Chapter 12: Gender and Sexuality Flashcards
What is gender?
The characteristics of people as male and female.
What is gender identity? At what age does it emerge?
Knowledge, understanding and acceptance of one’s own gender. 2 years old.
What are gender roles?
Explanations and expectations about how males and females should act.
What is gender-typing?
Acquiring traditional masculine or feminine roles.
Why does sex-typed behaviour increase during preschool years?
Because of gender-oriented toys.
What are estrogens?
A class of sex hormones that influence female physical sex characteristics and help regulate menstrual cycle.
What are androgens? What is the most important androgen?
A class of sex hormones that promote development of male genitals and secondary sex characteristics. Testosterone.
What is congentital adrenal hyperplasia?
When the adrenal glands enlarge, producing more androgens. This cause females to have genitals that are in-between genders.
What is a typical characteristic of androgen-insensitive males?
Attraction to other males.
What is a pelvic field defect?
Abdominal organs are typically exposed. Boys are castrated and reared as girls, but often adopt a male identity.
What is a major reason for sexual reassignment at a young age?
Circumcision gone wrong, loss of the penis.
What is Eagly’s social role theory?
Psychological gender differences are caused by the contrasting social roles of women and men.
What is the psychoanalytic theory of gender?
Stemming from Freud’s view that children are attracted to the opposite-sex parent until age 5, children retract those feelings due to anxiety and identify with the same-sex parent.
What is the social cognitive theory of gender?
Reinforcement, rewards and punishments shape gender-appropriate behaviour. Children learn through observation and imitation.
How does the role of the father change when he has a son rather than a daughter?
Fathers tend to be more involved with sons, and are less likely to divorce.
What are a mother’s socialization strategies?
Mothers tend to restrict the daughter’s autonomy and stress obediency and responsibility more than with sons.
What are a father’s socialization strategies?
Fathers pay more attention to sons and encourage intellectual development.
Why do children tend to spend time with same-sex peers?
Because of gender-based play. Boys tend to be more physical and aggressive, while girls tend to be calmer.
How are schools biased against boys?
Most teachers are female, boys are more likely to have a learning disorder, boys are more likely to be criticized by teachers, and they will more likely be stereotyped as “problematic.”
How are schools biased against girls?
Teachers spend more time interacting with boys, boys are given more help when struggling, girls have more pressure on their self-esteem, despite entering elementary school with similar levels to boys.
