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Chapter 2. Gender. Chapter 2: Gender Introduction. Quote: “ Newsflash: You ’ re the boy. I ’ m the girl. You text me first or we don ’ t talk today. ” Unknown, University Newspaper Discussion:
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Chapter 2 Gender
Chapter 2: GenderIntroduction • Quote:“Newsflash: You’re the boy. I’m the girl. You text me first or we don’t talk today.” • Unknown, University Newspaper • Discussion: • How does the quote above exemplify traditional gender roles in our society? Can you discuss a situation in your own life where you have either witnessed or been a subject of traditional gender role ideals?
Chapter 2: GenderChapter Outline • Terminology of Gender Roles • Theories of Gender Role Development • Agents of Socialization • Gender Roles in Other Societies • Consequences of Traditional Gender Role Socialization • Changing Gender Roles • The Future of Gender Roles
Chapter 2: GenderIntroduction • Food for thought… • Caster Semenya won gold in the women’s 800-m race at the World Athletics Championship in 2009, but colleagues questioned if the 18 year old South African was, in fact, a woman. • Based on her picture and athletic ability, why would her colleagues think this?
Terminology of Gender Roles:Sex • The biological distinction between females and males. • Intersexed Individuals: Those with mixed or ambiguous genitals • Factors used to determine biological sex: • Chromosomes: XX for female; XY for male • Gonads: Ovaries for female; testes for male • Hormones • Internal sex organs • External genitals
Terminology of Gender Roles:Gender • Gender • The social construct that refers to the social and psychological characteristics associated with being female or male. • Feminine vs. masculine • Gender differences are a consequence of biological and social factors. • Gender Identity • The psychological state of viewing oneself as a girl or a boy, and later as a man or woman.
Terminology of Gender Roles:Gender • Transgender • A generic term for a person of one biological sex who displays characteristics of the other sex • Cross-Dresser • Transsexual • Gender Roles • Social norms that specify the socially appropriate behavior for females and males in society • Sex Roles • Roles defined by biological constraints; can be enacted by members of one biological sex only
Terminology of Gender Roles:Gender • Gender Role Ideology • The proper role relationships between women and men in a society • Gender Differences in Viewing Romantic Relationships
Terminology of Gender Roles:Gender • Food for thought… • What would happen if your healthy baby boy’s genitals were damaged right after birth? Watch the Youtube video below about David Reimer. • David Reimer: Raised as a Girl (Run Time 10:24) http://youtu.be/QeSvkE9ZtHk
Terminology of Gender Roles:Gender • Discussion • Using the picture to the right, address the following terms with what you believe best defines this person’s: • Sex • Gender • Gender identity • Gender Roles • Gender role ideology
Terminology of Gender Roles:Gender • The picture in the previous slide was a male in female attire and makeup. • Does this change your answers to the terms that we just discussed? If so, how? • Terms on the previous slide: • Sex • Gender • Gender identity • Gender Roles • Gender role ideology
Theories of Gender Development:Biosocial • Sociobiology (Biosocial) • Emphasizes that social behavior and gender roles have a biological basis in terms of being functional in human evolution
Theories of Gender Development:Social Learning • Social Learning • Derived from the school of behavioral psychology • Emphasizes the roles of reward and punishment in explaining how a child learns gender role behavior
Theories of Gender Development:Identification • Identification • Children acquire the characteristics and behaviors of their same-sex parent through a process of identification
Theories of Gender Development:Cognitive-Developmental • Cognitive-Developmental Theory • Reflects a blend of biological and social learning views • The biological readiness, in terms of cognitive development, of the child influences how the child responds to gender cues in the environment.
Agents of Socialization • Sources influencing gender socialization: • Family • Race/Ethnicity • Peers • Religion • Education • Economy • Mass Media
Gender Roles in Other Societies:Latino/Hispanic Families • Although traditional family models in Spain call for men as providers and women as homemakers and mothers, a new feminine culture and a social reality is moving steadily toward gender equality and complementariness between genders.
Gender Roles in Other Societies:Afghanistan Under the Taliban • Afghan women go uneducated, become child brides, produce children, and rarely expect their daughters’ lives to be different.
Gender Roles in Other Societies:Caribbean Families • Family patterns are often characterized by women and their children as the primary family unit—the fathers of these children rarely live in the home. • Men may have children with different women and be psychologically and physically absent from their children’s lives.
