CH-3-4 Racism and Ethnic Inequality – Social Problems in a Diverse Society : Chapter Notes

This Document Contains Chapters 3 to 4 CHAPTER 3 Racism and Ethnic Inequality CHAPTER SUMMARY Racialized and ethnic discrimination are among the most divisive social problems facing Canada. A racialized group is a category of people who have been characterized as a group on the basis of arbitrarily chosen physical characteristics such as skin colour, hair texture, or eye shape. By contrast, an ethnic group is a category of people distinguished, by others or themselves, on the basis of cultural or nationality characteristics. Racialization and ethnicity often form the basis of ranking between majority (or dominant) group members, who are advantaged and have superior resources and rights, and minority (or subordinate) group members, who are subjected to unequal treatment by the dominant group. Prejudice is a set of negative attitudes toward members of another group simply because they are members of that group; it is rooted in ethnocentrism, the assumption that one’s own group and way of life are superior to all others. Negative ethnocentrism is manifested in stereotypes and adversely affects many people. Some symbolic interactionists emphasize racialized socialization, a process of social interaction that contains specific messages and practices concerning one’s racialized or ethnic status. Two functionalist perspectives, assimilation and ethnic pluralism, focus on how members of subordinate groups become a part of the mainstream. Conflict theorists, on the other hand, analyze racialized and ethnic inequality from class perspectives in terms of internal colonialism or racial formation theory. Anti-racist feminists analyze gendered racism, the interactive and interlocking effect of racism and sexism. Their theorizing differs from many mainstream feminist theorists, challenging the notion of a common experience that all women share under capitalism, and it focuses on the specific ways that class, gender, racialization and ethnicity play out as interconnections. LEARNING OBJECTIVES After reading Chapter 3, students should be able to: 1. Define “race,” racialization and ethnicity and explain their social significance, currently and historically. 2. Explain the sociological use of the terms majority group and minority group and note how these terms can be misleading. 3. Discuss the concept of internalized dominance and list the many privileges that Whiteness confers on people in Canada. 4. Explain why stereotyping and generalizing are not the same thing and discuss which one is more harmful and why. 5. Discuss the differences between prejudice and discrimination and be able to distinguish between individual and institutional discrimination. 6. Discuss the many forms of racism in Canadian society, including democratic racism. 7. Discuss the differences between racism and anti-Semitism. 8. Describe and distinguish between interactionist, functionalist, conflict, and anti-racist feminist perspectives on racialized and ethnic relations. 9. Discuss the importance of intersectional and interlocking theorizing and analyses. KEY TERMS amalgamation genocide racism Anglo-conformity model individual discrimination segregation anti-Semitism institutional discrimination social construct assimilation internal colonialism stereotypes ethnic group internalized dominance theory of racial formation ethnic pluralism majority (dominant) group ethnocentrism minority (subordinate) group gendered racism generalizations Prejudice racialized group CHAPTER OUTLINE I. RACISM AND ETHNIC INEQUALITY AS A SOCIAL PROBLEM A. Racialized and ethnic discrimination reflects a discrepancy between the ideals of Canadian society and their realities. While equality and freedom—regardless of country of origin, skin colour, creed, or language—are stated Canadian ideals, many subordinate group members experience oppression based on racializing factors. B. What are Ethnicity, “Race,” and Racialization? 1) In Canada, we mainly use the term “ethnicity” and statistical data is collected primarily based upon ethnic group affiliation. a. An ethnic group is a category of people distinguished, by others or by themselves, on the basis of cultural characteristics or nationality. These can include language, country of origin, and adherence to a culture. Members of an ethnic group share five main characteristics: unique cultural traits; a sense of community; a feeling that one’s own group is distinct; membership from birth; and a tendency, at least initially, to occupy a distinct geographic area. b. These criteria render the majority of Canadians invisible, with regard to ethnicity, which is problematic because it normalizes white ethnics. c. Ethnicity can be, and often is, used as a basis to judge an individual or group as inferior or superior. d. Sociologists view “race” as a social construct—a classification of people based on social and political values—rather than as a biological given. e. Despite the fact that “race” is a social construction and not a biological reality, people act as though it is biological, thereby creating distinctions where there are visible physical differences between people. f. In the past, some analysts attempted to classify diverse categories of peoples into “races” on the basis of skin colour, features, and build. g. Contemporary scientists have concluded that no pure “races” exist due to multiple generations of interbreeding. h. In contrast to the biological definition of “race”, sociologists define a racialized group as a category of people who have been singled out, by others or themselves, as inferior or superior, on the basis of subjectively selected physical characteristics such as skin colour, hair texture, and eye shape. C. Historical and Political Roots of “Race” 1) Several classification schemes were developed from the 1700s onward, beginning with Linnaeus’ four-category scheme from 1735. Others since have come up with anywhere from 30 to 150 categories. The most well-known of these typologies is the one still employed by many people today: Mongoloid (for Yellow people), Caucasoid (for White people), and Negroid (for Black people). 2) Since discrete boundaries between so-called “races” are indefinable and, therefore, arbitrary, “race” is a myth. 3) The concept of “race” has, historically, been used to justify inequitable treatment—sometimes economic and social disadvantage, sometimes death—in all cases, not contributing anything satisfactory to our understanding of human behaviour. D. The Meaning of Majority and Minority Groups 1) When sociologists use the terms majority group and minority group, they are referring to power differentials among groups, not the numerical sense in which the words majority and minority generally are used. 2) Majority (or dominant) groups often are determined on the basis of racialized factors or ethnicity, but also can be based on factors such as gender, sexual orientation (homosexuality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality), age, and physical ability. 3) Minority (or subordinate) groups are determined on the basis of physical or cultural characteristics, and are disadvantaged and subjected to negative discriminatory treatment by the majority group and regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination. 4) In Canada, Indigenous people, persons of colour, all women, persons with disabilities, gay men, trans people, and lesbians are considered to be minority group members, regardless of their proportion in the Canadian population. E. White Privilege and Internalized Dominance 1) The racialized-ethnic majority group in Canada typically is associated with the White privilege that accrues to people who have “white” skin, trace their ancestry to Northern and Western Europe and think of themselves as European Canadians or WASPs. 2) In general, having white skin in Canada confers two overarching benefits: the normalization of privilege and the choice of whether or not to struggle against oppression. Normalization of privilege manifests when all members of a society are judged (often implicitly) against characteristics or attributes of those who are privileged. The ways that White people learn they are normal, feel included, and do not have to think of themselves as “other” or “different” is called internalized dominance. a. Most White Canadians are not aware of the benefits they derive from white privilege. b. Many White people are disadvantaged in ways not related to skin colour (e.g. poverty, sexism, ableism, etc) however, racism is one form of oppression not experienced by White people living in Canada. c. Majority and minority relationships of advantage/disadvantage and power/exploitation are deeply rooted in patterns of prejudice and discrimination in Canada. II. RACISM, PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION A. In sociology in Canada, racism is sometimes referred to White racism because it signifies the favouring of white Canadians over persons of colour. 1) White racism refers to socially organized attitudes, ideas, and practices that deny people of colour the dignity, opportunities, freedoms, and rewards that typically are available to White Canadians. 2) From this perspective, Indigenous people and people of colour pay a direct, heavy, and immediately painful price for racism; White discriminators pay an indirect and seldom-recognized price as well. B. If we think of prejudice as a set of negative attitudes toward members of another group simply because they belong to that group, we quickly realize that all people have prejudices whether or not they acknowledge them. 1) Prejudice is rooted in ethnocentrism. For example, most school children are taught that their own school and country are the best. Singing the national anthem is a form of positive ethnocentrism. 2) However, negative ethnocentrism also can result from constant emphasis on the superiority of one’s own group or nation if individuals come to believe that other groups or nations are inferior and should be treated accordingly. 3) Negative ethnocentrism is manifested in stereotypes that adversely impact many people. 4) Stereotypes differ from generalizations in several ways including how rigidly held the views are of a group of people. C. Discrimination may be carried out by people acting on their own or by those operating within the context of large-scale organizations or institutions such as schools, corporations, and government agencies. 1) Individual discrimination involves the prejudices and discriminatory actions of bigoted persons who select as their targets subordinate group members. 2) By contrast, institutional discrimination is carried out by individuals who implement the policies and procedures of an organization or institution that result in the negative and differential treatment of subordinate group members. 3) Anti-Semitism, prejudice and discriminatory behaviour directed at Jews, is one of the longest standing forms of discrimination recorded in history. 4) Analogizing is one way that people attempt to understand the experiences of others however, in some cases, analogizing may perpetuate existing relations of domination. 5) A specific type of institutional discrimination discussed by Kunisawa is an institutional design of omission, where the design of all institutions in society reflects the needs, values, practices and priorities of those who created them. D. Historical Roots of Racism 1) Classification schemes based on “race” were used legitimize superiority of some people over others. “Race” based systems of classification also aided Europeans in colonization, by justifying the exploitation and domination of people all over the world. 