Gender Flashcards
Gender role
societal expectations on gendered behavior, thoughts, traits
virtually all cultures have expectations based on gender!
e.g. men are typically aggressive, competitive, assertive while women are typically nurturing, affectionate, gentle, understanding
Sex assigned at birth
based on objectively measurable biological organs, hormones, chromosomes
e.g. male, female, intersex
Gender or gender identity
a person’s sense of self as gendered; an internal or psychological experience
e.g. man, woman, genderqueer, non-binaryr
Gender expression
how a person demonstrates their gender
e.g. feminine, masculine, etc.
Sexual orientation
who a person is physically/emotionally attracted to
How do infants and toddlers think about gender?
- can discriminate between male and female but focus on superficial cues
- some awareness of gender stereotypes
e.g. look longer at gender-stereotyped toys (e.g. girls look longer at dolls) and look longer at gender-inconsistent pictures (e.g. man putting on make-up)
Kohlberg’s cognitive developmental theory of gender
changes in cognitive development lead to changes in thinking about gender
i.e. children actively construct gender identity as thinking matures
also leads to changes in adherence to gender-typical behavior or expectations
3 stages of gender development in children
Kohlberg
- gender identity (2-2.5 yrs): can label gender
- gender stability (3-4 yrs): gender remains stable over time
- gender consistency (5-7 yrs): gender remains consistent regardless of appearance (e.g. a man with a purse is still a man)
gender stability leads to increased rigidity while gender consistency leads to increased flexibility (i.e. gender is internally stable regardless of expression)
Changes in thinking about gender in childhood
- shift from gender essentialism (biologically-determined gender diferences) to thinking of gender roles as socially influenced at ~ 8/9 yrs
- increase in knowledge of gender stereotypes
peak of rigid application of stereotypes at ~5-7 yrs then decline (i.e. more flexible)
2 hallmarks of thinking about gender in adolescence
- gender role intensification: heightened concern about adhering to traditional gender roles, especially in terms of behavior
- gender role flexibility: allowing for traditional gender conventions to be transcended, especially in terms of beliefs
intensification more common in early and middle adolescence while flexibility more common in late adolescence
Findings on gender/sex differences
- more variation within genders than between genders
- differences are based on averages so they don’t apply to all individuals
- most research conducted has assumed participants to be cisgender
When do physical gender/sex differences begin to show up?
puberty
* physical growth
* development of primary sex characteristics, resulting in hormone changes that enable reproduction
* development of secondary sex characteristics (e.g. breasts, public/facial/body hair)
- few physical differences based on sex
- increase in sex-linked differences after puberty (e.g. boys show greater physical strength and speed)
Cognitive gender/sex differences
- girls are slightly better at verbal tasks while boys are slightly better at spatial tasks in IQ tests
- girls have better academic performance and more positive feelings about school > put in more effort
but by age 6-7, girls are less likely than boys to believe that members of their own gender are smart
Gender/sex differences in toys
- girls are more likely to play with dolls, kitchen sets, and dress-up
- boys are more likely to play with action figures, construction toys, and video games
Gender/sex differences in style of play
boys are more physically active (e.g. rough and tumble play) while girls are more cooperative
Gender/sex differences in fantasy play
- boys are more likely to involve heroes and combat
- girls are more likely to involve household roles and romance
Gender/sex differences in size of play group
girls are more likely to play in pairs/threesomes while boys are more likely to play in larger groups
Gender/sex differences in emotions
- girls report expressing more emotions (except for anger!)
- girls appear better at emotion regulation at earlier ages
- girls are more likely to experience depression and low self-esteem beginning in adolescence
Gender/sex differences in interpersonal behavior
- boys are more likely to engage in direct aggression (e.g. physical, verbal)
- mixed findings on indirect/relational aggression
- girls are more likely to show kindness to others and share
by age 6-7, boys are less likely to believe that other boys are nice
3 kinds of influences on gender development
- biological influences (e.g. chromosomes, hormones)
- social & cultural influences (e.g. family, peers, teachers, media)
- cognitive influences (e.g. gender understanding, self-socialization, gender identity)
Evolutionary psychology theory
biological influence on gender development
gender differences exist because they would have been adaptive for survival (i.e. survival value)
there are different evolutionary pressures on men and women (e.g. maternal care like breastfeeding is necessary for infant survival and leads to a more collaborative/caring style of play among girls)
Role of hormones in gender development
differences in androgen (male) and estrogen (female) hormones lead to gender differences
e.g. congenital adrenal hyperplasia
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia
- genetic females (XX) with high levels of androgen form male or partially male genitalia
- more likely to show traditionally male behavior
commonly identify as women but show traits associated with males (e.g. aggressive, energetic)
Are there gender differences in brain structure and function?
- small differences in adults
- difficult to study in children (relies on autopsies and there aren’t many healthy brains to examine)
Social learning & social cognitive theories
social influence on gender development
- observational learning (i.e. modeling) from people we identify with
- reinforcement (e.g. punishing boys for expressing emotions)
Gender schema theory
cognitive influence on gender development
- our mental representations of gender influence our experiences, expectations, and stereotypes
- once children can identify gender, they use schemas as a guide for their behavior and understanding of the world
schemas are active constructions!
Transgender
gender identity and expression differs from assigned sex
Cisgender
gender identity matches assigned sex
Non-binary or genderqueer
an individual rejects the binary categorization of gender
Agender or gender-neutral
an individual doesn’t identify as a man/woman/any gender
Benefits of studying gender identity
- helps to understand the development of all children
- and the different contributors to gender development (e.g. biological influences, socialization from others, self-socialization)
Findings on mental health of transgender youth
socially-transitioned trans youth (8-14 yrs) may have better mental health outcomes than trans youth generally
e.g. less depression and anxiety symptoms, bullying, suicide attempts
limitations
* socially-transitioned sample may be better supported by their family, peers, community
* and typically younger and have higher income
Current areas of research beyond the gender binary
- determining how best to measure non-binary identity in children (e.g. scales are critiqued for having a dichotomous continuum, not allowing for fluidity)
- examining mental health outcomes between cisgender, transgender, and non-binary youth
non-binary, genderqueer, gender-fluid, agender, etc. appears to be increasingly common and visible!
