Gender

Question 1

Sex-role Stereotypes

Answer 1

-A set of shared expectations within a social group about what men and women should do and think.

Question 2

Androgyny

Answer 2

-A personality type that includes a balance of both masculine and feminine traits and behaviours

Question 3

What is the difference between sex and gender?

Answer 3

-Sex refers to being either genetically male (XY) or genetically female (XX)
-Gender refers to a person’s sense of maleness or femaleness, a psychological/social construct.

Question 4

Measuring Androgyny

Answer 4

-Bem introduced the concept of androgyny.
-She invented the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI).

Question 5

How was the BSRI invented and how does one measure their gender on it?

Answer 5

-The inventory was developed by asking 100 American Undergraduates which personality traits they thought were desirable for men or women, 20 male, 20 female and 20 neutral items were created.
-Each person rates themselves on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from never true to almost always true

Question 6

What is the role of chromosomes in sex and gender?

Answer 6

-The typical chromosome pattern for each person is 23 pairs.
-In females, the sex chromosome consists of XX.
-In males, the sex chromosome consists of XY - (the Y chromosome carries very little genetic material - but still determines the sex of a child).

Question 7

Atypical Chromosome Patterns - Klinefelter’s syndrome

Answer 7

-Due to an XXY configuration, individual is born with a penis, develops as a male.
-Look less masculine due to reduced levels of testosterone - less facial hair and broader hips.
-1 in 1000 males have this condition.