2) The most common doctrine of “racial” supremacy used in colonization efforts was Social Darwinism. The Europeans defined themselves at the top of the evolutionary hierarchy with all others ranked according to how closely they emulated European civilization and Christianity. Colonialists saw themselves as assisting those whom they were exploiting in their evolutionary progression from savagery through barbarism to civilization. 3) The doctrine added legitimacy to such things as slavery and the destruction of whole cultures and ways of life. E. The Many Forms of Racism in Canadian Society 1) Interpersonal racism occurs between individuals and gets directed at an individual because of what that individual stands for. Polite racism refers to the ways that people may couch criticisms of racialized others in bland tones or use language that appears non-prejudicial on the surface. 2) Institutional racism refers to various organizational practices, policies, and procedures that discriminate, either purposely or inadvertently. Systemic racism is embedded in the design of the organization, is formalized, and is legally sanctioned by the state. Discriminatory practices reflect the values of the dominant culture and act to deliberately prevent certain groups from participating in the culture. 3) Societal racism refers to the generalized, and typically unconscious, patterns of interaction between people that perpetuate a racialized social order. Everyday racism refers to general, and seemingly benign, ideas of the relative superiority and inferiority of certain groups. These ideas are widely accepted as normal by dominant group members and are perpetuated through language that is believed by most people to be “neutral.” a. Active racism includes any act that is motivated by the intention of excluding or making a person or group feel inferior because of his/her/their minority group status. b. Passive racism includes being complicit in another’s racism, such as laughing at a racist joke. c. Cultural racism refers to cultural values that reinforce the interest of the dominant group while undermining the interests of subordinate groups. III. PERSPECTIVES ON RACIALIZED AND ETHNIC INEQUALITY A. Symbolic Interactionist Perspectives 1) One interactionist approach emphasizes how racialized socialization contributes to feelings of solidarity with one’s own racialized or ethnic group and hostility toward all others. a. Racialized socialization is a process of social interaction having specific messages and practices concerning the nature of one’s racialized or ethnic status as it relates to: (i) personal and group identity; (ii) intergroup and inter-individual relationships, and (iii) one’s position in the social stratification system. b. Racialized socialization is made up of direct statements made by parents, peers, teachers and others regarding race, but also includes indirect behaviours such as modelling whereby children imitate the words and actions of parents and other caregivers. 2) Although many White people do not support racist beliefs, actions, or policies, they fear breaking rank with other White people and may choose to remain silent in the face of prejudice and discrimination. B. Structural Functionalist Perspective 1) To functionalists, social order and stability are extremely important for the smooth functioning of society. Thus, discord based upon racialization or ethnicity, urban unrest, and riots are dysfunctional and must be eliminated or contained. 2) One functionalist perspective focuses on assimilation, which is viewed as a stabilizing force that minimizes differences that otherwise might result in hostility and violence. a. The most complete form of assimilation is amalgamation which occurs when members of dominant and subordinate racialized or ethnic groups intermarry and procreate “mixed ethnicity” children. b. However, early assimilation in Canada focused primarily on the Anglo conformity model, rather than amalgamation. c. Assimilation does not always lead to full social acceptance (e.g., many successful members of minority groups have been excluded from membership in elite clubs and parties in the homes of coworkers.). 3) Another functionalist perspective focuses on ethnic pluralism. a. While a common political and economic system may link diverse groups together in society, members of some racialized or ethnic groups maintain enough separation from the dominant group to guarantee that their group and ethnic cultural traditions will continue. b. Ethnic pluralism is the formal model of ethnic relations in Canadian society. However, Anglo-conformity is such a strong force that pluralism may be more of a myth than a reality for ethnic groups. c. Ethnic pluralism in Canada can take the form of segregation because subordinate racialized or ethnic groups have less power and privilege. d. Recent studies have found that when high levels of racialized segregation are followed by inter-ethnic contact, competition may ensue, increasing ethnic unrest and the potential for intense conflict between groups. C. Conflict Perspectives 1) Class perspectives on racialized and ethnic inequality highlight the role of the capitalist class in racialized exploitation. a. According to sociologist Oliver C. Cox, the primary cause of slavery was the profit motive of capitalists, and not racialized prejudice. b. Contemporary class perspectives suggest that members of the capitalist class benefit from a split-labour market that fosters racialized divisions among workers in order to suppress wages. (i) Split-labour market theory states that the economy is divided into two sectors: a primary sector composed of higher-paid workers in more secure jobs, and a secondary sector comprised of lower-paid workers employed in jobs often having hazardous working conditions and little job security. (ii) Dominant group members are more likely to be employed in primary sector positions while subordinate group members most often are found in secondary sector employment. (iii) Workers in the two job sectors tend to have divergent interests and goals or at least have the perception that they do not share similar workplace goals. (iv) Members of the capitalist class benefit from these divisions because workers are less likely to join together and demand pay increases or other changes in the workplace. 2) A second conflict perspective examines internal colonialism. a. According to sociologist Robert Blauner, groups that have been subjected to internal colonialism remain in subordinate positions in society much longer than those that voluntarily migrated to this country. b. For example, Indigenous people were forced into subordination when they were colonized by Europeans. Hundreds of culturally and linguistically diverse Indigenous groups lost property, political rights, components of their culture, and often their lives; some Indigenous groups were virtually extinguished, victims of genocide (the deliberate, systematic killing of an entire people or nation). Meanwhile, the capitalist class acquired cheap labour and land, frequently through governmentally sanctioned racial exploitation. 3) A third conflict perspective is the theory of racial formation. From this approach, racialized bias and discrimination tend to be rooted in government actions ranging from passage of “race”-related legislation to imprisonment of members of groups believed to be a threat to society. D. Feminist and Anti-Racist Perspectives 1) A feminist perspective that is based on a critical-conflict perspective and links racial inequality and gender oppression is gendered racism. a. For many years, jobs in the primary sector of the labour market were held primarily by White men while most people of colour and many White women were employed in secondary sector jobs. b. Below that tier, in the underground sector of the economy, many Indigenous women and women of colour worked as domestic servants and nannies, in sweat shops or the sex trade in order to survive. c. Work in this sector is unregulated, and persons who earn their income in it are extremely vulnerable to exploitation. 2) Anti-racist feminist theorizing differs from mainstream feminist theorizing: it challenges the notion of a common experience that all women share under capitalism, and it focuses on the specific ways that class, gender, and ethnicity play out as interconnections. Canadian anti-racist feminist thought maintains three priorities: a. to interrogate feminist theory and practice to assess its complicity in perpetuating racism; b. to raise questions about ways in which to theorize the connections between gender and racialization; and c. to continue to document the ways that racialized differences are created and maintained amongst women. 1) Some anti-racist feminist theorists investigate the impacts of racism on women of colour, examining the ways that gender, racialization, and class intersect. 2) Other anti-racist feminists employ a standpoint analysis, in which theorizing and analysis is begun from the situated standpoint of the person and her or his experiences. 3) For sociologist Daiva Stasiulis and others, feminist intersectional theorizing is a trend away from the “race-gender-class trinity,” and a move toward an understanding of the myriad ways (including nationality, language, religion, sexuality, citizenship, and ability) that oppressions are interlocked and the impacts on the individuals and groups at those intersections. IV. HOW CAN RACIALIZED AND ETHNIC INEQUALITIES BE REDUCED? A. According to symbolic interactionists, prejudice and discrimination are learned, and that which is learned can be unlearned. According to sociologist Gale E. Thomas, individuals and groups at the grass-roots level must be the ones to attain greater “racial” equality rather than government and political leaders or academic elites. Anti-racist education is viewed as a key means for promoting change and building alliances. B. In the view of most functionalist analysts, the stability of society is preserved by the smooth functioning of social institutions and by persons who share common cultural values and attitudes. According to this approach, social institutions need to be restructured in order to reduce discrimination and to diffuse racialized/ethnic conflict. 1) Sociologist Arnold Rose suggests that we should invest time and money to foster racialized/ethnic inclusion and to eliminate institutionalized discrimination in education, housing, employment, and the criminal justice system. 2) From a global perspective, Canadian racialized discrimination should be reduced because it negatively impacts diplomatic and economic relations with other nations made up of diverse racialized/ethnic groups. C. From a conflict perspective, racialized and ethnic inequality can be reduced only through class struggle and political action. 1) Inequality is based on exploitation of subordinate groups by the dominant group, and political intervention is necessary to bring about economic and social change. 