiding & shaping the next generation (Erik Erikson)

adults who had more generative fathers...

have greater educational and occupational success

type of fathers whose children develop better than children whose visits with their fathers are purely recreational

nonresident fathers with authoritative parenting

percent of children in U.S. under 18 that were adopted

2.5

proportion of white unmarried mothers who give up newborns

has declined from 20% to 2%

different settings adoption is occurring in

-foster children getting adopted

-stepparents doing "second-parent" adoption of stepchildren

-adopting from developing countries

-gay couples adopting

percent of adopted children born in other countries

13

likeliness of adopted child to have a disability

twice as likely as non-adopted

2 things that might prevent parents from doing what they are supposed to do

transformation of economy

social change

two things poor parents are more likely to do

-receive bad prenatal care

-do harmful things while pregnant (smoke or do drugs)

what unemployment does to parents

-men tense and irritable with wives, explosive and pushing with children

-children more sullen, angry, abrasive

what poverty does to children

-parents have little psychological resources to devote to them

-affects school achievement

most common way children come to live with a single parent

divorce

time most children are distressed after separation of their parents

first two years

long term suffering from divorce caused in children

not substantial

disadvantages of single parenting

-low income and declines in income

-higher rates of depression among single parents

-less effective monitoring and supervision

disadvantages of cohabiting parents

-break up more often than married parents

-may be living with someone you are unwilling to marry

-cohabitant (not biological) parent causes child to be less engaged in school

-may be particularly unfavorable environments for children

mass incarceration

extremely high rates of imprisonment, particularly of African American males

mass incarceration has grown enormously since

1980

type of crimes there has been an increase in arrests for

nonviolent drug-related crimes

lesbian and gay parenthood has been allowed since

the 60s

3 main types of lesbian and gay parenthood

-children were born to married parent who later came out & kept custody

-existing gay couples adopted or conceived through donor insemination

-gay males hire a surrogate

donor insemination

procedure in which semen is inserted into the uterus of an ovulating woman

studies of children in gay and lesbian families

-mostly white and well-educated parents studied

-children are similar, well-adjusted

-boys show higher femininity but equal masculinity

-children in lesbian families more open to same-sex relationships

ways parents compensate for time apart

-actually spending more time with children

-cut back on housework

-less leisure time

-combine activities

percent of school-aged children that spend some time in child care

63

link between child care and aggressive behavior in kindergarten-sixth grade

more child care may be linked to more aggressive and disobedient behavior

ways to measure the well-being of children

-basic needs such as standard of living & health

-cognitive indicators of what children are learning

-socioemotional indicators of how they are feeling & behaving

-index of child well-being (28 statistical indicators like health, emotional)

standard of living now compared with first half of 20th century

higher now than then

things they had in first half of 20th century

-running water, heating, refrigerators

-less beef & chicken

-polio

-infant mortality rate 3 times higher

kinds of families for which incomes have been rising the fastest

families of the college-educated

kind of family that has proportionally grown lot

high-income family

(the rest have stayed relatively the same, middle-income decreased a little)

things that have been changing

-movement of married women into the workforce

-decline in 2-parent families among less education & income

-poor & wealthy children

-children in the middle

Convention on the Rights of the Child

-treaty protecting children & ensuring basic needs

-only two countries have not signed it: U.S. and Somalia

existence of the categories homosexual & heterosexual in the 18th century

non-existant

same-sex intimacy and public affection in men's friendships in 18th century

more open and acceptable than today

Caroll Smith-Rosenberg: "The Female World of Love and Ritual"

-"separate sphere" of middle-class women

-deep emotional bonds of friendship with other women

-romantic & even erotic tone in conversation by today's standards

-more flexibility in creating intense emotional ties

sexual identity

set of sexual practices & attitudes that lead to the formation in a person's mind of an identity as heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual

two categories of sexual activity in the 1900s

-socially approved: sex within marriage, in moderation, undertaken mainly to have children

-socially disapproved: all others; like acts between persons of the same sex, masturbation, oral sex, etc.

emergence of heterosexuality and homosexuality

normal = heterosexual

year homosexuality was removed from American Psychiatric Association's list of mental disorders

1973

the social constructionist perspective on sexuality

human sexual identities are entirely socially constructed

-unclear boundaries of 2-gender, heterosexual-dominant model

what a man who has sex with other men but always is the one penetrating is considered in Brazil

not considered homosexual

Kinsey Report, 1948, Alfred Kinsey

details the results of thousands of interviews with men about their sexual behavior

