Abstract
A critical look at the current writings on sexual socialization and sexual identity, focusing on the "First-time" experiences of heterosexuals in contemporary North American and European culture.

From the Paper
"The purpose of this assignment is to critically compare and contrast four works on the topic of sexual identity and sexual socialization. The four texts chosen were: In the Same Boat? The Gendered (in)experience of first heterosex from Theorizing Heterosexuality: Getting it Straight , Was it Good For You Too? : Gender Differences in First Sexual Intercourse Experiences , from the Journal of Sex Research , Sexual Messages on Television: Comparing Findings from Three Studies, Also from the Journal of Sex Research , and finally, Effects of Neighborhood and School Environments on Transitions to First Sexual Intercourse from Sociology of Education. "

Tags:experiences, first, heterosexuality, identity, initiation, passage, rites, sexual, socialization

Abstract
This paper explores how feminists in South Africa have been able to incorporate gender interests into the structure of democratic institutions by recognizing the close link between apartheid and gender inequalities regarding the concept of citizenship. Their efforts have contributed to the improvement of South African women's political, economic and social status, which will eventually lead to the higher quality of life. The South African case shows us how grassroots movements can make a positive impact on society by eagerly interacting with the state.

From the Paper
"The dramatic political and social upheavals and transformations that have occurred throughout the world during the 1990s have brought international attention on theories of citizenship and democracy. While western liberal democratic gender-neutral notions of citizenship have been widely promoted, South African feminists have argued tenaciously that gender issues had to be incorporated in theories of citizenship in order to deal more effectively with gender inequalities deeply embedded in the South African society. Over the past decade, feminists in South Africa have struggled against the patriarchal structure of their society and advocated for the need of the institutionalized and constitutional frameworks that allow a systemic improvement of South African women's political, economic and social status. This essay will argue that by recognizing the close link between aparthied and gender inequalities and gendering the concept of citizenship, feminists in South Africa have been able to build gender interests into the structure of democratic institutions, which has contributed to the bettered political, social and economic status of South African women."

Tags:activism, citizenship, democracy, feminism

Abstract
In this article, the writer replicates J. K. Swim's investigation of people's perceptions of the sizes of gender differences compared with the results of meta-analysis studies. The writer notes that there are various reasons for failure to achieve at a level consistent with one's ability. The writer maintains that cultural and social barriers that limit career selection or progress need to be considered when observing females, in particular, who achieve less. Popular concepts can be based on observations of these realities in which people find themselves. The writer concludes that various forces over the last 20 years have resulted in a decline in gender differences in cognitive abilities but the writer's results show that in many ways there are still conceptions of differences. The writer maintains that hopefully the next 20 years will see conceptions continue to better line up with reality.

From the Paper
"Swim found that her college-student samples generally provided accurate estimations or underestimated gender differences. My findings are consistent overall with Swim's. I would say that my small sample can hardly be used as a basis for comparison scientifically, though it was very interesting. Specific comments I heard from individuals was that they were answering the questionnaire based only on the people within their circle of family and friends. They didn't consider the differences that would or would not be found in their country let alone world as a whole. They didn't take cultural differences into account. I would also not rule out people scoring backwards from what they intended or making other 'mistakes'. While a full half of the respondents rated IQ as equal between the genders, the other scores show that males think males are more intelligent, and females score females as more intelligent - nothing like favoring your own gender!"

Tags:stereotype, verbal, scores, tests

Abstract
This paper examines the various gendered messages currently being sent by country music artists. It reviews and analyzes top country music songs and notes that the review illustrates the fact that men continue to dominate the country music business. The paper further notes that the analysis provided in the paper supports the claim that country music is becoming more progressive in its portrayals of women even though the clothing and body movements still emphasize women's sexuality as central. The paper then relates that the primary, homogeneous all-prevailing theme in country music is that of love and provides an analysis of 12 songs that deal with various types of relational love and how men and women represented in these songs do or do not conform to stereotypical (dating) scripts. The lyrics to the 12 songs reviewed as well as list of the top 30 country music songs are appended to the paper.

