Gender Development Flashcards
Define: Gender Identity
A child’s sense of being male or female; belonging to one sex.
Define: Gender Typing
The process of socializing children into their gender roles.
Define: Intersex Conditions
Chromosome or hormonal abnormalities that cause a child to be born with ambiguous genitals. (gender variant)
Compare: Transgender and Transsexual
Transgender
-people who do not fit into the usual categories of male-female (intersexed)
Transsexual
-people who are not intersexed, but identify more with the opposite sex
What, do biological researchers believe influences a child’s play and toy preferences?
Prenatal hormones. The presence or lack of androgens (masculinizing hormone)
-girls exposed to higher levels of androgens tend to be tomboys
What does gender identity depend on?
- gene interaction
- prenatal hormones
- anatomical structures
- life experiences
At what age do children develop a stable gender identity? What do they come to believe?
- age 5
- they understand that activities boys and girls do does not necessarily indicate what gender they are.
When children develop a stable gender identity, they also develop…
Gender Schema
-mental network of beliefs about what males and females are, and what they are supposed to do
Between what ages are young children most rigidly gender typed?
between 5-7 years old
At what age can a baby begin to identify the gender of other people?
18-20 months
At what age can babies begin to distinguish between male-female, and male-female voices?
by 9 months old
At what age do children start to become gender typed?
by age 2
When does gender-socialization truly begin?
Birth
Could you predict a child’s gender behavior as an adult by observing them as a 5yr old?
No
-gender development is a life-long process
