Reader on Sociology : английский язык для социологов

С.В. Ляляев
И.А. Скрипунова

READER ON SOCIOLOGY

АнгЛИйСкИй язык
дЛя СоцИоЛогоВ

Учебное пособие

5-е издание, стереотипное

Москва
Издательство «ФлИнта»
2022

УДК 811.111(075.8)
ББК
81.432.1я73

л97

л97

Ляляев С.В.
Reader on Sociology : английский язык для социологов  :

учебное пособие / С.В. ляляев, И.а. Скрипунова. — 5-е изд. стер.
— Москва : ФлИнта, 2022. — 128 с. — ISBN 978-5-9765-0980-1. — 
Текст : электронный.

ISBN
978-5-9765-0980-1
© ляляев С.В., Скрипунова И.а., 2011
© Издательство «ФлИнта», 2011

УДК 811.111(075.8)
ББК
81.432.1я73

В учебном пособии представлены тексты на английском языке, вопросы

и задания к ним из области социологии.
Для студентов-социологов, изучающих английский язык.

CONTENTS

I.
GENDER IDENTITY ..................................................................................... 5

   Text 1.  Girly-girl ........................................................................................... 6

Text 2.  Tomboy ............................................................................................. 9

Text 3.  Sissy-boy .......................................................................................... 15

II. THE CHANGING ROLE OF WOMEN IN SOCIETY ................................. 21

Text 1.  A Female Bodyguard Fights Back .................................................. 22

Text 2.  She’s the Boss .................................................................................. 25

III. A CONTEMPORARY FAMILY .................................................................. 31

Text 1.  Pre-Nuptial Contracts ..................................................................... 32

Text 2.  The Changing Shape of the Family ................................................. 35

IV. UNDERPRIVILEGED STRATA OF SOCIETY ......................................... 40

Text 1.  The King Family (Kentucky, USA) .................................................. 41

Text 2.  Madonna May Adopt the Second Child from Malawi .................... 46

V.
SUPERSTITIONS AND PATTERNS
OF BEHAVIOUR ACROSS CULTURES .................................................... 51

Text 1.  Common Superstitions ................................................................... 52

Text 2.  Business Behaviour ......................................................................... 56

VI. CRIME AND PUNISHMENT ...................................................................... 62

Text 1.  Prosecutors Give Up Case Against Steven Smith ............................ 63

Text 2.  The Lows of Getting High: Alby’s Story ......................................... 68

VII.  FORMS OF DEPENDENCE ...................................................................... 72

    Text 1.  The Social Effects of Addictions ................................................... 73

    Text 2.  Mother’s Advice on Drugs ............................................................ 78

VIII. MEDIA AND SOCIETY ............................................................................. 84

    Text 1.  Television’s Impact on Society ...................................................... 85

    Text 2.  Ethics in the Internet ...................................................................... 90

IX.  THE THINGS THAT HAVE CHANGED THE LIFE OF SOCIETY ....... 96

    Text 1.  The Social Influence of the Potato ................................................. 97

    Text 2.  The Discovery that Prevented Society from Dying Out .............. 100

X.   MODERN SOCIETY ................................................................................ 105

    Text 1.  Social Consequences of Economic Crises ................................... 106

    Text 2.  Stress Management in Today’s World ........................................ 109

GLOSSARY ....................................................................................................... 114

References .......................................................................................................... 126

Unit I

GENDER IDENTITY

Pre-reading questions:

