Child Development -Sex and Gender

Question 1

What is sex compared to gender?

Answer 1

sex = a person’s biological status, male/female
gender = learned or cultural status, masculine/feminine

Question 2

What is bigender?

Answer 2

A person who fluctuates between traditionally male and female gender based behaviours and identities

Question 3

What is intersex?

Answer 3

A person born with reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t seem to fit the typical definitions of male or female on the outside, but having mostly male-typical anatomy on the inside

Question 4

what is gender variant?

Answer 4

someone who either by nature or by choice does not conform to gender-based expectation of society

Question 5

What is cisgender?

Answer 5

A person whose gender identity and biological sex assigned at birth are the same. For example, they were born biologically as a male, and express their gender as male.

Question 6

What is gender expression?

Answer 6

The external display of one’s gender, through a combination of how they dress, how they act and other factors, generally measured on scales of masculinity and femininity.

Question 7

What is Mx?

Answer 7

A title that is gender neutral. Pronounced miks, often option of choice for those who are not cisgender.

Question 8

What is gender fluid?

Answer 8

A mix of boy and girl. A person who is gender fluid may always feel like a mix of the two traditional genders, but may feel more man some days and more feminine other days.

Question 9

What is third gender?

Answer 9

A term for a person who does not identify with either man or woman, but identifies with another gender. This gender category is used by societies that recognise three or more genders. Conceptual term meaning different things for different people who use it.

Question 10

What is genderqueer?

Answer 10

A gender identity label often used by people who do not identify with being a man or a woman, or as an umbrella term for many gender non-conforming or non-binary identities.

Question 11

What is transgender?

Answer 11

A person who lives as a member of a gender other than that expected based on the sex assigned at birth.

Question 12

What factors determine gender (gender identity)?

Answer 12

• prenatal hormones
• development of male or female genitalia
• parents assign as a male or female and raise accordingly

Question 13

What is DSD?

Answer 13

• Disorders of sexual development
• reproductive or sexual anatomy which is not standard for a female or male

Question 14

what are parental influences on gender identity?

Answer 14

• as role models
• through child-parent interactions
• gender-appropriate toys and activities

Question 15

What is gender (or sex) role?

Answer 15

• behaviours, attitudes and characteristics associated with gender roles
• become stereotypes

Question 16

What is social learning theory?

Answer 16

• rewards for ‘masculine’ behaviour and punishment for ‘feminine’ behaviour
• imitating males

= male gender identity

Question 17

What is cognitive developmental theory?

Answer 17

• male gender identity

= ‘masculine’ behaviour

Question 18

At which age does gender identity get recognised?

Answer 18

e.g. which person is a girl? Age 2-3 years

Question 19

At which age does gender stability get recognised?

Answer 19

e.g. when you grow up, will you be a mummy or a daddy? Around 4 years

Question 20

At what age does gender constancy get recognised?

Answer 20

boys don’t change into girls by wearing dresses = 4-5 years

Question 21

Who shapes gender roles?

Answer 21

• family
• peers = preference for same sex playmates (apparent before age 3), encourages separation, prejudice, difference
• school = structure, teacher, behaviour
• media = books, magazines, TV

Question 22

What do media and books present in terms of gender?

Answer 22

books = females under-represented, male characters are more varied, active and having exciting roles

media = men outnumber women, advertisements have stereotyped roles and body image emphasis

Question 23

What are similarities in gender and cognitive abilities?

Answer 23

• general intelligence
• learning and memory
• complex cognitive tasks

Question 24

What are differences in gender and cognitive abilities?

Answer 24

• maths ability
• verbal ability
• spatial ability

Question 25

What are social explanations of gender and cognitive ability?

Answer 25

• boys experience more maths at school and more attention from male teachers
• attitudes

Question 26

What is the gender similarities hypothesis?

Answer 26

meta-synthesis that males are quite similar on most, but not all, psychological variables

• maths = no difference
• verbal skills = small and varies depending on the type of skill assessed
• spatial ability = 3D mental rotation shows a moderate advantage for males

differences model sustains stereotypes

Question 27

What are gender differences in substance dependency

Answer 27

men are twice as likely to be dependant

Question 28

What are gender differences in depression?

Answer 28

Women are twice as likely

Question 29

What are gender differences in eating disorders?

Answer 29

Women are 9-20 times more likely to have this