2) Anti-racism educators such as Paul Kivel suggest that racialized inequality will not be reduced until there is significant national public support and leadership for addressing social problems directly and forcefully. D. Feminists and anti-racist feminists advocate critical analysis that begins from the myriad interlocking standpoints and situated experiences of people. They advocate rendering the connections between locations or standpoints visible so that silences can be heard, hypocrisies can be exposed, and myths can be evaporated. When White people become more clearly aware of their complicity in perpetuating racism and systems of domination, the foundation for solid alliances can be built. ACCESSING THE REAL WORLD: ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH PROBLEMS RELATED TO RACISM AND ETHNIC INEQUALITY Focus on Community Action Have students write a brief paper on how they believe their own racialized, gendered and class socialization has affected their life, as well as the lives of others. Each student should go out in to the community and talk to at least one person “of colour” or an Indigenous person about their experiences with socialization as well. In the process, they should explore the following questions: What messages do we receive from others about allegedly “positive” attributes or “negative” attributes of members of racialized or ethnic groups? How does early racialized socialization affect our self-identity? How does it affect our attitudes and actions toward others? Does anyone escape the process of racialized socialization in our society? Why or why not? Why are privilege, internalized dominance, and internalized oppression important concepts when discussing racialized socialization in Canada? Have students initially work in small groups to compile an overview of their experiences and to provide combined answers to the above questions. This will likely help some students overcome their hesitance to discuss racialized and ethnic socialization, and group leaders can present a synopsis of their members’ statements and conclusions. Then, ask students to compare racialized and ethnic prejudice and discrimination with prejudice and discrimination based on other characteristics such as weight, height, or physical disability. Focus on Theoretical Analysis Have students become experts on Frances Henry and Carol Tator’s writings on democratic racism (see Chapter Three, Box 3.2). Each student should further research the 12 discourses of democratic racism (The Discourses of Racism: http://www.yorku.ca/fhenry/writings.htm). Students should cite real life examples from their personal lives or from the media of each discourse, bringing in newspaper clippings or video segments. Break the class into small groups and have them share their experiences with democratic racism. End with a class discussion about their findings. Why is democratic racism so easily hidden within our society? What can we do to address these 12 discourses and eliminate racism in Canada? Focus on Media Engagement Ask students to watch prime-time evening television programs and make notes on how people from different racialized and ethnic categories are depicted. Break the class into small groups and have each select a different television show to watch. If students do not have access to cable television, they can use a website such as www.tvshack.net or www.episodecentral.com. Each student should try to watch a different episode of their assigned show and do a content analysis of the number of characters of varying ethnic groups. Suggest that they note the characteristics, clothing, mannerisms, speech patterns, gestures, and any other defining features to see if the depictions reinforce existing stereotypes. Are people “of colour” or Indigenous people main characters? Are they likeable and generally depicted as good people? Encourage students to tape a brief segment so that it can be shared with other class members. Have each group provide a clip from one of the episodes watched to share with the rest of the class and have a group discussion about their findings. During class discussions, you may wish to have students discuss such things as: How could television programming be changed to show people “of colour” and Indigenous people in a wider variety of roles? Are some stereotypes passed on from generation to generation by depictions of racialized and ethnic groups that young children see in the media? Does gender make a difference in how people across racialized and ethnic lines are depicted? Does class? APPLYING CRITICAL THINKING THROUGH DISCUSSION 1. How do racialized and ethnic inequalities make it more difficult for some people in Canada? What changes would have to be made to bring about e equal opportunities? Answer: Racialized and ethnic inequalities in Canada create significant barriers that make it more difficult for some people to access opportunities and achieve success. These inequalities manifest in various areas of life, including education, employment, healthcare, housing, and criminal justice. In education, racialized and ethnic minorities often face disparities in access to quality schooling, resources, and support services, limiting their educational attainment and future prospects. In the labor market, systemic discrimination and biases result in barriers to employment, lower wages, and limited career advancement opportunities for racialized and ethnic individuals. Moreover, racialized communities may experience disparities in access to healthcare services, leading to poorer health outcomes and reduced quality of life. In housing, racialized and ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected by housing discrimination, segregation, and inadequate living conditions, perpetuating cycles of poverty and marginalization. Additionally, racial profiling and overrepresentation in the criminal justice system contribute to higher rates of incarceration and systemic injustices faced by racialized and ethnic communities. To bring about equal opportunities, systemic changes are necessary across multiple sectors: 1. Addressing Discrimination: Implementing anti-discrimination policies and enforcing existing human rights legislation to combat racism and discrimination in all areas of society, including education, employment, healthcare, and housing. 2. Promoting Diversity and Inclusion: Fostering diverse and inclusive environments in workplaces, educational institutions, and communities through recruitment practices, cultural competency training, and anti-bias education. 3. Investing in Education and Training: Ensuring equitable access to quality education and training programs for all individuals, regardless of race or ethnicity, to support academic success, skill development, and lifelong learning opportunities. 4. Economic Empowerment: Implementing policies to address economic disparities and promote economic empowerment among racialized and ethnic minorities, such as living wage laws, targeted job creation initiatives, and entrepreneurship support programs. 5. Health Equity: Improving access to culturally sensitive healthcare services, addressing social determinants of health, and investing in community-based health promotion and disease prevention programs to reduce health inequities. 6. Housing Equity: Enacting policies to address housing discrimination, increase affordable housing options, and promote inclusive urban planning and development practices that prioritize the needs of marginalized communities. 7. Criminal Justice Reform: Implementing measures to address racial profiling, reduce overrepresentation of racialized individuals in the criminal justice system, and promote alternatives to incarceration that prioritize rehabilitation and community support. Overall, achieving equal opportunities requires a comprehensive and coordinated approach that addresses the root causes of racialized and ethnic inequalities, dismantles systemic barriers, and fosters a society where all individuals have the chance to thrive regardless of their race or ethnicity. 2. Some people claim that prejudice and discrimination, on the basis of “race” or ethnicity, are largely a thing of the past. What evidence do sociologists use to refute this claim? Do you agree or disagree? How do your experiences influence your position on this issue? Answer: Sociologists use various forms of evidence to refute the claim that prejudice and discrimination based on race or ethnicity are largely a thing of the past. Firstly, they point to systemic inequalities that persist in areas such as education, employment, housing, and criminal justice, which disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minority groups. Studies show persistent racial disparities in income, wealth, healthcare outcomes, and representation in positions of power, indicating ongoing structural discrimination. Moreover, sociologists highlight patterns of implicit bias and microaggressions that contribute to everyday experiences of discrimination for marginalized individuals. Research also documents instances of overt racism, hate crimes, and racial profiling, which continue to occur despite legal protections against discrimination. Additionally, sociologists examine how historical legacies of colonialism, slavery, and institutional racism continue to shape contemporary social relations and perpetuate racial hierarchies. Overall, the evidence suggests that racism and discrimination are not relics of the past but rather enduring realities that shape the lived experiences of individuals and communities. Personally, I agree with this assessment based on my observations and experiences. As someone who has witnessed and experienced instances of racism and discrimination, both overt and subtle, I recognize the pervasive nature of these social problems and the impact they have on individuals' well-being and opportunities. While progress has been made in combating racism, there is still much work to be done to achieve genuine racial equality and justice. 3. How has your skin colour been an advantage or a disadvantage to you as you negotiate living in Canada? Have you ever been somewhere where the colour of your skin meant you were treated differently than you are in Canada? If yes, what was that like? Answer: For many people living in Canada, their skin colour can indeed influence their experiences and interactions in various ways. For those with lighter skin tones, they may experience certain privileges and advantages, such as being less likely to face racial discrimination or stereotyping, and may have greater access to opportunities in employment, education, and social settings. Conversely, individuals with darker skin tones or from racialized communities may encounter systemic barriers and biases that result in disadvantages and discrimination. They may face microaggressions, racial profiling, and limited opportunities for advancement, which can impact their sense of belonging and well-being in Canadian society. In other countries, the treatment of individuals based on their skin colour can vary significantly from Canada. In some regions, particularly those with histories of colonialism, racism, and ethnic tensions, individuals may face overt discrimination, violence, and persecution based on their race or ethnicity. This can result in feelings of marginalization, fear, and insecurity, profoundly affecting their daily lives and sense of safety. Experiencing differential treatment based on skin colour can have profound effects on individuals' mental health, self-esteem, and sense of identity. It underscores the importance of addressing systemic racism and promoting inclusivity and diversity to create societies where everyone is treated with dignity, respect, and equity, regardless of their skin colour or background. 