Ch. 3

GENDER ROLES: FOUNDATION FOR

INTIMACY

Sex is used in reference to male or female anatomy and physiology, and includes the chromosomal, hormonal, and anatomical components of males and females.

Gender (or gender role) refers to societal attitudes and behaviors associated with the two sexes.

Gender identity refers to the degree to which an individual sees herself or himself as feminine or masculine based on society’s definitions of gender roles.

GENDER AND SEX

GENDER-ROLE ORIENTATION AS ONE- OR TWO -DIMENSIONAL

Think about the ways you have been socialized into a particular gender role.

What household chores were you assigned when younger?

Were those different from those of your siblings or friends of the opposite sex?

Did those prepare you for any particular adult roles?

ISSUES FOR THOUGHT:“WIFE” SOCIALIZATION AND THE

HETEROSEXUAL WEDDING

Traditional sexism is the belief that women’s roles should be confined to the family and that women are not as fit as men for certain tasks or for leadership positions.

Modern sexism denies that gender discrimination persists and includes the belief that women are asking for too much—a situation that results in resistance to women’s demands.

SEXISM

Between 1 and 4% of live births are intersexual.The child has anatomical, chromosomal, or hormonal variations from the male or female biology that is considered normal.

Transsexuals are raised as one sex, while emotionally identifying with the other sex.

Transgendered describes an identity adopted by those who are uncomfortable in the gender of their birth.

ISSUES FOR THOUGHT:CHALLENGES TO GENDER BOUNDARIES

Have transgendered individuals been politically visible in your campus or community?

What are your own thoughts as to whether gender is a dichotomy or a continuum along which individuals may vary?

How do such challenges to gender boundaries potentially impact our roles and experiences within the family?

ISSUES FOR THOUGHT:CHALLENGES TO GENDER BOUNDARIES

Masculine people are often thought to have instrumental (or agentic) character traits – confidence, assertiveness, and ambition – that enable them to accomplish difficult tasks or goals.

Feminine people are thought to embody expressive (or communal) character traits – warmth, sensitivity, the ability to express tender feelings, and placing concern about others’ above self-interest.

GENDER CHARACTER TRAITS

TRADITIONAL GENDER ROLES

Men are strong, independent, successful, courageous, aggressive, stoic in the face of pain or painful situations, and logical.

Women are more gentle, nurturing, emotional, submissive, and dependent on men for support and protection.

Sou rce : B rannon , 1976 .

CONSEQUENCES OF TRADITIONAL ROLES

Men who agree with the traditional roles expect to be the providers in their families and expect their wives to be the nurturers.

They are more inclined towards Type A behavior.

They are less inclined to disclose intimate matters to women and are more concerned with being in control in an intimate relationship.

They tend to be negative about the idea of women’s equity.

1. Men are expected to distance themselves from anything considered feminine.

2. A man should be financially successful, or at least be working to support his family.

3. During the 1980s, a new cultural message emerged that a man should be emotionally sensitive and expressive, valuing tenderness and equal relationships with women.

CULTURAL MESSAGES: MASCULINITIES

NONTRADITIONAL OCCUPATIONS

More and more women are entering nontraditional occupations such as the military.

FEMALES EMPLOYED IN SELECTED OCCUPATIONS (%): 2008

The pivotal expectation for a woman requires her to offer emotional support.

The ideal woman was physically attractive, not too competitive, a good listener, and adaptable.

She was considered fortunate if she had a man in her life and was expected to be a good mother and put her family’s and children’s needs before her own.

CULTURAL MESSAGES: FEMININITIES

The professional woman: independent, ambitious, self confident

The superwoman: A good wife and/or mother attains career success and supports her children by herself

The satisfied single: a woman (heterosexual or lesbian, employed, possibly a parent) who is happy and not in a serious relationship with a male

NEW CULTURAL MODELS FOR WOMEN

Gender DifferencesAbility

Aggression

Interaction: Quantity and Quality

Nonverbal Behavior

Keeping Differences in Perspective

Developed by Psychologist Janet Hyde, the hypothesis holds that males and females are similar on most psychological variables.

