Gender in academic STEM: A focus on men faculty

In this study, we explore how men faculty understand the role of gender in shaping faculty experiences in academic science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and how they position themselves in relation to inequalities disfavouring women. Our data reveal diversity among men in their understandings regarding challenges facing women in STEM. The majority of our participants revealed gender‐blind perspectives and argued that the egalitarian structure of academia does not allow gender to impact attainments in STEM in any significant way. However, a considerable number of them felt privileged compared to women and described subtle ways in which gender shapes opportunities. Our findings show the important implications of men's sensitivity to gender in the ways they perform their professional roles as, for example, mentors, colleagues and teachers in relation to women in STEM. They further call for attention to men's perceptions of gender issues when designing institutional interventions for improving women's conditions in STEM.     

Gender Labor,Assimilationism, and Transformative Practices: The Relational Negotiations of Cisgender Women and their Transgender Men Partners

Despite the rise in research on the experiences of transgender men (female‐to‐male, FTM) in recent years, little academic attention has been paid to the partners of these individuals. The experiences of a large portion of this population, cisgender women whose partners transition from female to male, provide a unique perspective on how individuals negotiate performances of normative gender ideals and heteronormative practices in transitioning non‐normative relationships. Research has shown that when these cisgender women find themselves in relationships that are socially defined as heterosexual, they often begin questioning their sexual orientation in relation to their partner's gender identity as well as the role and applicability of their beliefs regarding gender equality and anti‐heteronormative practices. This article provides an overview of the current literature that addresses the enactment of gender labor, the practice of reaffirming another person's gender through physical, emotional, and sexual care, by cisgender women whose partners transition from female to male. Specific focus is given to how, in some situations, the performance of gender labor manifests in assimilationist ways that adhere to typically heteronormative frameworks as well as how, in others, the performance of gender labor manifests in potentially transformative and destabilizing ways that serve to challenge normative structures. Gaps in the existing literature as well as directions for future research are also explored.     

Examining the role of racism in the risky alcohol use behaviors of black female college students

Objective: This study explores the impact racism has on the drinking behaviors of Black college women. Little is known about Black college women's experience of racism and the impact racism has on their psychological wellbeing and drinking behaviors. The current study fills a gap in our understanding of the role racism plays in the risky drinking behavior of Black college women. Participants: 469 Black college women ages 18–29 were sampled from 8 colleges and universities across the US, in 3 waves from December 2014-August 2017. Results: Findings suggest that general life stress and perceived racism are significantly associated with alcohol use among Black college women. However, only increased experiences of racism increase Black college women's engagement in risky drinking. Conclusions: The findings of this study serve as an entry point for a more nuanced assessment of stressors among Black college women that may inform drinking behaviors in this population.     

A small sociology of maternal memory

Memory is an enormously important resource for the social sciences. This paper takes the subject of maternal memory to examine a corpus of work in the sociology of childbirth concerned with how women remember the experience of childbirth. It suggests that the sociology of memory has been more concerned with collective than individual experiences, and that women's memories of childbirth have generally been treated as a special case, rather than as a route to enhanced understandings of how memory works in relation to the all‐important topics of time, identity and social change. Drawing on data from a 37‐year follow‐up to a study of childbirth conducted in the 1970s, it argues that maternal memory shares key characteristics with other kinds of memory, but can be significant in allowing women to reposition themselves as active social selves in a process that is remembered as not allowing much agency or autonomy.     

The Social Dynamics Channelling Latina College Graduates into the Teaching Profession

Sociologists examine the persistence of occupational sex segregation in two primary ways, vertically (within occupations) and horizontally (across occupations). Feminist scholars analysing gender and race inequality within work organizations have used ‘glass escalator’ and ‘glass barriers’ to document men's experiences in occupations where women concentrate, falling under the vertical epistemology. These race and gender theories are crucial to our understanding of workplace inequities, but they only address privilege or discrimination once women have entered or try climbing the work organization. Based on interviews with 40 Latina teachers in Southern California, this paper examines the point of occupational entry, and explains why college‐educated Latinas, the daughters of working‐class Latino immigrants, are disproportionately entering the teaching profession in the United States. We suggest that Latinas are socially channelled into the teaching occupation, and show how collective family considerations inform agency and occupational decision‐making for these women, resulting in a type of glass ceiling shaped by family and social class. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of collective‐informed agency for future studies of upwardly mobile Latinas in the professions.     