Gender Roles in Other Societies:East and South Africa • Africa is very diverse with Islamic and Arab cultures in the north and industrial and European influences in the south. • In eastern African cultures, gender roles can be very different from what Americans are used to. • In South Africa, the family has traditional gender role relationships and patriarchy is the norm.
Consequences of Traditional Gender Role Socialization:Female Roles
Consequences of Traditional Gender Role Socialization:Feminization of Poverty • Disproportionate percentage of poverty experienced by women living alone or with their children. • Poverty contributes to teen pregnancy, since teens have limited supervision and few alternatives to parenthood. • Early childbearing interferes with education and restricts earning capacity. • Offspring are born into poverty, and the cycle repeats.
Consequences of Traditional Gender Role Socialization:Female Genital Alteration • Surgical procedures involving partial or total removal of the external genitalia or other injuries to the female genitalia for cultural or other non-therapeutic reasons. • Parents believe female circumcision makes their daughters marketable for marriage. • Many daughters view it as a rite of passage.
Consequences of Traditional Gender Role Socialization:Relationship Choices for Women • A woman who is not socialized to pursue an education may feel pressure to stay in an unhappy relationship. • Women who are socialized to not initiate relationships are limiting interactions that could develop into valued relationships. • Women who are socialized to accept that they are less valuable than men are less likely to achieve egalitarian relationships.
Consequences of Traditional Gender Role Socialization:Relationship Choices for Women • Women who view their worth in terms of age and appearance are likely to feel bad about themselves as they age. • Women who are socialized to accept that they are solely responsible for taking care of their parents, children, and husband are likely to experience role overload. • Women who are socialized to emphasize the importance of relationships will seek relationships that are emotionally satisfying.
Consequences of Traditional Gender Role Socialization:Male Roles
Consequences of Traditional Gender Role Socialization:Relationship Choices for Men • Men who are socialized to define themselves in terms of their income leave their self-esteem vulnerable should they become unemployed. • Men who are socialized to restrict their expression of emotions are denied the opportunity for interpersonal sharing. • Men who are socialized to believe it is not their role to participate in domestic activities will not be competent in these life skills.
Consequences of Traditional Gender Role Socialization:Relationship Choices for Men • Heterosexual men who focus on cultural definitions of female beauty overlook potential partners. • Men who are socialized to view women who initiate relationships negatively are restricted in their relationship opportunities. • Men who are socialized to be in control of relationship encounters may alienate their partners, who may desire equal influence in relationships.
Changing Gender Roles:Androgyny • A blend of traits stereotypically associated with masculinity and femininity • Physiological androgyny refers to intersexed individuals. • Behavioral androgyny refers to the blending or reversal of traditional male and female behavior, so a biological male may be gentle and nurturing, and a biological female may be assertive and selfish.
Changing Gender Roles:Positive Androgyny • Devoid of the negative traits of masculinity: • Aggression, hard-heartedness, indifference, selfishness, showing off, vindictiveness • Devoid of the negative traits of femininity: • Passivity, submissive, temperamental, fragile
Changing Gender Roles • Gender Role Transcendence • Involves abandoning our gender schema so that personality traits, social or occupational roles, and other aspects of our lives become divorced from gender categories • Gender Postmodernism • View that abandons the notion that genders are natural and focuses on the social construction of the individual in a gender-fluid society
The Future of Gender Roles • Ideas about characteristics that are traditionally associated with men (aggressiveness, independence, strength) and women (nurturance, passivity, emotions) are changing. • Both sexes are considered equal, and women and men may pursue the same occupational, political, and domestic roles.
The Future of Gender Roles • Food for thought… • Imagine a society in which women and men each develop characteristics, lifestyles, and values that are independent of gender role stereotypes. • Is such a society possible? Discuss.
Quick Quiz • Which of the following refers to the biological distinction between females and males? • role characterization • sex • gender • sexology
Quick Quiz • Which term refers to a blend of traits that is associated with both masculinity and femininity? • gender orientation • hermaphroditism • transgendered • androgyny
Quick Quiz • Which theory emphasizes the role of reward and punishment in explaining how a child learns gender role behavior? • gender role transcendence • identification • cognitive-developmental theory • social learning theory
Quick Quiz • The social norms that dictate what is socially regarded as appropriate female and male behaviors make up one's: • gender role • gender identity • sex role • socialization
Quick Quiz • Which of the following is not a negative consequence of traditional female role socialization? • Less income • Feminization of poverty • Longer life • Negative body image