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GENDER IDENTITY. “Gender Identity” Interviews Time Warp in the Toy Store by Ellen J. Reifler (19) How Women are Treated in Language by Janet Shibley Hyde (20) The Male Role Stereotype by Doug Cooper Thompson (24) Conclusions. “Gender Identity” (63-65).
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GENDER IDENTITY • “Gender Identity” • Interviews • Time Warp in the Toy Store by Ellen J. Reifler (19) • How Women are Treated in Language by Janet Shibley Hyde (20) • The Male Role Stereotype by Doug Cooper Thompson (24) • Conclusions
“Gender Identity” (63-65) • “In American culture, gender is the most salient feature of one’s identity” • Gender roles • What is a social role? • Content • traditional definitions of male, female • Alternative definitions • Processes • socialization, internalization, conscious choice • “Nature/Nurture” • Variations by subgroups including racial/ethnic, social class, region, rural/urban, religion, etc.
Interviews – Goals • Learn about how others • Were raised in terms of gender roles • Responded to expectations • Approach the issue now • Learn more about your own history and reactions • Connect these findings to larger issues of our culture, subcultures, power, etc.
Interviews - questions • What was your family like in terms of gender roles? • Parent or parents • Any siblings • Extended family • What about your friends? • Did boys and girls play separately or together? • What kinds of play? What kinds of friendships? • How did adults shape or react to these patterns?
Questions, continued • What about school? • How were boys and girls treated? Did you notice any differences? • How did this affect you, if at all • What else do you remember about how you were raised or treated based on gender? • How does gender affect your life now? • Are there expectations others have based on gender? • How do you respond to these?
Summary Questions On a 1 – 5 scale, 5 being totally “traditional” (rigid gender roles), 1 being totally “nontraditional” (no gender roles) • How were you raised? • How would you like to raise children? • Why?
Time Warp in the Toy Store by Ellen J. Reifler (19; pp 69-71) • Observations • Toys are gender-stereotyped • Example – McDonald’s • Question – to what extent is this still true? (story is from 1994) • “Rigid role-typing starts at birth” • Examples including “culture cops” • Question – to what extent is this true, and for whom?
Reifler, continued III. Conclusion: It is an “obvious truth that children’s personality traits and interests are not [biologically] “gender-based” • Questions • To what extent do males and females behave differently in our culture? • To the extent they do, why? • Is Reifler’s conclusion correct? • How do we know?
Reifler, continued IV. Reifler’s Proposal – “get rid of the artificial categories” • Questions – to what extent is this? • Possible • Desirable?
How Women are Treated in Language by Janet Shibley Hyde (20; pp 71-74) • Main Points • Language is important • Shapes attitudes, behaviors • Towards self and own group, others • In our culture, language diminishes the status and importance of females • How? • See examples – male as normative, etc.
Hyde, continued III. Discussion • To what extent do you agree? • To the extent you agree, what can you do to change things? • Levels: individual, small group, organization, society • Why would you, if you are male? IV. Larger issue – cultural power • How does this relate to economic power, political power?:
The Male Role Stereotype by Doug Cooper Thompson (24; pp 86-88) • Review – what is a gender-role stereotype? • Male role stereotype – what is the content? • Discuss – to what extent were you or males in your family, community raised this way? • What are the consequences • In terms of personality? • In terms of relationships? • In terms of power? • What are the alternatives? • Discussion – have you ever challenged these stereotypes? If so, what happened? If not, why not?
CONCLUSIONSMost social scientists believe • Gender roles reflect some contribution from biology, but large contribution from culture • Evidence • Variation across cultures and subcultures • Variation over time • Males and females have fairly wide potential to act in “masculine” and “feminine” ways • Gender identity can be enriching, empowering for individuals, for society
Conclusions, continued III. Culture pushes males and females toward more stereotypical behaviors IV. This rigidity harms: A. males and females, in terms of personality, quality of life, relationships B. females, in terms of power C. society, in terms of potential