Gender Identities
SEX
Characteristics of males and females
attributable to biology:
Sex includes the different chromosomal,
hormonal, and anatomical components of
males and females that are present at birth
(p. 80)
Gender
Culturally learned differences
--in characteristics and behaviors-between women and men.
Gender Roles
Behavior patterns, obligations, and
privileges that are considered
appropriate for each sex
Gender Identity
The degree to which an individual
views her- or himself as masculine or
feminine based on society’s
definition of appropriate gender roles
Maccoby & Jacklin
Identified areas of psychological
functioning in which clear
male/female differences could be
established:
• Females have greater verbal ability
• Males have greater visual-spatial
ability
• Males perform better on math tests
• Males are more aggressive
Maccoby & Jacklin
Sex Differences
(based solely on biology)
1. Aggressiveness
2. Visual-Spatial Ability
Role of Biological
Factors
NEED TO ASK FOUR QUESTIONS:
Do Sex Differences…
1. occur early in development, before considerable
learning has a chance to occur?
2. occur consistently across cultures?
3. Occur consistently across species, particularly
species closely related to humans (other primates)?
4. Do physiological variables related to gender (sex
hormones) have an effect on the behavior in
questions?
Theories of Gender Role
Socialization
1. Social Learning Theory: Proposes gender roles
are the result of direct and observational learning.
2. Social Identification Theory
(cognitive-developmental theory): emphasis on what
goes on inside a child’s head.
Kohlberg: Self-socialization
3. Gender Schema Theory: (Bem)
Children develop a culturally-based mental
framework (i.e. schema) for processing
information based on its perceived female/male
qualities
4. Social Role Theory (Eagly):
sex-based divisions of labor, which occur in
almost all societies, leads necessarily to sex
differences in behavior and to stereotypical
perceptions that women and men are different.
Huber’s Theory of Gender
Stratification
1. Foraging and Hoe Societies
2. Agricultural Societies
3. Industrial Societies
4. Postindustrial Societies
5. Chodorow’s Theory of Gender
(psychoanalytic model & object relation theory)
the asymmetrical organization of parenting
(with the mother as the primary caregiver) is the
cause of significant contrasts between male and
female gender identity acquisition processes.
* Personal Identification
* Positional Identification
Androgyny
Social and psychological condition
in which individuals can possess
positive qualities associated with
both feminine and masculine
gender roles.
How Can Gender Be understood
as a Class?