Chapter 6

Learning Objectives
• Prenatal Sexual Differentiation
• Gender Identity
• Gender Roles and Stereotypes
• Gender Differences
• Gender Typing
• Psychological Androgony

Prenatal Sexual Differentiation
Sexual
Differentiation
The process by which males and females develop distinct reproductive anatomy
Sperm fertilizes ovum resulting in zygote
Each parent contributes 23 chromosomes
23 rd pair determine sex
Females contribute X
Males contribute
X or Y
• XX = Female
• XY = Male

Prenatal Sexual Differentiation
Embryo The stage of prenatal development that begins with implantation of a fertilized ovum in the uterus and concludes with development of the major organ systems at about two months after fertilization
After seven weeks of prenatal development, the genetic code (XX or XY) results in changes in the gonads, genital ducts, and external genitalia.
Ovaries begin to develop at 11 or 12 weeks.

Prenatal Sexual Differentiation
Genetic
Factors in
Sexual
Differentiation
Genetic influences do exist
SRY
(sex-determining region on Y gene)
Leads to the formation of the testes

Prenatal Sexual Differentiation
The Role of
Sex
Hormones
Androgens Male sex hormones
Without androgens all infants would develop female external reproductive organs
Presence results in the development of male external reproductive organs at about
8 weeks
Small amounts found in female fetuses
Absence in female fetuses prompts development of female sexual organs
Female sex hormones are crucial in puberty, not for sex differentiation

Prenatal Sexual Differentiation
Descent of the Testes and
Ovaries
Testes and ovaries develop from structures in the abdominal cavity
The ovaries complete their descent after the prenatal period
Testes descend via inguinal canal
Cryptorchidism
The condition defined by testes that fail to descend

Sex Chromosomal Abnormalities
Klinefelter syndrome
Caused by an extra X chromosome (XXY) in a male
Fail to develop appropriate secondary sex characteristics
May be mildly retarded
Turner syndrome
Caused by only one X chromosome (XO) in a female
At risk for medical complications
Spatial and math difficulties
Infertility

Prenatal Sexual Differentiation
Development of the internal sex organs from an undifferentiated stage at about five or six weeks after conception

Critical thinkers do not oversimplify or overgeneralize. Consider this statement: In the absence of prenatal male sex hormones, we would all develop as females.
Would we all develop as fertile females?
In what way would we all develop as females?

Gender Identity
Gender
Identity
Sex
Assignment
• Psychological awareness or sense of being male or female
• Reflects anatomic sex at birth
Children
• First aware of anatomical sex by 18 months
• Firmly acquire sense of gender identity at 36 months

Gender Identity
Nature and
Nurture
• Gender identity is almost always consistent with one’s chromosomal sex
• Does not certify that gender identity is biologically determined
• People are usually reared as males or females in accordance with their sexual anatomy.

Gender Identity
Hermaphrodite
Intersexual
• A person who possesses both ovarian and testicular tissue
• Is extremely rare
• A person who possesses gonads of one sex but external genitalia that are ambiguous or typical of the other sex
The experiences of intersexual individuals have helped uncover the relative importance of nature and nurture.

Gender Identity
Intersexualism
• True hermaphroditism is rare
• Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is most common form of female intersexualism
• Genetic female has female internal sexual structures but masculinized external genitals
• Due to exposure to excess levels of androgens
• Girls with CAH exhibit more interest in masculine-typed behaviors
• Results may support a hormonal contribution to gender identity

Gender Identity
Intersexualism
• Androgen-insensitivity syndrome
• Genetic male is prenatally insensitive to androgens such that his genitals are not normally masculinized
• Genetic female with partial or complete insensitivity develops typical external organs, but internal organs don’t develop or function normally

Gender Identity
Intersexualism
• Dominican Republic syndrome
• A genetic enzyme disorder prevents testosterone from masculinizing the external genitalia
• Raised as females
• At puberty, testosterone levels become normal
• Voices deepened, musculature filled out, “clitorises” expanded into penises
• Most shift to male gender identity

Gender Identity
Research suggests that gender identity is influenced by complex interaction of biological and psychosocial factors
• Dominican Republic boys suggest importance of biology to gender
• Studies of girls with partial or complete androgen insensitivity suggest that two X sex chromosomes are not essential to develop feminine-typed behavior

