Chapter Review
SUMMARY
- Women have a wide variety of social identity characteristics that intersect in ways that can’t be untangled and explored separately.
- Some social characteristics are associated with more power, while others are associated with less power. In contemporary society, being White, male, able-bodied, heterosexual, well educated, and middle-aged are all social categories that are deemed powerful.
- Power works through unearned entitlements and conferred dominance.
- Privilege is often invisible to those who have it.
- Because everyone has a mix of social identity characteristics, someone can be powerful on one dimension and subordinate on another, making it difficult to identify the source of one’s oppression.
Stereotypes, Power, and Subordination
- Sexism can be difficult to see because it permeates society and is largely based on stereotypes.
- Women have traditionally been stereotyped as communal and men as agentic.
- Women of color face specific stereotypes such as the strong Black woman (SBW), the squaw, or the Asian china doll.
- Stereotypes influence people’s behavior, and people can hold stereotypes about themselves.
- Overt sexist discrimination is less common than it used to be. More subtle discrimination and microaggressions are now the norm.
- Microaggressions are not easily identifiable, and many people don’t notice when they are taking place. For this reason, microaggressions are challenging to address when they occur.
- Sexism involves both positive and negative attitudes toward women.
- Benevolent sexism is generally aimed at women who conform to traditional gender roles. Hostile sexism is directed at women who fall outside them.
- When women are exposed to benevolent sexism, they show increased levels of stress and reduced task completion.
- The idea that not all men commit sexist acts has been countered by the fact that all women experience some form of sexist discrimination.
- The way in which we use language is an important form of sexism.
- Generic forms of language are usually assumed to be male.
- There are accepted, singular, gender-neutral pronouns gaining acceptance in the English language.
- Men are usually mentioned first (e.g., boys and girls).
- Unmarked language usually refers to men.
- Girls’ names and nicknames are likely to represent beauty and kindness.
- The frequent practice of women changing their last name to their husband’s name is based in patriarchal practices.
- Slang words for women’s sexuality are more pejorative than slang for men’s sexuality.
- Despite stereotypes to the contrary, men talk more than women.
- Women are more likely than men to engage in tentative speech consistent with subordinate status. Men are more likely to interrupt women, which is an expression of dominance.
- Mansplaining is another expression of dominance.
- Typical male body language demonstrates dominance.
- Women are often expected to smile, which can be a sign of having low status and wanting to please others.
KEY TERMS
gender microaggressions (p. 78)
THINK ABOUT IT
- Imagine that you and a classmate are in a heated debate about gender and race issues. Your classmate says, “I don’t know what the big deal is! I’m not sexist or racist. I’ve never been given any special privileges just because I’m a White man. In this country, if you work hard enough, you have just as good a shot as anyone else.” Using the research from this chapter, how would you respond to your fellow student’s comment?
- What things would you recommend a friend consider when deciding about responding to a microaggression? What specific things could your friend say or do that might be effective?
- How often do movies and books depict benevolent sexism? Think about ways in which you could rewrite them to eliminate sexism. Do you think they would be as popular? Why or why not?
- In your next class, notice how the students sit and talk. Do the men take up more space than the women? If so, what types of things could you do to make the discussion and the use of the classroom more gender fair? What types of barriers might you encounter, and how might you address them?
ONLINE RESOURCES
- Dr. Kim Case – a website featuring links to Case’s writing. A social psychologist and professor at the University of Houston, Clear Lake, she writes about intersectionality, feminism, critical race theory, and queer theory: drkimcase.com
- Everyday Feminism – resources about intersectional feminism for everyday life: everydayfeminism.com
- Girls Inc. – a website dedicated to equipping girls with the skills needed to navigate gender, economic, and social barriers so that they can grow up healthy, educated, and independent: girlsinc.org
- Language: A Feminist Guide – a feminist blog about language: debuk.wordpress.com
Glossary
- social identity
A person’s sense of self based on that individual’s affiliations with different social groups.
- social stratification
A social structure by which people are ranked in a hierarchy such that some people and groups have more power and status than others.
- matrix of domination
The idea that all systems of bias (e.g., racism, homophobia, sexism) stem from the same systems of social stratification.
- privilege
The social, economic, and/or political advantages that some people enjoy simply because they’re part of a certain group, rather than because of anything they did or failed to do.
- legitimizing myths
Attitudes, values, or beliefs that exist to justify social hierarchies.
- scapegoating
Blaming a person or a group for things that are not their fault.
- sexism
A bias based on the belief that men are superior to women.
- stereotype
A set of beliefs about the characteristics of a particular group that are generalized to all members of that group.
- gender roles
The behaviors within a culture that are generally considered acceptable or desirable for a person based on that individual’s actual or perceived sex.
- agentic
A characteristic way of being, commonly associated with men, involving assertiveness, dominance, competitiveness, and acting to get things done.
- communal
A characteristic way of being, commonly associated with women, involving warmth, friendliness, concern for others, and emotional expressiveness.
- backlash effects
The social and economic penalties that may be experienced when individuals violate gender stereotypes.
- prejudice
A negative attitude toward someone because of that person’s actual or perceived membership in a certain social group.
- overt sexism
Unequal treatment of women that is identifiable and, therefore, easily documented.
- discrimination
A form of prejudice that involves the unfair treatment of an individual on account of being part of a social group that is less powerful than the dominant group.
- modern sexism
Gender bias that is communicated in subtle or indirect ways.
- gender microaggressions
Brief, everyday acts of sexism, whether intentional or unintentional, that demean and insult a person based on that individual’s gender.
- ambivalent sexism
A form of sexism that includes the two related, but complementary, components of hostility and benevolence.
- hostile sexism
A component of ambivalent sexism that consists of negative and derogatory beliefs about girls and women.
- benevolent sexism
A component of ambivalent sexism that consists of beliefs that girls and women should be treated differently than men because they are special and in need of protection.
- paternalistic chivalry
The idea that women should be protected and cherished—at least, as long as they conform to traditional gender roles.
- misogyny
Hatred of girls and women.
- gender-fair language
The use of symmetrical linguistic forms and inclusive terms (e.g., they instead of he; first-year student instead of freshman) to refer to all people.
- reappropriation
The process of a person or group of people from a subordinate group intentionally reclaiming a slur that was previously used by a dominant group to oppress or stigmatize them.
- name shifting
A strategy by which some individuals (usually women) use their surname in some situations (e.g., professional settings) and their spouse’s name in other settings (e.g., familial situations).
- tentative speech forms
Patterns of speaking that involve hedges (e.g., mostly), hesitations (e.g., um), tag questions (e.g., right?), and intensifiers (e.g., very).