4. What are the effects of individual and institutional discrimination? Which is easier to identify in everyday life? Why might institutional discrimination be more difficult to reduce than individual discrimination? Answer: Individual discrimination refers to discriminatory actions or behaviors directed towards specific individuals based on their perceived or actual characteristics, such as race, gender, or ethnicity. This can manifest in interpersonal interactions, hiring practices, or access to services. In contrast, institutional discrimination refers to discriminatory policies, practices, or norms within organizations or institutions that systematically disadvantage certain groups based on their characteristics. This can include unequal treatment in employment, education, housing, healthcare, and criminal justice systems. Both forms of discrimination have profound effects on individuals and communities, perpetuating social inequalities and limiting opportunities for marginalized groups. Individual discrimination can result in direct harm, such as denial of employment or housing opportunities, while institutional discrimination operates at a systemic level, shaping access to resources and opportunities for entire communities. In everyday life, individual discrimination may be easier to identify because it often involves overt acts of bias or prejudice, such as discriminatory remarks or actions. However, institutional discrimination is more pervasive and ingrained within societal structures, making it less visible and more challenging to address. Institutional discrimination may be more difficult to reduce than individual discrimination due to several factors. Firstly, institutional discrimination often operates covertly, embedded within policies, practices, and norms that may appear neutral on the surface but disproportionately disadvantage certain groups. This makes it harder to identify and challenge discriminatory practices. Secondly, institutional discrimination is perpetuated by entrenched power dynamics and systemic inequalities that resist change. Institutions may be resistant to reform due to factors such as bureaucratic inertia, vested interests, and implicit biases among decision-makers. Moreover, addressing institutional discrimination requires comprehensive and sustained efforts to reform policies, practices, and organizational cultures, which can be complex and resource-intensive. It also requires a commitment to promoting equity and social justice at all levels of society, which may face resistance from those who benefit from the status quo. Overall, while both individual and institutional discrimination have harmful effects, addressing institutional discrimination requires systemic change and collective action to dismantle entrenched inequalities and create more inclusive and equitable institutions and systems. 5. Compare recent depictions of Indigenous people, Black Canadians, Asian Canadians, and other racialized ethnic groups in Canada in films, television shows, and advertisements. To what extent have we moved beyond the traditional stereotypes of those groups? To what extent have the stereotypes remained strong? Answer: Recent depictions of Indigenous people, Black Canadians, Asian Canadians, and other racialized ethnic groups in Canada have shown some progress in moving beyond traditional stereotypes, but challenges persist. In media, there is a growing effort to portray diverse and multifaceted representations of these communities, highlighting their cultural richness, resilience, and contributions to Canadian society. For example, Indigenous filmmakers and storytellers have created films and television shows that offer authentic and nuanced portrayals of Indigenous experiences, challenging stereotypes and misconceptions. Similarly, there has been increased visibility of Black Canadians and Asian Canadians in mainstream media, with more diverse representations that reflect the complexities of their identities and experiences. Advertisements and marketing campaigns also strive to be more inclusive, featuring individuals from diverse backgrounds in roles that defy stereotypes and promote diversity and inclusion. However, despite these positive developments, stereotypes of Indigenous people, Black Canadians, Asian Canadians, and other racialized ethnic groups remain prevalent in some media portrayals and cultural narratives. Stereotypes such as the "Noble Savage," the "Model Minority," and the "Dangerous Other" continue to shape perceptions and representations of these communities, perpetuating harmful stereotypes and reinforcing existing power dynamics. Moreover, systemic barriers and inequalities in the media industry can limit opportunities for marginalized communities to tell their own stories and shape their own narratives. Lack of representation, tokenism, and cultural appropriation continue to be issues that need to be addressed in the media landscape. Overall, while there have been positive strides towards more diverse and authentic representations of racialized ethnic groups in Canada, efforts to challenge stereotypes and promote genuine inclusion must be ongoing and intersectional. It requires collaboration among media creators, industry stakeholders, policymakers, and communities to ensure that media portrayals reflect the diversity and complexity of Canadian society accurately. 6. In what ways do White people benefit from racism against people of colour and Indigenous people? In what ways are White people harmed by it? Answer: White people benefit from racism against people of color and Indigenous people in various ways, including: 1. Privilege and Advantages: Racism perpetuates systems of white privilege, providing advantages to White individuals in areas such as employment, housing, education, and the criminal justice system. White people often have greater access to resources, opportunities, and social networks due to their racial identity. 2. Social and Economic Power: Racism reinforces existing power structures, allowing White people to maintain dominance and control over societal institutions and resources. This can result in economic advantages, higher social status, and greater political influence for White individuals and communities. 3. Psychological Comfort: Racism provides psychological comfort for White people by reinforcing notions of superiority and entitlement. Racial stereotypes and prejudices may lead to feelings of superiority or validation of one's own identity and worth. However, White people are also harmed by racism in several ways: 1. Moral and Ethical Consequences: Racism perpetuates injustice and inequality, undermining principles of fairness, justice, and human rights. White individuals may experience moral distress or guilt as a result of benefiting from systems of oppression. 2. Divided Communities: Racism creates divisions and tensions within communities, eroding social cohesion and trust. White people may experience alienation or isolation from people of color and Indigenous communities due to the perpetuation of racial hierarchies. 3. Missed Opportunities for Growth: Racism limits opportunities for cross-cultural understanding, empathy, and solidarity. White individuals may miss out on the benefits of diverse perspectives, experiences, and relationships, hindering personal and societal growth. Overall, while racism confers certain privileges and advantages to White people, it also perpetuates harm and injustice, both to marginalized communities and to society as a whole. Addressing racism requires recognizing and dismantling systems of privilege and oppression, promoting equity and justice for all individuals, regardless of race or ethnicity. 7. In what ways can we see Indigenous people surviving and thriving in modern day Canadian society? What legacies have they needed to deal with to get where they are today? Answer: In modern-day Canadian society, Indigenous peoples demonstrate resilience and strength in various ways, despite historical and ongoing challenges. Indigenous communities have preserved and revitalized their cultures, languages, and traditions, contributing to Canada's rich cultural diversity. Many Indigenous individuals excel in various fields, including academia, arts, politics, and entrepreneurship, serving as leaders and role models within their communities and beyond. Indigenous peoples have also made significant strides in asserting their rights and sovereignty, advocating for self-determination, land rights, and reconciliation with the Canadian government. Landmark legal victories, such as the Delgamuukw and Tsilhqot'in decisions, have affirmed Indigenous land title and jurisdiction, paving the way for greater recognition of Indigenous rights and interests. However, Indigenous peoples continue to grapple with the legacies of colonialism, including intergenerational trauma, systemic racism, socio-economic disparities, and ongoing struggles for land and resource rights. Historical injustices, such as the Indian residential school system, forced assimilation policies, and displacement from traditional territories, have had profound and enduring impacts on Indigenous communities, contributing to cycles of poverty, substance abuse, and mental health issues. Moreover, contemporary issues, such as the overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in the criminal justice system, inadequate access to quality education, healthcare, and infrastructure in Indigenous communities, and environmental degradation on Indigenous lands, underscore the ongoing challenges and inequities faced by Indigenous peoples in Canada. Addressing these legacies of colonialism and supporting Indigenous self-determination and empowerment are essential for building a more inclusive and equitable society in Canada. This requires meaningful engagement, reconciliation, and partnership with Indigenous peoples to address systemic injustices and work towards a future where Indigenous communities can thrive and exercise their rights and sovereignty. AUDIO-VISUAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION Acts of Defiance—This film focuses on the “Mohawk Crisis” in the Mohawk territory of Kahnawake in 1990. 1992. 104 mins. National Film Board of Canada, www.nfb.ca. Between: Living the Hyphen—This film looks at the issue of cultural identity through the experiences of a group of Canadians who have one parent who is of White European heritage and one parent who is a member of a minority group. 2005. 44 mins. National Film Board of Canada, www.nfb.ca. Bronwen & Yaffa (Moving Towards Tolerance)—The story of two young women who organized benefit rock concerts to raise money for Eastcoast Against Racism (E.A.R.) in Halifax. 1996. 27 mins. National Film Board of Canada, www.nfb.ca. Colour Blind—A film about subtle racism and its daily impact on teenagers. 1999. 25 mins. National Film Board of Canada, www.nfb.ca. End the Silence—This video traces the long and arduous struggle for equality faced by black nurses in Canada. 2000. 47 mins. National Film Board of Canada, www.nfb.ca. In the Shadow of Gold Mountain—A moving look at the Chinese Head Tax and the Chinese Exclusion Act through the testimonials of the last survivors of this era from Montreal to Vancouver. 2004. 43 mins. National Film Board of Canada, www.nfb.ca. Journey to Justice—This video pays tribute to Canada’s unsung heroes in the fight for Black civil rights. 2000. 47 mins. National Film Board of Canada, www.nfb.ca. Me and the Mosque—Through visits to Canadian Mosques and discussions with scholars, religious leaders and others, the film looks at the historical role of women in the Islamic faith, the current state of mosques in Canada and personal stories of anger, fear, acceptance and defiance. 2005. 53 mins. National Film Board of Canada, www.nfb.ca. Qallunaat! Why White People are Funny—This docucomedy is wry look at White people from the point of view of Inuit culture. 2006. 