Elucidating transgender students’ experiences of microaggressions in social work programs: next steps for creating inclusive educational contexts

Social work education globally expresses an unwavering commitment to promoting social justice and the amelioration of oppression. Nevertheless, mounting research suggests that social work programs (SWPs) may inadvertently perpetuate microaggressions toward individuals who are transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC). This qualitative study elucidates experiences of TGNC social work students in North America. Grounded theory analysis revealed six key themes related to students’ experiences of microaggressions within their SWPs: (1) structural oppression, (2) cisgender bias, (3) faculty knowledge gaps, (4) visible discomfort, (5) pervasive nature of transphobia, and (6) social exclusion. Despite the existence of educational and professional policies aimed at fostering transgender inclusive social work education and practice, results from this study underscore the need to take a closer look at the ways in which knowledge gaps, implicit cisgender biases, and existing practices and policies within SWPs inadvertently privilege the experiences of cisgender students and marginalize TGNC students. Key findings from the current study can be used to inform the implementation of transgender affirmative changes, contributing to efforts to eradicate transphobic bias within SWPs.     

Black women’s mental health matters: Theoretical perspectives and future directions

Despite recent sociological research exploring how stratification systems impinge on the health of socially disadvantaged populations, Black women’s mental health is rarely a topic of investigation among scholars of medical sociology, sociology of race and racism, or sociology of gender. In this review, we incorporate perspectives from sociology, social psychiatry, psychology, and social work to develop a transdisciplinary intersectional model of Black women’s mental health. We also present critical interventions in the extant literature. First, though stress exposure is generally associated with poor mental health, more research is necessary to ascertain the gendered-racialized stressors to which Black women are exposed, owing to their racial and gender oppression. Second, we admonish mental health scholars to incorporate other status dimensions (e.g., nativity, sexual orientation, age) to provide a more nuanced depiction of Black women’s psychological health. Third, the unique and enduring relationship between the U.S. punishment system and the mental health of Black women should be further explicated in future research. Last, we envision a body of work on Black women’s mental health that captures the ways in which they cope with societal level marginalization, as these forms of resilience and resistance may be mental health protective.     

In Celebration of Virginia Olesen's Uncanny Sociological Eye

Symbolic interactionism dwells deep in the intellectual bones of Ginnie Olesen, manifest in sundry ways across a long and ambitious academic career. Here, we briefly sketch her background and then trace her scholarship featuring her interactionist and feminist contributions in four main areas: professional socialization, women, health and healing studies, qualitative methods/feminist methodologies, and the sociology of emotions/interactionist social psychology of illness. We conclude with cherished memories.     

African American Single Full-time Fathers: How Are They Doing?

Using a symbolic interactionist approach, interviews of 10 Black single full-time fathers indicate that these fathers perceive parenting to have had positive results for themselves. Specifically, the employment and income of most of the men had remained stable or improved. While their dating lives had suffered the most, they had sustained social activities with friends and families at a high level. Moreover, their assessments of their parent-child relationships and their own life satisfaction was positive.     

“Oh,No, I'm Not Infertile”: Culture,Support Groups,and the Infertile Identity

Abstract

Using in-depth interviews with forty subfecund women, I explore how subfecundity affects a woman's sense of self. I examine the role that culture plays in the content of our identities, particularly in disrupted lives. I examine the role that culture, in particular the culture within a support group, plays in the content of infertile identities. I examine how some women come to see themselves as infertile while others do not, and how the women come to think about infertility in relation to the self. I employ theories of cultural sociology and identity to provide a framework for explaining the ways in which subfecund women draw on the cultures of support groups in reconstructing their selves in the face of subfecundity.     

