The Social Construction of
Gender
A. Background on Social Constructionism
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM



Borrowed from a French school of modern
philosophy.
We do not uncover reality, we create it.
We as societies create concepts of masculinity
and femininity.
DIFFERS FROM SLT



Origins in philosophy not psychology.
More of an emphasis on mental categories than
on behavior.
The interface of individual with society not the
individual with her or his immediate social
environment.
The Social Construction of
Gender
B. Media Depictions of Women—Specific Patterns
REPRESENTATION OF GENDER IN THE
MEDIA


Pattern 1: Underrepresentation of females
Pattern 2: Underrepresentation of specific groups
of females
 Ethnicity
 Age


Double standard of aging
Sexual orientation
REPRESENTATION OF GENDER IN THE
MEDIA



Pattern 3: Portrayal of genderbased social roles
Pattern 4: Depiction of female
communion and male agency
Pattern 5: Emphasis on female
attractiveness and sexuality
The Social Construction of
Gender
C. Representations of Gender in Language
PERJORATIVE WOMAN
 Sexualization
women.
 Trivialization.
of
MALE REFERENT--I.E. "MALE-ASNORMATIVE."

Definition.

Male-as-Normative language in titles.

Masculine generic terms.
MALE REFERENT--I.E. "MALE-ASNORMATIVE."
A
review by McKay indicated that males
and females often interpret the generic he
as being incapable of referring to
women. For instance,

One study by Bem and Bem demonstrated that
female high-school students were less likely to
respond to a job advertisement containing the
generic he.

Hyde has done similar studies on school
children and found the results are even more
pronounce.