52 mins. National Film Board of Canada, www.nfb.ca. Two Worlds Colliding—The tragic story of the “freezing deaths” of Indigenous people taken by RCMP to the outskirts of the city during winter and left to die. 2004. 49 mins. National Film Board of Canada, www.nfb.ca. Zero Tolerance—A hard hitting film about the situations of Black, Latino, Arab and Asian youth in Montreal and the deep seated prejudices that target youth as criminals. 2006. 80 mins. National Film Board of Canada, www.nfb.ca. CRITICAL READINGS Abella, Irving. 1989. A Coat of Many Colours: Two Centuries of Jewish Life in Canada. Toronto, ON: Lester and Orpen Dennys. Bannerji, Himani. 1995. Thinking Through: Essays on Feminism, Marxism and Anti- Racism. Toronto, ON: Women’s Press Dua, Enakshi and Angela Robertson (Eds.).1999. Scratching the Surface: Canadian Anti-Racist Feminist Thought. Toronto, ON: Women’s Press. Frideres, James S. and Rene R. Gadacz. 2008. Aboriginal Peoples in Canada (8th edition). Toronto, ON: Pearson Prentice Hall. Henry, Frances and Carol Tator. 2006. The Colour of Democracy: Racism in Canadian Society (3rd edition). Toronto, ON: Harcourt Brace Canada Johnson, Allan G. 2006. Privilege, Power and Difference (2nd Edition). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill. Rothenberg, Paula S. (Ed.). 2005. White Privilege: Essential Readings on the Other Side of Racism (2nd Edition). New York, NY: Worth Publishers. Satzewich, Vic and Nikolaos Liodakis. 2007. “Race” and Ethnicity in Canada: A Critical Introduction. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press. Steckley, John L. and Bryan D. Cummins. 2008. Full Circle: Canada’s First Nations (2nd Edition). Toronto, ON: Pearson Education Canada. Wilmot, Sheila. 2005. Taking Responsibility – Taking Direction: White Anti-Racism in Canada. Winnipeg, MN: Arbeiter Ring Publishing. CHAPTER 4 Gender Inequality CHAPTER SUMMARY Gender inequality and patriarchy create a climate for violence against women. Sexism continues to create problematic conditions for women and girls across Canada. Gender socialization perpetuates gender inequalities. Although many people use the terms sex and gender interchangeably, sociologists believe there are significant differences in their meanings. Understanding the difference is important because what many people think of as sex differences are actually socially constructed gender differences based on widely held assumptions about “masculinity” and “femininity.” Today many trans people help to challenge widely held conceptions of gender as synonymous with sex. Parents, peers, school, and the media are all part of the gender socialization process, through which children learn culturally-specific gender appropriate behaviour (whether or not they adhere to these lessons is another story altogether). However, the gender socialization process perpetuates gender inequality. Today, most women and men remain concentrated in different occupations and places of work. The wage gap is the best-documented consequence of gender-segregated work: regardless of age, racialization or disability status, men earn more than women of the same group. Women encounter sexual harassment on the job, and often face a “double shift” because of their dual responsibilities for paid and unpaid work. Interactionists examine how linguistic sexism perpetuates traditional gender role stereotypes and reinforces male dominance. According to functional analysts, gender inequality is inevitable because of a biological division of labour. Conflict analysts assert that gender inequality results from male control and dominance over women and resources. Although feminist perspectives vary in their analyses of the issues, they all advocate broad-based social change to eradicate gender inequality, along with other types of inequalities. LEARNING OBJECTIVES After reading Chapter 4, students should be able to: 1. Discuss sexism, patriarchy and gendered violence and the ways that they are all related. 2. Distinguish between sex and gender and explain their social significance. 3. Understand how trans people help to subvert hegemonic sex-gender dichotomies and describe some of the issues and discrimination that trans people face in their daily lives. 4. Describe the ways in which media influence gender socialization. 5. Discuss the gendered division of paid work and its effect on women in the work force, including the wage gap, sexual harassment, and the glass ceiling. 6. Explain what the double shift is and discuss why, disproportionately, women are still responsible for domestic duties as well as paid employment. 7. Describe the interactionist, conflict, functionalist and feminist perspectives on gender inequality and state ways in which each might approach reducing gender inequality. KEY TERMS androcentricity intersectionality sex gender gendered division of labour intersexed patriarchy sexism sexual harassment gender ideology Rape culture Wage gap glass ceiling CHAPTER OUTLINE I. GENDER INEQUALITY AS A SOCIAL PROBLEM A. A climate of sexism in a patriarchal society perpetuates violence against women. Women constitute the numerical majority in Canada, however, they are often referred to as the largest minority group because they typically do not possess as much wealth, power, or prestige as men. 1) Every minute of every day in Canada, a woman or girl is sexually assaulted. Every week one woman is murdered by her (ex)boyfriend or (ex)spouse. One million Canadian children have witnessed violence against their mothers by their fathers. 2) The 1993 Violence Against Women Survey (VAWS), which surveyed 12,300 Canadian women, is still the only survey of its type in Canada although new questions have been incorporated in the General Social Survey (GSS) that ask some similar questions about family violence and gendered violence that allow some comparisons over the years. The survey found that 14% of sexual assaults had been reported to police compared with 26% of wife assaults. 51% of Canadian women had experienced at least one incident of physical or sexual assault since the age of 16. The GSS data continue to support the earlier findings. 3) Just as women are not viewed or treated as equal to men, nor are all women seen as equal to one another. Dissimilar treatment of the Montreal Massacre and the Downtown East side (Vancouver) killings demonstrate that women are seen by society as more or less “worthy” depending on their class location, occupation, racialization, age and so on. B. Defining Sex and Gender: Although many people use the terms sex and gender interchangeably, sociologists believe there are significant differences in their meanings. 1) Understanding the difference is important because what many people think of as sex differences (such as attributes of masculinity and femininity) are actually socially constructed gender differences based on widely held assumptions about men’s and women’s attributes. 2) In other words, males are supposed to be aggressive and independent, not because they have male sex organs, but because that’s how people in society think they should act; the converse is true for females – they should be passive and dependent. 3) Some children are born intersexed, or with genitalia that is not recognizably male or female or with characteristics of both. Because we currently operate on a two sex model of humanity (e.g. there are two sexes – male and female), we surgically alter people to fit the model. Historically we had a one-sex model of humanity, with males as the model sex. Putting males at the centre in this way is known as androcentricity. 4) “Trans” people, or those who perform gender in ways that contravene expectations or whose gender identity is not straightforward in our culture, challenge the dichotomies of masculinity/femininity and male/female, and challenge widely held conceptions of gender overall. C. Biological and Social Bases for Gender Roles 1) Sociologists studying gender inequality begin with the biological and social bases for gender roles: the rights, responsibilities, expectations, and relationships of women and men in a society. 2) The biological basis for gender roles is rooted in chromosomal and hormonal differences in men and women. 3) The social basis for gender roles is the gender belief system or gender ideology— ideas regarding masculinity and femininity that are held to be valid in a given society. a. Gender ideology is reflected in the gendered division of labour. b. Social factors, more than biological ones, influence the gendered division of labour in societies. (i) In agricultural societies, women work in the fields as well as tend to the needs of their families; men produce and market cash crops but spend no time in housework. (ii) In industrialized nations, an increasing proportion of women are in paid employment but still have more household/family responsibilities than men, even when they work equivalent hours for pay. (iii) Across cultures, women’s domain is the private and domestic while men’s is the public, economic, and political. This difference in how labour is divided and how workers are rewarded affects access to wealth, power, and prestige. II. GENDER INEQUALITY AND SOCIALIZATION A. The Media and Gender Socialization 1) The media, including newspapers, magazines, television, and movies, are powerful sources of gender stereotyping. Three themes in contemporary media represent gender: a. The under-representation of women and other minority groups, and the overrepresentation of non-disabled, youngish, White men in media conveys the message that they make up the majority of the population (which they are not), and, as such, that they are the cultural standard. b. Stereotypes are perpetuated in the media. Males continue to be presented as competent, powerful, serious, confident, and independent, while females continue to be presented as incompetent, unintelligent, young, thin, beautiful, dependent, and passive sex objects. c. Male-female relations are portrayed along traditional lines and in ways that perpetuate and normalize violence against women. 2) Four themes that reflect and promote gender-stereotypical, and perhaps even dangerous, relations between the sexes include: (1) women’s dependence and men’s independence; (2) women’s incompetence and men’s authority; (3) women as primary caregivers and men as primary breadwinners; and, (4) women as victims and sex objects and men as aggressors. 3) From children’s cartoons to adult shows, more male than female roles are shown on TV, and male characters act strikingly different from female ones. a. Educational programs such as Sesame Street may perpetuate gender stereotypes because most characters have male names, masculine voices, and participate in “boys’ activities.” b. Male characters are more aggressive, constructive, and direct, while female characters defer to others or manipulate them by acting helpless, seductive or deceitful. 4) Recent studies of televised music videos found that music videos often depict harassment, discrimination and outright gendered violence. a. Female characters are dressed in revealing clothing, make sexual advances toward men, lack subjectivity, and generally are presented as “sex objects.” b. Male characters routinely pursue fantasy adventures or engage in aggression and violence, even enacting rape scenes in music video. c. The male video maker’s and consumer’s “dream world” objectifies and dehumanizes women and denies them subjectivity, all of which puts women at risk for violence by reinforcing a rape culture in Canada. d. Research has demonstrated that women who routinely watch music videos were more accepting of violence in their own intimate relationships. 