Sex Versus Gender

Sex is anatomical, biological,
physical
○ muscle mass
○ body hair
○ genitalia
○
Gender is socially constructed
○ social roles
○ psychological factors
○ cultural norms

Communibiology (Beatty & McCroskey
(2001)
 Much of our communication behavior has
a biological basis
Is biology destiny?

Men are naturally more
promiscuous, right?


When college students were
approached by a member of
the opposite sex who requested
casual sex, males consented
more than 50% of the time
Clark & Hatfield, 2003)
Females rarely consented

But…
cheating statistics are
mixed
•
22% of married men
have cheated compared
to 15% of married women
•
45-55% of married
women and 50-60% of
married men engage in
extramarital sex at some
time or another during
their relationship.
•
Recent research:
women are catching up
(Parker-Pope, 2008)
Sex differences: real and
imagined

real biological differences
between men and women
exist

These differences affect
communication.

Some academicians seem to
be in “biological denial”
(Andersen, 2008).

Political correctness may be
at work.

Former Harvard President,
Lawrence Sommers, sparked
controversy when he claimed
the shortage of women in
math and sciences was partly
due to “intrinsic aptitude.”
math scores
for males in
the U.S. are
higher, on
average,
than females’
scores.
Over time,
men’s and
women’s
marathon
times have
converged
Gender and communication

Gender counts, but not
very much

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)

Individual differences far
outweigh gender differences
Females’ nonverbal receptivity

In general, women are
more perceptive than men
 Videos, with no sound, of a
man and women interacting
were shown to female and
male participants
 Participants were asked to
“code” or interpret the
couple’s expressions.
 Females were accurate 87%
of the time, males were
accurate 42% of the time
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 more
similar than different
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 and 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 of
women
Sexual objectification of men
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 clothing
Physical Attractiveness
“What is beautiful is

good” stereotype
 More emphasis is
placed on females’
physical attractiveness
than males
 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 “bubbles” than
American females.
Female dyads tend to sit closer
than male dyads
Females are more likely to shrink
their personal space
 By pulling in their bodies, condensing
their use of space

Gender differences don’t
necessarily apply to other
cultures
 Arab males often hold hands, kiss,
walk arm in arm
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 more emotion
(facial displays)
Men are socialized to:
 internalize their
emotions
 mask emotional
displays

Study: males and
females were shown
various pictures
designed to arouse
emotions

Coders were
significantly better at
deciphering females’
facial expressions
than males’
Encoding Skills

Women tend to
 provide more eye
contact
 Use more active
listening
 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 more
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
 Males walk more
upright
 Men swagger
 Females move more
side to side
 Women sashay
 Women do the
“runway” walk.