Chapter 1 - Intro
Intro
 Sex is one of the first categories learned
by children
o Typically considered to only
have 2 categories
o Categories are mutually
exclusive
o We are immediately exposed to
members of both categories
Definitions
 Sex – biological categories of female
and male
o Genes, chromosomes,
hormones
 Gender – social categories of female
and male
o Psychological features and roles
o Differs by culture
 Sex-related behavior – implies the
behavior corresponds to sex but is not
the cause of it
 Gender role – social position
accompanied by a set of norms and
expectations
o Masculine vs. Feminine
 Intrarole conflict – expectations within
a role conflict
 Interrole conflict – expectations of one
role conflict with expectations of
another role
 Gender nonconforming – people who
do not accept gender roles and norms
 Gender identity/gender-role identity –
perception of the self as psychologically
male or female
 Transsexual – a trans person who has
had surgical treatment to change their
sex
 Gender fluid – people who disagree
with the binary concept of gender
 Gender hybrid – people who perceive
themselves as a combination of male
and female
 Gender Dysphoria – official diagnosis in
DSM. 2 requirements:
o Incompatibility between
psychological gender and
biological sex
o Distress due to this
incompatibility, including
impairment in daily functioning
 Sex typing (or gender typing) – the
process by which sex-appropriate
preferences, behaviors, skills, and self-
concept are acquired
o Cross-sex-typed – someone
who acts as a different type
(male who acts feminine /
female who acts masculine)
o Androgynous – someone who
incorporates both masculine
and feminine qualities
 Gender-role attitude – our own
personal view about how men and
women should behave
o Traditional – men are assertive
money makers / women are
nurturing family caretakers
o Egalitarian – men and women
are equally responsible for
working in and out of the home
o Transitional – between
traditional and egalitarian. Both
men and women should
participate in and out of the
home, but women should give
the home primary attention
and men should give work
primary attention
o Sexism – prejudice toward
people based on their sex
 AFFECTIVE
 o Sex stereotype (or gender-role
stereotype) – our beliefs about
the features of the biological or
psychological categories of
male and female
 COGNITIVE
o Sex discrimination – differential
treatment of people based on
their biological sex
 BEHAVIORAL
Cultural Differences in the Construal
of Gender
 Gender culture – society’s
understanding of what is possible,
proper, and perverse in gender-linked
behavior
Cultures with Multiple Genders
 Native American cultures
o Berdache (Lakota Indians) – 3rd
and 4th genders
 Male Berdache –
biological male that
takes on characteristics
of both women and
men in appearance and
manner
 Female Berdache –
biological female that
takes on
characteristics…
o Berdache are historically
viewed as highly respected and
sacred (it has decreased
recently)
 Balkans
o People primarily take on the
other gender role to serve
society’s needs
o Not allowed to get married
 Juchitan, Mexico
o Muxe – biological males who
dress like females and take on
women’s roles
o They do not identify as male or
female
o Accepted by community as a
proud identity
Morocco (Africa)
 2 genders defined by physical space
o Private space (the home) –
female
o Public space – male
 Separate spheres of influence
o The two sexes complement one
another
The Agta Negrito (The Philippines)
 Challenges traditional hunter-gatherer
(masc.-fem) roles
 Women hunt and barter alongside men
 Men and women are equally involved in
decision making and economic status
within the family
Tahiti
 Androgynous society (women and men
have the same social roles)
o Same status and opportunities
in domestic, occupational, and
recreational spheres
o Similar personalities
o No word for gender / no male
or female pronouns
Status and Culture
 Men typically have a higher status than
women in most cultures
 Reasons:
o High illiteracy rates, lower
earnings, and more physical
abuse directed at women
 o China and other countries kill o Concerned with women’s
female infants and prefer males subordinate position in society
(also sex-selective abortion) & sought to establish equal
 Dominant group in society has rights rights
and privileges o Formation of NOW (National
o White, heterosexual, upper Organization for Women)
class, attractiveness o Workplace equality,
reproductive health options →
Philosophical and Political Issues slightly focused on
Surrounding Gender intersectionality, marriage
equality
The Sex Difference Debate  Present
 Minimalists – people who believe the o Global movement
two sexes are fundamentally the same o Intersectionality (race, class,
o If context was held constant, sexuality, etc.) and improving
there would be no difference the position of women in
between men and women society
 Maximalists – believe there are Men’s Movements
fundamental differences between men
and women  1970’s – 1980’s
o Difference does not mean o NOMAS (National Organization
deficit for Men Against Sexism)
o Standpoint feminists – advocate  Changing traditional
that women have competencies male roles to reduce
in domains that are more competitiveness,
important than those of men homophobia, and
emotional inhibition
Social Construction of Gender  Feminists, anti-racists,
 Constructionists – gender cannot be support equal rights for
divorced from context women, etc.
o Gender is created by the  1990’s
perceiver → facts do not exist, o Mythopoetic movement
only interpretations do  Modernization of
society has stripped
Women’s Movements men of bonding rituals
 ManKind Project
 1800’s – early 1900’s
 Men can get in
o Believed men and women were
touch with their
fundamentally different
emotions to
o Women aimed for greater
live a more
respect for domestic roles
fulfilling life
o Abolition, temperance, child
 Promise Keepers
labor laws
 Bible is used to
 1960’s – early 200s
justify the
 natural state of
men’s
superiority
 Homophobic
rhetoric
 Antifeminist

Sexist Language
 Generic “he” in reference to all people
o People do not really perceive
“he” as representing “he or
she”
 Sexist language → feelings of exclusion
o Usually only by women
 There is no language in which the
female version of things is the standard
or is shorter than the male version
 Reducing sexist language
o Use the singular “they”
pronoun
o Table 1.3 (p. 28)

Approaches to Study Gender

 3 main ways:
o Sex is used as a subject variable
o Study the psychological
differences between women
and men / femininity and
masculinity
o Sex is examined as a stimulus or
target variable