Delta State University
Sociology 101
Spring Semester 2003

Study Questions
Henslin Text, Chapter 10

(1)  What is the difference between sex and gender?  Why is gender a topic that interests sociologists?

(2)  What evidence suggests that gender differences have a biological basis?  What evidence suggests there is a social basis for these differences?

(3)  What does it mean to say females are a minority group?  How have females taken on this status?  Can the information in the Thorne and Luria article (Chapter 15 in the reader) help us understand why females are a minority group?  Explain.

(4)  How is gender inequality evident in various social institutions in the U.S. (e.g. education, occupation, politics, health care)?  What have females done to combat gender discrimination and what progress has been made?

(5)  Explain how aging is socially constructed and the elderly can be considered a minority group.

(6)  What is the difference between life expectacy and life span?  What is meant by the graying of America?  What are some of the ramifications of this change?

(7)  Explain how symbolic interactionists, functionalists and conflict theorists approach the topic of aging.

(8)  Do sexism and ageism exist in contemporary American society or have they been ameliorated by public policies and greater public awareness?  Explain.