3B.1 gender, sex and androgyny

sex

ones biological status as either male or female

gender

one's psychological status as either masculine or feminine

male chromosomes

XY

female chromosomes

XX

intersex

possessing biological sexual characteristics of both sexes

is sex fluid / changeable?

no

is gender fluid / changeable?

yes

gender dysphoria

one's sex doesn't reflect their gender identity

sex-role stereotypes

expectations of how males and females should behave

androgyny

displaying both masculine and feminine characteristics

what did Bem argue about androgyny?

it is psychologically healthy as people avoid fixed sex-role stereotypes

what did the Bem Sex Role Inventory show?

high levels or androgyny are associated with Bette psychological wellbeing

strength - application to real life

implemented into raising children without gender-role expectations (giving girls dolls and boys trucks), and has changed school policies in Sweden where students genders aren't disclosed

application - counterpoint

implementing these into societies that are deeply ingrained with gender norms may be difficult - Sweden faced backlash as children were confused and isolated

limitation - temporal validity

made in the 70s - traits regarded as masculine and feminine are outdated and stereotypes have changed - women are also ambitious

temporal validity - counterpoint

it has high test-retest reliability as it had a high sample size and was repeated, getting the same results/scores

limitation - reductionism

use of a questionnaire - people have different interpretations of the scale - doesn't account for context - subjective and lacks depth

reductionism - counterpoint

use of quantitative data is scientific and reliable / standardised