Exam 2 Human Sexuality

Chapter 5 Gender Issues

Anatomical Sex

Male or female sex characteristics (- 99%)

Sex assigned at birth

Gender

Characteristics pertaining to masculinity and femininity

• throughout time masculinity associated with me

• femininity associated with women

Gender identity

Subjective sense of their gender

• psychological attributes commonly associated with being a man, women or transgender person

gender expression

the way people outwardly express their gender

What difference between the psychological characteristics of a man versus a woman?

Psychologists have examined differences in traits, abilities, and emotions

• historically, psychologists interested in the origins of sex differences: biological explanations

  • hormonal, neurochemical, brain structure differences

• Quick conclusion that observed differences between men and women are explained by biological differences

• This is a reductionistic explanation of the differences between men and women

  • What happens on a physiological level fully accounts for what happens at the psychological level

  • reducing psychology to biology

Social Psychology

• Historically social psychology research conducted primarily on young, white, male, heterosexual college students

  • However, conclusions were drawn about all humans…

  • Feminist psychologists criticized this flaw as androcentric

Gender expression as gender itself

• Candace West & Don Zimmerman ( University of California) 1987

• How individuals perform sex categories “ doing gender”

  • Performing in a way that allows one to pass as feminine or masuline person ( Butler 1990)

  • Can also “do gender” by not conforming to either side

  • The behavior becomes proof, to the actor as well as to onlookers, that this what it means to be a man or woman

Femininity

defined by a repertoire of actions and characteristics

• caring, caregiver, listener, passive, etc.

• These actions and characteristics are regarded as appropriate for those categorized as female

• Femininity is located in the interactions and actions, not in the minds or bodies of individual women (Currie et al., 2006, 2007)

• Same argument for masculinity

Societal expectations for females ( e.g. caretaking, writing, etc.)

• expectation for greater mastery in feminine abilities

• society gives females more opportunities to master said abilities

• society grants more social rewards for mastery as well

• How say whether females are inherently specialized to master feminine skills?

• Same for men (e.g. sports)

Gender Role Expecations

• Beliefs about what is male and female affect our sexual experience

  • Who initiates

• Assumptions about what is appropriate behavior for each shape our sexual experience

  • How active should I be?

• Also affects assessment of ourselves as sexual beings

  • Expectations we have for intimate relationships

    • Men make the money?

• Sexual scripts for man and women having sex

  • Genera set of cultural expectations and rules for appropriate sexual behavior

    • Baseball analogy for sexual behavior

Gender role expectations for male and female partner

• script that men have high sex drive and women less interested ( Bordini & Sperb , 2013)

• Women are undersexual

  • Women taught to deny their sexual urges

    • Not appropriate to be easily aroused

      • May result in women hiding their physiological response

• Men can be harmed by stereotype as overly sexual

  • Men need to be quick to around to be normal

  • If not immediately aroused, partner may feel inadequate

Men/Women Gender Role Expectations

• Men are initiators; women are receivers

  • Men will initiate intimate relationships

    • Asking out on first date

    • Initiating sexual activity

  • Women do not initiate; they either respond with permission or denial

    • if feel the need to be passive, may struggle to initiate things

• Women as controllers

  • Women responsible for regulating how far to go

• Men as movers

  • See women as sexual challenges

  • Difficulty appreciating the good feelings of being close to and touching

  • Difficulty being receptive

• Men are unemotional and strong

  • Men may be hesitant ( or inept at) expressing deep feelings

  • Gender stereotype that men do not express themselves emotionally as tender, or nurturing

    • Stereotype that these qualities are only for women

  • Men are socialized to be unemotional

  • Men who want to be perceived as strong may have a challenge expressing vulnerability

  • What does that do to our romantic relationships between men and women

  • How might this man approach sex?

    • Purely physical act ( prowess)

      • What effect woudl that have on the encounter?

        • Limited, leaving both unsatisfied in terms of intimacy and closeness

• Women as nurturing and supportive

  • May feel responsible for getting their male partners to talk about their feelings

    • Could lead to dissastifaction especially if no reciprocity

Gender Identity Formation

Social Learning Influence

• Identification with masculinity, femininity or neither results from social and cultural models

  • Caregivers

    • Have preconcieved notions on how a boy or girl will differ

    • Study on parents ( Rubin 1974) — parents and newborns together, parents described them, fathers more stereotypical

      • Boys as strong active and robust

      • Girls as soft and delicate

  • Other studies (Hyde 2006) — observational

    • Boys taught to supress tears when hurt

    • Girl taught to be nurturing to her stuffed animals

How do we learn gender roles?