From the Paper
"A review of the current top 30 songs (See Appendix 13) illustrates well the fact that men continue to dominate the country music business (in this case 6 of the 30 top songs are by women = 5:1). Many of the specific songs reviewed in this analysis support the comments above about the progressive portrayals of women. Campbell (2006) suggests that "gender operates throughout the whole constellation of images, attitudes, and operations attendant to country music" (p. 217). Contemporary artists like Shania Twin, Faith Hill and Gretchen Wilson prove that the feminist movement has not passed country music by, but is rather making inroads within the "confines of this conservative industry and fan base" (p. 218). "Country music videos offer a space for contemporary female artists to more visually and openly challenge that which their predecessors challenged in their time - the traditional, confining gender roles that dominant American culture espouses" (Wilson, 2000, p. 290). But as the music videos will support, the clothing and body movements still emphasize women's sexuality as central."

Tags:shania, twain, jonny, cash, women

Abstract
In this article, the writer discusses that the concepts of gender, femininity and masculinity are all socially constructed, in that they cannot be concretely defined in absolute terms. The writer notes that there are numerous examples within the literature to explain how the genders differ, but there are very few to no differences that show conclusively that these differences are natural, or innate. The writer maintains that gender is a social construct, and as such, society has also constructed the differences between the genders. At the level of society at large, gender operates to govern over the relations among groups and the access to resources. At an interacting level between individuals, gender allows us to categorize individuals based on their gender and to derive differences based on these categories. The writer discusses that as such, gender is a self-fulfilling prophecy, along with any and all proposed differences that exist between the genders. The writer concludes that in reality, however, the majority of gender differences, if not all of them, are socially constructed and do not exist innately.

From the Paper
"Thus, instead of being mutually exclusive constructs, it is now accepted that an individual can be high in both femininity and masculinity. Thus, with the ability of humans to span the spectrums of masculinity and femininity within their own identity and behaviour, it becomes quite clear that there really are very few characteristics, which can be deemed inherently masculine or feminine. In fact, it's quite arguable that there are no such characteristics.
"The differences that exist between masculinity and femininity are all produced by societal definitions. Society defines femininity and masculinity to be nearly polar opposites, but societal definitions do not force any one individual to become either feminine or masculine based on their natural biological sex. Thus, to find any true differences between the genders it is necessary to go beyond socially constructed concepts and to look at actually physical differences, besides the obvious."

Tags:men, women, identity, behavior, social, environments

Abstract
Since the women's revolution of the 1960s, it appears that men's issues have taken the backseat. This paper focuses on the three main areas concerning masculinity and men's roles: the history of men's roles in society, the growing hazardous depiction of men in the media and child custody and divorce.
Outline
Introduction
Discussion
Masculinity: A History
Men in the Media: Adverse Images?
Facing Problems in Divorce and Child Custody
Conclusion

From the Paper
"In addressing the issues facing men in the family, it is best to start by taking a look at the role of the father. The most popular and most persistent model of a father has been that of the "breadwinner". Identified by Joseph Pleck, the "father breadwinner" model postulates that fathers are the "ultimate sources of both morality and discipline, but physically, socially, and emotionally removed from the family by their concentration on work" (Cohen, 1993:p.2). The basic idea behind this model of fatherhood is that fathers are meant to be providers of finance and discipline but nothing more. This has lead to the predominant issues facing family men in child custody and a breadth of other issues. First I will deal with child custody. "

Tags:custody, media, family, divorce

Abstract
This paper examines how, in the introduction to the "History of Sexuality", Foucault argues that in the 17th century the role of sex and sexual activity in the discourse of western society made a fundamental and radical change. It also looks at how, in "Discipline and Punish", Foucault argues that obsessions over sexuality and society's approval or disapproval of specific actions occurs because of the infinite diffusion of power which is found as the basis of western society. In comparison, it looks at how two decades later, Butler employed themes from Foucault's philosophy in order to argue her case for the arbitrariness of anatomical sex, gender identity and gender performance. It shows that through the arguments in her work, "Gender Trouble", Butler concludes that there is no essential relationship between a person's anatomical sex, her self-identified gender and the gender performance she enacts to fulfill society's expectations of the norm.

