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GESC2320 Gender and Family: a Global PerspectiveTSO Ho Yee
VienneThe Department of Sociology, the CUHK
An individual report: 30%
Mid-term test (20%)
Final paper: 50%
Bonus mark: 5%
Course Assessment Methods
http://christiantimes.org.hk/Common/Reader/News/ShowNews.jsp?Nid=83574&Pid=6&Version=0&Cid=150&Charset=big5_hkscs
UREPLY Sensitive to gender issues Better understand how family
life is structured
and organized
What you can learn from this course?
Parents
Children
Husband Wife
Family relations: we VS WE
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General education: help you to make better informed choice in
everyday life encounters
For example: Would you marry to someone who are 2 years
younger than you?
Would you change diaper for your infant child?
Why did you choose science/arts/commerce stream of study when
you were in secondary 3?
But how and why these issues are relevant to you?
Sex: biological distinctions Male: one X and one Y chromosome
Female: two X chromosomes
Gender: social distinctions - what it means to be a man or woman
in a specific time and place. Cultural specific expectations on
femininity and
masculinity Social and psychological attributes associated
with
gender, e.g. emotions, gentleness, rationality, aggressive
Sex and Gender
Family
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A conventional definition: a group of two or more persons who
reside together
and who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption. (Coltrane
& Adams 2008:3)
A liberal definition: Families consist of people who have a
common
history, experience a degree of emotional bonding, and share
goals and activities. (Thomlison 2007) a set of interpersonal
relationships which suggests that
there are different social meaning of those relationships.
Family
Diversified families Diversified families
Diversified families families in trouble But how and why these
issues are relevant to you?
Family
- Gender roles construction, reproduction and transformation
- Do gender- The maintenance of gendered
division of labor- A social institution which
reinforces a hierarchical relationship between men and women in
which men are privileged.
Gender- A significant form of stratification- Gender is a major
component that
makes up family relations: e.g. husband/wife, father/mother,
son/daughter
- The changes and politics of gender relations in family bring
impact on family lives
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Class Gender Race
Globalization: Economic dimension: e.g. economic drive +
global division of labor Cultural dimension: e.g. human right
Political dimension: e.g. gender equality Social dimension: e.g.
female are now better
educated and active participate in labor force; dual earner
family
Gender and family in a global perspective
How family are impacted from various global forces?
Alternatively, what is the role of individual family members in
adapting global changes?
Culturally specific into Chinese context e.g. child bearing and
rearing
Child-centered family; self-actualization; decrease
in number of child birth
Gender and Family in a global perspective
Wedlock family:
Acquaintance courtship (partnership: living apart together,
cohabitation) weddingmarriage divorce remarriage parenthood
grandparenthood widowhood
Understanding gender and families from a life course
perspective
Thomlison, B. (2007). Family Assessment Handbook: an
Introductory Guide to Family Assessment and Intervention. Belmont,
CA, Thomson Higher Education.
Reference: