sex role stereotypes Flashcards
what is sex?
a persons biological status as either male or female. it is determined initially by different chromosomes which in turn, influence hormonal differences.
where does an individuals sex lie on the nature nurture debate?
nature, it is innate, fixed
what characteristics does an individuals sex determine?
physical differences such as; reproductive organs, body shape, hair growth
what is gender?
a persons psychological status as either masculine or feminine. it is determined by social norms and cultural expectations.
where does an individuals gender lie on the nature nurture debate?
nurture, its environmentally determined, more open to change
what characteristics does an individuals gender determine?
different attitudes, roles, behaviours
what are sex role stereotypes?
they are a set of shared expectations that people within a society or culture hold about what is acceptable or usual for males and females.
how are sex role stereotypes transmitted to us?
these expectations are thought to be transmitted to us throughout society.
who reinforces these stereotypes?
they may be reinforced by parents, peers, media, schools etc.
what may some of these stereotypes lead to?
they may lead to some sexist assumptions being formed
AO3: how is ‘supporting evidence for the role of nature’ a strength to sex role stereotypes?
Ingalhalikar et al (2014) suggested that some aspects of the sex role stereotypes are based on actual differences. they scanned the brains of 949 young men and women. the females had better connections between the left and right of the brain, whereas, the males brain show more intense activity in individual parts. this shows that the female brain is hardwired to cope better with several tasks, whereas, the male brain is hardwired to cope better with single, complex tasks. therefore, this shows that there may be a biological basis to some sex role stereotypes.
AO3; how is ‘supporting evidence for the role of nurture’ a strength to sex role stereotypes?
Smith and Lloyd (1978) videotaped 32 mothers playing for 10 minutes with a baby. they used 4-6 month old baby and half the time were dressed in boys clothes and the other half in girls clothes, regardless of their actual sex. there was a variety of toys available. ‘boys’ were given hammer-shaped rattles and encouraged to be adventurous and active. ‘girls’ were given cuddly dolls and often told they were ‘pretty’ and were reinforced for being passive. this shows that mothers do treat boys and girls differently in line with sex role stereotypes, suggesting they are influenced by nurture.
AO3: how is ‘real life application’ a strength to sex role stereotypes?
if we understand how sex role stereotypes are constructed and the impact they have, we can try to develop strategies and initiatives to challenge them where necessary. for example, we could encourage toy companies to challenge traditional stereotypes in the production and marketing of their toys.
AO3: how is ‘interactionalist approach’ a limitation to sex role stereotypes?
instead of looking at sex role stereotypes as nature based or nurture based, we should take an interactionalist approach. instead of suggesting it is one or the other, we should look at how nature and nurture interact together leading to sex role stereotypes. if someone is biologically determined one sex but is brought up in a gender neutral household, they may chose to identify as their biological sex or may be influenced to identify as their own gender preference. therefore, this suggest that sex role stereotypes are influenced by several factors not just nature or nurture.
