chapter 11 gender , age, and health

THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPSSOCIOLOGY

HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON1

CHAPTER 11Gender, Age, and Health

Section 1: GenderSection 2: Age and DisabilitySection 3: Health



Objectives:

Analyze how gender roles affect the opportunities available to men and women in society.

Explain how gender roles are affected by socialization.

Section 1: Gender


HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON

What is Gender? Gender: comprises the behavioral and

psychological traits considered appropriate for men and women:

VS.

Sex: Biological identity



Universal?

Sex characteristics are SAME in ALL societies.

Gender traits …are socially created and vary from culture to culture.



Gender Roles and Identity:

Gender roles:The specific behaviors and attitudes that a society

establishes for men and women.

EX:Women: child-care and domestic dutiesMen: Economic support and physical safety for family.



What are sociologists concerned about?

Gender identity: The awareness of being masculine or feminine

as those traits are designed by culture.

However, cultural values influence gender identity and roles…have changed over the years.



Between Cultures:Back to FRONT of handout!

Margaret Mead studied 3 New Guinea societies…discovered differences in culture.



Tchambuli Society: Men & women care for children. Women provided food for family. Women were bossy and efficient. Men were gossipy and artistic. Men wore cosmetics and curled hair.



Mundugumor Society:

Aggressiveness was the norm for men AND women.



Arapesh Society:

Both men AND women were expected to be passive and emotionally warm.



What does this mean?

Gender roles are socially created rather than biologically based.



Gender Identity and Socialization:

Learn appropriate gender-role behavior through socialization.Begins at birth.HOW?



Is this nursery rhyme true today?

What are little boys made of?What are little boys made of?

Frogs and snails,And puppy-dogs’ tails,

That’s what little boys are made of.



Expectations of Little Boys:

Adventuresome Aggressive Physically active Good at math and science Encouraged to prepare for career



What are little girls made of?What are little girls made of?

Sugar and spiceAnd all that is nice,

That’s what little girls are made of.



Expectations of Little Girls:

Polite, gentle, passive Excel in reading and social sciences Creative in arts Look for marriage and family.HOWEVER, more young women

encouraged to pursue careers.



The family is the most powerful agent of socialization!!



Gender Roles and Social Inequality: Women:

Adult years in pregnancy/nursing babies. Took on roles allowed them to stay close to home.

Men: Required strength and travel away from home base. Hunters, traders, warriors Gained much prestige…source of power within group.

Patriarchy: men are dominant over women.



Conflict Perspective on Gender Roles:

Gender roles = reflection of male dominance.

Through their control of economic and political spheres of society, men have established laws and customs that project their dominant position.

In so doing, men have blocked women's access to power.



Sexism:The belief that one sex is by nature superior to the

other.

Can become a self-fulfilling prophecy:People who believe that women are in some

way incapable of occupying positions of power make choices based on this belief.

**Copy Image from marker board!**Result lack of women in business,

political, and professions.



Gender Inequality in the United States:

The Women’s MovementEducation

The World of WorkThe Political Arena



The Women’s Movement:

Sexes were socially, politically, and economically equal.

Suffrage: the right to vote.Nineteenth Amendment (1920)



Betty Friedan’s book The Feminine Mystique

She REJECTED the notion that women were content with roles of wife and mother.

She argued that the “feminine mystique” – the glorification of these roles – was simply a ploy to keep women in a secondary positions in society.

Women began to demand greater opportunities and fairer treatment.



Other gains in equality:

Congress passed several acts outlawing gender discrimination in education and in the workplace.



Education: In today’s American education:

57% women make up in total college population.56% women earning all bachelor's degrees

awarded.



Differences in Degrees: Men:

Engineering, physical science, architecture.

Women:Education, humanities, library science.



What About Graduate School?

More women attending graduate school.Women make up more than 57% of those enrolled

in graduate courses.58% earn Master’s degrees awarded each year.

HOWEVER,Women are LESS likely to pursue doctoral or

professional degrees.Turn to pg. 269



What about Athletics?