Hyde found virtually no difference on most traits, a few moderate differences, and very few large differences.

Hyde found evidence of gender differences in: 1.Motor performance, especially in throwing distance and speed.2.Sexuality, especially male’s greater incidence of masturbation

and acceptance of casual sex.3.Physical aggressiveness.

GENDER SIMILARITIES HYPOTHESIS

A situation in which males assume authority over the female.

On the societal level, male dominance is the assignment to men of greater control and influence over society ’s institutions.

There are no known societies where women dominate men.

GENDER INEQUALITY

Before 1992, there had never been more than two women among our 100 U.S. senators.

As of 2009, in the U.S. Congress, there were 17 women in the Senate and 76 in the House of Representatives

Surveys report that 71% of the public say they would be willing to vote for a woman for president, but only 56% believe their family, friends, and coworkers are willing to do so.

Although the number of female senators and members of the House of Representatives has increased, women remain a minority in positions of political power.

MALE DOMINANCE IN POLITICS

Most U.S. congregations have more female than male participants, yet men hold more positions of authority.

Women are prohibited from holding Catholic clerical or lay deacon positions.

A majority of U.S. Catholic laypeople and theologians believe the Catholic church should ordain women priests. The Vatican disagrees.

MALE DOMINANCE IN RELIGION

Male infants have higher rates of infant mortality and adverse conditions.

In the United States, around 105 boys are born for every 100 girls, with boys outnumbering girls under age eighteen.

Life expectancy for the total population reached 77.7 years in 2006—80.2 years for females and 75.1 years for males, a difference of 5.1 years

GENDER AND HEALTH

Women have been the majority of college students since 1979 and now surpass men in the proportion of the total population that are college graduates.

In 2007, women earned 57% of bachelor ’s degrees, 60.5% of master ’s degrees, 50% of first professional degrees, and 50% of doctorates.

The changing gender balance in education has led to cries of alarm that men/boys are disadvantaged by educational systems.

However the data have made visible two patterns: College achievement gap is greater among racial/ethnic

groups within gender categories Apparent difference between males and females in goals

and attitudes toward schooling

GENDER AND EDUCATION

In 2008, women who were employed full time earned 80% of what men earned.

Even in same occupational categories, women earn less than men: In 2008, women CEOs earned $83, 356 versus male

CEOS, who earned $103,948 on average.Overall, the earnings gap between men and women

narrowed in recent decades, but that gap is widening slightly again.

MALE DOMINANCE IN THE ECONOMY

Is male dominance anchored in biology? Biologists have relinquished deterministic models in their

thinking about gender and family. Sociologists are finding complex interactions among gender,

social roles, and biological indicators rather than categorical gender differences.

It is safe to say that there is convergence on the opinion that in gender, as well as other behavior, biology interacts with culture in complex and constantly changing ways that cannot be reduced to biological determinism.

Although adult men and women seem to be converging in social roles and personal qualities, gender differences seem powerful in younger years via the process of socialization

IS ANATOMY DESTINY?

GENDER ROLES

Children learn much about gender roles from their parents, whether they are taught consciously or unconsciously.

Parents model roles and reinforce expectations of appropriate behavior.

Socialization

Process by which people develop their human capacities and acquire a unique personality and identity and by which culture is passed from generation to generation

THEORIES OF SOCIALIZATION

Social Learning Theory Children learn gender roles as they are taught by parents,

schools, and the media. Self-identification theory

Children categorize themselves by age 3 and identify behaviors in their families, the media, and elsewhere that are appropriate to their sex and adopt these behaviors.

Gender Schema Theory Children develop a frame of knowledge about what girls and boys

typically do, and then use this framework to interpret and think about gender.