Upsetting ‘Others’ in the Netherlands: Narratives of Muslim Turkish Migrant Businesswomen at the Crossroads of Ethnicity,Gender and Religion

In this paper we use insights from postcolonial feminism to explore the identity narratives of three Muslim businesswomen of Turkish descent in the Netherlands. We identify some of the ways in which contemporary political discourse in the Netherlands constructs Muslim ‘Others’ and discuss how this discursive positioning impacts on the multiple identities these women create for themselves in response. Postcolonial feminism challenges the discursive and material relations of both patriarchy and Eurocentric feminisms, which work together to obscure the rich diversity of women's lived experiences, their agency and identities. By exploring how Othering impacts on these women's multiple identities, we aim to enrich understandings of women's migrant entrepreneurship. These identity narratives, shared by women who each describe quite different ways of experiencing, interpreting and responding to marginalization, shed light on the West's relationship to the Other and reveal some of the underlying relations of power that shape identity.     

“Priestesses unto the Most High God”: Gender,Agency, and the Politics of LDS Women’s Temple Rites

This study builds upon previous research on religious women’s agency by drawing from in-depth interviews with active Latter-day Saint (LDS) women to examine the interconnections among LDS temple initiatory rituals, religious identity, and institutional patriarchy. Interviews reveal the ways in which the women in this study used ritual movements, vestments, and symbols to challenge Mormon patriarchy and reimagine themselves as “priestesses unto the Most High God.” The women forged oppositional identities not through resistance but through observance. Despite the construction of these alternative identities, their stories highlight the diverse mechanisms through which the LDS Church appropriates, manages, and suppresses women’s priestess beliefs and identities in ways that maintain the patriarchal organization of the Church. Mechanisms, including the pervasive culture of shaming, silencing, and disciplining LDS women, are explored and implications for the sociology of religion are discussed.     

Learning from Experience: Recollections of Working with Howard S. Becker

Howard S. Becker is, and has been, a major figure in contemporary sociology, especially within the symbolic interactionist perspective. This discussion describes my initial encounter with Howie in the mid‐1960s and moves to identify the substantive and methodological areas in which he has had major impact. I then briefly outline various ways in which the foci of my own work have been shaped by Becker's instruction and example.     

What Can Interactionism Contribute to the Study of Inequality? The Case of Marriage and Beyond

The equality/inequality dichotomy is a central concept in sociology and in the study of marriage. Almost all researchers, though, use their own preconceived definitions and measurement strategies to identify equal and unequal states of affairs. An alternative approach, one that better accords with interactionist principles, is to privilege people's interpretations of equality over analysts' Drawing on interviews with individuals who define their own marriages as equal or unequal, I compare people's stories about marital equality with scholars' depictions. While some narratives resonate (in part) with the themes propounded by scholars, others do not. If people's experiences of equality and inequality are to be taken seriously, then it is important to listen to what they have to say on the subject, as well as to how they say it. This is the distinctive contribution symbolic interactionists can make to the study of inequality.     

Gender Category and Gender Status: A Critical Distinction

Gender has been of explicit analytical interest in sociology for decades. Despite its centrality to the field, “gender” eludes conceptual specificity in significant ways, such as lacking distinction between gender category (identification as a man, woman, nonbinary, etc.) and gender status (the state of being cisgender or not). I contend that the cisgender status is a rich site of interpersonal and institutional power that has been understudied. This work forwards the concepts of gender category and status as analytical tools to help explore key elements of gender interaction and structure, such as cisness. I argue cisness must be teased out via the express distinction between gender category and status, and I provide empirical evidence from 75 interviews with various gendered actors (i.e., cisgender men, cisgender women, transgender men, transgender women, nonbinary individuals) to demonstrate the applied purchase of my findings.     

