Chapter5 - Gender and Gender Roles

PAGE PAGE 5 Chapter (5) Really Chapter 3 ? Gender and Gender Roles Studying Gender and Gender Roles - biological and social learning factor Sex ? biological degree of masculinity or femininity Gender ? is our psychological degree of masculinity or masculinity Biology creates males and females, but culture creates masculinity and femininity! Our sex is biological. Our gender is psychological. 1.7% of the time a child is born with both. They are called intersex and used to be called hermaphrodites. Most of the time our sex equals the gender. Sometimes it doesn?t. If it doesn?t, you can get sexual reassignment surgery to change the sex. This is actually easier than changing how you feel about your gender. Most sex reassignment surgeries are done in Trinidad, Colorado. Gender Identity Disorder ? they feel trapped in the wrong body Can also be called Gender Dysphoric Disorder. Retrosexual ? ultra masculine male Wears masculine clothes, treats woman as the house cleaner and meal maker, maybe work as lumberjack :P Metrosexual ? feminine acting male Maybe gets in the tanning booth, files his nails, etc Gender does two things It initiates action It initiates responses Social learning gender: psychological maleness or femaleness gender identity: Subjective sense gender role: Behavior socialization ? process whereby society conveys gender role expectations We tell boys how to be boys and girls how to be girls. Alexithymia ? socialization process where boys are taught not to shot emotion (emotion seen as weakness) ?Be a man? ? I?ve never heard anyone say ?be a woman.? Conform ? we conform to our gender roles This depends on the context. Example: Boy meets girl in Grease Danny meets Sandy for the first time and is all sweet and caring. When he realizes his friends are standing behind him, he changes and gets all macho again. Modeling ? watching others to learn Pretty much all children learn this way. gender role attitude ? beliefs a person has about him/herself and others regarding appropriate female and male personality traits and activities gender-based stereotypes ? men are aggressive, men are competitive self-worth is centered on occupation women are emotional, women illogical self-worth is centered on marriage/parenthood males ? instrumental and task oriented (aggressive, competitive) women ? expressiveness (passive, nurturing sexism ? discrimination again people based on their sex rather than their individual merits Gender theory ? a society understood by how it is organized according to gender Theories of Socialization Cognitive social learning theory Looking at behavioral aspects of masculinity or femininity cognitive development theory interpretation of the messages they receive from the environment Gender roles influence: Parents Mothers will be less bothered by a gay child than fathers. Peers ? friends Plays a huge role School Television Religion Gender-role Learning in Childhood and Adolescence Sexual double standards Birth & Infancy ? parents have different expectations for boys/girls Girls talked & looked (verbally) more parental attention when upset Dependent Boys physical contact (activity engaged) explore, encouraged more Independent Early Childhood age 2: 18 months - children have begun developing a clear sense of being a boy or a girl age 3: solid core gender identity play: gender role acquired School-Age Child Girls Less tolerance Masculine encouraged Be ?Nice? Boys More tolerance Feminine discouraged Be ?tough?, ?Don?t cry? Adolescence Girls Appearance is important Career? Compete? More difficulty in gender role demands Boys To achieve ? Success Don?t be feminine Boys will be boys! Contemporary Gender Roles Scripts ? acts, rules, and expectations associated with a particular role Men men should not (or at least should not express) certain feelings Performance is the thing that counts The man is in charge A man always wants sex and is ready for it All physical contact leads to sex Sex equal intercourse Sexual intercourse leads to orgasm Women Sex is good and bad (good in marriage, bad causal relationships) It?s not okay to touch themselves Sex is for men Men should know what women want Women shouldn?t talk about sex Women should look like models Women are nurtures There is only one right way to have an orgasm ? (during sexual intercourse) Changing Gender Roles Sexual expression is positive Sexual activities involve a mutual exchange of erotic pleasure Sexuality is equally involving, and both parties are equally responsible Sexual activities may be initiated by both parties Both parties have the right to experience orgasm, no matter from what type of stimulation Sex is acceptable within a relationship context Androgyny There will be a test question on this. An androgenous person would show male or female characteristics depending on the situation. Means: ?Man-Women? Describes flexibility in gender roles boy is taught to cook and wash dishes girl taught to take our the trash Integrated self-concept of Masculinity & Femininity Positive negative issues less gender-role assumptions higher levels of self-esteem more independent Lower conflict in relationships View relationships as more equal Gender-role expectations ? Impact on sexuality men oversexed vs women undersexed men as initiators vs women as recipients men as ?sexperts? men as movers vs women as controllers men as unemotional & strong vs women as nurturing & supportive Men feel entitled to sex. 60% of college women have participated in sexual acts in the last year that they didn?t want to because they felt it was their role. Gender Roles in the Bedroom Most women won?t initiate asking a guy on a date or a sexual act Biological aspects of Gender Sex sex- biological degree maleness or femaleness chromosomes males ? XY ? XY females DSS short arm on y chromosome initiates development of testes women and male hormones Estrogen Progestosterone Testosterone Atypical prenatal differentiation Intersexed ? (true hermaphrodites) ? have ovarian & testicular tissue 1 in 2000 births Sex-chromosome Disorders Tuner?s Syndrome ? XO Klinefelter?s Syndrome ? XXY Disorders Affecting Prenatal Hormonal Process Androgen insensitivity Syndrome insensitive to androgens results in feminization of prenatal development fetally androgenized females females are prenatally masculinized by exposure to excessive androgens DHT defective gene that prevents conversion of testosterone into the hormone DHT, which is essential for normal development of genital in males transsexual ? gender identity is opposite his/her biological sex Gender Identity Disorder gender dysphoria ? ?trapped in wrong body? transgender ? appearance & behaviors do not conform to gender roles (ex. ?cross dress? at times, married to opposite sex but do cross-dress at times) Brain Hypothalamus Cerebral cortex Corpus callosum Physical Finger length Appears to run in families Handedness Gay gene Males begin puberty earlier