1. What is gender?

2. To what extent does gender depend on biological sex?

3. Are individuals free in acquiring a gendered identity?

Gender role is a term used in sociology to describe the set of behavioural norms associated with the individual gendered status (also called 
a “gender identity”). Gender is a component of the gender/sex system, 
which transforms biological sexuality into results of human activity. Every society has a gender/sex system, though the elements and structure of 
this system vary greatly from society to society.
In many ways gender identity functions as any other social identity 
and role. Every human society presents its members with a number of 
statuses by which people identify themselves and one another. Such statuses may be given to a person automatically, based on the status of his 
or her parents, or based on some physical characteristic (e.g. age), such 
statuses are called “ascribed”. Other statuses may be “acquired” based on 
the activities and achievements of the individual. Most elements of gender are received during the life of people and may take the form of rules 
or values. Such rules and values do not determine or control people’s 
behaviours absolutely. They only define boundaries of acceptable behaviour within which there is always variation and possibility for individual creativity. The concrete behaviour of individuals is a result of both 
socially established rules and values, and individual inclinations, whether genetic, unconscious, or conscious ones.
Such individual creativity may, over time, change the rules and values. It’s a well known fact that human cultures and societies are dynamic 
and changeable. The question is in which way, and how fast, they may 

change. This query is especially important when we speak about the gender/sex system, as sociologists have widely differing views about the 
extent to which gender depends on biological sex.

Text 1

Pre-reading questions:

1. What does it mean to be a feminine woman?

2. What kind of girls is more popular among males: sporty-adventurous or fragile-feminine ones?

3. How do people treat the girls who are extremely feminine?

GIRLY-GIRL

Girly-girl is a slang term for the female who tends to wear traditionally feminine outfits such as pink or floral dresses, blouses, and skirts. She 
behaves in a typical feminine style, puts on a lot of make up, talks about 
relationships, and acts according to the traditional gender role of a girl. It 
is an informal term, which has become more common as a term of abuse 
among some people, especially tomboys and feminists.
Claire, 19, is an extremely feminine girl. She is very feminine looking: 
well-groomed, blond, wearing gorgeous trendy gear such as mini-skirts, stylish dresses, cute tops, sexy low-rise jeans, high heels. She prefers wearing 
clothes that fit. She never wears low cut jeans because she doesn’t feel comfortable, but always makes sure her jeans fit her. Not tight, not baggy. A belt 
is okay, but the fit says it all. When she is in a shop, she tries on lots of brands, 
styles, cuts and sizes and always keeps saying, “No” to everything she is offered. She goes to every store she can in search of a suitable pair of jeans or 
a dress she saw in a commercial. Claire has tried almost all known brands. 
She very often has a shopping spree wandering around with her gal pals. All 
of them love malls, shopping, and almost everything associated with beauty. 
They have makeovers, sleepovers, or any other girl-related activities.
Claire adores everything pink: even her room is all in pink. Though 
she can use other colours but they are mostly pastel such as purple or 

baby blue. For her these ones are must have colours. Claire cares a lot 
about how she looks and dresses so she spends hours in front of the mirror 
but she is never content with her image. She spends a lot of time primping 
every morning. Her routine grooming consists of taking a shower, washing hair, combing it, straightening it or going for soft curls depending on 
her mood, shaving, applying body lotion, using custom scent, putting on 
tons of make-up. Claire believes that a pretty girl must have the perfect 
dazzling smile so she keeps her teeth nice and white. She does whitening 
herself at home with a store-bought product (such as crest white strips) 
but one time a year she goes to a dentist who has expertise in the area of 
cosmetic dentistry so she gets her teeth professionally whitened. Claire 
takes care of her nails as well. Twice a month she goes to a pedicure/
manicure, because she knows that people notice her hands more than 
someone might think, and jagged nails don’t look very nice.
Claire always looks polished, neat and tidy. She hates mud and dirt: 
when her clothes get messed up, she makes a scene saying “Oh, my gosh” 
or “Oh, my god”. She is never seen scruffy or untidy. She loves costume 
jewelry and accessories, and carries a purse around. Being a typical girlygirl Claire isn’t into sports, reads fashion magazines, listens to pop music, 
keeps a diary where she draws girly stuff like anime, hearts, metoyou, 
flowers and so on. She is into guys and not in the only friends’ way. Guys 
usually treat her as a weak or fearful creature that needs care and support. 
They like her bright personality, bubbly and happy. But some of her female acquaintances find her really annoying: she moves as if she is floating, takes herself too seriously, giggles all the time, thinks only about 
how she looks, yells too much, etc.

