Soc 101 final

• Sex


  Biological and anatomical differences between males and females, refers to physical differences in primary (organs involved in reproduction) and secondary sex characteristics (patterns of hair growth, breast tissue)
• Gender


  Physical, behavioral, and personality traits that are culturally and socially constructed differences that a group considers normal for female and male members
• Examples of non-binary and cultural variations of gender

  • Intersex
  • Transgender
  • Genderqueer
  • Genderfluid
  • Bigender
• Essentialists


  • See gender as biologically/genetically determined by genitalia/chromosomes, determines how you see yourself and how you interact with others, believe culture/socialization play little role, predetermined
• Constructionalists


  • Gender is socially constructed, shaped by culture/historical time period, masculinity/femininity differs in different societies
• Gender Identity

  How someone identifies
• Gender Expression


  External, how we dress, names we use, etc.
• Doing Gender

  Creating and reinforcing differences between men and women through social interactions, such as performing certain activities and displaying traits explicitly for men or women
• Agents of Gender Socialization


  • Family
  • Schools
  • Peers
  • Media
• Feminization of Poverty


  Results from a combination of social factors, gendered gap in wages, occupations that are predominately held by women have lower pay, women have less pay, single women take on financial responsibility of children, increasing costs of healthcare, women are poorer than men
• Intersectionality

  A way of understanding and analyzing the complexity in the world, in people, and in human experience; events of life can be understood as shaped by many factors in diverse and mutually influencing ways; it is an analytic tool that gives people better access to the complexity of the world and themselves, race, class, gender, sexuality, age, region, etc.
• Functionalist Perspective(Gender)

  • View that social roles are better suited to one gender than the other and societies are more stable when gendered norms are fulfilled, believe in binary, women homemaker and expressive role (nurturing), man is the breadwinner and instrumental role (task-oriented), female roles work with male roles, uphold the traditional family and social functions
• Conflict Theory (gender)

  • Due to the traditional division of labor, males have more access to resources and privileges and have sought to maintain their dominance, men get better pay, and men succeed in female-dominated occupations, derivative of class inequality and originating with private property, women do work with no compensation, men will always dominate
• Symbolic Interactionism


  • Gender is learned through the process of socialization; gender is socially constructed and maintained in our everyday lives; we need to categorize to interact; transgender or nonbinary may not fit easily in society because of the preexisting categories
• Acute Disease


  A sudden onset, shorter duration, causation typically linked to a germ, virus, or parasite that infects the body and disrupts the normal functioning of one or more areas; these illnesses are contagious and can spread easily
• examples of Acute Diseases

  • Common cold
  • Pneumonia
  • Measles
• Chronic Disease

  Develops over a longer period and may not be detected until later in their progression, sometimes related to environment, lifestyle, personal choices
• examples of Chronic Diseases

  • Cancer
  • Cardiovascular disease
• Curative or Crisis Medicine


  A type of health care that treats the disease or condition once it has manifested. It works well for acute diseases like food poisoning or sports injuries like torn ligaments.
• Curative or Crisis Medicine


  • Pepto
  • Antibiotic
• Preventative Medicine

  A type of health care that aims to avoid or forestall disease onset by taking preventative measures, often including lifestyle changes. Regular exercise, proper diet, nutrition, least costly ways to prevent chronic conditions.
• Palliative Care

  Focuses on relieving symptoms and pain and providing a supportive environment for critically ill or dying patients.
• Early understandings of illness meant supernatural explanations because they did not understand viruses/bacteria/germs/etc.
• Religious rituals such as prayer, magic spells, and exorcism were used as treatment for any illness
• Treatments for mental illness in the 1930s included lobotomies (part of the brain gets cut out), which disproportionally affected women.
• Medicalization

  Process in which nonmedical problems become defined and treated as illness and disorder
• Medicalization


  • ADHD
  • PTSD
  • Losing your hair
• Demedicalization


  "Problem" ceases to be defined as an illness/disorder
• Demedicalization


  • Homosexuality
  • Sexuality in general
• Functionalist Perspective on Health

  • Health is vital to the stability of society, and therefore, sickness is a sanctioned form of deviance. The sick person has a specific role, rights, and responsibilities: 1) the sick person has not chosen to be sick and should not be treated as responsible for their condition, 2) The sick person has the right of being exempt from normal responsibilities, 3) To try and get well, 4) seek help from a physician.
• Conflict Theory on Health

  • Capitalism and the pursuit of profit lead to the commodification of health; the changing of something not generally considered a commodity into something that can be bought. Creates significant healthcare disparities between dominant and subordinate groups
• Symbolic Interactionism on Health

  • How we think of Health and illness are both socially constructed. For example, homosexuality used to be considered a mental disorder, but now it is not.
• Epidemiology


  The study of disease patterns to understand the cause of illnesses, how they spread, and what interventions to take.
• Epidemiologists spring into action whenever a new disease emerges, or an unexpected outbreak of a previously eradicated disease occurs and is fatal. The researchers then target the places in which the transmission most likely occurred. After targeting the primary modes of transmission, they try to intervene and put public health campaigns together to educate people about the transmission, prevention, and treatment of the disease.
• Social inequality and health


  People with higher socioeconomic status (SES) can afford better healthcare services (insurance plans, medications, etc.,) but also have greater access to resources like nutrition, cleaner neighborhoods, etc. that positively influence their health. They also are expected to live longer. However, there is a stark difference when comparing those at the top to the bottom. People with lower SES have higher rates of chronic illnesses and various diseases, shorter life expectancy, and higher death threats. They also have little regular access to healthcare and have trouble affording medications.
• The largest and most persistent health disparity amongst different racial groups is infant mortality. Mortality rants for infants of Black women are high. Black women have higher rates of maternal mortality than any other racial group. Black and Hispanic Americans are less likely to be able to afford health insurance or have access to healthcare/engaging in healthcare practices. They are also more likely to be exposed to unhealthful surroundings that contribute to higher rates of asthma, heart attacks, whether in workplace or residential neighborhoods. These disparities are likely linked to systematic racism.
• Despite the fact that women are expected to live longer than men, women still suffer from inequalities in healthcare. For example, heart disease has long been thought of as a "man's disease," but the same number of men and women die from it each year. Much research on cardiovascular disease has not been focused on women. Historically, women have not been screened or tested for heart disease as early as men. This has resulted in higher death rates from heart attacks among women.
• Social Change


  Transforming or alteration of a culture or social institutions over time, such as the Renaissance, the French Revolution, the Civil War, and the women's rights movement. Social change is often the result of human action, collective action.
• Collective Behavior

  Behavior that follows from the formation of a group or crowd of people who take action together toward a shared goal
• Crowd


  Temporary gathering of people in a public place; members might interact but do not identify with one another and will not remain in contact; they must adjust their behavior if they are watching a street performer; they must adapt how they watch him, which is the audience. Riots can form in the crowds; feel freer from consequences.