-half reported erotic feelings toward other men

-1/8 experiences mainly with men for 3 years

-4% only men

NSFG measured sexual orientation in several ways

-same-sex sexual contact in lifetime (11.2% women, 6% men)

-same-sex contact in last 12 months (higher in women)

-range of attractiveness to sexes (14.3% women, 7.8% men)

-hetero, homo, bi, else (men/women 4.1% homo/bi, women more bi)

integrative perspective on sexuality

belief that human sexual identities are determined by both social & biological factors

twin studies under integrative perspective on sexuality

almost certainly genetic influences on sexual orientation for men, somewhat less for women

questioning sexual identities

whether it is meaningful to speak of gay, lesbian, heterosexual at all

many kinds of "gay identities"

queer theory (from critical standpoint)

view that sexual life is artificially organized into categories that reflect the power of heterosexual norms

-not formal scientific theory

-norms restrict possibilities for fluid sexual identities

-reject idea of biological influences on sexuality

strengths & limitations of sexual identities

-straights can marry, gays cannot

-queer theory: inequalities are oppressive

queer theory goes too far?

-just because boundaries are unclear, does not mean concepts are invalid

-restricts ability to understand important aspects of American society

family of choice

family formed through voluntary ties among individuals who are not biologically or legally related

-gays who can't marry & have little contact with family

-similar to kin networks among poor

-more common among upper-middle class

living apart together

relationship in which 2 people define themselves as a couple but do not live together

marriage-like relationships

more common among people in 20s

two types of living apart together relationships

-living apart because of constraint

-living apart by choice

constraints in LAT relationships

-children from previous relationships

-good jobs in different cities

choices in LAT relationships

-prefer to be independet

-previously divorced so hesitant

three eras in attitudes toward sexuality and love

-before 1890: sexual attraction & romantic love are inappropriate bases for choosing a spouse

-1890-1960: attraction & love increasingly appropriate & crucial criteria

-1960-now: increased positive value given to sexual expression & gratification

non-marital sexual activity through 1950s

women only had sex after they were engaged

non-marital sexual activity in 60s

46% of people only had one partner by age 30

18% of people had five or more

extramarital sex

sexual activity by a married person with someone other than his or her spouse

sexual monogamy

state of having just one sex partner

percentages of people who have never had extramarital sex

75% men

90% women

consequence of cultural changes in sexuality

rise in child bearing outside of marriage

adolescent sexual activity in the 90s

declined slightly

trends in adolescent sexual activity

-much more common today than it was in the middle of the 20th century

-difference in sexual activity of boys & girls has nearly disappeared

-increase has been greater for the middle class & whites

-still more common among poor & African Amer

number of 15-19-year-olds that become pregnant every year

75,000

percent of those pregnancies that end in abortion or miscarries

40% (leaving 45,000 births)

trends in marriage and contraceptive use among teens

marriage decreased

contraceptive use increased

non-marital birth ratio

proportion of all births that occur to unmarried women

(has sharply increased for teens)

consequences for teen mothers

worse-off later in life than teens who wait until 20s to being having children

-fewer years schooling

-jobs that pay less

-more likely to be dependent on public assistance payments

-less likely to have stable marriages

selection effect

principle that whenever individuals "select" themselves into groups non-randomly, some of the differences among the groups reflect pre-existing differences among the individuals

percent of teen moms that graduate high school by age 21

51

percent of teen moms that graduate high school by age 30

80

fiance visas

woman comes to the country and has 90 days to marry an American

union

stable, intimate relationship between two people who live in the same household but may r may not be married

parental influence on forming a union

parental influence much less direct than the past or other developing nations today

forming a union in rural villages

parents with land/wealth likely to have a voice

forming a union in Asian nations

parents and prosperous city dwellers play important role in choice of children's spouses

Anglo-American courtship in the 1800s

young adults shared decision responsibility with parents

courtship

publicly visible process with rules and restrictions through which young men and women find a partner to marry

courtship: publicly visible

emphasizes important role of community and parents

courtship in early modern Britain

first stages occurred mainly outdoors

reasons why courtship met demise after 1900

-migration from rural areas & overseas to cities increased # of potential partners

