HDFS201 FINAL STUDY GUIDE FALL 2015 CHAPTER 12 GENDER AND SEXUALITY Preview Gender refers to characteristics of people as male or female Gender Identity a sense of one s own gender including knowledge understanding and acceptance of being male or female Gender Roles sets of expectations that prescribe how female and males Gender Typing refers to acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine should think act and feel role Gender identity likely emerges before children are 2 years old Biological Influences Hormones o Estrogens primarily influence the development of female physical sex characteristics and help regulate the menstrual cycle produced by ovaries o Androgens primarily promote the development of male genitals and secondary sex characteristics produced by adrenal glands in males and females produced by testes in males o PROBLEMS FROM TOO MUCH HORMONE EXPOSURE Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia adrenal glands enlarge high levels of androgen results in girls identity by some boyish characteristics still XX chromosomes Androgen Insensitive Males XY boys don t have androgen cells females body female gender identity usually attracted to males Pelvic Field Defect in boys involves a missing penis normal amount of testosterone most identify as male after castration Early Loss of Penis and Sexual Reassignment Brenda story early indications for Brenda were positive but later in life identified as male and committed suicide o Primarily due to reproductions males and females faced different pressures when human species was evolving o Because natural selection favored males that adopted short term mating strategies the produced more violent competitive and risk taking behavior o Female s contributions to the gene pool were improved by securing resources for their offspring which was promoted by obtaining long term mates who could support a family The Evolutionary Psychology View Social Influences Social scientists argue that gender differences are due to social experiences rather than biological dispositions Social Role Theory o Alice Eagly 2001 2010 2012 o Psychological gender differences result from the contrasting roles of women and men o Women adapted roles with less power and less status in society resulting in more cooperative less dominant profiles than men o Social hierarchy and division of labor are important causes of gender differences in power assertiveness and nurture Psychoanalytic Theory of Gender o Stems from Sigmund Freud s view that the preschool child develops a sexual attractions to the opposite sex parent o Child identifies with same sex parent unconsciously adopting the same sex parent s characteristics Social Cognitive Theory of Gender o Children s gender development occurs through observation and imitation and through the rewards and punishments children experience for gender appropriate and gender inappropriate behavior Parents o Mother s socialization strategies in many cultures mothers socialize their daughters to be more obedient and responsible than their sons They also place more restrictions on daughter s autonomy o Father s socialization strategies fathers pay more attention to sons than daughters engage in more activities with sons and put forth more effort to promote son s intellectual development BOTH RESEARCHED BY BRONSTEIN Other Adults Media and Peers o Peers extensively reward and punish gender behavior o Generally more accepted for girls to act like boys rather than boys to o 4 12 years old children spend a large amount of playtime exclusively act like girls with those of the same sex o Research shows the sex of the playmate is more important than the type of activities being played Schools and Teachers o Some observers have expressed concerns that schools and teachers have biases against boys and girls o Classroom settings biased against boys Compliance following rules and being neat and orderly are valued in classroom boys don t usually express that behavior Large majority of teachers are females harder for boys to identify with their teachers Boys are more likely than girls to have a learning disability Boys are more likely to be criticized by their teachers School personnel tend to stereotype boys behaviors as problematic o Classroom settings biased against girls Girls are more likely to be compliant and quiet comes with a cost of diminished assertiveness Most of the time teachers spend more time with male students rather than female students Boys get more instruction and help than female students Enter school with equal level of self esteem but by middle school years girl s self esteem is lower than boys o Single Sex education is increasing in order to reduce these biases Cognitive Influences Gender Schema Theory o Gender typing emerges as children gradually develop gender schemas of what is gender appropriate and gender inappropriate in their culture o Schema cognitive structure a network of associations that guide an individual s perceptions o Gender Schema organizes the world in terms of female and male Gender Stereotyping Gender Stereotypes general impressions and belies about females and males Traditional Masculinity and Femininity o Traditional feminine characteristics sensitive nurturing caregiver are childlike suitable for someone who is dependent and subordinate to others o Traditional Masculine characteristics independent aggressive power oriented suit one to deal competently with the wider world and to wield authority Developmental Changes in Gender Stereotyping o Gender stereotyping present in 2 year olds but developed by age 4 Gender Similarities and Differences The differences are average and do not apply to all females or all males Even when gender differences occur there often is considerable overlap between males and females The differences may be due primarily to biological factors sociocultural factors or both Physical Similarities and Differences o Many physical difference between men and women are tied to health o Differences in Brain structure and activity One part of the hypothalamus involved in sexual behavior tends to be larger in men than in women An area of the parietal lobe that functions in visuospatial skills tends to be larger in males than in females The areas of the brain involved in emotional expression tend to show more metabolic activity in females than in males Female brains are approx 10 smaller than male brains female brains have more folds and larger fold allow more surface brain tissue within the