Gender Lecture PDF

Gender We are not as different as you might think Gender What does it mean to be a woman or a man? In Canada where a man can be a nurse and a woman can be a truck driver, certainly we have sex (biologically determined) differences but are there gender (societally based) differences? It is a bit of a...

Gender We are not as different as you might think Gender What does it mean to be a woman or a man? In Canada where a man can be a nurse and a woman can be a truck driver, certainly we have sex (biologically determined) differences but are there gender (societally based) differences? It is a bit of a trick question because a 2019 survey found only 8% of all Canadian nurses were male and only 3% of all Canadian truck drivers were female. Gender: androgyny Is it best to have both typically masculine and typically feminine traits? To be both sensitive and assertive? Independent but caring? Is that the norm now? Big idea: gender (and sex!) differences are not that big The theme of this section is that there are gender differences, but they may not be as large as the stereotypes out there. Having both masculine and feminine traits can be advantageous, and it works best for girls and women than it does for boys and men. Big ideas: biological differences Who we are as men and women is influenced by biological, social, and cognitive factors. Biologically, not only are we hormonally different and have different sex organs, but even before birth our brains are different and remain different throughout our lives. Big ideas Socially, even before birth boys and girls are treated differently. We paint the girl’s room pink and buy frilly comforters as soon as we find out the sex of our yet to be born baby. That continues on throughout our children’s lives although in Canada we are trying to minimize this a bit now. Big ideas: Cognitions Cognitively, children think about gender very early on. By 12 months of age, infants can distinguish male voices from female voices, by two they can say they are a boy or a girl, by four they have gender stability. Lots and lots of new terms Sex differences: A difference between males and females believed to be based mostly on biological factors. Gender differences: A difference between males and females believed to be based mostly on social and cultural factors. Some new terms Socialization: The processes through which children acquire the attitudes, beliefs, behaviours, and skills that their parents, peers, and culture consider appropriate. Some new terms Gender role: A set of shared cultural expectations that outlines the attitudes and behaviors a typical male or female should display. Gender typing: The processes (biological and social)by which children come to take on the gender roles expected in their society. Some new terms Gender stereotypes, or the beliefs and expectations people hold about the typical characteristics, preferences, and behaviors of men and women. A person’s gender identity refers to their psychological sense of being male or female. a person’s sexual orientation is the direction of their emotional and erotic attraction toward members of the opposite sex, the same sex, or both sexes. I thought men and women had different intellectual strengths Girls have better verbal skills, boys better math skills (well barely) Girls develop language skills earlier and know more words than boys; this does not, however, translate into long-term differences. Boys and math By early adolescence, boys on average perform better than girls on tests of spatial abilities such as mental rotation. However, girls practicing spatial tasks greatly reduces this difference. Spatial Abilities linked to testosterone Girls with higher testosterone levels tend to play more with typical “male toys” and tend to do better at spatial tasks (however, new research suggests boys with high testosterone do worse on spatial tasks so papers are coming out now to suggest there is a sweet spot for testosterone and spatial abilities: too little or too much may decrease ability). OK, but we do know boys are more aggressive, right? Boys exhibit higher rates of unprovoked physical aggression than girls but no difference in provoked aggression Girls are nice, boys are impulsive? Boys are slightly less able suppress blurting out inappropriate comments. “Girls are also more likely than boys to offer praise, to agree with the person they’re talking to, and to elaborate on the other person’s comments. In contrast, boys are more likely than girls to assert their opinion and offer criticisms (Leaper & Smith, 2004)” (Textbook, p. 803). How do children learn their gender roles? Piaget influenced both Kohlberg and Bems’ theories of gender Lawrence Kohlberg (1927-1987) 1966 introduced gender identity esp. when do I know when I am a boy or a girl. Cognitive Developmental Theory Lawrence Kohlberg, influenced by Piaget, has a theory of gender that is based on developmental stages. There are three stages children go through. Very early (by two years of age) is gender self-labelling or gender identity. The child knows he is a boy. By four the child has gender stability (Girls typically grow into women: not very changeable). Gender constancy is very important Between 5 and 7 years of age the child reaches gender constancy (I can drive truck and play hockey and still be a girl). Once a child develops a full sense of gender constancy she is more motivated to observe, incorporate and respect gender roles. (Kohlberg states that once the child fully realizes “I can’t change gender the way I change l clothes” she really focuses on modelling her gender.) Gender identity These elements of self-labelling, gender stability, and gender consistency create a coherent gender identity. Sandra Bem: American psychologist known for her work on