-rise of industrial capitalism

-higher standards of living: young people began to spend money

-new view of teenage years

who popularized adolescence

G. Stanley Hall

when college enrollments skyrocketed

after WWII

dating was rare until the year

1900, when courtship was beginning to be placed on an economic basis

when dating had its heyday

20 years after WWII (45-65)

-college enrollments

-less parent-child disagreement

when age at marriage began to rise

60s and 70s

-dating system became less closely connected to marriage

proportions of college seniors that had dates in 2000

1/3 had 2

1/2 had 6 or more

hookup

sexual encounter with no expectation of further involvement

-romantic attraction not necessary

-often involves alcohol

when hooking up started and became popular

started in 80s

became common in 2000s

percent of women who have hooked up

40%

percent of women who have hooked up six or more times

10%

who hooking up places at a disadvantage

those looking for a relationship

(young women are more troubled by the lack of commitment)

dating in relation to hooking up

increasingly occurring after

independent living

young adults living without parents

why independent living was so uncommon in late-19th and early-20th centuries

-less housing

-lower standard of living

-values discouraged it

when it became common & expected for young adults to keep their wages instead of turning them over to their parents

2nd half of 20th century

proportions of whites and African Americans projected to marry eventually

9/10 whites

2/3 African Americans

when husbands had greater power compared to today

colonial times

-religion and law certified father as head of the family

-children remained with father in a divorce

institutional marriage

marriage in which the emphasis is on male authority, duty, & conformity to social norms

-like those before the 20th century with clear rules & roles

-sex just a means of reproduction

companionate marriage

marriage in which the emphasis is on affection, friendship, & sexual gratification

-breadwinner-homemaker marriage

-authority less than institutional

when companionate marriage reached peak

mid 20th century

when breadwinner-homemaker companionate marriage lost ground

1960s, wives began to work outside the home

toward the individualized marriage

matter less how well spouses were performing the roles society expected of them

individualized marriage

marriage in which the emphasis is on self-development, flexible roles, and open communication

how marriage now is very different from the past

-great deal of choice in how to live personal lives

-nature of the rewards that people seek through marriage and other close relationships

why people still marry

-no decline in importance high schoolers attach to marriage

-percentage that expect to marry is either the same (women) or higher (men) than the past

-theories don't provide much guidance

marriage as the capstone experience

-practical importance of being married has declined, but symbolic importance has increased

-more distinctive because it's optional

-capstone of personal life: last brick put in place when the structure is finally complete

how low-income individuals see marriage

sought after but elusive goal

(have lowest marriage rates)

how young adults in general see marriage

-postpone until financially ready

-marriage is a status you build up to

the wedding as a status symbol

-symbol of partners's achievements

-make a statement through the wedding

percent of the population in the marriage market that married people represent

the most attractive 90%

most religious nation in the western world

U.S.

groups that tend to marry earlier

conservatives (protestant and mormon)

characteristics of married religious couples

-somewhat happier with marriages

-better mental health

-lower risk of divorce

married people live...

longer on average

2 possible reasons they live longer

-being married actually causes people to feel better and live longer (Waite)

-mentally & physically healthier people are more likely to get married & stay married

cohabitation

the sharing of a household by unmarried persons who have a sexual relationship

-aka "living together"

cohabitation in the 60s

only among the poor and near-poor

-less reason to marry

-acceptable substitute for legal marriage

percent of people without a high school diploma that cohabitate

64

percent of people with a college degree that cohabitate

45

three categories of cohabitation

1. an alternative way of being single

2. a testing ground for marriage

3. an alternative to marriage

1. an alternative way of being single

-consider themselves single, not looking for spouse

-intimate relationship without binding commitments

-pure relationship

pure relationship (Anthony Giddens)

intimate relationship entered into for its own sake and which lasts only as long as both partners are satisfied with it

-not necessarily thinking about a spouse or kids`

2. a testing ground for marriage

tend to resolve cohabiting relationships in a relatively short time by breaking up or getting married

-women with money

mediam length of cohabiting in U.S.

less than any other Western country-- a little more than a year

3. an alternative to marriage

-no legal commitment

-Sweden: cohabitation almost indistinguishable from marriage

-Puerto Ricans, Hispanics, blacks commonly cohabit then have children and never marry

-fewer people marry in Quebec (population is 80% French) than the rest of Canada

Cherlin midterm 2

Sociology 120 with Adams at University of Wisconsin - Madison

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