5) While changes have occurred in the roles men and women play in movies, most roles still embrace stereotypes. Even in movies and books like Harry Potter and The Phantom Menace, where females are portrayed positively as smart and attractive, they are still only supporting characters to the males who save the day. Recent movies which feature “kick-ass” females such as The Matrix, Aeon Flux, and Underworld present women as cold-blooded, very masculine killers dressed in highly sexualized attire. Masculinity is still viewed as powerful; femininity is not. III. CONTEMPORARY GENDER INEQUALITY A. According to feminist scholars, gender inequality is maintained and reinforced through individual and institutionalized sexism. 1) Individual sexism refers to individuals’ beliefs and actions that are rooted in antifemale prejudice and stereotypic beliefs; institutionalized sexism refers to the power that men have to engage in sex discrimination at organizational and institutional levels of society. 2) The pattern of male domination and female subordination is known as patriarchy. B. The Gendered Division of Paid Work 1) Whether by choice or economic necessity, women have entered the paid labour force in unprecedented numbers. In Canada, women have among the highest labour force participation rates in the world. Today, women represent nearly 50 percent of the total Canadian work force. 2) Gender-segregated work refers to the extent to which men and women are concentrated in different occupations and places of work. Today, most women and men remain concentrated in occupations that are segregated by gender. Some individuals are employed in settings where workers of one sex predominate (e.g., women in word processing pools and child care centres; men in the construction trades). Others are employed in settings where both men and women are present, but women are predominantly employed with less authority and economic rewards than positions held by the men. This inequity becomes further compounded by racialization, disability, age and other locations associated with less privilege. C. The Wage Gap 1) The wage gap is the best-documented consequence of gender-segregated work. Regardless of age, racialization or ability, men earn more than women in each type of categorization. a. In 1967, women made 58 percent of men’s wages for full-time, full-year work. By 2003, that amount had increased to 71.3%. b. One half of the wage gap is unexplained by male-female differences in education, experience, occupation, field of study, job responsibilities and industry. The unexplained one half is thought to be due to discrimination. c. The driving force behind the narrowing of the gap between men’s and women’s wages in recent years has been due to stagnation and long-term decline in men’s wages. D. Sexual Harassment 1) Sexual harassment is a form of intentional, institutionalized gender discrimination that includes all unwelcome sexual attention affecting an employee’s job conditions or creating a hostile work environment. 2) Sexual harassment includes, but is not limited to, verbal abuse, touching, staring at or making jokes about a woman’s body, demands for sexual intercourse, and even sexual assault on the job. 3) The 1993 Violence Against Women Survey found that 87 percent of Canadian women had experienced sexual harassment, over one half by men they knew. 4) Men are victims of sexual harassment as well, however men are also more likely to identify the sexual attention from a woman as “non-threatening,” “entertaining,” “ego-gratifying” and “validating of their masculinity.” 5) Persons accused of sexual harassment frequently claim their actions were harmless, merely an expression of mutual sexual attraction. However, sexual harassment is not about attraction, it is about abuse of power. E. The Glass Ceiling and the Glass Escalator 1) In nearly every occupation, women encounter barriers when they try to enter lucrative and prestigious specialties because of the glass ceiling. 2) The glass ceiling is evident in the nation’s 500 largest companies, where men still get virtually all of the top jobs and the largest paycheques. a. In their annual census of women in business, Catalyst noted that corporate Canada would not achieve 25% of women in top tier positions until at least 2025. 3) Women are more likely to reach top positions in the service sector (e.g., finance, publishing, retailing, food services, and entertainment), where they have traditionally been employed in greater numbers. 4) A chilly climate may represent one reason why women experience exclusionary, isolating or generally “cool” responses to their existence. Equality of access does not guarantee equality of treatment. 5) Men’s upward movement in “women’s professions” is referred to as the glass escalator effect because, “like being on an invisible ‘up’ escalator, men must struggle to remain in the lower (i.e., “feminine”) levels of their professions.” Men tend to rise in disproportionate numbers to administrative jobs at the top of these occupations. F. The Double Shift 1) Although more married women share responsibility for earning part—or all—of the family income, many men do not participate, on par, in routine domestic chores. Consequently, many employed women have a double work load: “the second shift” or “the double shift”. 2) The number of hours that men and women spend on housework differs, with women’s being considerably higher although the gap has narrowed somewhat in recent years. Not only does the relative number of hours spent on housework differ widely between women and men, but the kinds of chores men and women do also varies significantly. Women do most of the daily chores such as taking care of the children, making the beds, and cooking and cleaning up after meals (core household work), while men are more likely to do chores that do not have to be done every day or on a fixed schedule (non-core). 3) Since 1996, the Canadian Census has included questions on unpaid labour. Data from the 2006 census indicates that the value of unpaid work in Canada is 41% of the GD. TT least 2/3 of this work is performed by women. IV. PERSPECTIVES ON GENDER INEQUALITY A. The Interactionist Perspective 1) Language is very significant in defining social realities because it provides us with shared meanings and social realities. a. Today, English and other languages are being critiqued for linguistic sexism, words and patterns of communication that ignore, devalue, or make sex objects of women. b. Linguistic sexism perpetuates traditional gender role stereotypes and reinforces male dominance. For example, the masculine form (“he”) is used to refer to human beings generally, and words such as chairman and mankind are purported to include both men and women. c. Language can also devalue women by referring to them in terms that reinforce the notion that they are sexual objects. For example, women are described in terms such as fox, bitch, babe, or doll, which ascribe childlike or pet-like attributes to them. 2) Similarly, men’s and women’s communication styles differ – they have differing genderlects. a. Women focus more on “rapport” talk, while men focus more on “report” talk. b. Men have a more direct style of communication and are more likely to dominate conversations. c. Women ponder alternatives before reaching a decision, while men tend to seek immediate solutions for problems. d. Communication not only reflects women’s and men’s relative power in society but also perpetuates male domination and female subordination. 3) Male dominance is also perpetuated through nonverbal communication: body movement, posture, eye contact, use of personal space, and touching. a. Men typically control more space than women whether they are sitting or standing. b. Men tend to invade women’s personal space by standing close, touching, or staring at them. c. Interactionist theories are critiqued for not focussing on larger scale structures that perpetuate gender inequalities. B. The Functionalist Perspective 1) According to early functionalist theorists, gender inequality is inevitable because of a biological division of labour: men generally are physically stronger and have certain abilities and interests, whereas women are able to bear and nurse children and have different abilities and interests than men. a. According to sociologist Talcott Parsons, men (due to their biological attributes) are more suited to instrumental (goal-oriented) tasks, and women to expressive (emotionally-oriented) tasks. b. In the home, husbands perform such instrumental tasks as providing economic support and making the most important decisions, while wives perform such expressive tasks as nurturing children and providing emotional support for all family members. c. The division of labour by gender ensures that important societal tasks-such as procreation and the socialization of children-are fulfilled and that the family is socially and economically stable. d. This theory has been critiqued because it implicitly perpetuates a two parent, heterosexual model of families as well as justifies and perpetuates gender inequalities. 2) Other functionalist explanations of gender inequality focus on the human capital men and women bring to the workplace. a. What people earn is based on choices they have made, including the training and experience they have accumulated. b. Women diminish their human capital when they leave the labour force to engage in childbearing and child-care activities. While women are out of the labour force, their human capital deteriorates. When they return to work, women earn lower wages because they have fewer years of work experience and their education and training may have become obsolete. c. This theory is criticized because it fails to acknowledge that women, Indigenous people, people of colour and people with disabilities earn less money even when they do not take time off for child rearing duties. C. Conflict Perspectives 1) Conflict perspectives on gender inequality are based on the assumption that social life is a continuous struggle in which members of powerful groups (males, in this case) maintain control of scarce resources such as social, economic, and political superiority. a. By dominating women and commanding social institutions, men keep positions of privilege and power. b. However, not all men are equally privileged: men in the upper classes have greater economic power because they control elite positions in corporations, universities, the mass media, and government. 2) Conflict theorists using a Marxist approach believe gender inequality primarily results from capitalism and private ownership of the means of production. The gendered division of labour is seen to be inherent in capitalism and, therefore, will disappear with the demise of capitalism. 3) Conflict theories have been criticized for their view that gender inequality is an inherent and inevitable feature of capitalist relations and for the simplistic and androcentric view that the liberation of women was dependent on the liberation of the working class. D. Feminist Perspectives 1) Feminism is far from being a unified voice. It is multifaceted, critical, and activist, seeing both the scope of the problem of gender inequality, and its solutions, differently. 2) For socialist feminists, under capitalism, men gain control over property and over women. Thus, capitalism exploits women in the workplace, and patriarchy exploits women at home. a. Capitalists benefit from the gendered division of labour in the workplace because they can pay women lower wages and derive higher profits. b. At home, women do unpaid work that benefits individual men and also maintains the capitalist economic system (e.g., reproduce the next generation of workers while maintaining current employees by providing food, clean clothes, etc.). 