gender (Bem sex role inventory), expanded on the how. Sandra Bem: Gender Schema Theory “… children actively organize others’ behavior, activities, and attributes into gender categories, which are known as schemas. These schemas then affect what children notice and remember later” (Textbook, p. 807) Bem: Gender is such a functional category Why do children have such encompassing gender schemas? Because adults use gender to organize the world all the time, in ways that make a little bit of sense (boys’ and girls’ toys) and ways that are entirely unnecessary (e.g., boys and girls’ teams for sports where they are gender equal). Gender Schema Theory: memory and schema-consistent behaviours. “People of all ages are more likely to remember schema-consistent behaviors and attributes than schema-inconsistent behaviors and attributes” (Textbook). Rebecca Bigler: Developmental Intergroup Theory Developmental intergroup theory: because adults in our lives focus so much on gender, kids start to focus on it. “Developmental intergroup theory postulates that adults’ heavy focus on gender leads children to pay attention to gender as a key source of information about themselves and others, to seek out any possible gender differences, and to form rigid stereotypes based on gender that are subsequently difficult to change” (Textbook, p. 806). Gender discrimination Gender discrimination & Sexual harassment Differential behaviours or treatment on the basis of gender is gender discrimination and is an inevitable consequence of gender stereotypes. When these behaviours include sexual behaviors it is called sexual harassment. Most (all?) of us have had to deal with sexual harassment “By the time boys and girls reach the end of high school, most have experienced some form of sexual harassment, most commonly in the form of unwanted touching or comments, being the target of jokes, having their body parts rated, or being called names related to sexual orientation” (Textbook, p. 807). Where does all this discrimination come from? Well, it starts with us as parents. Parents and gender discrimination “Parents also talk to their children differently based on stereotypes. For example, parents talk about numbers and counting twice as often with sons than daughters (Chang, Sandhofer, & Brown, 2011) and talk to sons in more detail about science than with daughters. Parents are also much more likely to discuss emotions with their daughters than their sons” (Textbook, p. 807). Gender discrimination occurs early “Children do a large degree of socializing themselves. By age 3, children play in gender-segregated play groups and expect a high degree of conformity. Children who are perceived as gender atypical (i.e., do not conform to gender stereotypes) are more likely to be bullied and rejected than their more gender-conforming peers” (Textbook, p. 807 Ambivalent sexism: hostile sexism and benevolent sexism “Gender stereotypes typically maintain gender inequalities in society. The concept of ambivalent sexism recognizes the complex nature of gender attitudes, in which women are often associated with positive and negative qualities (Glick & Fiske, 2001). It has two components. First, hostile sexism refers to the negative attitudes of women as inferior and incompetent relative to men. Second, benevolent sexism refers to the perception that women need to be protected, supported, and adored by men. There has been considerable empirical support for benevolent sexism, possibly because it is seen as more socially acceptable than hostile sexism. Gender stereotypes are found not just in American culture. Across cultures, males tend to be associated with stronger and more active characteristics than females (Best, 2001)”. Androgeny Where are gender roles going In the 1970s researchers starting asking an interesting question about what it means to be a man or a woman. What if masculinity/femininity were not just on one continuum, that you either were assertive, independent, strong OR you were nurturing, sensitive, expressive. What if these were two different continuums? What if you could be both sensitive and assertive? Strong and caring? Where are gender roles going? Gender role orientation Most people, are feminine or masculine (2/3s women are feminine, 2/3 men are masculine) but 30% were high on some of the characteristics of both masculinity and femininity. They were androgynous. Bem argues that allows for the behavioural and psychological flexibility to be successful (I can be assertive when that is needed; I can change gears and be nurturing when that is needed). Gender role orientation Do you believe androgyny is the best way to be? Gender role orientation Research seems to indicate androgyny is a good thing. Androgynous children do seems to be better adjusted and have higher self-esteem than those with more traditional gender roles. But when androgynous boys hit adolescence they see a reduction in self-esteem and more pressure from parents and teen to man up. Does this mean we value masculinity more than femininity? Gender Nonconformity Androgyny doesn’t always capture it all. First you can have gender nonconformity where I identify as female or male but my behaviours are androgynous to a degree that fall outside conventional norms. Is this still gender nonconformity? Janet Mock: Book Redefining realness (“My …surgery didn’t make me a girl. I was always a girl.”) Nonbinary: Sam Smith “"I don’t know what the title would be, but I feel just as much a woman as I am man," Transgender issues Unfortunately, a great deal of the research on transgender issues is about how much abuse they receive. They disproportionately experience physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. They are more likely to experience homelessness and suicide than other adolescents.