Gender - The Influence of Culture and Media on Gender Roles Flashcards
What are the key features of culture and gender roles?
- nature vs nurture
- the role of nurture (Mead’s research)
- the role of nature (Buss’s research)
How does nature vs nurture play a part in gender roles?
Nature: If a gender behaviour is consistent across cultures, we consider it innate or biological.
Nurture: If a gender behaviour is culturally specific, we consider this is due to the influence of shared norms and socialisation.
What was Mead’s research?
Mead’s (1935) research on tribal groups of New Guinea supported the cultural determination of gender roles.
- Arapesh: gentle and responsive (similar to the Western stereotype of femininity)
- Mundugumor: aggressive and hostile (similar to the Western stereotype of masculinity)
- Tchambuli women were dominant and they organised village life; men were passive and considered to be decorative (reverse of Western gender behaviour)
What was Buss’s research?
Buss (1994) found consistent mate preferences in 37 countries studied across all continents. In all cultures:
- women sought men offering wealth and resources
- men looked for youth and physical attractiveness
Munroe and Munroe (1975) found that in most societies, division of labour is organised along gender lines.
What are the key features of the media and gender roles?
- same-sex media role models preferred
- the media creates gender stereotypes
- correlation between media exposure and gender-stereotypical views
What are the effects of same-sex media role models?
Children are most likely to imitate role models who are the same sex as they are and who are engaging in gender-appropriate behaviour.
This maximises the chances of gender-appropriate behaviours being reinforced.
How does the media create gender stereotypes?
Bussey and Bandura (1999) found that the media provides clear gender stereotypes, for example:
- men are independent, ambitious and advice-givers
- women are dependent, unambitious and advice-seekers
Furnham and Farragher (2000) found that men were more likely to be shown in autonomous roles within professional contexts, whereas women were often seen occupying familial roles within domestic settings.
How is there correlation between media exposure and gender-stereotypical views?
McGhee and Frueh (1990) found that children who have more exposure to popular forms of media tend to display more gender-stereotypical views in their behaviour and attitudes.
The research also suggested that people gain information through the media about the likely success or otherwise of adopting gender-typical behaviours, i.e. vicarious reinforcement.
What are the weaknesses of research into the influence of culture and media on gender roles?
- Mead’s findings have been challenged
- imposed etic may affect the validity of findings
- research does not resolve the nature-nurture debate
- research on the media is correlational
- counter-stereotypes also exist in the media
How have Mead’s findings been challenged?
In a follow-up study of Samoan people, Freeman (1966) claimed that Mead misled participants and had been heavily influenced by her preconceptions.
However, Freeman’s research was similarly criticised for lack of objectivity. He selected research to support his own viewpoint.
This raises questions over the quality of the research offered in relation to the influence of culture and media on gender roles.
How may imposed etic affect the validity of findings?
Cross-cultural research is typically undertaken by Western researchers, using theories and methods developed in the West. It is suggested that they impose their own understanding upon the people they are studying.
Berry et al. (2002) claimed that imposed etics can make methods and findings meaningless. This is the use of methods developed in one culture to assess behaviour in another culture.
This suggests that conclusions from cross-cultural research may not be valid. The inclusion of at least one member of the local population in the research team (as Buss did) is a way of guarding against this possibility.
Why does research not resolve the nature-nurture debate?
Cross-cultural research can show what is biological and what is due to the impact of cultural practices on gender-role behaviour, but practically it is impossible to separate the two.
At birth, children start learning from their society about gender-role norms. It is impossible to determine where nature (biology) stops and nurture (social influence) begins.
It is likely that the true explanation of gender development will be a constant interaction between both nature and nurture.
How is research on the media correlational?
Media output might be reflecting social norms about males and females but it could also be that the media is the cause of such norms.
Children without regular media exposure are rarely available for the comparisons necessary to establish the direction of the media’s effect.
This means we cannot assume that the media is responsible for causing gender roles.
How do counter-stereotypes that exist in the media affect gender roles?
Such counter-stereotypes challenge notions of masculinity and femininity. Pingree (1978) found that gender stereotyping was reduced if children were shown adverts with women in non-stereotypical roles.
However, Pingree also found that pre-adolescent boys’ stereotypes became stronger following exposure to the non-traditional models.
Therefore the prediction that counter-stereotypes will reduce gender stereotyping is not always supported.
How does the Indian Khasi tribe go against Western ideas of gender roles?
- females are the stronger sex
- youngest daughter inherits
- children take mother’s surname
- men live in mother-in-law’s home
- only mothers or mother-in-law’s look after children
- men are not entitled to take part in family gatherings
