Models of gender

1. Models of gender • Bipolar model • More feminine = less masculine • Bidimensional model • Androgyny • Orthogonal model • Oblique model

2. Traditional Western traits • Traditional masculinity • Alone: Independent, disciplined, stoical • Active: Aggressive, assertive, competitive • Bold: Leading, innovative, confident, courageous • Focussed: Task-oriented, outer-directed • Logical: Objective, analytic, rational, unsentimental, emotionally controlled

3. Traditional traits... • Traditional femininity • Related: Cooperative, trusting, interpersonal • Subordinate: Reliant, supportive, yielding • Subjective: Inward, intuitive, emotionally fluid • Giving: Empathic, sensitive, nurturing, creative • Cautious: Fragile, future-oriented • Passive: Receptive, reactive

4. Theories about the existence of gender roles • Biological and evolutionary necessity • Reproductive roles • Division of labor • Structural differences • Lateralization and specialization • Socialization differences • Parents, teachers, peers, media

5. Development of gender roles • Biological theories? • Sociobiology and evolutionary psychology • Behavior genetics • Within your family, you see how different you are from your siblings. • Outside your family, you see how similar you are to your siblings. • Psychoanalytic view • Gender conflict and identification

6. More views on gender role development • Observational learning • Modeling • Social reinforcement • Cognitive development • Gender schemas • Social constructs emphasize differences • Consequences of growing up gendered

7. Are gender stereotypes breaking down? • What do you think of metrosexuals? • What is the role of the church (or should we say churches ) in relation to gender roles and stereotypes? • What should real women be like? • What should real men be like? • How important is it to be gender-typical? • How do you react to people who violate gender characteristics? • Are all gender characteristics equally mutable?

8. Learning sexual scripts: What ought we to do? • Who, what, when, where, how, why • Cultural scenarios • Interpersonal scripts • Intrapsychic or personal scripts

9. Writing cultural scenarios and scripts • The Rough Riders, a boys’ club at a suburban high school, which gives points to its members for engaging in sexual activity • Mama’s Posse, a sorority at State U which establishes status based on sexual encounters with high status men • A Christian family with three teenaged daughters

10. Choice theory and sexual decisions • Goals, resources, and cost-benefits analysis • What are the goals? • What are the resources? • What are the costs? • Choice theory: Rational analysis, satisficing, or maximizing? • Optimal foraging theory: • Delay cost and discounting the future

11. The context: Social networks • Scenarios and scripts • Principles of relationships • Discussing the range of scripts • Writing your own script • By stages • Identify principles • Connect to your values and goals • Make it specific • Review it frequently and re-commit

12. Sexual expression through the life cycle • Infancy • Childhood • Adolescence and cultural influence • Adulthood • Older adulthood

13. Sexuality in infancy • Sexual response systems • Maternal hormones may affect girls and boys • Sexual exploration and play

14. Sexual exploration in childhood • Continued exploration and self-pleasuring • Masturbation • Sex play with others • Imitative sexual expression • Parent’s role: Channel and educate • Start a script: When, who, what • Teach names of body parts, context for sexual expression

15. What are the changes of puberty? Primary sex characteristics Secondary sex characteristics

16. Primary sex characteristics • Increased hormone production • Female cyclicity • Growth of genitals • Fertility • Menarche vs. ovulation • First ejaculation vs. mature sperm

17. Secondary sex characteristics • Female: • Appearance of pubic and axillary hair • Increase amount and size of body hair • Thickening of scalp hair • Larynx changes: Range lowers a fifth • Skeletal changes: hips and pelvis • Breast development in 3 stages • Fat redistribution • Lubrication: Skene’s & Bartholin’s glands

18. Secondary sex characteristics • Male: • Appearance of pubic and axillary hair • Increase amount and size of body hair • Patterning of scalp hair • Larynx changes: Range lowers an octave • Skeletal changes: hips and shoulders • Breast development in 1 stage • Muscles harden • Ejaculation and lubrication (Cowper’s glands)

19. Sexual experimenting in adolescence • Impact of puberty on sexual interest • Hormonal activation effects • Social effects of secondary sex characteristics • Masturbation, fantasy, and sexual stimulus learning • Sexual activity • Sexual health education • Sexual orientation: Actions and decisions

20. Adult sexuality • The relationship context • Variations in sexual activity • Sex in the context of singleness • Never-marrieds • Separated/divorced/widowed

21. Sex in older adults • Frequency may decline, duration increases • Benefits of experience • Effects of health changes • Hormone replacement therapies • Society’s attitudes and ignorance

22. Puberty onset in 17,077 girls (Herman-Giddens, 1997)

23. Intercourse by age 19 Kinsey, 1948/53 Zelnick & Kantner, 1980 Forest & Singh, 1990 Sonenstein et al, 1991 CDC, 1996 (by senior year of high school)

24. Choice theory • Rational choice: Rate a potential partner or script on each of several characteristics that are important to you, and sum the ratings. Highest score wins. • Elimination by aspects (Tversky, 1972): Start with most important dimension, and eliminate those who score low. Proceed to next most important dimension, and so on, until only one option remains. May eliminate the best choice overall.

25. More choice theory • Satisficing (Simon, 1955): Set a cutoff at the minimum acceptable standard for each dimension/characteristic. Reject options if any values are below the cutoff. May miss the best choice overall.