Review for Exam 3

Spring 2007

Sociology 327

changes will be posted in red

Language and Communication

--sexism and the English language – themes found within language about the nature and status of men and women in our culture -- also examples of those themes (see essay below)

--semantic derogation

--communication styles of men and women (Tannen video)

--marked words

Friendship/Intimacy

--friendship patterns of men and women; friendship patterns over time (number of friends, size of friendship networks, etc.)

--feminization of love – limitations/consequences of a feminized notion of love

--trends in adolescent and college aged persons -- percentage having sex with someone they are not "dating"

--changes in dating behavior/mate selection behavior over time

--patterns in communication between men and women (Steinen article, who talks more, who interrupts more, etc) -- also, perspectives on these differences: is it gender -- is it power (see Howard et al article)

Gendered Body/Transgendered

--The Beauty Myth

--body image (what is it, the two dimensions), body satisfaction (what it is and how it changes with age) -- body image of adolescents (who shapes it)

--cosmetic surgery -- who has it, why, who is it for?

--race differences in belief in and effects of mainstream beauty standards to evaluate bodies

--transgenderism – what it is, experiences of the transgendered – what transgenderism tells us about “what makes someone a man or a woman”

--homosexuality as gender conformity (pages 253-257)

Violence

--male/female differences in experience of and perpetration of violence (assault, rape, etc); fear of victimization

--consistency between being at risk for violence and actual victimization rates; also perceptions of who is dangerous

--domestic violence in lesbian relationships

--guest speaker from ACCESS

Essays

1. In class, we discussed difference “themes” about the nature of men and women that are found within our language. What are these five “themes” and provide an example of each.

2. According to research presented by Deborah Tannen in her video “He Said/She Said,” men and women have different “objectives” in conversation. According to her research, what is the primary objective for men in talk? For women? What difficulty does this create for interaction between men and women?

3. In class and in your readings, it has been suggested that love has become “feminized.” What does this mean? We also discussed several consequences of this -- what are some of the consequences of a “feminized” version of love? (While it is not necessary to discuss all of them, you should present at least three consequences.)

4. In the article by Dobash and colleagues, it is suggested that claims of sexual symmetry in marital violence are exaggerated. What is the basic argument for sexual symmetry in marital violence? What is, why do some people suggest that “assaults upon men by their wives constitute a social problem comparable in nature and magnitude to that of wife beating.” What is the counter-argument made by Dobash and colleagues? That is, why do Dobash and colleagues suggest that domestic violence is a much larger problem for female victims?

5. In class, we watched the film “You Don’t Know Dick.” In this film, several male to female transsexuals describe their life histories. After watching this video, what do you think their stories tell us about sex, sex category, gender? That is, what do their stories tell us about what makes a person a man or a woman? Is “it” biological? Is “it” social? Somewhere in-between? Discuss and provide examples from the film.