Signal crimes and signal disorders: notes on deviance as communicative action

In this paper a 'signal crimes' perspective is outlined in an effort to unpack the relationships between experiences of crime and disorder, and perceptions of criminogenic risk. Grounded in symbolic interactionist sociology, and developing a social semiotic understanding of risk perception, it is a perspective that focuses upon processes of social reaction and the ways in which people interpret and define threats to their security. It is proposed that people interpret the occurrence of certain incidents as 'warning signals' about the levels of risk to which they are either actually or potentially exposed. These signals tend to take the form of signal crimes and/or signal disorders and are important in terms of how social space is symbolically constructed.     

A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do:: Husbands as caregivers to their demented wives: a discourse analytic approach

In our discourse analytic study on 15 stories written by Finnish husbands who were giving or who had given care to their demented wives, we identified articulations of four different ways to speak about one's actions and experiences as a family caregiver. We called these four modes of speech the factual, familistic, agency, and destiny speech repertoires. Using different speech repertoires in their narration, the husbands adopted the respective identities of an observer and reporter, a responsible caregiver, an independent actor, and a victim or a drifter. The speech repertoires and identity constructions varied according to the contexts of the writers' speech and bore different functions for the writers' narration. The main finding of the study was the diversity of husbands' experiences of caregiving and the contexuality of the ways in which these experiences were talked about.     

How College Men Understand Unwanted Sex with Women

Recent studies have shown that heterosexual college men report unwanted sex at higher rates than one might expect. And yet, college men’s perceptions of unwanted sex with women have been studied infrequently. This study examines how men understand unwanted sex with women and the impact of these experiences. Thirty-nine men, aged 18–25, were interviewed using open-ended questions related to their unwanted sexual experiences. Our findings demonstrate how men frequently minimize unwanted sex by framing it as either funny, unimportant, or something that happens to women. However, we find evidence that men's attempts at minimization are not always successful and that some experiences are indeed upsetting and/or hurtful. Rather than treating all men as a homogeneous category, our analysis details the circumstances associated with more or less troubling experiences. We find that there are particular circumstances (e.g. incapacitation), as well as personal characteristics (e.g. virgin), that position men to be more distressed by unwanted sex. This heterogeneity of men’s experiences explains some, but not all, differences in effects. Our analysis reveals that in experiences described as mild to severe, men talk about unwanted sex in highly contradictory ways. We argue that these contradictions are evidence of broader cognitive and emotional work done by men to convince themselves that unwanted sex does not matter to them. Our findings raise the possibility that when men use hegemonic notions of masculinity to understand their unwanted experiences, these interpretations serve to minimize the emotional damage that men might otherwise report.     

What Can I Do? Applying Classroom Knowledge to Service Work, or Doing Practice Sociology

Faculty members are frequently asked by students and parents, “what can I do with a Sociology degree?” This paper suggests ways to address the question and take action to insure that majors have the knowledge and skills to be successful in the job search and the work world. In addition, the paper indicates ways that combining service learning and applied sociology serves goals of students, faculty, universities, and communities. Approaches to teaching applied (practice) sociology in departments and to integrating service learning and course content show the “natural synergy” between the two types of learning. Finally, the article discusses practical issues related to service learning in applied settings: getting the support of faculty and administrators; convincing students of the benefits of service learning; revising curricula; and setting up the service learning experiences. The conclusion is that combining service learning and applied sociology courses has positive results for all involved.     

Making Black Lives Matter in academia: A Black feminist call for collective action against anti‐blackness in the academy

In this article, as have many Black women scholars in the past, we again call for collective action against anti‐blackness and White supremacy in the academy. Drawing from black feminist theory, we discuss the long history of Black women academics' activism against anti‐black racism and introduce the current movement: Black Lives Matter (BLM). Although BLM is often construed as resisting anti‐black violence outside the academy, it is also relevant for within the academy wherein anti‐blackness is likely to be manifested as disdain, disregard, and disgust for Black faculty and students. We discuss some of the ways in which anti‐blackness and liberal White supremacy are manifested in the lives of Black faculty and students, and propose that non‐Black allies have key roles to play in resisting them. Like second‐hand cigarette smoke that harms everyone in proximity, anti‐blackness and White supremacy harm us all, and a shared movement is needed to dismantle them.