3) Radical feminists focus on patriarchy as the primary source of gender inequality. From this perspective, men’s oppression of women is deliberate, with ideological justification provided by other institutions such as the media and religion. 4) Liberal feminists believe gender inequality is rooted in gender-role socialization that perpetuates women’s lack of equal rights and educational opportunities. 5) Black feminists, Indigenous feminists, and other feminists “of colour” believe that Indigenous women and women of colour face inequalities based on the multiplicative effect of racialization, class, and gender as simultaneous forces of oppression. 6) Critiques of feminist perspectives tend to come from within, with some feminists critiquing others for their lacks of attention on particular issues. V. HOW CAN GENDER INEQUALITY BE REDUCED? A. Although improvements have been made in the rights and working conditions of women during the past thirty years, much remains to be done before gender inequality is significantly reduced. B. How people view social problems directly affects how they think the problem should be solved. 1) Interactionists think gender inequality can be reduced only when people redefine social realities such as linguistic sexism. 2) Some functionalists believe that traditional gender roles should be redefined for the well-being of individuals and society, but others suggest that women should become more aware of how their human capital is diminished by decisions they make. 3) While some conflict theorists view elimination of sex discrimination as the primary solution for gender inequality, those using a Marxist approach believe gender equality will occur only when capitalism is abolished. 4) Socialist feminists agree that capitalism should be eliminated and a new economy that eliminates the gendered division of labour and the wage gap between men and women should be developed. 5) Liberal feminists say that we could reduce gender inequality by dramatically changing gender socialization. 6) Radical feminists suggest that gender inequality can be reduced only when patriarchy is abolished. 7) Black feminists and other feminists “from the margins” believe that equality will occur only when all women, regardless of racialization, class, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, and ability or disability, are treated equitably—in other words, emancipation from all forms of oppression is key. ACCESSING THE REAL WORLD: ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT PROBLEMS RELATED TO GENDER INEQUALITY Focus on Community Action Have students go out to a major toy store (such as Toys R Us) and write a short report on how the toys and the store itself are gendered. Students should think about the consequences of providing gendered toys to children. Next, ask students to write down their early recollections about being a boy or a girl. How did other people treat them? What did they want to be when they grow up? How did the expectations for girls and boys differ? How were they the same? What kinds of toys did they have? How was their room decorated? What kind of clothes did they wear for “dress up” occasions? What kinds of activities did they engage in? Ask them to speculate on how their early gender socialization affects their current life and some of their past choices? What strategies will they use (or are they currently using) in the gender socialization of their own children, if they think they will have any? Ask students to discuss their findings and recollections in small groups, looking for commonalities and differences in their experiences. Have each group come to some conclusions about the effect of gender socialization on children and youth in Canada. Each group should have a recorder to write down observations of group members so that they can be shared with the rest of the class. Focus on Theoretical Analysis Ask students to find advertisements in women’s or men’s magazines or in television programs that specifically target men or women. Students should bring the ads to class or write a description of television ads and be able to point out which of them appear to be based on the assumption that “sex sells.” (Suggest that they look for ads for alcohol beverages, clothing, perfumes, aftershave lotions, and so forth to find some that focus on “sex appeal”.) Have students work in groups to analyze the ads from the four main sociological perspectives, including how they affect our gender role expectations and gender socialization. Then have each group present its findings to the rest of the class. Encourage students to use sociological concepts in their analysis, such as the sociological imagination. Focus on Media Engagement Watch Sut Jhally’s documentary Dreamworlds 3 in class (it can be found online at http://vimeo.com/7345740). Then ask students to spend at least one hour watching music video television (e.g. MTV, Much Music, CMT, BET, VH1). They should use the analysis techniques presented in Jhally’s film to write down their observations about the roles played by male and female music video characters. Pay attention to the racialization, class, and age of the people depicted. What themes emerge for women? For men? What are the implicit and explicit messages about males and females that the videos suggest? Ask students to watch a video with the sound muted and then to look away and just listen to the lyrics. What are their observations, based on these different ways of “seeing”? Have students work together in pairs or groups to discuss the themes that emerge and to discuss the ways that the messages in music video may contribute to an overall culture of violence against women, and in particular, to a rape culture. APPLYING CRITICAL THINKING THROUGH DISCUSSION 1. Why do women still not report sexual and domestic assaults most of the time? How would you start to change things so they did? Answer: Women often don't report sexual and domestic assaults due to a myriad of reasons, including fear of retaliation, disbelief, stigma, and a lack of trust in the legal system. Many victims fear being blamed or not taken seriously, which can exacerbate their trauma. To encourage reporting, societal attitudes need to shift, fostering an environment of support and validation for survivors. This involves comprehensive education campaigns to debunk myths surrounding assault, training law enforcement and judicial personnel to handle cases sensitively, and implementing policies that prioritize survivor safety and confidentiality. Additionally, establishing accessible and empathetic support services, such as counseling and advocacy, can empower survivors to come forward. Long-term efforts should focus on dismantling systemic inequalities that perpetuate violence, promoting consent education, and holding perpetrators accountable through robust legal mechanisms. Ultimately, creating a culture that prioritizes survivors' voices and respects their agency is crucial in addressing the underreporting of sexual and domestic assaults. 2. What kinds of things would be problematic in the everyday life of a trans person? What kinds of things are needed to lessen the barriers that trans people face? Answer: In everyday life, trans individuals may encounter various challenges, including discrimination in employment, housing, and healthcare. They often face social stigma, harassment, and violence. Accessing gender-affirming healthcare can be difficult due to cost, lack of insurance coverage, or gatekeeping by healthcare providers. Public spaces may feel unwelcoming or unsafe, leading to anxiety and avoidance behaviors. Legal documentation processes for name and gender marker changes can be complex and vary by jurisdiction, causing practical difficulties in identification and official documentation. To lessen these barriers, comprehensive anti-discrimination laws must be enacted and enforced. Healthcare systems should provide accessible and inclusive services, including mental health support and gender-affirming care. Education and awareness campaigns are vital to combatting prejudice and fostering acceptance. Creating safe spaces and support networks within communities can offer crucial resources and solidarity. Advocating for policy changes to streamline legal processes for gender recognition and ensuring equal access to employment and housing opportunities are also essential steps toward equality and inclusion for trans individuals. Overall, societal shifts toward greater understanding, empathy, and respect for trans identities are imperative to create a more equitable and supportive environment for all. 3. How does the existence of trans people change things for everyone? What norms are disrupted by the existence of trans people? Answer: The existence of transgender people challenges traditional norms regarding gender identity and expression. Their presence prompts broader discussions about the complexity and fluidity of gender, questioning the rigid binary framework that society often operates within. This challenges societal expectations that everyone neatly fits into the categories of male or female based on their assigned sex at birth. The existence of trans people also challenges norms surrounding gender roles and stereotypes, as individuals may transition to align with their true gender identity rather than conforming to societal expectations. Furthermore, the visibility of trans individuals in various aspects of life—from politics to entertainment—serves to humanize their experiences and struggles, fostering empathy and understanding within society. Overall, the existence of trans people prompts a re-evaluation of deeply ingrained norms surrounding gender, pushing for greater inclusivity, acceptance, and recognition of diverse gender identities. 4. Will the increasing numbers of women in higher education, the workplace, and the military, particularly in positions or majors women typically have not been found in historically, tip the balance of power between men and women and result in greater gender equality in the future? Explain why or why not. Answer: The increasing presence of women in higher education, the workplace, and the military has certainly shifted societal dynamics, but whether it will lead to greater gender equality depends on various factors. While the growing numbers of women in traditionally male-dominated fields signify progress towards equality, it's not just about quantity but also about the quality of opportunities, support systems, and societal attitudes. For instance, the mere presence of women in these domains doesn't automatically guarantee equality if they face discrimination, unequal pay, or limited advancement opportunities. Additionally, cultural norms and biases entrenched in these institutions may persist despite increasing female participation. However, greater representation can foster change by challenging stereotypes and biases, leading to more inclusive policies and practices. As women ascend to leadership positions and excel in diverse fields, they can serve as role models and advocates for gender parity. This can lead to systemic changes in how organizations and institutions operate, promoting fairness and equity. Moreover, the diversification of perspectives that comes with increased female participation can drive innovation and problem-solving, benefiting society as a whole. As women contribute their unique insights and experiences, decision-making processes become more comprehensive and reflective of societal needs. Yet, achieving true gender equality requires concerted efforts beyond numerical representation. It necessitates addressing underlying issues such as unconscious bias, systemic barriers, and cultural attitudes towards gender roles. Education, advocacy, and policy reforms are essential for creating an environment where both men and women can thrive equally, leveraging their talents and abilities without discrimination. In conclusion, while the increasing numbers of women in traditionally male-dominated domains signal progress towards gender equality, it's not a guaranteed outcome. It will require sustained efforts to address entrenched biases and systemic inequalities to ensure that greater female participation translates into meaningful change and a more equitable society. 