Deck 7: Institutions

Question 1

Gendered institutions are interesting from a sociological point of view because

A)they help challenge the gender binary system.
B)they affirm and enforce gender difference and inequality.
C)they systematically work toward the goal of gender equality.
D)they provide a framework which makes it possible for women and men to succeed.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

What purpose do sex-segregated sports serve?

A)They challenge the hierarchical gender binary.
B)They protect women from the idea that they are inferior athletes.
C)They protect men from losing face.
D)They help justify equal pay for female athletes.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Institutions are

A)organized arenas of production,such as a factory or a stadium,that facilitate a socially desired outcome.
B)companies organized bureaucratically to make money by producing and selling a product.
C)social organizations,like Congress or a city's police force,that aim to govern the people.
D)persistent patterns of social interaction aimed at meeting the needs of a society that can't easily be met by individuals alone.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Sanitation,which involves the provision of toilets and the elimination of personal waste,is an institution because

A)it involves a hierarchy of employees who are promoted according to a bureaucratic scaffolding.
B)the details of how we manage sanitation are dictated by the federal government.
C)it is found,in one form or another,throughout the world.
D)it solves a social problem that cannot easily be fixed by individuals working alone.

Question 5

Victorian gender ideology held that women were

A)in need of medical attention rather than restrooms to cure feminine maladies.
B)more fragile than men and less suited to working for pay.
C)in a position to withstand more physical strain than men so long as they were in the home.
D)more loyal to their work than men in a factory.

Question 6

Which of the following is an example of an institution?

A)the Cleveland Browns
B)Wal-Mart
C)health care
D)the Academy Awards

Question 7

Gendered institutional practices are

A)based on many people's independent ideas about gender.
B)natural and inevitable.
C)governed by feminist ideas in the United States.
D)different across cultures and throughout time.

Question 8

The term "gender salience" refers to

A)the fact that gender consistently infiltrates each part of an institution.
B)the process of neutralizing gender in institutions.
C)the process of scientifically mapping gender in the social structure.
D)the relevance of gender across contexts,activities,and spaces within an institution.

Question 9

How do elementary schools demonstrate the important role gender salience plays in institutions?

A)All aspects of school are heavily gendered,from uniforms to classroom seating to play on the playground.
B)Gender is very important in the classroom,but much less so on the playground.
C)Boys' social interactions are not influenced by gender,but girls' social interactions are.
D)Gender is very important on the playground,but less so in the classroom.

Question 10

What is the relationship between policies and norms?

A)Norms are informal,unwritten rules;policies are formal,written rules.
B)Norms are formal,written rules;policies are informal,unwritten rules.
C)Both norms and policies are informal,unwritten rules,but policies have social consequences.
D)Both norms and policies are formal,written rules,but norms are enforced by peers and policies are enforced by authorities.

Question 11

Education is a gendered institution because

A)it involves organizations and social norms that persist over time.
B)it guides boys and girls into different social spaces.
C)it helps in maintaining a healthy sex ratio in society.
D)it is vital in nurturing men and women as responsible citizens.

Question 12

The following is a list of roadblocks to building a gender-integrated bathroom for an academic department at New York University.Which one is directly related to a policy?

A)the need to spend extra time and money on a brand-new restroom design
B)the belief that men were messier than women
C)women's discomfort with potential for male nudity and a fear of meeting strange men in close quarters during off-hours
D)the fact that the idea had to be approved by the city's Department of Buildings

Question 13

What would happen if sports were not organized by gender but rather by ability?

A)We would see that women and men have equal ability and women would win as often as men.
B)We would see that women and men have such unequal abilities that they would still never compete against each other.
C)Beliefs in gender difference and inequality would not be routinely and ritualistically rehearsed through sport.
D)Competitions would no longer be fair.

Question 14

According to sociologist Abigail Feder,which figure skater would be the most valued?

A)the male figure skater who looks serene and handsome
B)the male figure skater who make his jumps look effortless
C)the female figure skater who appears powerful and aggressive
D)the female figure skater who disguises her athleticism

Question 15

How do social structures influence our lives?

