Sex role stereotypes Flashcards
What is a sex-role stereotype?
Types of qualities and characteristics seen as appropriate for each sex
Despite individuals being born male or female what do sex role stereotypes teach people?
What qualities are seen as masculine and feminine and thus creates norms that people feel pressured to conform to so much of what is considered masculine and feminine is learned through socialisation
What are some traditional sex roles for females?
Nurturing, co-operative, domestic, emotional, passive, pretty
What are some traditional sex roles for males?
Strong, independent, physical, aggressive, unemotional, competitive
What are some ways in which sex- role stereotypes are passed onto children?
Interaction with adults, different types of play/toys, other children policing roles, media, culture, within education pressures to study ‘gender suitable’ subjects.
What was Seavey et al’s research into sex-role stereotypes?
Had 3 conditions with adult RPS - they were told that a baby dressed in yellow was either a boy, a girl or were not told the baby’s gender. They were left to play with the baby in room containing a ball, a doll and a plastic ring. Both male and female RPS gave the baby a doll if they thought it was a girl and the plastic ring (non gendered toy if they believed it to be a boy. If not told the gender both male and female RPS tried to work out the baby’s gender in terms of it’s perceived strength.
What was Langlois and Downs research into sex-role stereotypes?
Compared peers’ and mothers’ reactions to preschoolers’ play with opposite gender toys. When boys played with girls toys the mothers accepted this while the peers ridiculed and even hit them , demonstrating the intolerance of male peers for cross- gender behaviours
What was Uberg’s research into sex-role stereotypes?
Children aged 3-12 were told stories that stressed sex-role stereotypical characteristics without specifying the gender of the child in the story. After each story the children had to state whether the child in the story was male or female - it was found that responses favoured sex-role stereotypes such as bravery being male and caring being female. There was a tendency which peaked at five years old for children to attribute positive characteristics to their own gender and negative ones to their non-gender whereas older children showed increasing tendency to see characteristics as male and female
What was Renzetti and Curran’s research?
Teachers gave reinforcements such as praise to boys for ‘cleverness’ whilst girls were praised for ‘neatness’ suggesting that teachers enforce sex- role stereptypes
What was Sood et al’s research?
Found that only 12% of UK primary school teachers were male due to early years teaching being seen as a female profession, suggesting sex-role stereotypes affect adult career choices.
What’s the evaluation involving culture?
Sex-role stereotypes very greatly by culture which suggests that sex-roles are culturally transmitted
What is the evaluation involving the media?
The media are subject to criticism f their stereotypical presentation of sex roles. Whilst may claim this has gotten better over time, others argue that the portrayals of male and females are more subtly stereotyped which is harmful especially in their presentation of negative female sex-role stereotypes
Why may we see a movement towards uniform sex-roles stereotypes? (evaluation)
Although cultural influences result in different forms of sex-role stereotypes in different cultures ,with globalisation and the breaking down of cultural beliefs.
What may categorising behaviours as either masculine or feminine do? (evaluation)
May place restrictive barriers on positive roles that both males and females could play in society - only 3% of nursery teachers are male and only one UK woman has ever won a Nobel prize for science.
