unit 8.docx

1、unit 8Unit 8Background Information1. SexGenderGender RolesGender IdentityMost children develop a clear-cut sense of whether they are boys or girls at a young age. This sense of being “a boy” or “a girl” is called gender identity, a term that came into the medical literature in the 1950s. For most ch

2、ildren, their gender identity develops somewhere between 18 and 30 months of age. Gender identity is not the same as gender, which is commonly used to mean the biologic identity. As a matter of fact, there are many different definitions to the terms mentioned in the text. The following are definitio

3、ns of some terms from the net:Sexual identity: a persons physiological status as male or femaleGender identity: a continuous and persistent sense of oneself as a male or a femaleGender role or sex role: the behaviours, attitudes, values, beliefs and so on that a particular cultural group considers a

4、ppropriate for males and females on the basis of their biological sexGender role identity: ones understanding and acceptance of gender rolesGender or sex role behaviour: what peoples behaviours are actually likeGender or sex role stereotype: the socially determined model which contains the cultural

5、beliefs about what the gender roles should be2. Contraceptionfamily planningbirth controlControlling the introduction by birth of a new member into a family and into a community in which that family lives, is an emotional and controversial issue in many societies. On the one hand, the birth of a chi

6、ld may represent the joy of a new member to carry on a familys tradition, a nations mission, or a religions message. On the other hand, the birth of a child may represent one more mouth to feed and one more body to clothe from an already limited supply. So family planningbirth controlpermits schedul

7、ing new members to arrive at optimum times and under optimum conditions. Reliable mechanical and chemical methods for preventing conception have become widely available. With effective birth-control devices, medicines and methods available, the chances of becoming pregnant accidentally have been red

8、uced, and the possible harm done to womens health was greatly diminished.3. Bottle-feeding If one wants to know something about bottle-feeding, it is necessary to talk about breast-feeding on the first place. Breast-feeding was the normal source of nutrition for babies until the Industrial Revolutio

9、n, when women left their homes to work in factories, sparking a need for an alternative method. The baby bottle was generally available by the end of 19th century, but was widely used only by the poor until World War II, when it became fashionable among the middle class. A controversy about which me

10、thodbottle or breastwas preferable continued from the 1940s until the beginning of the 1980s, when the American Academy of Pediatrics came out strongly in favor of breast-feeding. For decades, many physicians who believed breast-feeding benefited the baby had not urged the methods use. They felt the

11、 method presented the new mother with too many difficulties. The growth of the natural child birth movement among women self-educated about birth issues, combined with research into the values for the baby of breast milk, led to a shift among mothers and professionals in favor of breast-feeding. Acc

12、ording to statistics, as many as 95 percent of the women who give birth is potentially able to breast-feed. The fact that many do not is related to their own level of education, to lack of encouragement by health professionals, and to persistent myths about breast-feeding. Today women with higher le

13、vels of education are more likely to choose breast-feeding. In hospitals where staff support breast-feeding, as many as 80 percent of the new mothers are likely to breast-feed. In China, many major hospitals have launched a drive for breast-feeding, the influences of breast-feeding education widespr

14、ead and far-reaching. Despite the efforts, many working women are still forced to choose bottle-feeding, which may be the reflection of their dilemma.4. Day care The oldest day-care center in North America, the Leila Day Nursery, started in 1878 in New Haven, Connecticut. In Lowell, Massachusettsthe

15、 site of the second-oldest day nursery, founded in 1885. Nurseries flourished in the last quarter of the 19th century in response to new employment opportunities brought about by industrial inventions. Generally, the nurseries began in mill or factory cities. The nursery founders tended to be wealth

16、y and influential men and women motivated by Victorian interest in charity and good works. Aside form informal arrangements made with friends, relatives, or neighbors to care for a child, child day care comes in two forms: center-based child care and family day care. Center-based child care refers t