5. What role does violence against women play in our culture? In what ways does music television programming (e.g. Much, CMT) perpetuate a “rape culture” and violence against women in Canada? What can be done to change this? Answer: Violence against women is deeply ingrained in many cultures, including ours, perpetuating harmful norms and power imbalances. In Canada, music television programming, such as Much and CMT, can inadvertently contribute to this issue by normalizing objectification, sexualization, and violence against women. Lyrics, imagery, and narratives often reinforce stereotypes and promote a toxic masculinity that condones or even glamorizes aggression towards women. These platforms frequently showcase videos and lyrics that depict women as objects of desire, reinforcing the notion that women's worth is tied to their appearance and sexuality. Moreover, the normalization of sexual conquests and the objectification of women in music videos can desensitize viewers to the seriousness of violence against women. To address this, media outlets need to take responsibility for the content they broadcast and ensure that it aligns with values of respect, equality, and consent. Implementing stricter guidelines for content selection, promoting positive portrayals of women, and featuring diverse voices and perspectives can help counteract harmful narratives. Additionally, educating audiences about healthy relationships, consent, and gender equality is crucial in challenging rape culture and fostering a culture of respect and empowerment. Community involvement, including grassroots activism and advocacy, can also drive change by pressuring media outlets to be more accountable and inclusive in their programming choices. Ultimately, transforming the cultural landscape requires a collective effort involving media producers, policymakers, educators, and the general public to challenge harmful norms and promote a culture of respect and equality for all genders. 6. In what ways do males and females benefit from sexism? In what ways are each disadvantaged by sexism? Do you think the benefits outweigh the disadvantages for both sexes? Answer: Sexism, by its nature, is a deeply ingrained social issue that permeates various aspects of life, affecting both males and females differently. While there may be perceived benefits for each gender within sexist structures, they are often overshadowed by significant disadvantages. Males may seemingly benefit from sexism in certain contexts, such as being favored in certain career fields or experiencing less pressure regarding appearance standards. However, these apparent advantages are often accompanied by detrimental effects. For instance, the expectation for men to conform to rigid masculine norms can lead to emotional repression and mental health issues. Additionally, sexism against women can indirectly harm men by reinforcing harmful stereotypes and limiting their ability to express emotions or pursue non-traditional roles. Conversely, females face numerous disadvantages due to sexism, including wage gaps, limited career opportunities, and societal pressure to adhere to unrealistic beauty standards. While some may argue that women benefit from certain societal privileges, such as being perceived as nurturing or empathetic, these supposed advantages often serve to confine women to traditional gender roles and limit their autonomy. The notion of whether the benefits outweigh the disadvantages for both sexes is highly subjective and context-dependent. While some individuals may perceive certain advantages within sexist systems, these benefits come at the expense of perpetuating harmful stereotypes, limiting personal freedom, and fostering inequality. Ultimately, striving for gender equality benefits everyone by creating a more just and inclusive society where individuals are free to pursue their passions and fulfill their potential regardless of gender. 7. In what ways does traditional gender socialization support capitalism? Does this work in the same ways as capitalism becomes increasingly globalized? Answer: Traditional gender socialization often reinforces and perpetuates capitalist ideals and structures in several ways. First and foremost, it assigns specific roles and expectations to individuals based on their gender, thereby creating a division of labor that benefits capitalist economies. For example, men are often socialized to be the breadwinners and primary earners in a household, while women are encouraged to take on caregiving and domestic responsibilities. This division of labor allows for the efficient functioning of capitalist systems by ensuring a steady supply of labor while also maintaining low-wage or unpaid domestic labor. Moreover, traditional gender norms also contribute to the creation of consumer markets. Advertising and marketing frequently rely on gender stereotypes to sell products, perpetuating the idea that certain products or services are inherently masculine or feminine. This not only reinforces traditional gender roles but also drives consumption, which is essential for capitalist economies. As capitalism becomes increasingly globalized, these dynamics often intensify. Globalization leads to the spread of Western ideals of gender and consumption to other parts of the world, further entrenching traditional gender roles and supporting capitalist systems. Additionally, the globalization of production and supply chains often relies on cheap labor, which disproportionately affects women in developing countries who are employed in low-wage, precarious jobs. Furthermore, globalization often exacerbates gender inequalities by reinforcing hierarchies between countries and within societies. Women, particularly those from marginalized communities, often bear the brunt of these inequalities as they are more likely to be exploited in the globalized economy. In summary, traditional gender socialization reinforces capitalism by perpetuating gender roles that support the division of labor and consumption patterns conducive to capitalist economies. As capitalism becomes increasingly globalized, these dynamics are amplified, leading to greater exploitation and inequality, particularly for women. AUDIO-VISUAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION Breakin’ In: The Making of a Hip-Hop Dancer—This film explores the truth about highly sexualized images of women in music videos. It looks at how the world of hip-hop music has impacted on three young women’s values, career aspirations self image and self esteem. 2005. 55 mins. National Film Board of Canada, www.nfb.ca. Dreamworlds 3—examines the stories contemporary music videos tell about girls and women, and encourages viewers to consider how these narratives shape individual and cultural attitudes about sexuality. 2007. 57 mins. Media Education Foundation. www.mediaed.org Finding Dawn—This film gets to the heart of Aboriginal women’s experiences in Canada through examining the fact of 500 missing or murdered Indigenous women over a thirty year period. 2006. 73 mins. National Film Board of Canada, www.nfb.ca In the Flesh—This film, through the lives of four transsexual Canadians, examines the rigid conventions that accompany the labels of male, female, man, woman. 2000. 46 mins. National Film Board of Canada, www.nfb.ca. Killing Us Softly 3: Advertising’s Image of Women—In fascinating detail, Kilbourne decodes an array of print and television advertisements to reveal a pattern of disturbing and destructive gender stereotypes. Her analysis challenges us to consider the relationship between advertising and broader issues of culture, identity, sexism, and gender violence. 2000. 34 mins. Media Education Foundation. www.mediaed.org Shredded—The documentary examines teenage boys’ body image and their desires to achieve the muscle bound bodies of media icons and the risks they are willing to take in pursuit of these goals. 2005. 22 mins. National Film Board of Canada, www.nfb.ca. The Codes of Gender: Identity and Performance in Pop Culture—applies the late sociologist Erving Goffman's groundbreaking analysis of advertising to the contemporary commercial landscape, showing how one of American popular culture's most influential forms communicates normative ideas about masculinity and femininity. 2010. 73 mins. Media Education Foundation, www.mediaed.org The Line—A young woman is raped when a one-night stand far from home goes terribly wrong. In the aftermath, as she struggles to make sense of what happened, she decides to make a film about the relationship between her own experience and the tangle of political, legal, and cultural questions that surround issues of sex and consent. 2010. 24 mins. Media Education Foundation, www.mediaed.org The Year Before—This documentary follows four Montreal teens through their everyday lives in their last year of high school looking at values and the pressures faced by young men. 2006. 63 mins. National Film Board of Canada, www.nfb.ca Tough Guise: Violence, Media, & the Crisis in Masculinity—While the social construction of femininity has been widely examined, the dominant role of masculinity has until recently remained largely invisible. Tough Guise is the first educational video geared toward college and high school students to systematically examine the relationship between pop-cultural imagery and the social construction of masculine identities in the U.S. at the dawn of the 21st century. 1999. 82 mins. Media Education Foundation. www.mediaed.org CRITICAL READINGS Cook, Nancy (Ed.). 2007. Gender Relations in Gllobal Perspective: Essential Readings. Toronto, ON: Canadian Scholars Press Inc. Green, Jamison. 2004. Becoming a Visible Man. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press. Hall, Ann C. And Mardia J. Bishop (Eds.). 2007. Pop Porn: Pornography in American Culture. Westport, CT: Praeger. Johnson, Holly. 1996. Dangerous Domains: Violence against Women in Canada. Toronto, ON: Nelson Canada. Katz, Jackson. 2006. The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How All Men Can Help. Illinois: Sourcebooks, Inc. Laqueur, Thomas. 1992. Making Sex: Body and Gender from the Greeks to Freud. Cambridge, UK: Harvard University Press. Levy, Ariel. 2006. Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture. NY: Free Press. Malette, Louise and Marie Chalouh (Eds.). 1991. The Montreal Massacre. Marlene Wildman (Trans). Charlottetown, PEI: Gynergy Books. Mathews, Beverly and Lori Beaman. 2007. Exploring Gender in Canada: A Multi- Dimensional Approach. Toronto, ON: Pearson Prentice Hall. Ward, Martha and Monica Edelstein. 2009. A World Full of Women (5th Edition). New York, NY: Pearson Allyn and Bacon. Instructor Manual for Social Problems in a Diverse Society Diana Kendall, Vicki L. Nygaard, Edward G. Thompson 9780205663903, 9780205718566, 9780205885756