1970s: Funding for women’s athletics practically

nonexistent at most coeducational colleges and universities!

Female College athletes: 16% Female High school athletes: 8%



Education Amendment Act of 1972:Bans discrimination on the basis of gender in any

program- including athletics – at any educational institution receiving federal funds.



Results:

About 40% of all college athletes are women.

HOWEVER:Less than ¼ of funding for college sports goes to

women's athleticsFemale athletes receive less than one third of

available scholarship money.



The World of Work:

Wage gap have changed among women:The level of women’s income relative to that of

men.

Glass ceiling:The invisible barrier that prevents women from

gaining upper-level positions in business.



What does sociologist Arlie Hochschild say?

Working wives work a second shift:Have household duties to complete.

What about husbands?:Normally, do NOT volunteer to help.May purposely make a mess in hope that will not

be asked again. On average, women in U.S have at least 10

hours per week less leisure time than men.



The Political Arena:

Women are MORE LIKELY to vote in elections!

However, more men hold political positions. Society is more accepting of women leaders:

EX: Hillary Clinton, Condoleezza Rice, etc…



Age & DisabilityChapter 11:2



Objectives:

Discuss the effect that the aging of the population is having on society.

Explain how the aging of the population is affecting the life chances of older Americans.

Section 2: Age and Disability



Ageism: Ageism:

The belief that one age category is by nature superior to another age category.

EX: TV commercials use elderly people for over the counter medications, dentures, insurance, burial plans, etc….



The Aging World:

About 606 million people aged 60 and older worldwide.

Europe: oldest region of the world.Africa: youngest region of the world



Graying of America:

The phenomenon of the growing percentage of elderly Americans as part of the total U.S. population.

Check out pg. 273



2 main reasons for Graying of America

1. Advances in health care.

2. Variations in birthrates have changed the age structure of the U.S.



Births in U.S. rose sharply in 1946 and stayed the same until 1960s. (baby-boom generation)

Today’s Age: late thirties to mid-fifties.

By 2030, will increase elderly population nearly 70 million.



The Politics of Aging:

Elderly have become both a political force and a topic of debate.



Bringing needs of elderly to national level:

AARP (American Association of Retired Persons)THE LARGEST special-interest group in the U.S.Provides financial advice & health-care insurance

plans.Travel and prescription –drug discountsModern Maturity- magazine



Concerns for Elderly:FYI

Social Security:Funded by payroll or income taxes on workers,

employers, the self-employed. Current payroll taxes fund the benefits paid to

current retirees.

Challenges: Declining birthrates and longer life expectancies mean fewer workers to support growing numbers of retirees.



Concerns for Elderly: Social Security:

Dependency ratio: the number of workers for each person receiving Social Security benefits.

1960: 5 to 1

2030: 2 to 1



“Old-Old” Challenges:(85+)

Medicare: Government-sponsored health-insurance plan for elderly

Americans and Americans with disabilities.

Medicaid: State and federally funded health-insurance program for

low-income individuals. FYI: these programs are the sole sources of health

insurance for close to one quarter of elderly Americans.



Is there hope for Social Security?

Raising retirement age Cutting benefits Increasing Social Security payroll taxes.



Age Inequality in the United States: Social Security have made older Americans

financially secure at the expense of younger generations.

Poverty rate for elderly: 10.2%Poverty rate or general population: 11.3% Poverty rate for children under age 18: 16.2 %



Elderly African Americans: 22% Elderly Hispanics: 19%

Women are hit by poverty than are men!

Poverty levels increase with Hispanic & African American women.

Poverty levels often high among old-old (85+).



Americans with Disabilities:

Cover a wide variety of conditions:Physical disabilitiesChronic health impairmentsMental retardationMental illnessVisual, hearing, and speech impairments.Blindness, deafness, and paralysis



Prejudice & Discrimination:

Stereotypical belief that their disabilities make them incapable of doing productive work.Result: High unemployment rate among disabled.

