Lecture 9: Gender Flashcards
Sex (female/male)
- Biological differences between females and males that are determined at conception
- Primary (genitals) and secondary sex characteristics (hormones)
Gender (woman/men)
Social and cultural differences a society assigns to people based on their biological sex
femininity
the cultural expectations of girls and women
masculinity
the cultural expectations of boys and men
gender identity
- A person’s sense of their gender may or may not correspond to the sex assigned at birth
- This typically falls into binary, non-binary, and ungendered
gender expression
- The ways that a person expresses or communicates gender identity, usually through behaviour, appearance, mannerisms
- This may correspond with gendered stereotypes or social definitions of gender
- This may be based on the binary categories of male and female
cisgender
when biological sex aligns with gender identity
transgender
when biological sex does not align with gender identity
cigender heterosexual
- sex assigned at birth matches current gender identity or does not identify as transgedner
- identifies as straight
gender minority heterosexual
- sex assigned at birth does not match current gender identity or does identify as transgedner
- identifies as straight
cisgender sexual minority
- sex assigned at birth matches current gender identity or does identify as transgedner
- identifies as anything other than straight
gender and sexual minority
- sex assigned at birth dos not match current gender identity or does not identify as transgender
- identifies as anything other than straight
overall patterns of mental health for women
- Internalizing disorders (disorders where you turn problematic feelings against yourself)
- Ex. anxiety, depression
overall patterns of mental health for men
- Externalizing disorders (disorders where you turn problematic feelings against others)
- Ex. substance abuse, ASPD
differences in mental health by race
narrower gender gap among Black Americans as compared to White Americans
mental health of sexual minorites
lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: greater rates of mental distress, depression, and reported suicide attempts.
mental health of gender minorities
transgender and gender nonconforming individuals = elevated odds of poor mental health
depression in gender and sexual minorities
- ⅓ of cisgender sexual minorities were diagnosed with depression
- ½ to ⅔ of gender and sexual minorities were diagnosed with depression
division of labour (men vs. women)
- Industrial revolution
- Public sphere (men) vs. private sphere (women)
- Productive work vs. emotional work
power differentials (men vs. women)
- Second shift: women are expected to perform the majority of household work despite working
- Decision-making: women tend to have less decision-making power in the home and the workplace
- Higher levels of socioeconomic disadvantage
character traits (men vs. women)
- Women: submissive, nurturing, sensitive, emotional, dependent
- Men: assertive, dominant, independent, stoic, strong, leader
division of labour (intersections of race & gender)
- Less division between the private sphere of family and the public sphere of the workplace
- Black women and men both believe in economic provision & emotional caretaking
power differentials (intersections of race & gender)
More economic equality between Black women and men
character traits (intersections of race & gender)
Black women & men exhibit more androgynous character traits
structural mechanisms for differences in mental health by gender
- power differntials
- socioeconomic disadvantage
- self-salience
psychosocial mechanisms for differences in mental health by gender
- exposure vs. vulnerability to stressors
- coping resources
- social relationships
low self-salience
emphasizing the collective over the individual
low self-salience and mental health
- This can lead to internalizing problems
- This is present in girls
high self-salience
emphasizing the individual over the collective
high self-salience and mental health
- This can lead to externalizing problems
- This is present in boys
stressors of men vs. women
- Men are more likely to experience traumatic events (except sexual and domestic violence)
- Women are more likely to experience stressors in their social environment
coping strategies of men vs. women
- Men are more likely to use problem-focused coping (changing the stressor itself) and women are more likely to use emotion-focused coping (changing your reaction to the stressor)
social networks & roles of men vs. women
- Women are more likely to have an extensive social network
- But, this can also be bad for mental health if there are issues in one’s social network
- Women are more likely to have conflicting social roles (ex. mom guilt)
double disadvantage hypothesis
health is not determined wholly in the context of one system of stratification. Instead, stratification systems overlap and intersect, disproportionately exposing individuals to disadvantage and directly and indirectly shaping health and wellbeing across the life course.
mechanisms for the intersections of sex and gender
- Greater incidence and severity of discrimination
- Greater likelihood of misclassification
- Compounding misalignment in the sex-gender-sexuality system
