Gender Research Paper
Research Paper (15%)
Students will be required to write a 5 page (100 lines of text) paper on one of the following topics that relates to the Sociology of Gender. APA style is required and students are expected to use a minimum of 3 peer-reviewed journals from a Sociology database for their research and one current news source from the past 5 years (eg. New York Times, Washington Post, CNN). The news source must be submitted along with the paper and should be the springboard for the paper topic.
This list is meant to give you some ideas about topics for a research paper. It is not meant to be exhaustive. These topics are very broad and you will have to narrow the topic you choose considerably.
Media representations of gender
History of feminism
Gender wage gap
Gender role socialization
Reproductive rights
Commercial Sex (prostitution and pornography)
Range of human sexuality (Heterosexuality, Lesbian/Gay, Bisexuality, Asexuality)
Homophobia and Gender
Gender and sports
Eating disorders (from a gender and society perspective)
Sexual assault
Gender in the classroom
Gender and toys – analyzing childhood play
Marriage – division of labor, name change, age of marriage, purpose of marriage
Cognitive differences between men and women
Non-verbal communication and gender
Verbal communication and gender
Sex segregated careers
Sexual dysfunction and gender
Gender and the English language
Women in the military
Single Sex schools
Intersexuality
Transgender Issues
The following questions should be addressed:
- What are the origins/historical background of this issue
- What are the current issues/debate related to this issue
- What are some ways that these issues can be resolved
Grading Rubric (20 points)
Relevant Topic 2 points
Comprehensive focus 3 points
Answering Questions 3 points
Page Length 2 points
Appropriate sources 2 points
Spelling and Grammar 2 points
APA format 1 points