Chapter 10: Sex and Gender Flashcards
What is sex?
biological male or female
What is gender?
Socially constructed identity
what is gender typing?
The process by which children acquire the social behaviors considered appropriate for their gender in their particular culture
What is gender-based belief?
Children’s awareness of their own gender and understanding of gender labels
What is gender identity?
The perception of one’s own gender
What is a gender strerotype?
Belief that members of a culture hold about: acceptable and appropriate attitudes, activities, traits, occupations, and physical appearance for males and females
What is gender role?
The general patterns of behaviors and appearance actually associated with being male or female in a given culture
What are gender role preferences?
Desire to possess certain gender-typed characteristics. e.g., children’s toys
What is the stereotyped male role?
- Independent and self-reliant
- strong willed and assertive
- dominant and competitive
- decisive, direct, active
- adventurous, worldly
- strong
- Expected to control their emotions, even under stress, and to be able to easily separate feelings from ideas
What is the stereotyped female role?
- pretty
- sociable
- loving
- sensitive, considerate
- gentle
- sympathetic, sentimental, and compassionate
- Expected to express warmth in personal relationships, display anxiety under pressure, and suppress overt aggression and sexuality more than men
What are child gender stereotypes like ?
- Girls are supposed to be sweet, gentle, pretty, wear dresses and jewelry, play with dolls and toy kitchens, and be concerned with their appearance
- Boys are expected to be rough, tough, and brave; like sports and video games; and play with toy cars, guns, construction toys, and action figures
How early are children aware of gender stereotypes and what research showed evidence of this?
Children are aware of gender stereotypes from an early age 2-year-olds looked longer at pictures—suggesting they were surprised—when they saw pictures of a man doing stereotypical female things, such as putting on makeup
When does children’s knowledge of stereotypes rapidly increase?
Children’s knowledge of stereotypes increases rapidly between ages 3 and 5
When are children very inflexible about gender stereotyping?
Very inflexible about gender stereotyping until about age 7-8 (i.e., certain toys are for boys, certain toys for girls)
When do children become more flexible about gender stereotyping?
Age 8-9 become more flexible
What kind of stereotype/preference has been largely stable across history?
Though stereotyped toy preferences have been largely stable across history, there is some indication that preferences are broadening. In 1975 toys considered to be masculine (lego, etc.) or feminine (vacuum cleaner) were considered gender neutral by 2005
What does some research suggest about gender roles when people become parents
Gender roles are more likely to intensify when adults become parents:
- Expressive characteristics - nurturance and concern with feelings. Traditionally attributed to females
- Instrumental characteristics - involving task and occupation orientation. Traditionally attributed to of males
What is gender intensification?
Gender intensification with the onset of puberty and parenthood – Shift toward more typical gender-typed patterns of behavior. Also, pressure from parents and peers
What are sex differences in gender typing for boys and why is this the case?
Boys are more gender typed in their play and toy choices than girls are. Boys’ preference for gender-stereotyped toys remains constant as they age, whereas girls’ interest in gender-stereotyped activities decreases as they reach adolescence.
Why is this the case? Greater pressure for boys to conform – otherwise will receive criticism from parent and peers.
Is gender always determined by biological sex?
For some, gender is congruous with their assigned biological sex. For some, gender does not match their assigned biological sex. Keep in mind the terms cisgender and transgender, gender fluid
What is gender development from the evolutionary theory perspective (biological factors in gender development)?
To be able to pass genes from one generation to the next, individuals need to have mating strategies that enhance their reproductive success.
Males - aggressive and competitive skills to compete with other males
Females - strategies for attracting and keeping mates who are able to provide resources and protection for their offspring; they also need skills and interests that commit them to child rearing
What is gender development from the persepective of Kohlberg’s Cognitive Developmental Theory of Gender Typing?
Children use physical and behavioral cues (hairstyles, clothing) to differentiate gender roles and to gender type themselves very early in life
What are the three phases of Kohlberg’s Cognitive Developmental Theory of Gender Typing?
Three phases:
- Age 2-3 - basic gender identity: Recognize self as a boy or girl
- Age 4-5 - gender stability: Boys remain boys and girls remain girls
- Age 6-7 – gender constancy: Minor changes (clothing, etc.) does not change gender
What is the gender schema theory (an information processing approach)?
