Gender Issues
Varying perspectives on what it means to be a
male or female
Big Confusing Questions
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What does it mean to be a male or female in our
society?
Are the behavioral preferences of males and
females based on biology or culture?
Do our society’s attitudes and expectations hurt
or help our sexual relations?
Definitions
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SEX – biological maleness or femaleness
genetic – determined by chromosomes
anatomical – obvious physical differences
between males and females
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Gender – psychological aspects of maleness or
femaleness
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Gender Identity – the subjective sense of being either
male or female
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What sex you think you are, or really should be.
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Gender Role – attitudes and behaviors considered
appropriate in a specific culture for people of a particular
sex
Expectations we should fulfill
Masculine or Feminine
Vary widely from culture to culture but rapidly
evolving
Forming a Gender Identity
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Does it simply flow from anatomy?
For some of us, it’s not always that easy
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For all of us, it all starts in our mother’s womb,
at the instant of conception, as prenatally we
begin the tortuous path of sexual differentiation.
Chromosomal Influences
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We receive 23 chromosomes from each parent.
Of these, 22 pairs are identical in structure.
The 23rd pair, the sex chromosomes, determines
whether we are genetically male or female.
More Chromosomes
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If we receive an X from both parents, we will be
female (XX).
A y from our father, and we are male (Xy).
One gene on the y (SRY) leads to testes
development.
Perhaps one gene on X (DSS) leads to the
development of female characteristics. If so, we
are not inherently female.
The Gonadal Stage
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Males and females have identical gonads
(reproductive organs) until about 6 weeks after
conception when SRY or DSS spur their
development
Once the testes or ovaries become functional their
release of hormones controls further
differentiation
The Crucial Role of
Hormones
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The gonads release the sex hormones into the
blood stream
Ovaries produce:
1) estrogen a hormone which develops female
sexual characteristics and regulates menstruation, as do
2) progestational compounds
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Testes release androgens which promote the
development of male genitals and secondary sexual
characteristics
Another hormone released by the testes,
testosterone, also promotes sexual motivation
Both males and females produce the sex
hormones typically associated with the other
(testosterone and estrogen) but in much smaller
quantities
Internal reproductive
structures - males
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At about 8 weeks after conception:
Males – androgens stimulate the woffian ducts
to develop into the “plumbing” which will allow
semen creation and transmission
another hormone causes the
mullerian duct system to vanish
Female reproductive
organs
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Without the influence of androgen, mullerian
ducts develop into female structures and the
woffian duct system fades into nothingness
External reproductive
structures
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A product of testosterone – DHT – causes
portions of the undifferentiated sex organs to
fuse and form the scrotum and penis
Without DHT this fusion does not take place
and the clitoris, labia minora, and labia majora form
By the 12th week, it’s all done and our sex is
apparent
Brain Differentiation
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For males, in the Hypothalamus, testosterone
exposure leads to insensitivity to the effects of
estrogen, preventing the establishment of the
menstrual cycle at puberty
Also, some of its regions are much larger in
heterosexual males than females
The Cerebral Cortex
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Are differences between the sexes on verbal and
spatial cognitive skills caused by differences in their
cerebral cortexes?
Men appear to often rely on just one hemisphere.
Women have a thicker corpus callosum facilitating
the use of both hemispheres
But there’s more
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Are there other reasons why men perform better
on spatial tasks while women shine in verbal
measures?
The power of Expectations
Recent research highlights the importance of
psychosocial, not biological, influences.
 Social Expectations – girls do just as well as boys
initially in science and math, but falter in high
school.
Where they discouraged ?
 Changing Expectations – by the late 90’s, the
gap had largely vanished.
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Atypical Differentiation
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How, and why, do things go awry?
Hermaphrodites/Intersexed – people who
possess biological attributes of both sexes
Very few have both ovaries and testes, most
have ambiguous anatomy but their gonads match
their chromosomes and they are called pseudo
hermaphrodites
Problems at the
Chromosomal Level
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Turner’s Syndrome
Just one sex chromosome – X
Left with 45 rather than 46
Normal external female genitals but little or no
evidence of ovaries/hormones
Despite that, feminine in interests and behavior
1 of 2000 births
Faulty Chromosomes cont.
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Klinefelter’s Syndrome
XXy occurs in 1 of 500 births
Anatomically male
Presence of extra X stops development of male
structures, resulting in sterility
No interest in sex, no testosterone
Tall, “rounded”, feminine, but content as males
Androgen Insensitivity
Syndrome
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An otherwise normal male, unaffected by
prenatal exposure to androgen
Results in female genitals, including a shallow,
but nonfunctional vagina
Raised as girls, they assume a female gender
identity and thrive as females
Fetally Androgenized
Females
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Chromosomally normal females exposed to
excessive androgens
At birth genitals appear to be male
“Corrected” by minor surgery, most still reject a
female gender identity with some assuming a male
gender identity and behavior
DHT-Lacking Males
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Males who cannot produce crucial DHT
Result – female appearing external genitals, at
least initially
Typically raised as girls, they suddenly sprout
into males at puberty
In one study, 16 of 18 cast off their female
gender identity and happily assumed male sex
roles
The Puzzle of Gender
Identity
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Why do we think we belong to one sex, even
though our anatomy tells us differently?
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Evidence, both cross-cultural, and otherwise,
points to the importance of social-learning
forces.
