2022-2023 Academic Catalog

Apr 28, 2024

2022-2023 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

SOC 110 - Sociology of Gender

Gender is a powerful, pervasive, socially constructed idea that shapes our experience of ourselves, one another, and the institutions we interact with. This course begins by interrogating the gender binary, the dominant gender ideology in contemporary US society. How do we learn how to “do gender” in a way that aligns with the gender binary, and why do we do it? What are the gender rules that correspond to displays of femininity and masculinity, and what do we gain and lose by following or breaking such rules? Using an intersectional lens, we will then explore how ideas about gender interact with ideas about race, class, sexuality, ability, and other forms of distinction to support a hierarchical system that affords some men power over other men, most women, and people who identify as neither. The course also examines how gender norms and expectations continue to perpetuate inequality in the workplace, families, and in politics.

Anticipated Terms Offered: Offered annually