Gender Identity
Transgenderism
• Individual strongly desires to be of the other sex and live as the other sex
• Many undergo hormone treatments and surgery so body matches sense of self
The term transsexualism was used previously

Gender Identity
Sex
Reassignment
• Health professionals conduct evaluations
• Hormone treatments
• Live openly as member of the other sex for extended period of time
• Surgery
• Most postoperative reports are positive

Gender Roles and Stereotypes
Stereotype
• A fixed, conventional idea about a group of people
• Often a distorted generalization
Gender roles
• Complex clusters of expectations for how males and females should behave

Why would a researcher bother to study whether traditional gender-role stereotypes are found around the world?

Gender Roles and Stereotypes
• The prejudgment that because of her or his sex, a person will possess certain negative traits
• Psychologically damaging
• Can influence career choice
• Education can change traditional sexist attitudes

Gender Roles and Stereotypes
Gender Roles and Sexual Behavior
• Men as initiators, women as gatekeepers
• Men make the choices regarding sexual positions and techniques
• Men as overaroused, women as underaroused
• Men more interested in sex than women

Gender Differences
Differences in
Cognitive
Abilities
No overall differences in intellectual functioning
Some gender differences appear for certain cognitive abilities
Females better at verbal tasks
Males better at visual/spatial tasks
These are in group differences
Variability is larger within the sexes than between the sexes
Differences may largely reflect environmental influences and cultural expectations
No difference in math abilities despite stereotype

Gender Differences
Differences in
Personality
Females are more extraverted, anxious, trusting, and nurturing
Males are more assertive, toughminded, and have higher self-esteem
Differences tend to be small
Relative lower selfesteem for girls
Parents prefer boys
Unlevelled playing field in society

Sex Differences
Differences in Social
Behavior
Communication Styles Males dominate discussions
Females express their feelings more than males do
Sexuality Men show more interest in sex
Aggressiveness
Women combine sex with romance
Males engage in more overt aggression compared to females
Willingness to seek health care
Men let symptoms go
Women live an average of seven years longer than men do

Gender Typing

Gender Typing
• Most studies find no relationships
• One study showed fetal testosterone level linked to sex-typed behavior in infants

Gender Typing
• Evolutionary perspective
• Genes that contribute to survival are passed on
• Genetic heritage influences social and sexual behavior
• Traditional roles are passed on through genes
• Controversial perspective

Critical
Thinkin g
Why do you think many feminists and queer theorists argue that evolutionary theory is little more than a sophisticated excuse for maintaining the status quo in the centers of power in society?

Gender Typing
• Prenatal brain organization
• May explain men’s overall superiority at visual/spatial tasks and women’s overall superiority at verbal tasks
• Prenatal sex hormones may create a greater or reduced tendency to act physically aggressive

Gender Typing
• Psychoanalytic Theory
• Gender typing occurs through identification with the same-sex parent
• A resolution to the Oedipus complex (or
Electra complex in girls)

Gender Typing
• Gender typing occurs through the processes of observational learning, identification, and socialization
• Guiding people into socially acceptable behavior patterns by using information, rewards, and punishments

Gender Typing
Psychological
Perspectives
• Cognitive-developmental theory
• Gender typing occurs through cognitive development
• Schema
• A concept or way of interpreting experience or processing information
• Gender stability
• Concept that people retain their genders for a lifetime
• Gender constancy
• Concept that people’s genders do not change, even if they alter their dress or behavior

Gender Typing
Psychological
Perspectives
• Gender schema theory
• Gender schema
• Cluster of mental representations about male and female physical qualities, behaviors, and personality traits
• Once learned, children evaluate themselves in terms that are appropriate to their sex
• Higher self-esteem is associated with selfconcepts that are congruent with the prominent gender schema of one’s culture
• A gender schema can lead to gender-appropriate behaviors and affects mental processes, e.g., memory

Psychological Androgyny
A state characterized by possession of both stereotypical masculine traits and stereotypical feminine traits
• May be more able to summon wide range of traits to act on the demands of the situation
• Associated with psychological wellbeing and higher self-esteem