Sex Versus Gender

Sex is anatomical, biological,
physical
○ Muscle mass, size, body hair,
genitalia
Men are naturally more
promiscuous, right?
Previous research: men had an
average of 7 female sex partners.
Women had an average of 4.
Recent research: 1 in 4 young
women has slept with more than 10
people, compared with 1 in 5 men
who had done the same.
Young women are twice as likely to
be unfaithful, with 50 % admitting
they have cheated on a partner.
Sex

Sex
 There are real biological
differences between men
and women and they do
affect communication.
 Some academicians seem to
be in “biological denial
(Andersen, 2008). Political
correctness may be at work
 Harvard President,
Lawrence Sommers,
sparked controversy when
he claimed the shortage of
women in math and sciences
was partly due to “intrinsic
aptitude.”
SAT math scores for male high school
students in the U.S. are higher, on
average, than females’ scores. The gap
is large and statistically significant (+30
points), and c) and the gap has
persisted over time, since at least 1971.
Gender

Gender involves sex
roles
 Gender is psychological,
social, cultural
 Women are better listeners
than men
 Women are submissive,
supportive, accommodating
 Men are more assertive,
dominant, aggressive,
unemotional
Gender differences are a
result of socialization,
acculturation

 Men are assertive, tough, strong,
competitive
 Women are nurturing, communal,
cooperative
 In fact, almost all personality traits
and gender roles are overlapping
 Across all studies that examine
gender differences in
communication, gender explains
only about 5% of the variation in
communication styles, tendencies
(Canary & Hause, 1993; Dindia,
2006)
Nonverbal differences are a
combination of nature and nurture


The nature of nurturing
matters too.
Popular stereotypes
suggest that women and
men are completely
different

 Women are from Venus


 Men are from Mars
 Girls are made of “sugar,
spice, everything nice”
 Boys are made of “snips,
snails, puppy dogs tails”
Popular stereotypes are
exaggerated
Dindia (2006) “Women are
from North Dakota, and
men are from South
Dakota.”
Women and men are far
more similar than different

Example: elite distance runners

Example: math skills
Gender Stereotypes

Most gender based
stereotypes are negative,
and most are false.
 A woman’s place is in the
home
 All men ever think about is
sex

Sex Role Stereotypes:
 Women are moody,
temperamental, frivolous,
submissive, emotional,
irrational
 Men are stubborn,
arrogant, conceited, hardheaded
Gender Stereotypes

TV an Print Ads
 the more TV one
watches, the more one
subscribes to sex
stereotypes (Zemach &
Cohen, 1986).
 Print advertisements
often depict women in
submissive positions
 Print ads often show
only parts of women’s
bodies, not the whole
person.
Sexual Objectification
Sexual Objectification
Accentuating Sex Differences




Women shave their
legs
Women wear
lipstick, make-up
Women wear push
up bras
Tap dancing, ballet
lessons, jump rope,
hopscotch





Men grow beards
Men build muscle
mass
Men show off their
biceps, abs
Boys don’t cry
Roughhousing is
encouraged
Minimizing Sex Differences


Equal access to
education
Career paths:
 Less gender
differentiation in
career paths

Breadwinners:
 Dual income earners
 Stay at home Dads



Tomboys
Metrosexuals
Unisex, androgyny
Physical Attractiveness


“What is beautiful is
good” stereotype
Feingold (1990)
physical
attractiveness is
more important to
men than women.




trophy wives
cosmetic surgery
beauty products
eating disorders

Why does physical
attractiveness
matter more to men
than women?
 Socio-biological
explanation
 Patriarchal society
explanation
Personal Space (Proxemics)


American males
have larger personal
space “bubble” than
American females.
not necessarily true
in other cultures
 Arab males often hold
hands, kiss, walk arm
in arm
Personal Space


Males tend to claim
more space than
females (occupying
space signifies power,
status)
Women are more likely
to shrink their personal
space
 By pulling in their bodies,
condensing their use of
space
 arm rests and
territoriality

American females tend
to talk closer to one
another, American males
tend to interact act
greater distances
 Two women having a
personal conversation will
stand or sit within arm’s
reach
 Two males engaged in a
conversation will remain at
or beyond arm’s length
 Guys often leave an empty
seat between them at a
movie theater
Personal Space

Space violations:
females are more likely
to have their space
violated than males.
 Example: Airport waiting
area
 Example: video store;
males are more likely to
walk in front of females
than vice versa
Encoding Skills


Women tend to express  Study: males and
more emotion (facial
females were shown
displays)
various pictures
designed to arouse
Men are socialized to:
emotions (kittens
 internalize their emotions
playing with yarn, burn
 mask emotional displays
victim, scenic views, etc
 Coders were
significantly better at
deciphering females’
facial expressions than
males’
Encoding Skills


Women tend to
provide more eye
contact
Women tend to
adapt their
communication style
to the other person
Decoding Skills




Women are
consistently better
than men at decoding
nonverbal meanings
They monitor facial
displays of emotion
They listen effectively
(active listening)
The exception—
deception detection
Smiling



Women tend to smile more
than males
Smiling can convey warmth,
immediacy
Smiling can also convey
nervousness,
submissiveness,
embarrassment
Gestures

Can you think of
any gestures
(emblems) that
one sex would be
more likely to use
than another?




Head tilt
Mock punch
Expansive gestures
Holding books over
chest
 Handbag barrier
 Holding a cigarette

Adaptors (self
touch behaviors)





Finger snapping
Knuckle popping
Crotch scratching
Hand over mouth
Hand covering
bosom
Gestures
Touch

Men initiate touch more
than women in public
settings
 Bear hug
 Headlock, noogie
 Arm around another’s
shoulder
 Firm handshake
 Comforting touch (females,
touch on arm, forearm,
hand)
 Affectionate touch
(females)
Posture

Differences while
standing or sitting
 Leg crossing (figure





4)
Cross legs and/or
ankles
Relaxed posture
Elbows out, hands
behind head
Feet on desk
Leaning back
 Standing with legs
apart
 Standing with
crossed legs
 Sitting with legs
underneath you
Walking

Differences in gait or
stride
 Men swagger
 Women sashay
 Women do the
“runway” walk.