Sex, Gender, and Sexuality

Question 1

Biological Accounts

Answer 1

1. Biological accounts argue that males and females are intrinsically different, and that masculinity and femininity are derived from these biological differences
2. From this perspective, the origin of the differences between women and men is located in the genes, hormones, or evolutionary factors
3. Biological factors are seen to produce gender differences in personality
   - Such as aggressiveness in males or nurturance in females
4. This biological view has been labelled as essentialist
5. Gender essentialism refers to the belief in inherent, natural differences between males and females and that, if they develop properly, males become masculine men and females become feminine women
6. Assumes that gender is inherent at birth and that gender traits, such as our character and temperament, and the areas in which we excel are internal and unchanging
7. Essentialist views pay little attention to social, historical, and cultural influences, and gender is assumed to be the same across time and location
   - These accounts do not allow for individual agency, choice, and change
8. If we assume that men are inherently aggressive by virtue of their genetic make-up or evolutionary adaptation, why is it that only some men perpetrate acts of violence, and how do we combat problems such as men’s violence against women?

Question 2

Psychoanalytic Theory

Answer 2

1. Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality and sexual development suggests that gender identity develops as a result of internal, unconscious conflicts in children
2. According to this theory, children develop an attraction to the opposite-sex parent
3. Freud suggested that boys experience an Oedipus complex and girls experience penis envy
4. Both girls and boys experience conflict and anxiety over their attraction to the opposite-sex parent and their sexual competition with the same-sex parent
5. However, the conflict is resolved when they realise the risks of competing with the same-sex parent and they later come to identify with that parent and develop a gender identity and behaviour similar to the same-sex parent
6. Freud believed that the conflict is resolved differently for boys and girls
   - Boys are able to resolve the conflict fully, identify with their fathers and develop a strong superego (responsible for moral development)
   - Girls, according to Freud, do not fully resolve the crisis and have a weaker identification with their mothers, resulting in a weaker superego and an inferiority complex

Question 3

Freud’s psychosexual theory criticisms

Answer 3

1. As could be expected, Freud’s views on women have been subjected to considerable criticism, particularly by feminist psychologists
2. His theory has also been critiqued for being essentialist and for universalising human sexual development, and for overlooking cultural, social, and historical contingencies
3. As a result, theorists began to accord more attention to the social aspects of gender development

Question 4

Social Learning Theory

Answer 4

1. Social learning theory argues that attitudes and behaviours are learned from the surrounding environment
2. Theorists note that individuals acquire masculine and feminine characteristics and skills by using significant others as role models
3. The concept of socialisation was introduced to refer to the ways in which individuals learn gender appropriate behaviour

Question 5

socialization

Answer 5

A broad term that is generally used to describe the processes through which children learn the ‘rules’ of behaviour, the systems of beliefs, and the values of their society

Question 6

socializing agents

Answer 6

Parents, family members, teachers, peers, and the media convey repeated messages both verbally and through their actions

Question 7

Social Learning Theory 2

Answer 7

1. Through their exposure to these messages, children learn gender-appropriate behaviour patterns and attitudes
2. Social learning occurs in complex ways
   Adults communicate messages about gender both consciously and unconsciously
3. From the time of their birth, babies are treated differently depending upon their sex
4. The first question usually asked after the birth of a child is: ‘Is it a girl or a boy?’
   - The answer to that question becomes a central organiser of the child’s life and the way others relate to them
5. Conscious gendered messages conveyed by parents may include:
   - Dressing children in different colours
   - - Blue (and other bright primary colours) for boys
   - - Pink (and other light pastel colours) for girls
   - Giving children sex-typed toys
6. At the unconscious level, parents also communicate differently with girls and boys
7. Research shows that the responses of parents and other family members to children vary depending on their gender
   - For example, researchers found that baby girls’ and boys’ cries were interpreted differently
   - - Boys were assumed to cry to exercise their lungs, whereas girls’ crying was interpreted as a sign of distress
8. Another example of an unconscious gendered message is when people interpret boys’ mischievous behaviour as natural, while expecting passive and constrained behaviour from girls
9. Likewise, the stories children are told about princes and princesses, and the dolls and action heroes that they are given, all convey messages about gender roles and stereotypes

Question 8

Social Learning Theory 3

Answer 8

1. In the past, social learning theorists referred to the tasks, responsibilities, and expectations of men and women as gender roles
2. However, we now understand that gender goes beyond playing a role and thus the term ‘doing gender’ came into use
3. Doing gender is not only a display or behaviour
   - By doing gender, we also construct, produce, and reproduce gender in all of our daily social interactions
4. The expectations that, for example, women care for children and men are breadwinners, are particular ways in which women and men do gender
5. These ways of doing gender frequently go unchallenged, and those who do challenge them are often criticised
   - - e.g. A woman who does not assume the role of primary caregiver may be labelled a bad mother
6. Ways of doing gender and gender stereotypes form a network that shapes our behaviours in particular ways
   - From the way we dress, to our use of language, and how we express our sexuality
7. Gender stereotypes refer to psychological traits and behavioural characteristics that are attributed to women and men by virtue of their group membership