Social-Learning Influences
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Familial expectations (blue room vs. pink room)
start before birth
Familial perceptions/interpretations vary
Familial responses vary similarly
By 3, most of us have a firm gender identity, and
reinforcement momentum builds as kids mimic
same-sex parent
Cross-Cultural
Evidence
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Margaret Mead’s ground-breaking studies
In Mundugumor, both sexes are aggressive,
insensitive – Masculine ?
In Arapesh, both sexes are nurturing and gentle
– Feminine?
In Tchambuli, we find a reversal of our
customary sex roles
Therefore, it’s more culture than biology
Are We Sexually Neutral
at Birth?
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In the 1960’s, Dr. John Money at John Hopkins
thought so
Intersexed infants were surgically “fixed” to have
female genitals, regardless of their chromosomal sex
It’s easier to make a functional vagina than a
penis
Initially, this approach seemed to work
Chromosomes Win Out
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As these individuals matured, some of the
children assigned a sex at odds with their
chromosomes rejected their expected gender identity
“The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl”
Since the social learning model obviously has
its limits, now even John Money endorses an
interactional model
Transsexualism &
Transgenderism
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Transsexual (TS) – someone whose gender identity is
opposite to their biological sex
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TSs feel that their biological sex is mistaken. Many
seek sex-reassignment, many do not.
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Transgendered (TG) – people whose appearance
and/or behaviors do not match traditional
gender roles.
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TGs behave in a way that flouts society’s
expectations. Often, they cross-dress.
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TGs do not seek sexual reassignment – surgery.
Gender Dysphoria
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Some, but not all, of TSs and TGs
experience gender dysphoria – unhappiness
with their biological sex or expected sex role.
Gender
Identity/Orientation
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Sexual Orientation – the sex we are emotionally
and physically attracted to
Gender Identity – the sex we believe we belong to,
even despite biology
Most TSs are attracted/oriented to those who
share (pre-surgery) their anatomy
But some male to female TSs prefer females
Gender-Identity
Disorder
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According to DSM IV TR, to fit the GenderIdentity Disorder “tag”, individuals must:
1) have pervasive cross-gender beliefs,
2) dysphoria
3) lack a physical intersex condition, &
4) show great distress and problems
functioning in society and at work
Transsexuals: Why?
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Most have no problems with chromosomes or
anatomy
90% lack any hint of mental illness
While at first 75% were male, this gap has
narrowed
Most develop their desire to change sexes in
childhood
Dating!
Fine, But Why?
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We still don’t know, two theories exist.
Hormonal – prenatal exposure to inappropriate
levels alters brain differentiation – But most are
normal.
Social Learning – children are conditioned to
behave in a manner consistent with the other sex
and reinforced for mimicking other sex parent.
OK(?) What Do We Do?
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Perhaps psychotherapy can alleviate the need for
reassignment surgery. But often it can’t, leaving
no choice but:
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SEX-REASSIGNMENT SURGERY
PROTOCOL
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1) Interviews
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2) Living the life – for a year or longer
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3) Hormone therapy – reverse secondary sexual
characteristics, and, finally,
The Surgery
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Works better for male to female switch
Penis tissue becomes the vagina
Some can even experience arousal and orgasm
Additional surgery can change the pitch of their
voice
Female to Male
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Breasts, uterus, ovaries removed
Vagina sealed, penis constructed – but no erection
from sexual arousal
Does it work?
Most report a significant increase in their overall
adjustment to life
Cultural Gender Roles
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Men – assertive, logical, competitive, competent
Women – submissive, warm, nurturing,
emotional
Most psychologists argue that our gender roles
arise from socialization – our learning histories,
through which we accept our society’s expectations for our
behavior
The Socialization of
Sex Roles
• Who and what shapes our assumed sex
roles?
• Parents – often have differing
expectations for, and treatment of, boys
and girls
Encourage or discourage certain toys
“gender appropriate” play
• But today sports are pushed for both
Other Socializing
Forces
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Peers
Voluntarily segregation, even in pre-school
Reinforces sex-typing in play
Influence even increases in adolescence
Otherwise face social ridicule
Often produces stereotyping
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Schools & Textbooks
From the 70’s to the early 90’s, girls and boys
were treated quite differently
Boys were encouraged to be assertive, received
more tolerance when “bad”, more attention,
help and praise
Girls praised for “neatness” not substance,
encouraged to be dependent and to avoid math
and sciences
Recently, these attitudes have shifted
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Television
Also perpetuates gender stereotypes
Women are both underrepresented and
presented stereotypically
Hope springs from The Wild Thornberrys, Alias,
and Judging Amy
Marketing concerns should push this positive
trend since women both watch and buy more
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Religion
Promotes males as superior – God, Pope,
Bishop, Priest, etc.
Women portrayed as Eve, Virgin Mary
Encouraged to model roles such as educators,
nurses, charity workers
Recently, many denominations have ordained
women ministers and moved to eliminate
masculine metaphors for God
Gender-Role Assumptions
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Women as undersexed, mean as over
women have been told that they should not
desire or enjoy sex
men should pursue every chance
unfairly limits both
More Assumptions
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Men initiate, women respond
Men approach, “ask out”, “pick up”, “make the
move”
Women respond with submission or rejection
Causes men to feel pressure and anxiety
Women may wish to initiate but feel pressure
Finally
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Men as unemotional
Women as nurturing
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Do these assumptions still prevail?
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