Gender - Cultural Influences on Gender

Question 1

Why is Cross-cultural research useful?

Answer 1

To establish which influence is more important, biological or social.

Question 2

What does it mean when behaviour across different cultures is similar?

Answer 2

Biological Influence

Question 3

What does it mean when behaviour across different cultures is different?

Answer 3

Social Influence

Question 4

What are girls socialised to be in all cultures?

Answer 4

Nurturing, responsible and obedient

Question 5

What are boys socialised to be in all cultures?

Answer 5

Assertive, independent and self-reliant

Question 6

What two cases are associated with cultural influences on gender?

Answer 6

Mead (1935)

Berry et al (2002)

Question 7

What happened in Mead (1935)?

Answer 7

3 different tribes in Papua New Guinea. Arapesh men and women = gentle, responsive and cooperative. Mundugumor men and women = violent and aggressive. Tchambuli women = rational and dominant, men = nurturing, submissive and emotional.

Question 8

What do the findings of Mead (1935) indicate?

Answer 8

Cultural determinism

Question 9

Why do the findings of Mead (1935) indicate cultural determinism?

Answer 9

All 3 tribes’ behaviour very different, no variation between men and women of Arapesh and Mundugumor tribes, behaviour in Tchambuli tribe is very different to cultural norms in westernised culture. Shows culture may determine gendered behaviour.

Question 10

What did Mead (1935) do in 1949?

Answer 10

Reanalysed her original data, realised in all three societies men were more aggressive than women.

Question 11

What do the results of Mead (1935) in 1949 suggest?

Answer 11

Suggests there is a biological aspect to gendered behaviour. Since all 3 tribes showed the same behaviour. The different cultures do not influence each other so the behaviour must be biological.

Question 12

What happened in Berry et al (2002)?

Answer 12

Male superiority on spatial tasks in 17 cultures. Found superiority only occurred in sedentary cultures, absent, even reversed, in nomadic societies. Suggests gender differences in spatial ability interact with cultural factors.

Question 13

What two tribes/societies are associated with attitudes towards people who cannot be clearly categorised?

Answer 13

Lakota tribe

Samoan Culture

Question 14

What is the tribe gender label of the Lakota tribe?

Answer 14

Winkte

Question 15

What are Winkte?

Answer 15

Men who do not want to be warriors, excel at crafts, prefer to take care of children, some travel with warriors as personal domestics or sexual partners. Perfectly acceptable for child to want to be a winkte.

Question 16

What is the third gender of Samoan culture?

Answer 16

Fa’afafine

Question 17

What are Fa’afafine?

Answer 17

Biological male who have strong feminine gender orientation, have distinct gender role specific to them. Not discourage to be a Fa’afafine. Not seen as gay, varied sexual life, have sex with women, men and other Fa’afafines. Sexual relationships between Fa’afafines and men are not considered homosexual.

Question 18

In what culture are men/women gender roles not clearly defined?

Answer 18

Israel’s kibbutzim

Question 19

Describe Israel’s kibbutzim. Why is it significant?

Answer 19

Men and women share equally in a wide variety of tasks and roles. Significant because it illustrates that men and women can equally share similar tasks if they are socialised to do so.

Question 20

What is the IDA for cultural influences on gender?

Answer 20

Nature v Nurture

Question 21

Are cultural influences on gender Nature or Nurture? Explain why.

Answer 21

Explanation is nurture as it shows that the culture in which you originate rom will determine how the different genders will behave, In many cultures these behaviours are different which tells us that it cannot have a biological explanation to it, therefore it must be to do with the way in which children are raised and what is seen as appropriate gender behaviour by the society in which people are in.