The Influence Of Culture And Media On Gender Roles Flashcards
Define culture
-ideas, customs + social behaviour of a particular group of ppl or society
Explain cross cultural research in culture and gender roles
-valuable contribution to nature-nurture debate in gender
-if particular gender-role behaviour appears to be consistent across diff cultures, might conclude that this represents innate, biological difference between males/females
-but if we find some gender-role behaviours are culturally specific we might assume the influence of shared norms/socialisation is decisive as suggested by slt
Explain the earliest cross-cultural study for cultural differences (nurture) for culture and gender roles
Mead carried it out in Papua New Guinea
-Aparesh people =gentle + responsive (similar to stereotype of feminity in industrialised societies)
-Mundugumor = aggressive + hostile (similar to stereotype of masculinity in industrialised societies)
-Tchambuli women = dominant , organise village life, men passive + considered to be ‘decorative’ (reverse of stereotype in industrialised societies)
-suggests may not be direct biological relationship between sex + gender, and gender roles may be culturally determined
-mead conceded shed underestimated universal nature of gender-typical behaviours
But she went on to argue extent to which innate behaviours are expressed is majorly a result of cultural norms
Explain the cross-cultural study for cultural similarities (nature) for culture and gender roles
Eg Buss found consistent patterns in mate preference (kind of gender role behaviour)
In 37 countries across all continents
-in all cultures , women sought men who could offer wealth + resources whilst men looked for youth , physical attractiveness in a partner
Study by Robert + Ruth Munroe revealed in most societies , division of labour is organised along gender lines . Men typically ‘breadwinners’ and women often ‘nurturers’
Explain whats meant by gender roles
-set of behaviours/attitudes considered typical of one gender, atypical of the other
Whats a strength of that the influence of culture on changing gender roles is supported by evidence
Hofstede argues that in industrialised cultures , changing status + expectations of women ate a function of their increasingly active role in workplace + away from domestic sphere
Led to breakdown of traditional stereotypes in advanced in industrialised societies
In traditional societies women still occupy role of house-maker as a result of social, cultural + religious pressures
Suggest gender roles very much determined by cultural context
Whats a limitation in cross-cultural research and that it’s been criticised
Mead
Accused of making generalisations based on short period of study
Freeman conducted follow-up study of ppl from Papua New Guinea after Meads investigation
He argued meads findings were flawed as shed been misled by some p/s + her preconceptions of what she would find had influenced her reading of events
Example of observer bias + ethnocentrism
Suggests meads interpretation may not have been objective + calls into Q conclusions she drew
Explain the term media
-communication channels, such as TV, film + books through news, entertainment, education + data made available
Explain how media relates to influence on gender roles
-media provide roe models whom children may identify + want to imitate
-children more likely to select role models who are same gender as them, engage in stereotypically gender-appropriate behaviour
Explain rigid stereotypes in media and its relation to gender roles
-media provides v clear rigid stereotypes - men = independent , ambitious ‘advice givers’ , whereas women dependent, unambiguous ‘advice seekers’
-study of TV adverts by Farnham + Farragher found men more likely to be shown in autonomous roles w in professional contexts , but women often see occupying familial roles within domestic settings
-suggests media may play role in reinforcing widespread social stereotypes concerning gender-appropriate behaviour
Explain self-efficacy in media and gender roles
-not only does media confirm gender typical behaviour, may also give info to men/women in terms of likely success of adopting these behaviours
-seeng others perform gender-appropriate behaviours increases a child’s belief they are capable of carrying out such behaviours increases future
-1 study analysed attitudes of people in India who watched a programme designed to challenge deep rooted gender stereotypes
-programme was a detective drama that ran 78 episodes
Girls who watched programme more likely to see themselves capable as working outside the home than non viewers
Suggest self efficacy had changed as a result of media influence
Whats a strength of research into media influence on gender roles is it has theoretical basis
Cultivation theory argues more time individuals spend ‘living’ in media world, more likely to believe that this reflects social reality
Bond + Drogos found +ve correlation between time spent watching reality TV programme Jersey Shore + permissive attitudes towards casual sex
This effect was still found to be true when researchers controlled influence of such factors as existing sexual attitudes, parental attitudes + religious beliefs
Suggests media ‘cultivates’ perception of reality, + this affects gender behaviour
Whats a limitation of gender roles and the media is there may not be a casual relationship
Durkin argues even v young children aren’t passive + uncritical recipients of media messages
Norms within child’s family may be bigger determinant on child’s gender attitudes + behaviours
If media representations confirm existing gender norms held by family then these likely to be reinforced in child’s mind
If not, such representations likely to be rejected
Suggest that media influences are secondary to other influences like family
