C |
As you know, one of the first questions when a baby is born is, “Is it a boy or a girl?” We think it’s important to know this because when children grow up, their role in the world depends on their gender—at least to some degree. But nowadays, gender roles are changing, and besides, there have always been a few people who are not average, who do not follow the usual gender pattern.
Mia: Oh, I think it’s going to be great! It’s such an interesting topic—“Gender and Sociology”.
Dylan: Hmmph. I suppose. I can see that Professor Henley is very knowledgeable on the subject. But I can also see that I disagree with her about a lot of things.
Besides the buildings and monuments, we have a lot of art from the time of Hatshepsut. And what’s interesting is that at first, Hatshepsut is shown with female characteristics—she was clearly a woman, but with the clothing and symbols of a king. For example, in one statue, she is seated and has the body of a woman but is wearing the headdress of a king. In later years, we see the reverse. All of the later artwork shows her as a man, with male characteristics. We’renot sure why Hatshepsut had her artists do this, but it may have helped her to keep power. It might have been easier for Egyptians to accept a man as king—or at least someone who looked like a man.
One person from history who did not follow her usual gender role was Hatshepsut. Around 150 years before Tutankhamen ruled ancient Egypt as pharaoh, or king, Hatshepsut ruled for 21 years as the female king of Egypt. That’s right—female king, because there was no such thing as a queen as leader. A few women had filled the role of leader when their sons were too young to rule, but Hatshepsut stayed in power even after her stepson, Tutmose III, was old enough to rule. And she accomplished a lot while she was king! Up and down the Nile River we can still see the monuments and buildings that were constructed or repaired while Hatshepsut was king. It seems that she did not want to be forgotten.
Mia: Such as... ?
B |
Dylan: Well, I think some jobs just aren’t good for women like firefighters for instance.en aren’t brave enough or something?
Dylan: Hey, I never said that! But, well, they aren’t as strong— physically, I mean. Do you think a woman could carry me out of a burning building? Come on, everyone knows men are stronger than women.
Dylan: What’s that?
Mia: It’s from my summer school class. We had to do some research on gender differences, and similarities. OK ... now ... look at this ... This line here shows how it looks if you make a graph of how strong women are, by how much weight they can lift. Here. A small woman can’t lift more than 20 pounds. And a woman athlete can lift 200 pounds. Right?
Listening 2
A Conversation Between Classmates
A |
Mia: Hey, Dylan! Long time, no see!
Dylan: Yeah, it’s been ages! I was gone all summer. I had a job working for my uncle, so I stayed with him in Toronto for two months. What about you, Mia? How’ve you been?
Unit 1 Gender and Society
Analytical listening
Listening 1
A Lecture
A | & B |
OK, so today we’re going to continue on the topic of how children are socialized. We’ll be looking at gender socialization—in other words, how, how children learn their gender roles. Gender is something that we learn— first from our parents, then from our peers, from school, and from the culture we live in. OK, let’s start with our parents. Generally, our gender roles are pretty clear to us by the time we’re around three years old. So how do we, how do we learn these roles so quickly?
Mia: Ha! So, you think you’re stronger than the female athletes in the Olympics, just because you’re a man?
Dylan: Well, no, of course not ...
Mia: Then you can’t say that all men are stronger than all women. Here, let me draw you a graph ...
Mia: Great! I just spent the time right here because I was taking a course in summer school. I want to graduate early.
Dylan: Wow, you’re really working hard! So,... What do you think about this class we’re in?
Our peers, when we’re children—girls and boys around the same age as we are—also teach us about gender roles, and sometimes they’re not very nice about this either. They make fun of children who aren’t following the rules. Can you remember kids from your childhood who didn’t follow the gender rules? Schools continue, schools continue the process of gender socialization. Some schools have separate classes for girls and boys, and, um, of course school uniforms are different— pants for boys, and skirts or dresses for girls. Finally, the culture we live in has a lot to teach us about gender roles.