Chapter 12 Gender 12 07 2011 Gender Sex Gender Role Socially influenced psychological dimension of being male or female o Examples from society clothes girls dresses skirts guys pants tie emotions Biological influence narrow dimension reproductive organs o Female vagina uterus fallopian tubes chromosomes XX o Male penis chromosomes XY Can have a role as student family member Any group you belong to you can have a role and have certain expectations set by society or group Sex of expectations that tells you how you should think act or feel o Should for females nurturing submissive like babies cook agreeable well spoken talented o Men Should manly brave leaders provide protect strong emotionless Widely held beliefs about characteristics that are deemed appropriate for males and Gender Stereotypes females Overgeneralization and is not true for everyone in the group o Example Women can t drive indecisive hard to understand moody naggy bad with directions body image issues o Example All men have big egos only think about sex cheat can t multitask messy love sport power hungry controlling commitment issues Not true for ALL people in group Role expectation and role stereotype is the public s way of looking at gender Private Aspect of Identity Gender Identity Your own sense of being male or female How you see yourself in terms A lot of people believe that society won t accept if you don t act like how a male or female should feel and that would affect your gender identity Gender Typing Association of objects activities roles or traits with biological sex in ways that confirm to cultural stereotypes of gender o Example Barbies go with boys G I Joe s go with boys Personality Stereotypes Instrumental traits o Competence independence rationality assertiveness o Associated with men Expressive Communal Traits o Warmth caring sensitivity o Associated with women Physical Stereotypes soft graceful Occupational Stereotype Describe the typical man tall broad shoulders facial hair muscular short hair Describe the typical women long hair curves delicate features small feet petite For men wall street lawyer doctor CEO construction plumber engineer mechanic lumberjack athlete firefighter truck driver 2 For women nurse secretary childcare teacher waitress flight attendant housekeeper nanny caregiver hairstylist Early Childhood Before you can recognize if you re male or female you have to have self recognition Age 2 o Notice children start to make subtle associations like men are rough and sharp facial hair and women are soft and round pregnancy breasts hips Age they label themselves as boys or girls 19 months 3 years o Notice they have a penis or vagina o Leads to them adding to the schema of what it means to be male or female External characteristics and activities determine gender One study showed that preschoolers were able to link toys articles of clothing tools household items games occupations and colors with one sex or the other Rigid Rules see things as concrete things are one way or another o If you re a male you can t have long hair or wear a skirt o Little kids have a really difficult time seeing somebody with long hair and understanding that they might not be a girl o Study from 2003 kids said girls can t be rough or be a doctor Middle Childhood and Adolescence Social comparison is happening and understandings become internal Shift from external to internal o Stereotypes move to less obvious areas like personality and achievement The rules become more flexible however they still respond harshly to boys being girly 3 o Because of social status if a male does something girly it will lower their social status o Sexual orientation hypotheses if you do anything feminine as a male then you are going to be homosexual you are homosexual and that is seen negatively by society If a girl crosses over to male stereotypes we call them tom boy s and it s acceptable by society not as serious as a boy being girly Personality Traits o Assign masculine adjectives tough rational cruel o Assign female adjectives gentle affectionate dependent Achievement Areas o Girls reading spelling music o Boys math science athletics Sex Differences Males and females are more alike than different Don t vary in general intelligence but do vary in specific abilities Were do differences occur o Mental abilities Verbal abilities girls are a little ahead of boys Mathematical abilities girls are ahead in the early years and boys are ahead in the later years around puberty o Personality Traits Emotional Sensitivity self report girls more than boys Aggression boys more than girls It s not acceptable for girls to fight don t express their aggression that way so they have to keep it sneaky Relational aggression subtle sneaky intentionally hurting people by affecting their relationships or emotional state no one has to know that it was you Shows mean girls video clip from their secret 3 way call Spanking Article detrimental to kids Yes side she lists a number of variables several that are related to why spanking is Know what they are and what their relationship is to the affect of spanking 4 Influences on Gender Development 12 07 2011 Sex Hormones Influence Estrogens Androgens testosterone o Chemical substances produced by cells in the body and have regulatory effect on the activities of certain organs Found in both male and female More estrogen in women More androgens in male o Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia CAH 2 surges of these hormones in your life puberty and prenatally Genetic defect produces usually high amounts of androgens Girls are born with enlarged clitoris or small penis surgery at birth and then take hormones to try to fix it In one study of 25 female infants with CAH had the corrective surgery and were raised as girls Individuals tended to engage in behaviors that are typically characterized masculine and related to boys Have higher activity rate like cars blocks and trucks athletic prefer boys as playmates and still identified themselves as girls o Case where biological sex and prenatal hormones match but sexual reassignment occurs David Reimer 1960 s During circumcision equipment malfunctioned and penis was burnt off 1 of 2 twin boys the 1 was sexually reassigned to female David was raised as Brenda when she reached puberty and started having masculine characteristics so doctors gave her estrogen therapy Brenda during interviews said girls don t fight my hair is longer knew rigid rules of being a girl in society
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