• Parents (Kollmayer, 2018)

  • Different expectations for boys versus girls

    • Boys: self assertion behaviors, controlling their emotional expression

    • Girls: encouragement for expressing emotion

      • Usually assigned more household work (Berridge & Romich, 2001)

    • Gender specific toys

    • Fathers usually stricter with boys than girls —natural experiment ( Shafer & Mahtrola 2011)

  • Some children gravitate towards traditional toys and play activites (Leaper 2014)

Peer group

• Preschool years broken into boys and girls

  • Often children show preference for this ( Martin & Ruble 2010)

  • Mitchells Place

• Late childhood and adolescence even more pronounced

  • Conformity aspect to belonging

  • Boys can be particularly harsh

    • Bullying boys who are gender non-conforming can lead to anxiety depression and suicide

    • Homophobia (Van Buskorn, 2016)— thinks this is the cause

Schools & Books

• Different treatment in the classroom by gender ( Duffy , et. al., 2001)

  • Observational studies

    • Boys given more encouragment than girls

    • Teachers more tolerant of boys disruptive behavior

• Studies of children’s books revealed boys more represented ( McCabe, 2011)

  • Gender Representation ( more men)

  • Symbolic annihilation (annihilating girl gender)

• Stem ( initiative to have more women in stem)

Media

• Depictions of men and women in TV dramas stereotypical (McAnnaly & Hancox 2014)

  • Men more active, intelligent, adventurous, leaders

    • In more work-related roles

  • Women more in interpersonal roles with romance, family and friends

  • Men more actively and aggresively pursuing sex

  • Women willingly objectifying themselves (e.g. behaving seductively )

    • Judged by their sexual conduct

• Many TV dramas have more multidimensional female characters

  • Although prime-time television is overly representative of men being authoritative on topics such as politics etc.

• Childrens movies are stereotypical on male versus female roles

  • Baird 2010 & David 2013 found less than 30% of characters were female

    • The few female characters were not doing much that was meaningful or heroic

    • One in 4 female characters were depicted in sexual attire ( males 1 in 25)

Organized Religion

• People who identify as religious endorse gender stereotypes by and large ( Robinson 2004)

• Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions God as male “Father, He and King”

• Untill 1970, no women ordained as clergy in the American protestant denomination

• No female rabbis untill 1972

• Roman catholic church still no female priests

• From 1994 to 2009 number of women clergy doubled to 73,000

• Female enrollment in seminaries and divinity schools increased dramatically

• Buddism in America ( men and women)

WIERD

Western, educated, industralized, rich, democratic

Hispanic American Roles

• Marianismo ( women)

  • From the virgin mary

    • Pure, self giving, preserve family and tradition

• Machismo ( men)

  • Strength, Indepdence and Virility

  • Head of Household (Estrada et al 2011)

• Many hispanic americans do not embrace these assumptions (Denner & Guzman 2006)

African American Gender Roles

• Women gender roles as egalitarian

• Gender roles influenced by history in the US

  • Dr. Jasmine Abrhams Research (2016)

    • Women taking on masculine roles ( working, providing for family)

    • Simultaneously feminine roles such as taking care of the children

      • “strong black women”

      • “strong, supress emotions, succeed, help others and resist being vulnerable or dependent”

Asian American Gender Roles

• Value on family, group solidarity, and interdependence

• Highest number of married couples and lowest divorce rates

• Women often feel brunt of family obligations

  • Puts in a bind, many have high work expectations as well

Evolutionary Theory of Gender

• The mind equipped with insticts that enabled ancestors to survive and reproduce

• Division of labor between men and women

  • Men hunters and gatherers, and breadwinners ( more traditional gender roles = more success)

Aspects of human behavior coded by our genes are adaptive (Those gender roles make men more better at hunting through genes)

• Brain evolved to solve problems encountered by hunter and gatherer ancestors

The enviornment of evolutionary adaption (EEA): Ancestors adapting to environment

and that’s how the gender roles

were developed

Sociological Theories of Gender: Structural Functionalism

( men no pressures of child bearing- easier for them to go out and get food)

Structural Functionalism: gender roles keeping society organized and functioning

• men are providers and women take care of the home, functional

• men hunting and warfare, therefore physical strength

• women cared for the home and children, therefore emotional care

Current Anthropological Critique

• Gathering, fishing and small game hunting bigger role than big game hunting ( could be done by women

Talcott Parsons ( Structural Functionalist)

• Boys and girls take on complementary roles

  • Boys intstrumental qualities ( confidence and competitiveness) —> labor force

  • Girls Expressive Qualities ( empathy and sensitivity) → family care

  • Further down the line it is assumed that men and women will fit these roles for mating

    • More passive women are seen as normal by men → mating

    • More aggressive men are seen as normal by women → Mating

  • Critique: What about same sex couples, single parents, childless, or multiple-generation families? ** Theory based on white americans only

Handbook of the Sociology of Gender

• Sociology = group

• Psychology = individual

Gender as a social structure

• By Barbara Reisman