Chapter 4: Gender Development,
Gender Roles, and Gender
Identity
Chapter 4 Outline
 Prenatal Development: X and Y Make the
Difference
 Sexual Differentiation in the Womb
 Atypical Sexual Differentiation: Not Always Just X
and Y
 Gender Roles and Gender Traits
 Girls Act Like Girls, Boys Act Like Boys
 Are Gender Roles Innate?
 Studying Gender
Chapter 4 Outline (Cont.)
 Gender Role Theory
 Evolutionary Theory: Adapting to Our Environment
 Social Learning Theory: Learning from Our
Environment
 Cognitive Development Theory: Age-State Learning
 Gender Schema Theory: Our Cultural Maps
Chapter 4 Outline (Cont.)
 Varieties of Gender
 Masculinity: The Hunter
 Femininity: The Nurturer
 Androgyny: Feminine and Masculine
 Transgenderism: Living as the Other Sex
 Transsexualism: When Gender and Biology Don’t Agree
 Third Genders: Other Cultures, Other Options
 Asexualism: The Genetics but Not the Sex
Chapter 4 Outline (Cont.)
 Gender Role Socialization from Infancy through
Old Age
 Childhood: Learning by Playing
 Adolescence: Practice Being Female or Male
 Adulthood: Careers and Families
 The Senior Years
 Different but Not Less Than
Gender and Sex
 Gender – refers to behavioral, psychological, and
social characteristics of men and women
 Sex – refers to the biological aspects of being male
or female
 Both nature and nurture are important in forming
gender
 Case study: Dr. John Money and Brenda/Bruce
Prenatal Development: X and Y
Make the Difference
 Humans reproduce sexually and are made to be
sexual beings
 Each parent supplies a gamete, each with half of
the genetic information (23 chromosomes),
including a sex chromosome
 Male: sperm (X or Y)
 Female: egg/ovum (X)
Prenatal Development: X and Y
Make the Difference (Cont.)
 Fertilization
 Haploid egg + Haploid sperm = Diploid zygote
 Sex is determined at conception
 Development of female or male sexual
characteristics, usually
 Some developmental variations
Sexual Differentiation in the Womb
 Gestation: 9 months
 4-6 weeks: gonads begin to develop and sexual
differentiation starts 1-2 weeks later
 Sex chromosomes control development of:
 internal sex organs
 external sex organs
 the embryo’s hormonal environment
 the brain’s sexual differentiation
Internal Sex Organs
 5th – 6th week: primitive gonads form
 7th – 8th week: gonads become testes with Y
chromosome and the SRY gene
 10th-11th week: gonads become ovaries with absence
of Y chromosome and SRY gene, and possibly the
presence of ovarian hormones
 “Default setting” is female
Internal Sex Organs (Cont.)
 10th-11th week: primitive duct systems appear
 Müllerian duct (female)
 Wolffian duct (male)
 Their further development is hormonally
controlled by the gonads
Internal Sex Organs (Cont.)
 Female embryos:
 Lack male hormones and Wolffian duct degenerates
 Müllerian duct forms: uterus, inner third of vagina
 Male embryos:
 Müllerian inhibiting factor regresses the Müllerian
duct
 Testosterone stimulates the Wolffian duct
Figure 4.1 Development of the male and female internal reproductive systems from the
undifferentiated stage. We discuss these specific structures more in Chapters 5 and 6.
External Sex Organs
 Homologous organs: developed from the same
prenatal tissue
 8th week: tubercle differentiates
 Female: female hormones from mother and placenta
promote development into female external genitalia
 Male: androgen secreted by the testes stimulate
development into male external genitalia
Figure 4.2 Development of the male and female external genitalia from the undifferentiated genital
tubercle.
Hormonal Development and
Influences
 Ovaries produce:
 Estrogen: female sexual characteristics
 Progesterone: menstrual cycle and pregnancy
 Testes produce:
 Androgens: development of male-typical
characteristics
Brain Differentiation
 Hormones affect the development of the brain
 The brain regulates secretion of hormones
Atypical Sexual Differentiation: Not
Always Just X and Y
 Atypical sexual differentiation can occur with
irregularities in:
 Sex chromosomes
 Sex hormones
 Maternal hormone exposure
Sex Chromosome Disorders
 Over 70 sex chromosome abnormalities
 Extra or missing sex chromosomes
 3 most common:
 Klinefelter’s syndrome
 Turner’s syndrome
 XYY/XXX
Klinefelter’s Syndrome
 XXY – egg contained an extra X
 1/700 live male births
 Develops male genitalia, but not fully
 Tall, feminized body
 Low testosterone levels; low in sexual desires
 Gynecomastia
 Infertile
 Testosterone therapy
Turner’s Syndrome
 XO – egg has no sex chromosome
 1/2500 live female births
 Ovaries aren’t fully developed
 Amenorrhea
 Infertile
 Short stature
 Immature breast development
 Mental retardation
 Estrogen and progesterone therapy
XYY Syndrome / Triple X Syndrome
 XYY or XXX – sperm contains an extra sex
chromosome, or egg has an extra X
 May be normal male (XYY) or normal female
(XXX)
 May have slight mental retardation and/or fertility
problems
Hormonal Irregularities
 Hermaphrodite – born with fully developed testes
and ovaries; extremely rare
 Pseudohermaphrodite – external genitals appear on
some level similar to both sexes
 Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH)
 Androgen-Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS)
Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
 XX exposed to a lot of androgen prenatally during
sexual differentiation
 1/10,000 to 18,000 girls
 Adrenal glands in the embryo may produce too
much androgen, or the mother takes male
hormones or a male hormone agonist
 Internally and genetically a female
 Corrective surgery, drugs
Androgen-Insensitivity Syndrome
 XY – the body doesn’t respond to testosterone that
is produced by the testes
 1/20,000 boys
 No internal reproductive structure except 2
undescended testes
 Shallow “vagina”
 Breasts develop
 Do not menstruate; infertile
 No surgery recommended without consent
Gender Roles and Gender Traits
 Gender stereotypes greatly influence our thoughts
and interactions
 Gender roles – culturally defined behaviors,
attitudes, emotions, traits, mannerisms,
appearances, and occupations that are appropriate
for females and males
 Gender traits – biologically determined differences
between males and females
Masculinity and Femininity
 Ideal cluster of traits that society attributes to each
gender
 Changes with society, and varies from culture to
culture
 Less gender role stereotyping in African Americans
and Northern U.S.