TASK 1

Translate into Russian the following words and expressions from the text:

a shopping spree

to wander around

a sleepover

to spend a lot of time primping

routine grooming

to be into sports

bubbly personality

to look polished

to take someone too seriously

TASK 2

Make up your own sentences with the words listed above.

TASK 3

Give English equivalents for the following words and expressions:

хорошо ухоженный

великолепная модная одежда

заботиться о внешности

совершенная ослепительная улыбка

привычный аромат

интересоваться парнями

вести дневник

устраивать сцену

бижутерия

TASK 4

Answer the questions on the text:

1.  Do you think that Claire is an ideal type of the girl which no longer exists?

2.  What and who could influence the formation of her gender identity:

   —  family,

   —  mass media,

—  friends,

   —  school?

3.  Will Claire’s image, behaviour and values change over time? 
What reasons can cause this change?

4.  Does Claire always meet social expectations? Who experiences 
difficulties when dealing with her:

—  boys from her peer group,

—  girls from her peer group,

—  liberated feminists,

—  adults?

TASK 5

Discuss the following:

1.  When you were a child, what did your parents, teachers, or friends 
tell you about typical male and female behaviour?

2.  Do you think the toys children play with, clothes they wear, and 
games they are involved in influence them as adults in any way?

3.  Are children born in one-parent families more likely to acquire 
specific gender identification?

4.  What role does mass media play in receiving elements of gender?

Text 2

Pre-reading questions:

1.  Do you think there are some girls who perform a typical boy’s 
role?

2.  What boy’s behavioural norms are they inclined to?

3.  What social factors influenced their boyish behaviour?

TOMBOY

Tomboy is a slang term to describe girls who tend to behave according to the stereotypical gender role of boys: enjoying boys’ rough games, 
having typical boys’ interests and activities, getting interest in science, 
wearing non-feminine clothes for comfort and practicality, etc. Some 
studies suggest that tomboyishness is formed in the womb and is innate 
in one’s character. The others suppose that a spirited tomboyish behaviour is the result of socialization in one-parent families with the father 
as a parent or raising a girl with only male siblings.
Cathy, 27, says: “I have three elder brothers and, when we were children, my mother was Boy Scout mother.  I was never interested in being 
a Brownie1 or a Girl Scout because I thought it was silly and too girly. 
But I can remember always wanted to be a Boy Scout.  I never understood 
why they wouldn’t let me join them. The same thing was for all of the 
“boys only” clubs my brothers created with their friends.  I do remember 
that they actually allowed me to join one of them once because I passed 
the initiation of climbing trees and hunting for snakes and started saying 
words like “dude” and “man” or “awesome”.
When I was a young teenager, maybe 13 or 14, I used to train with 
my eldest brother he taught me how to lift weights and we also jogged 
together.  He once told me that I was never going to have a boyfriend if I 
continued to wear baggy boys’ clothes.  I was defiant when I replied I 
would never be with someone. I used to go to the skate park after school 
where we had skating contests with boys. I was not afraid to fall down 
and get dirty; I always had grass stains on my jeans, scuffed up shoes and 
spotted T-shirts. I used to be really scruffy. I was not afraid of spiders, 
bugs, and worms. If I saw a girly-girl screaming at the sight of a bug, I 
would pick it up and move it outside.
It really impressed guys to know that I was not afraid of creepy things. 
I appreciated the fact that I was one of the “guys” and that they accepted 

1 Brownie — a girl between seven and ten years old, the member of the Brownies — 
the part of the Guides Association. The Guides Association is an international organization for girls and young women that teaches them moral values and practical skills such 
as how to put up a tent or light a fire. The Boy Scouts is the similar international organization for boys.