From the Paper
"Foucault's analysis of discourses on sex comes as a reaction to the more commonly-held belief that there was a society-wide discourse of repression in regards to sex. Foucault argues against this; he questions whether or not "sexual repression is truly an established historical fact"; whether "prohibition, censorship, and denial truly the forms through which power is exercised in a general way, if not in every society, most certainly in our own"; and whether "there really was a historical rupture between the age of repression and the critical analysis of repression". Foucault argues that through the evolution of Christian pastoral practices, specifically that of confessions regarding sexual sins, society was compelled to begin an elaborate and never-ceasing discourse on sex. "

Tags:birth, disciple, homosexual, prison, punish, sex, sexuality, trouble

Abstract
This paper shows the difference between older and modern children's literature by comparing the relationship gender plays in each. Historically girls were portrayed as passive and succeed only due to the actions of others, as in "Snow White", and boys succeed because of their mischievous behaviour, as in "Jack and the Beanstalk". More recent children's literature reverses this role by making girls capable of being more active, as diplayed by the protagonist of "The Paper Bag Princess", although boys have remained reliant on mischief, as in "Haroun and the Sea of Stories."

From the Paper
"As is true in society, gender affects how certain characters deal with the obstacles inherent in both life and in children's literature. Bruno Bettelheim argues that "the message that fairy tales get across to the child" [is] that a struggle against severe difficulties in life "is an intrinsic part of human existence but that if one does not shy away, but steadfastly meets unexpected and often unjust hardships, one masters all obstacles and at the end emerges victorious" (381). What Bettelheim does not acknowledge is that historically, in much of children's literature girls do not succeed based on their own actions and boys often emerge on top by behaving in a devious manner. This is particularly true of fairy tales. In more recent literature those positions are not necessarily true; girls have become dominant through action, although boys have continued to rely on mischief."

Tags:beanstalk, books, children, english, fairy, gender, haroun, jack, munsche, passive, patterns, snow, success, tales, white

Abstract
This paper examines an article by Collins called "Adolescent Females and Computers". It discusses how young females are marginalized in the computer world because of education policies relating to computer instruction in schools.

From the Paper
"Computers are relics of patriarchal, capitalist society that a fixation on cars, women's bodies, and destructive technology. Those who design hardware, software, and networks, support, service them, and teach about them are predominately men. Women are in the global production lines of the computer industry, in data entry, and in secretarial positions (Alvarez 120). They assemble unsymmetricaly in those areas of computer technology that are low paying, repetitive, and mechanistic. Women have the least influence and power over what kinds of technologies are produced and for what purposes (Hynes 173-174). Women are more often users or consumers of technology, while men are its designers. Technologies are not gender neutral, computers are made by men for men."

Tags:school, education, policy

Abstract
This paper examines the ways in which communication between the genders differs, and how these styles contribute to widespread stereotypes. In addition, language is used to challenge stereotypes, as depicted. Areas investigated include verbal approaches, language usage, interruptions and silence, talkativeness and topics of conversation, harmony and competitiveness, assertiveness and compliments, dominance and egalitarianism, body language, and behavior.

From the Paper
"The differences that exist between the verbal interaction patterns of men and women are not absolute. However, the communication approaches that are recognized between males and females have frequently been described as "report versus rapport," "debate versus relate," or "competitive versus cooperative." Men seek practical advice and straightforward solutions to problems, whereas women tend to establish intimacy by sharing personal difficulties and exhibiting empathy to reinforce relationships. (Monroe, 1999) In one study that involved men-only and women-only discussion groups, it was discovered that when women converse with one another, they tend to reveal a vast amount of information regarding their personal lives. They also examine a particular issue extensively, allow others speakers to conclude their thoughts, and encourage participation among all members. Conversely, men rarely discussed their personal relationships and emotions. Instead, they competed to prove themselves better informed about such issues as current affairs, travel, and sports. The topics varied quite often within a short time span, and over time, a stable hierarchy was established, with some men dominating conversation, while others meagerly contributed. (Coates, 1993)"

Tags:communication, language, speech, gender, male, female, body, stereotype