Are Gender Roles Innate?
 Behaviors are complex and typically interactions of
nature and nurture
 Cultures can vary widely in their definition of male
and female, and transcend seeming traits
 Tchambuli
 Biological differences: body size, strength, muscle
to fat ratio, maturation, brain form and function,
“heartiness”
Are Gender Roles Innate? (Cont.)
 Maternal instinct and surrogate mothering
 Play behavior in 3- to 6-year olds
 Gender differences are easier to publish, but
research has begun to look at gender similarities
Gender Role Theory
 A variety of theorists and positions
 Evolutionary biology: gender differences are due to
adapting to our environment
 Social learning: learn gender roles from society, our
environment
 Cognitive development: universal stages for
understanding and utilizing gender
Gender Role Theory (Cont.)
 Gender schema: cognitive structures organize
“gender,” influenced by culture
 Gender hierarchy: men are the standard and their
traits are valued more by society
 Chodorow’s developmental: psychoanalytic
background; boys separate from mom by devaluing
females; girls can love mom as a heterosexual and
idealize father’s qualities
Gender Role Theory (Cont.)
 Ortner’s culture/nature: masculinity is associated
with culture, femininity with nature; culture
encompasses nature
 MacKinnon’s dominance: men use gender to
dominate; it is not a biological or social issue
Varieties of Gender
 Sex typing – thought processes that split the world
into female and male categories
 Greatly influences our thoughts and behaviors
 Masculinity and femininity are independent traits
Masculinity: The Hunter
 Rights of passage in many societies
 Contradictions in the male role:
 Provide, but don’t solely focus on career
 Be sexually successful, but not degrading to women
 Be strong and stable, but be emotionally available
 Do not be dependent on a woman
 Men have a less flexible role than women
Femininity: The Nurturer
 Typically viewed as the opposite of masculinity
 Characterized by beauty, empathy, concern,
softness, modesty
 Contradictions in the female role:
 Job fulfillment, but stay at home with kids
 Not just for looks, but use makeup/be thin
 Opportunities are available, on men’s terms
Androgyny: Feminine and
Masculine
 Rate high in femininity and masculinity
 Flexibility in behaviors
 This concept may be reinforcing gender roles
Transgenderism: Living as the
Other Sex
 10-15% of the population
 Live the other gender’s role, full/part-time
 Happy as their biological sex, but psychosocially
pleasured dressing as the other sex
 Relaxing and peaceful to cross-dress
 Billy Tipton
Billy Tipton was a well-known jazz musician who was discovered to be a female when he died in
1989.
Transsexualism: When Gender and
Biology Don’t Agree
 Feel their gender identity does not match their
biological sex (Gender Dysphoria)
 “Trapped” in the wrong body
 More males than females experience this
 Sex reassignment surgery involves a long process:
psychological counseling, live as the other sex,
hormones, multiple surgeries
 M2F: realistic results, orgasm
 F2M: experimental stages
Gender Identity Disorder: Jessica
Third Genders: Other Cultures,
Other Options
 Some cultures have a third gender category
 Native American berdache
 Oman xanˉ ýth
 Indian hijra
 Thai kathoey
 Hawaiian aikane
 Tahitian mahu
Asexualism: The Genetics but Not
the Sex
 Born without any sexual organs (no biological
gender)
 Has a genetic gender (XX or XY)
 Typically assigned gender as a child and given
hormones
Gender Role Socialization
From Babyhood Through Old Age
 Childhood
 Adolescence
 Adulthood
 Senior Years
Childhood: Learning by Playing
 Children are greatly defined by their gender
 Name, clothing, decorations, toys
 Treatment by parents, teachers, others
 Model behavior of same gender individuals
 Rewarded for stereotypical behavior, punished for
nonstereotypical behavior (especially boys)
 Homosocial play beginning 2½ to 3 years old
Perceiving Gender Roles: Ages
0-2
Perceiving Gender Roles: Ages
2-5
Adolescence: Practice Being
Female or Male
 Trying roles to determine what it is to be a man or
woman
 Difficult time for transgendered, homosexual,
bisexual youth
Perceiving Gender Roles: Ages
5-11
Adulthood: Careers and Families
 “Breadwinner” is a prized part of being male
 Women pursue careers out of desire and necessity,
yet hold primary responsibility for home life – more
than men with the same occupation
Women and Family Life
 Primary satisfaction/identity should be as wife and
mother
 Modern thought also insists on a career outside of
the home
 Often feel guilt for not adequately meeting both
demands
Which Is the Real Me? One
Woman With Many Hats
Men and Family Life
 Fathers spend less time with their infants than
mothers
 Stay-at-home dads are becoming more common,
but social pressure suggests they should be in the
work force and labels them as “unemployed”
The Senior Years
 Female with typical wife/mother role may
experience “empty nest syndrome”
 Adjustment required at retirement if a large part of
identity was related to work
 More relaxed gender roles
Different, But Not Less Than:
Toward Gender Equality
 Society has the ability to alter the gender roles to be
less judging and rigid