Chapter 10

Gender Issues for adolescents

Gender and Gender Role

The sociocultural dimension of being male or female

Gender is a psychological phenomenon as determined by your own experience of your sex

Gender is a sociological phenomenon as determined by the structure of the society in which you live: matriarchy/pat

Gender Role

A set of expectations that prescribes how females and males should think, act, and feel.

How should a woman behave in our culture?

How should a man behave in our culture?

Different/same over the years? Why?

Biological influences on gender

Because of pubertal change, sexuality plays a more important role in gender development for adolescents than for children.

The body changes, the girl becomes the woman; the boy, the man

Macho boys, feminine girls Expectations based on sex?

Biological influences on gender

Psychoanalytic school of psychology believes that anatomy is destiny

Your “gender” and “gender role” is a function of your anatomy

Your role as female or male is dictated by what’s between your legs or what’s not between your legs.

View is now passe

Biological influences on gender

Today’s developmentalists are interactionists

Both biological and environmental influences effect the experience of gender and gender role

Interactionism has become popular consistent with the changing roles of women in society over the years.

Biological influences on gender

Evolutionary psychology argues that gender differences are evolutionary adaptations produced psychologically so as to maximize survival of the gene pool

Is there an evolutionary reason to have a “male” role and a “female” role regardless of the sex doing the role?

Biological influences on gender

Evolutionary psychology viewpoint of gender differentiation has been criticized as it suggests there are some roles which maximize gene propagation and some roles which minimize gene propagation.

Criticisms about in the “gene propagation” argument. Controversial.

Social Influences on gender

Social roles of gender Women as a submissive, less powerful

gender; men as a more dominant, powerful gender

Gender hierarchies; patriarchy, matriarchy; influence on gender

Division of labor; sex-differentiated behavior. What is good? Bad? Effects?

Social influences on gender

Identification theory and social cognitive theory emphasize the adoption of parents’ gender-appropriate roles

We learn to be a man from our father; a woman from our mothers

Modeling appropriate gender-role behavior; effects on success of the child as a future mate?

Social influences on gender

Peers become adept at rewarding gender-appropriate behavior

Peers become skilled at punishing gender-non-appropriate behavior

What does education do to gender equality or is there such a thing in education? Math, language, good grades, expectations???

Social influences on gender

Television and its effects on teaching gender roles and the whole experience of gender in our culture

What is a competent male on TV? What is a competent female on TV?

Baywatch, Ali McGraw, soaps, Xena? Hercules, Home Improvement? Public TV and Home

Social influences and gender

Woman?

Social influences and gender

Man?

Cognitive influences on gender

Kohlberg proposed a cognitive developmental theory of gender development

Gender schema theory: individuals develop a schema for gender influenced by sociocultural standards and stereotypes of gender

Cognitive influences on gender

What is the schema for woman?

What is the schema for man?

Where do you learn this schema?

What is your own personal schema?

Old fashioned Sexism

Women are not as smart as men

Men are better bosses than women

Women are emotional and men are rational

Men are never emotional and don’t cry

Gender stereotypes

Gender stereotypes are widespread around the world

Many of these stereotypes emphasize the man’s power and the woman’s nuturance

Evolutionary psychology or a worldwide chauvanistic plot?

Gender similarities and differences Obviously, physically different How are they physically different?

– Neurologically different– Hormonally different– Structurally different

Physically differences translated into physiological strengths and vulnerabilities

Gender similarities and differences Cognitive differences

– The debate between theorists concerning whether there is an actual cognitive difference between the sexes or not

– Do men think differently than women?– Neurological evidence would suggest that

women are more holistic processors of data than are men

– Men better math; women better linguistic

Gender similarities and differences Socioemotional differences

– Females enjoy rapport talk, males enjoy report talk

– Males are more physically aggressive; testosterone; effects on socialization

– Number of friends usually larger for females; males in this society have been taught to be tough and not to complain

– Femininity? Masculinity?

The War of the Sexes

Real? Not? Why? Why not? Androgeny

– the presence of a high degree of desirable masculine and feminine characteristics in the same individual

– those who are most androgenous are most likely to be most well adjusted in our technological society

Androgeny

1970s began experimentation with alternative roles of male and female

Androgeny as a logical extension of the changing nature of society, work, and culture

Androgenous individuals are competent and flexible and well adjusted

Culture dictates possibility of androgeny

Changing society and gender

Traditional roles are becoming increasingly more difficult to manage as the economic pressures drive us all into the workforce

The changing nature of work and egalitarianism is further dulling the differentiation between the sexes

Masculinity, testosterone, and society?

Changing society and gender

An alternative to androgeny is gender-role transcendence

Evaluation of a person not on gender role but on person’s characteristics

Again this is possible as a function of the society in which this occurs; some societies demand strictly defined and meticulously followed divisions.

Developmental junctures

Early adolescence is a time of very extreme psychological and behavioral differences between boys and girls

Girls become aware that their intense interest in intimacy is not always shared by males and not prized in a patriarchy

Feminist issues of what a society should be like.

Questions on Chapter 10?

Gender? Gender Roles? Adolescent experiences?