Receive government assistance, but still struggle financially.



Disabled struggled for civil rights.

All Handicapped Children Act of 1975:Guaranteed children with disabilities a public

education geared toward their needs and abilities.



ADA: “Americans with Disabilities Act” (1990) Address 4 main areas:

1. Employment: Illegal to discriminate against people with disabilities in hiring, promotion, and pay.

2. Public services: Transportation3. Public accommodations: Hotels, restaurants, theaters,

etc….4. Telecommunications: Telecommunications-relay

services (TRS) Hearing and speech impaired



Chapter 11: Section 3

Health



Objectives:

Describe the state of health care in the United States.

Identify some of the special health-care concerns of various segments of American society.

Section 3: Health



What are your THREE main concerns when you receive healthcare???



We will focus on THREE Main Issues:

Cost of Health CareQuality of Health CareAccess to Health Care



Health Care in the U.S. Focuses on THREE Main Issues:1. Cost of Health Care – concern over the rapid rise in

health care costs Why rise in cost? Turn to Pg. 281

Hospital careAdvances in technologyFears of malpractice lawsuitsIncreased spending on prescription drugs

Section 3: Health



2. Quality of Health Care – some believe that managed care has decreased the quality of health care.Managed care: limits costs by requiring patients to choose approved doctors who have agreed to reduced rates, requiring approval for treatment, and setting limits on drugs that can be prescribed.



3. Access to Health Care – distribution of physicians, both geographically and within the medical profession, has limited accessibility to health care.Geographically: Beverly Hills: 1 Dr.: 254

Poverty stricken: 1 Dr.: 24, 500

Professionally: Short in general-practice doctors. Most in specialty fields (EX:

Cardiologists) WHY?? More $$$



Health Care Concerns Today

1. Health Insurance – unequal health care exists between public and private insurance programs.Private insurance: people pay set periodic fees.

Public insurance: government programs such as Medicare (elderly) and Medicaid (poor). Canada: Gov’t finances health care through national health insurance.

Section 3: Health



Inequality and Health:

Poor people are LESS likely than wealthy Americans to receive adequate medical care.

Turn to pg. 284 …THEN, turn to pg. 282



2. Alternative Medicine – is a concern because there are few scientific studies on the effectiveness of alternative treatments.EX: Chiropractic, massage, meditation, yoga, herbal remedies, etc….



3. AIDS – has developed into one of the most serious public-health problems in the U.S. and around the world in just two decades.AIDS: a disease that attacks the immune system, leaving a person vulnerable to a host of deadly infections.

HIV: virus that causes AIDS.



HIV is transmitted through:Sexual contactContaminated blood and tissueUse of contaminated hypodermic needles



Highest Risk:

Homosexual and bisexual males (46%). Intravenous drug abusers (25%). Sexual partners of high-risk persons. Persons receiving blood transfusions. Babies of high-risk mothers.



How is government helping???

Spent $10 billion!!!!70% went towards care and assistance.



A Global Affair:

Sub-Saharan Africa:

70% of HIV and AIDS sufferers live!



AIDS



AIDS

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome About 70% of the estimated 36 million people

in the world currently carrying HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, live in Africa south of the Sahara.

By 2000: 17 million already died of AIDS-related diseases.



AIDS:

In Zimbabwe, a child is more likely to die of AIDS than of any other cause!!

Treatments cost too much for Africans or their governments to purchase.

In Zimbabwe:Life expectancy fallen from 65 years to 41

years because of AIDS!!



Estimated that by 2010, 10.7 million children in Africa under the age of 15 will have lost at least one parent to AIDS!!



Doctors Online?Turn to pg. 282

Answer #1 & #2 Also, answer the following:

Have you ever referred to health-related web sites for information?

Why do you think such online medical sites are so popular?

73



Complete the following in pairs:Segment of Society Special Health-Care Concerns

Poor people

Elderly individuals

AIDS sufferers

People suffering from chronic illnesses

74

chapter 11 gender , age, and health

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