The view that children develop schemas, that help them organize and structure their experiences related to gender differences and gender roles. Children develop schemas based on their own perceptions and the information that parents, peers, and cultural stereotypes provide. Children use these gender schemas to evaluate and explain behavior
What are the principles of social learning from Bandura’s cognitive social learning thoery ?
- Observational learning – learn by watching others and use this knowledge to develop concepts of gender
- Positive and negative feedback – according to the ‘appropriateness’ of the behaviour. Shift from external to internal regulation of behavior across development
- Desire for self-efficacy – perceive that they are skilled and competent regarding gender
Who has the strongest influence of children’s gender typing and when does this begin?
Parents have the strongest influence on children’s early gender typing.
The process starts right after birth:Name baby, decorate nursery (pink vs blue), select gender-typed clothing, Toys and activities
How do parents perceive boys vs. girls at birth?
Parents perceive boys and girls differently at birth
- Daughters – small, soft, delicate
- Sons – strong, coordinated, alert
- More verbally responsive with daughters
- Harsher with boys
How do fathers perceive boys vs. girls?
Fathers treat girls and boys differently and use different play patterns (e.g., rough-and-tumble with sons)
- Reward gender-appropriate play (Especially fathers with sons. Fathers exert pressure for gender ‘appropriate’ toys)
- Encourage independence (e.g., explore) in boys and dependence in girls
- Are more protective of physical well-being (injuries, etc.)
- Encourage boys more than girls to achieve and compete
what does the research on father absence show?
Challenges to findings regarding effects of father absence (i.e., When fathers are away for various reasons, or simply show little interest in their children - young boys sometimes are affected in their gender-role development and behave more like girls – BUT:
Children reared in lesbian families do not differ in gender-role behavior from children reared in heterosexual households. Thus, children can learn gender roles in a variety of family arrangements
What did the research on father absence control for and find?
Study controlled for:
- Poverty
- Violence exposure
- Inadequate parental guidance
- Lack of supervision
- The effects of father’s absence on gender typing in girls are delayed until adolescence (Early = 5 years)
- Social learning theory suggests that father-absence might impact social skills and confidence required for heterosexual relationships
How can older siblings be gender socialization agents for younger siblings?
- Younger siblings’ gender typing is related to their older siblings’ attributes—even more strongly than to their parents’
- -Children with sisters tend to develop more feminine qualities; children with brothers, more masculine qualities
- Children with an older sibling of the opposite sex have less stereotypical gender-role concepts
What are the influences of books and television on gender typing?
- The books children read generally portray male and female roles in gender-stereotyped ways
- Males on television are portrayed as aggressive, decisive, professionally competent, etc.
- Females are portrayed as warmer, happier, and more sociable and emotional
- Children who view TV extensively are more likely to have stereotyped notions of gender and to conform to culturally accepted gender typing
Who serves as the strongest influence on childrens gender typed behaviour when children are in school?
-Peers serve as models and enforcers of society’s gender-role standards and are the strongest influence on children’s gender-typed behavior by the time they are in school
What happens when peers reward appropriate gender role behaviour?
-When peers reward appropriate gender-role behavior, children persist longer in the rewarded type of activity, especially if the reward comes from a same-sex peer
Peers reacted strongly when children violated gender ‘appropriate behaviour’ – especially for boys
Boys are criticized, Girls are ignored
What is gender segregation?
Children spend more time with same-gender peers
By the time they are in preschool, children choose ______ ________ play partners
By the time they are in preschool, children choose same-gender play partners
Is gender segregation culturally universal?
Gender segregation is evident across many cultures
What does gender segregation encourage?
Gender segregation encourages separate styles of interaction that are distinctly male and female;
that is, it provides distinctive socializing experiences for boys and girls
Who creates the school culture and who does it favor in the beginning?
- Female teachers tend to frown on the independent, assertive, competitive, and boisterous qualities more often seen in boys
- They prefer girls, who are more verbally oriented, well behaved, and willing to follow rules
- Girls like and perform better in school
- For many boys, school is not a happy place
- -difficulty in adjusting to new routines
- –create problems for teachers
What does Androgynous mean?
Possessing both feminine and masculine psychological characteristics
Children who are androgynous…
- Are less likely to make gender-typed choices of toys and play activities
- Are better adjusted and more creative
- Have high self-esteem
How many influences does gender typing have?
Multiple influences: biological, cognitive (Kohlberg’ steps) and social
What multiple domains affect socialization?
parents, siblings, peers, teachers, mass media
Is there a high overlap between male and female traits?
yes, similarities outweigh differences
