Ch.5 Charlotte Perkins Gilman Test Bank Docx 4th Edition

Test Bank

Chapter 5: Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Multiple Choice

1. Gilman primarily drew on which three sociological theoretical traditions for her work?

a. symbolic interactionism, functionalism, feminist theory

b. feminist theory, social Darwinism, symbolic interactionism

c. social Darwinism, symbolic interactionism, Marxist theory

d. Marxist theory, functionalism, symbolic interactionism

2. Gilman’s work and theorizing established her reputation as a(n) ______.

a. feminist

b. Marxist

c. academic

d. rationalist

3. Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a semi-autobiographical account of her experience with ______.

a. divorce

b. depression

c. motherhood

d. cholera

4. Gilman was particularly criticized by her era’s press for ______.

a “giving away” her husband and child

b. having an abortion

c. living with another woman

d. lecturing at universities

5. How did Gilman draw on Marx when analyzing gender inequality?

a. By focusing on cultural forces that kept women at home

b. By studying political and economic factors that led to the exploitation of women

c. By examining differential socialization that taught men to work

d. By highlighting the importance of the class struggle in the home

6. Gilman’s focus on differential socialization as a cause for sustained gender inequality stems from which sociological tradition?

a. conflict theory

b. functionalism

c. symbolic interactionism

d. Durkheimian thought

7. According to the authors, Gilman’s work focused primarily on the ______ dimensions of gender inequality.

a. personal and internal

b. internal and structural

c. structural and institutional

d. institutional and economic

8. Following social Darwinist theory, Gilman went so far as to assert the ______.

a. natural inferiority of the female sex

b. natural superiority of the female sex

c. incomplete evolution of the male

d. biological dominance of the male sex

9. The authors characterize Gilman’s basic theoretical orientation as ______.

a. nonrational, individual

b. nonrational, collective

c. rational, individual

d. rational, collective

10. Gilman used corsets as a metaphor for ______.

a. lack of women’s control over fashion

b. the requirements of mothers

c. societal constraints placed on women

d. widespread expectations to be wives

11. Gilman’s discussion of the corset is most closely linked to which theorist and concept?

a. Durkheim’s solidarity

b. Weber’s bureaucracy

c. Marx’s false consciousness

d. Durkheim’s profane

12. Which of the following terms would likely have been used to describe a white, middle-class woman during the late nineteenth century?

a. assertive

b. intellectual

c. commanding

d. delicate

13. Gilman argues that if women were actually compensated for their work in the home, ______.

a. poor women would still be poor because they work outside the home

b. poor women with lots of children would get the most money

c. rich women with lots of children would get the most money

d. rich women would be less likely to have kids

14. Gilman states that “women’s work” in the home is mostly ______.

a. child rearing

b. house service

c. maintaining the marriage

d. maintaining a social life

15. For Gilman, profit for women comes only through the power of ______.

a. sex distinction

b. domestic service

c. sex attraction

d. child rearing

16. For Gilman, a woman’s economic status is dependent on ______.

a. the amount of housework she performs

b. her ability to meet her own economic necessities through work

c. the economic status of her husband

d. how well she is paid for child care

17. Gilman defines “economic independence” as ______.

a. no longer relying on parental support

b. earning money through work, not inheritance

c. the ability of a couple to jointly meet their financial needs

d. a direct relationship between one’s work and payment for that work

18. According to Gilman, what is a primary problem of sex-distinction among humans?

a. It reinforces a binary understanding of gender.

b. The distinction encourages monogamy.

c. It leads to excessive sex-distinction.

d. That the distinction exists at all.

19. Gilman argues that, unlike other animals, humans ______.

a. have a strict division of labor that prevents women from developing their talents

b. possess secondary sex-distinctions that lead to monogamy

c. have under-exaggerated sex distinctions

d. encourage males and females to take on similar roles

20. Gilman compares women to horses to support what point?

a. That society values only some types of women’s work.

b. That women are docile and content to support others.

c. That men and women have similar primary sex characteristics.

d. That women are economically dependent on men.

