Class: Gender in America Society
Required Reading to reference: Wade, Lisa and Myra Marx Ferree. 2019. Gender: Ideas, Interactions, Institutions. 2nd edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Qualitative Interviews: Do people generally conform to gender stereotypes?
-We tend to think that we, personally, don’t conform to rigid gender stereotypes. What about everyone else, though? In this exercise, you will need to ask five friends or family members a simple set of questions.
The questions: 1)
“Do you think you are a stereotypical man or woman?”
2) “Why or why not?”
Include the quantitative data with information such as how many people said “yes, I do,” “no, not at all,” or a version of “yes and no,” or “I kind of am and I’m kind of not.” It is likely that many or even most people will choose the third option. Finally, have a discussion about their qualitative responses. What kinds of explanations did people give for their answers, especially the “yes and no” kind?
How do many people, in practice, mix feminine and masculine attributes? What do you think it means that many people don’t feel like they fit the stereotype of a man or woman? If the stereotypes—which we all know quite well—aren’t found in many of the people we know, reflect on where the idea that most people conform to them come from.
Make sure to cite the textbook where relevant in your discussion (i.e., when similar issues are addressed by respondents, or when issues from the text speak directly/indirectly to respondents’ recorded words).
Use five people:
21 year male junior in college
74 year old divorced grandmother
18 year old male graduating this week from high school
76 year old women never married or children
36 year old teacher woman
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