Chapter 12 - Gender Identity

Question 1

GENDER IDENTITY

Answer 1

GENDER is one of the first social categories children learn to apply to themselves and others. It strongly influences the development of the self and the individual’s ideas on social relationship they should engage in.

Question 2

MILESTONES of GENDER IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT

Answer 2

GENDER IDENTITY develops fairly early in development:

• At 2 years of age, children are able to define themselves as male of female;
• By 3 years of age children behave in ways that give clear signals about whether they are boys or girls.
• By the time children are 4, they develop rigid stereotypes concerning the type of occupations suitable for male and females;
• By 5 years of age, they associate some personality characteristic to males, others to females.

In the preschool years children have strong gender identities and strictly follow rigid gender rules, but such norms and expectations tend to become more flexible as they grow older.

Question 3

SOURCES of GENDER IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT

Answer 3

SOURCES of information that influence GENDER IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT are:

1) PEERS, who produce social pressure and punish gender inconsistency;
2) The MEDIA, which expose children to gender expectations;
3) PARENTS, who actively endorse their own gender identity and roles.

Question 4

PARENTAL INFLUENCES on GENDER IDENTITY

Answer 4

Parents approach male and females differently - in this sense, gender identity both shapes and is shaped by parental behaviour in a bidirectional relation. Domains in which adults use different interactive styles with girls and boys are:

• Choice of toy - adults encourage children to choose gender- appropriate toys
• Type of play - boys are encouraged, girls discouraged to engage in active and vigorous play;
• Dependence - help-seeking behavior is more tolerated for girls than for boys;
• Aggression - aggressive behavior is more tolerated for boys than for girls;
• Emotion - verbal and behavioral expressions of emotions more tolerated among girls;

Question 5

SAME SEX PARENTING

Answer 5

Research on the influence of SAME SEX PARENTING on gender identity development is scarce, for difficulties in conducting studies include (1) reluctance to discuss sexual orientation, (2) fear of discrimination, (3) small samples and (4) lack of reliable demographic - gay parents that are willing to participate in studies might not accurately represent the bigger population of same sex parents, for their open-mindedness might be above average.
Nevertheless, research shows similar levels of psychological well-being and behavioral adjustment between children of heterosexual and homosexual parents, while other studies highlight high levels of PEER TEASING about parents’ sexual orientation. Since parents are one of the main sources of gender identity development, children of homosexual parents are more tolerant of same-sex experimentation, and tend to adhere less to gender stereotypes.

Question 6

5 THEORIES of GENDER IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT

Answer 6

5 major THEORIES of GENDER IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT have been proposed thought the decades:

1) The PSYCHODYNAMIC view maintains that through development, CONFLICT between personal desires and culturally accepted behavior arises. Children develop gender identities through the process of IDENTIFICATION - children try to act, look and be like people they interact with - which leads to the OEDIPUS COMPLEX in boys and in the ELECTRA COMPLEX in girls. These complexes, which consist in the desire of engaging sexual intercourse with the parent of the opposite sex, are then resolved with development.
2) The SOCIAL LEARNING - which is rooted in BEHAVIOURISM - posits that IDENTIFICATION arises through MODELLING and REINFORCEMENT - beyond parents, children are influenced by peers, siblings, media, and societal values

3) The COGNITIVE-DEVELOPMENTAL view stresses the importance of cognitive development and maintains that gender identity development follows 3 stages:
A) IDENTITY (2 years of age) - the correct identification of oneself and others as male or female;
B) STABILITY (4 years of age) - the understanding that gender remains stable across the life span;
C) CONSTANCY (7 years of age) - the awareness that changes in outward appearance do not influence gender.

4) The GENDER SCHEMA view integrates the SOCIAL LEARNING approach with the COGNITIVE-DEVELOPMENTAL approach with the help of the INFORMATION PROCESSING APPROACH. According to this view, repeated exposure to cultural and social influence produce GENDER SCHEMAS, which are stored in memory and activated whenever gender identity is relevant.
5) The CULTURAL view - supported by BRUNER and VYGOTSKY - argues that acquisition of gender roles is mediated by cultural conceptions and gender stereotypes and that transmission of this values is largely implicit - cultural variability characterises gender categories, their rigidness and consequences of crossing category boundaries.