21. Gilman argues that monogamy is a(n) ______ process while sex-relation is a(n) ______ process.

a. unnatural; natural

b. natural; unnatural

c. evolutionary; social

d. social; evolutionary

22. According to Gilman, a significant long-term consequence of sex-distinction is ______.

a. a dysfunctional economy

b. stalled development of the human species

c. the rise of nonmonogamy

d. increased participation in organized religion

23. Gilman argues that the weakness and the lack of intellectual activity in women are the result of ______.

a. primary sex characteristics

b. excessive sex distinction

c. personal preference and choice

d. contemporary gender discrimination

24. ______ is the development of masculine and feminine organs and functions.

a. Sex-distinction

b. Sex-attraction

c. Sex-union

d. Sex-relation

25. What did the “rest cure” require women to do?

a. Go on regular carriage rides

b. Refrain from intellectual activity

c. Sleep only at night

d. Keep a journal

True/False

26. Gender inequality is defined as disparity in status, power, and prestige between men and women.

27. Charlotte Perkins Gilman was the first woman sociologist.

28. Gilman considered the traditional family structure to be exploitative.

29. Gilman asserted that the female sex is naturally superior to the male sex.

30. Gilman’s feminist perspective considered only white women.

31. One of the central themes of Gilman’s work is the lack of economic independence for women.

32. Gilman argues that women are so indoctrinated that they resist their own “freedom.”

33. Gilman uses the corset as a metaphor for women’s fight for economic independence.

34. Gilman compares the traditional position of the woman to that of a domesticated horse.

35. During the nineteenth century, women were seen as inferior to men, but their feminine qualities were still valued.

36. According to Gilman, the traditional division of labor strips women of their freedom.

37. The woman who works the most generally has the highest status.

38. Gilman argues that women do more house work than child-rearing work.

39. Gilman’s analysis of economic dependency aligns most closely with Weber’s work.

40. Gilman argues that women are actively taught to deny their intellectual abilities.

41. Gilman’s theorizing supports the common phrase that “marriage is a partnership.”

42. According to Gilman, natural selection develops sex characteristics.

43. According to Gilman, women become the weaker sex through sex-distinction.

44. Gilman challenges the belief that women should attend only to maternal duties.

45. Gilman argues that women have become used to their position, so they accept their inferior status.

46. Gilman argues that women became “the weaker sex” as men continued to limit what women could do.

47. Gilman argues that the high level of sex-distinction negatively impacts motherhood.

48. Sex-distinction becomes most pronounced in adolescence rather than childhood.

49. Gilman argued that religion helped challenge sex-distinction in her day.

50. Primary sex characteristics refer to organs required for reproduction.

Essay

51. Analyze how Gilman drew on three major intellectual perspectives in her work.

52. Gilman stated that young girls were encouraged to think, act, and talk differently from boys, even if their interests were identical. To what extent do you see this differentiation continuing today? Provide specific examples.

53. Gilman takes a feminist perspective in much of her work, yet she is also influenced by social Darwinism. How does her social Darwinism shape and/or challenge her feminist perspective?

54. Discuss some of the limitations inherent within Gilman’s particular feminist perspective. Consider what she may have been missing.

55. How does Gilman’s discussion of the corset connect to her argument about women’s place in society? Do you think there are contemporary examples from fashion that could be used for the same argument?

56. According to Gilman, what determines the economic (in)dependence of an individual? How are sex-distinctions related to one’s economic status and equality?

57. Explain Gilman’s comparison of women and the domesticated horse. Do you think this comparison still holds true today? Explain your reasoning.

58. Define “sex-distinction” and “sex-attraction,” and explain how they are connected.

59. Summarize Gilman’s main points on gender inequality. Do you think the mass media today continue to reflect her arguments? Explain your reasoning.

60. Compare and contrast Gilman’s discussion of the division of labor with Marx’s discussion of the topic.

61. Explain how Gilman distinguishes between childcare and housework. Why is this analytical distinction necessary?

62. What is the rest cure? What does the rest cure tell us about women’s place in society at the time Gilman wrote?

63. Summarize Gilman’s argument about how sex-distinction developed over time. To what extent do you think her argument can be extended into the twenty-first century?

64. Discuss how Gilman’s discussion of the corset is connected to Marx’s concept of false consciousness.

65. Explain Gilman’s discussion of the division of labor. Discuss how much you feel this division of labor has changed in contemporary times.