2 - Gender and stereotypes Flashcards
When stereotyping, people tend to use one category as the ___, and the others as ___. Elaborate on these types.
Our default is male / straight / white, this default is viewed as the norm this process tends to make the “Deviant” traits viewed as worse.
What are the steps of the staircase to oppression?
- Starts with stereotypes
- Acting on prejudice leads to discrimination
- From discrimination to oppression, we need institutional power
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Oppression: Systematically discriminating against people in a group
–>This is the ability or official authority to decide what is best for others, to give or withhold access to resources and to control groups of people. It is the ability to name, to create language and to enforce norms and practices based on one particular worldview; it is the ability to codify and reward acceptable behaviors and punish unacceptable ones
Stereotypes affect…
→ Traits (p.ex: a person reading in public must be a book nerd, but they might just be avoiding interactions)
→ Behaviors; people tend to behaviour switch, thus one single behaviour can’t be used for judgment, we tend to judge people quickly without considering other factors
→ Physical appearance; halo effect (pretty people are smarter, get hired more often, etc.)
→ Occupations; ideas of appropriate occupations fall in with stereotypes, we also stereotype people based on their occupations
True or false: We apply stereotypes more strongly to others than to ourselves.
True
True or false: Stereotypes do not help us to organize the world around us.
False: They do, beginning at age 3 they help us to adapt
Stereotypical thinking becomes more rigid again in ___, then more flexible in ___.
Adolescence; adulthood
→ because we’re coming into the identity crisis era, so gender roles become very strict; you have to dress a certain way, act a certain way, otherwise you get judged by your peers, or pressured to change
→ because at that age, humans want most to fit in
What is illusory correlation?
- It is the belief that a correlation exists, or that it is stronger than it really is
→ is a very helpful tool to form stereotypes
→ once we form a notion in our head, we use it to explain things we see because it takes a lot of mental work to change the schemas that we have
→ you have to know quick ways of interpreting the world because you can’t be constantly analyzing everything -
Children do not ignore counterexamples though, so those help break down illusory stereotypes
→ since they’re still building their schemas and stereotypes, they eagerly seek out different informations that will immediately integrate into their schemas
True or false: Memory can be affected by stereotypes.
True: p.ex: we’re used to women being quiet, like in a meeting we notice more when women are talking because it’s unusual
→ if the men and women in a meeting speak the same amount, we will say that the women spoke more, and when women speak half the amount of men, we think that they spoke an equal amount
What are explicit vs. implicit stereotypes?
→ Explicit; Consciously aware
→ Implicit; Not consciously aware of biases
Name the 3 negative effects of stereotyping.
1) Stereotype threat
2) Hostile sexism
3) Benevolent sexism
What is stereotype threat?
- The fear of “justifying” a negative stereotype with your own performance will lower your performance
- Influences women and ethnic minorities to perform more poorly, mainly, but can be entirely dependent on situation
→ p.ex: math tests with black / Latina women vs white men, then white men vs east Asian men. Also job review – demographic info
→ the single latina woman surrounded by white men performed worse than when surrounded by other latina women
→ same result for the single white man with east Asian men
→ This stereotype can be nullified by pointing it out, denying it, or avoiding it
What is hostile sexism?
- Negative attitudes toward women (more explicit)
→ p.ex: girls are bad at math, girls are too emotional, etc.
What is benevolent sexism?
- Positive attitudes that serve to belittle women and keep them subservient: People who believe that women deserve special treatment, should be set on a pedestal, or revered, also believe that they are weaker, need protection, and less competent than men
→ people who hold these positive beliefs will also typically have these negative beliefs going together - Often the “positive” traits – like being more social, caring, nurturing – are used to justify the idea that they are “softer” and more in need of “protecting” by those hardened, strong, manly men
- Idea of romantic chivalry is appealing to both groups, but leads to outdated views
- Similar to ‘benevolent prejudice’ that rationalizes racism as well, leading to white savior complex
Ambivalent sexism holds for many cultures around the world; give an example of this concept.
→ p.ex: women shouldn’t interfere in politics but they are entirely in charge of the home and men are pushed away from that domaine, so they have power and control in this setting
True or false: In all cultures, there are only the 2 genders.
False: In several Native American cultures, there are four genders. One example of multiple genders among Native Americans is the Berdache
→ The male Berdache and female Berdache are third and fourth genders. Of the two, the male Berdache is much more common. The male Berdache is biologically male but takes on characteristics of both women and men in appearance and manner. These are men who prefer not to be warriors but to take care of children and make clothing. Historically, the Berdache was highly respected and viewed as sacred