A)The social structure is a source of constraint and opportunity for individuals.
B)They provide individuals with equal access to institutional resources.
C)They promote conflict and change within society.
D)Social structures are designed to be flexible and meet the needs of each individual within the structure.

Question 16

What is common to elementary schools,bathrooms,and bodybuilding?

A)They are governed more by gender policies than gender norms.
B)They contribute toward diluting the matrix of domination.
C)They affirm gender difference.
D)They protect the idea that women are equal to men.

Question 17

The definition of "norms" is

A)the sets of institutions within which we live our lives.
B)the social organization of gender relations in the society.
C)explicitly codified expectations,often written down with stated consequences for deviance.
D)beliefs and practices that are well known,widely followed,and culturally approved.

Question 18

Sex-segregated bathrooms serve __________ function(s).

A)biological
B)social
C)social and biological
D)no

Question 19

The failure of efforts to install gender-neutral bathrooms in the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis at New York University illustrates

A)the importance of winning support from transgender faculty staff members.
B)that gender-neutral bathrooms aren't a feasible option.
C)that changing institutions requires widespread support.
D)the impact of discriminatory behavior by the building commissioner.

Question 20

Which of the following is a feature of social institutions?

A)They are similar in the nature and intensity of enforcement of norms and policies.
B)They shape our overall social structure.
C)They operate completely independently from each other.
D)They reflect what individuals within a society can accomplish on their own.

Question 21

Do you believe it's possible to just be an individual in today's society? Why or why not?

Question 22

Wade and Ferree argue that gender is never the most logical way to organize a sport.Choose a sport that they do not discuss and consider their claim.Brainstorm a list of other variables on which athletes in this sport could reasonably be divided.Choose the one you think makes the most sense and play out the scenario.How do you think this sport would change? How would life change for the athletes? The fans? The sponsors? What ideology of gender,if any,would the sport now support?

Question 23

According to the text,how do liberals and conservatives feel about sex-segregated sports teams?

A)Conservatives support sex-segregated sports teams while liberals are opposed to them.
B)Conservatives are opposed to sex-segregated sports teams while liberals support them.
C)Both conservatives and liberals tend to support sex-segregated sports teams.
D)Both conservatives and liberals tend to oppose sex-segregated sports teams.

Question 24

Define the term "institution," and then describe two institutions with which you frequently interact.Then,evaluate how gendered you think each institution is.Make sure to provide supporting details to back up your claims.

Question 25

What is gender salience? Give some examples of how the salience of gender in bathroom facilities varies.In light of these observations,what conclusions can we draw about what purpose sex-segregated bathrooms serve?

Question 26

Since the passage of Title IX,the number of high school female athletes has increased

A)threefold.
B)fivefold.
C)eightfold.
D)tenfold.

Question 27

Catherine always says "bless you," as opposed to "shut up" when someone sneezes because saying "bless you" is viewed as a culturally appropriate and well understood response to a sneeze.What concept is Catherine demonstrating?

A)gendered norm
B)gendered policy
C)norm
D)policy

Question 28

Martin's university has explicit written explanations with regard to academic honesty.This document outlines student and faculty responsibilities,violations,and academic honesty enforcement procedures.Academic honesty at Martin's university is a good example of a

A)law.
B)norm.
C)policy.
D)sanction.

Question 29

At recess,a group of fifth graders has decided to play a game of flag football.Lisa is picked first by James,who justifies his choice by saying,"Lisa is just like one of the guys." This example demonstrates

A)how sports affirm the value of masculinity in society.
B)how sports affirm the value of femininity in society.
C)how sports provide equal opportunities to boys and girls.
D)how sports are no longer gendered in society.

Question 30

A study of pay in professional golfing concluded that the primary rationale for vast differences in prize money was

A)institutional regulations.
B)gender.
C)differences in skill.
D)gender subordination.

Question 31

Institutional inertia makes social change difficult and yet we see a lot of social change in gender relations in many different social institutions.How do you explain this apparent contradiction? Discuss a few of the causal forces impelling change in a social institution of your own choosing.