Symbolic Interaction Theory Children develop self-concepts based on social feedback: the

looking-glass self. Also important is their role-taking, as they play out roles in interaction with significant others such as parents and peers.

THEORIES OF SOCIALIZATION

Boys and Girls in the FamilyPlay and GamesThe Power of Cultural ImagesSocialization in Schools

“Killing Us Softly 3”“Consuming Kids”

SETTINGS FOR SOCIALIZATION AND GENDER ROLE ORIENTATION

Encouragement of gender-typed interests and activities continues:Fathers more than mothers enforce gender

stereotypes, especially for sons. It is more acceptable, for example, for girls to be tomboys.

Exploratory behavior is encouraged more in boys than in girls.

Household chores (number and kinds) adhere to gendered notions.

However, this varies by race/ethnicity. For example, African American girls are raised to be more independent and less passive.

BOYS AND GIRLS IN THE FAMILY

PLAY AND GAMES

Girls have more dolls, fictional characters, children’s furniture, and the color pink.

Boys have more sports equipment, tools, toy vehicles, and the colors red, blue, and white. Toys send messages about gender roles.

Play is a significant vehicle through which children develop appropriate concepts of adult roles, as well as images of themselves. Girls play in one-to-one relationships or in small groups

that are relatively cooperative and have few rules. Boys play in large groups, characterized by more fighting

and attempts to effect a hierarchical pecking order.

Media images often convey gender expectations, called media frames.

Media frames guides us through what the subject is and what its meaningful qualities are. Females are likely to be shown trying to get a man’s

attention, their physical appearance is often focused upon, and they can be the object of hate (misogynistic images).

Males are more likely to be depicted in dominant, agentic roles, and as the authoritative narrative or voiceover, even when the products are aimed at women.

THE POWER OF CULTURAL MESSAGES

More men are in positions of authority (principals) and women are in positions of service (teachers and secretaries).

Teachers pay more attention to males than to females.Males tend to dominate learning environments from nursery

school to college.

SOCIALIZATION IN SCHOOLS

Changes in men’s and women’s social roles have been influenced by changes in structural forces and by active change efforts.The Women’s MovementThe Men’s Movement

SOCIAL CHANGE AND GENDER

The Women’s MovementThe 19th century saw a feminist movement develop,

but from 1920 until the mid-1960s, there was virtually no activism regarding women’s rights and roles.

The Civil Rights Movement provided a model by which the Second Wave of the Women’s Movement challenged accepted traditional roles and strove to increase gender equality.

Some women of color and white working-class women find the Women’s Movement irrelevant to their personal and social struggles and experiences.

SOCIAL CHANGE AND GENDER

WOMEN’S MOVEMENT ISSUES

Men’s Movements As the Women’s Movement encouraged changes in gender expectations and

social roles, some men responded by initiating a men’s movement. The first National Conference on Men and Masculinity was held in 1975. Focus is on changes that men want in their lives and how best to get them One goal has been to give men a forum in which to air their feelings about

gender. Antifeminists believe that the Women’s Movement caused the collapse of the

natural order, one that guaranteed male dominance, and they work to reverse this trend.

Profeminists support feminists in their opposition to patriarchy. Masculinists tend not to focus on patriarchy as problematic, but work to

develop a positive image of masculinity, one combining strength with tenderness

SOCIAL CHANGE AND GENDER

Sometimes in response to increased and available options, individuals reconsider earlier choices regarding gender roles.

Additionally, increased opportunities may lead to mixed feelings and conflicts, both within oneself and between men and women.

PERSONAL AND FAMILY CHANGE

Gender identity will remain important, as it continues to change in response to social forces and events.

Some argue that maintaining traditional gender roles will be supported and encouraged, while others argue that gender inequality will be swept aside.

THE FUTURE OF GENDER

GENDERED PATHWAYS TO INTIMACY

Source: Adapted from Radmacher and Azmitia 2006.