Gender Roles

Have you ever thought about how much of everyday life is organized by gender? When you stop to think about it, much of what most people do during the routine of a normal day is categorized as either masculine or feminine. From the soap you use for that morning shower to the restroom you use when are work, much of what we do is influenced — even dictated — by what society says is appropriate because of our biological sex.

To explore this concept of a gendered society in more depth, you will use the Participant Observation Checklist to organize and conduct your research to identify and explain two examples of how society is segmented by gender at any single location in your community. You might choose a park, a grocery store, your favorite pub or fast food restaurant, a department store, or the local hardware store. Remember that you should be acting in both the participant and observer roles. Look around to see if there are obvious signs that gender determines some aspect of how people act in that location. Then, use the structural functional theory to explain how separating events, actions, or even merchandize by gender works to keep the overall society stable.

For example, if you chose to observe as a casual shopper in department store, one obvious sign that gender is important in how the store is organized is that there are likely two different departments for women’s and men’s clothing. That same department store would likely have restrooms designated for ladies and gentlemen, too. The structural-functional perspective would suggest that separating the clothing by gender makes it more convenient for shoppers to find what they want, and separate restrooms for men and women are thought to be necessary for reasons of modesty that are part of stable cultural patterns of behavior within this society.

Instructions:

Complete the Participant Observation checklist to assist you with organizing your research and to take notes during your observation. Then, using your observation notes, write a paper that has these elements:

An introduction that explains the research conducted and the purpose of the paper
Detailed descriptions of the two observed instances in which gender influenced the actions of people in the real world. Be sure to address these questions: Who? What? Where? When?
An explanation that incorporates the structural-functional theory to explain how gender was at work to keep society orderly in the social setting that you chose.
A summary that restates the main points of the paper and suggests one lesson learned from the observation that is applicable to your own life in a gendered world.

The paper should be between 4 and 5 pages, plus a title and reference page and include the Participant Observation Checklist as well. You should include in-text citations in APA format for at least one academic source in addition to the course text (below).

Reference: Macionis, John J. Sociology, 15th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions, 10/2013. VitalSource Bookshelf Online.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

Weekly Participation

Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.

APA Format and Writing Quality

Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

Use of Direct Quotes

I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

LopesWrite Policy

For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

Late Policy

The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

Communication

Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.