17、o day-care facilities, nursery schools, etc. Family day care, by contrast, is in a home setting, with one to six children under the care of a “provider.” In the United States, women with preschool children are the fastest-growing segment of the labor force. Although many women may enjoy their jobs,

18、the most majority with small children work because their income is needed to support their families. Some experts predict that by 2003, 75 percent mothers with young children will work outside the home. Recognizing that allaying their employees fears about their children enhanced worker productivity

19、 and made the company a more desirable place to work, many companies were involved in some form of day care arrangements. Some child-care experts point out that day care is good for children if the quality of the day-care staff is good. Most parents are paying as much as they can afford for day care

20、. For U.S. working families in the last quarter of the 20th century, child care has become their fourth largest expenditure after food, housing, and taxes. Nearly half of all American families rely on care purchased in center-based child care or in family day-care homes. Families with two children m

21、ay be paying as much as $10,000 per year. Unit 8IntroductionMany English learners in China may have difficulties distinguishing “sex” from “gender.” So, to introduce the topic, a basic definition, if it can be regarded as a definition, was given at the very beginning of the text. People tend to thin

22、k that gender roles are natural and stereotyped (para.1). Different people can play different parts in a certain social group. The roles may be assigned to them on the basis of their sex, their position in the family, their economic and social status, or their age. The author approaches gender roles

23、 through a cross-cultural and comparative analysis by providing a case study by Mead (para.2) and emphasizes her conclusion that gender roles are culturally patterned (para.3). Besides, there are many important social influences that help shape our gender identities. According to D. Kim Openshaw fro

24、m the Department of Family and Human Development, they are parents and peers, media (gender and the body in mass media, gender and age in the media), ethnicity, the school and religion, among which influences from the school and the family are given greater emphasis in the text (para.4, 5, 6 and 7).

25、 In the past, only exceptional women, such as former slave Harriet Tubman, who fought with Northern troops and led many slaves to freedom during the American Civil War, broke away from traditional womens roles. Despite many efforts, even until today the unfavorable situation for women is still too h

26、ard to change because of many biological or social or cultural reasons. And more importantly, what we need to do is not to think of some ways to change but to understand how or why it is so patterned (para.8, 9). Unit 8Language Points1. biological (para.1): connected with biology; of, relating to, c

27、aused by, or affecting life or living organisms; related by blood rather than by adoptione.g. The biological cycle of a plant is affected by light and heat. Your biological clock is your bodys natural habit of sleeping, eating, growing, etc. An adopted child may want to find out about its biological

28、 parents.2. gender (para.1): sexual identity, especially in relation to society or culture; the fact of being male or femalee.g. Discrimination on grounds of race, gender, age or disability is forbidden. I thinks both genders are equally capable of looking after children.3. masculine (para.1): of or

29、 relating to men or boys; having the qualities or appearance traditionally thought to be typical of mene.g. The opera singer has a deep, booming, masculine voice. It was a movie likely to appeal to a masculine audience.4. feminine (para.1): of or relating to women or girls; having the qualities or a

30、ppearance traditionally thought to be typical of womene.g. Society hasnt regarded science and engineering as feminine occupations. People would be much better balanced if we could bring out the masculine side ofwomen and the feminine side of men.5. initiate (para.1): set going by taking the first st

31、ep; cause to begin; put (a scheme, etc) into operatione.g. Our church initiated a project to send relief aid overseas. This initiated a further reorganization of the company.6. altruistic (para.1): unselfish; willing to do things which benefit other people, even if it results in disadvantagee.g. I d

32、oubt whether her motives for donating the money are altruisticshes probably looking for publicity. He was no more altruistic than the other Senators.7. associate sb / sth with (para.1): make a connection in ones mind between one thing or person and anothere.g. We naturally associate the name of Darwin with the doctrine of evolution. Ive never associated you with this place. People usually associate Japan with high tech consumer products.8. distort (para.1): give a false or misleading account of; misrepresente.g. The journalist was