Child Development -Sex and Gender Flashcards
What is sex compared to gender?
sex = a person’s biological status, male/female
gender = learned or cultural status, masculine/feminine
What is bigender?
A person who fluctuates between traditionally male and female gender based behaviours and identities
What is intersex?
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
what is gender variant?
someone who either by nature or by choice does not conform to gender-based expectation of society
What is cisgender?
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.
What is gender expression?
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.
What is Mx?
A title that is gender neutral. Pronounced miks, often option of choice for those who are not cisgender.
What is gender fluid?
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.
What is third gender?
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.
What is genderqueer?
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.
What is transgender?
A person who lives as a member of a gender other than that expected based on the sex assigned at birth.
What factors determine gender (gender identity)?
- prenatal hormones
- development of male or female genitalia
- parents assign as a male or female and raise accordingly
What is DSD?
- Disorders of sexual development
- reproductive or sexual anatomy which is not standard for a female or male
what are parental influences on gender identity?
- as role models
- through child-parent interactions
- gender-appropriate toys and activities
What is gender (or sex) role?
- behaviours, attitudes and characteristics associated with gender roles
- become stereotypes
What is social learning theory?
- rewards for ‘masculine’ behaviour and punishment for ‘feminine’ behaviour
- imitating males
= male gender identity
What is cognitive developmental theory?
- male gender identity
= ‘masculine’ behaviour
At which age does gender identity get recognised?
e.g. which person is a girl? Age 2-3 years
At which age does gender stability get recognised?
e.g. when you grow up, will you be a mummy or a daddy? Around 4 years
At what age does gender constancy get recognised?
boys don’t change into girls by wearing dresses = 4-5 years
Who shapes gender roles?
- family
- peers = preference for same sex playmates (apparent before age 3), encourages separation, prejudice, difference
- school = structure, teacher, behaviour
- media = books, magazines, TV
What do media and books present in terms of gender?
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
What are similarities in gender and cognitive abilities?
- general intelligence
- learning and memory
- complex cognitive tasks
What are differences in gender and cognitive abilities?
- maths ability
- verbal ability
- spatial ability
What are social explanations of gender and cognitive ability?
- boys experience more maths at school and more attention from male teachers
- attitudes
What is the gender similarities hypothesis?
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
What are gender differences in substance dependency
men are twice as likely to be dependant
What are gender differences in depression?
Women are twice as likely
What are gender differences in eating disorders?
Women are 9-20 times more likely to have this
