Chapter Five

Summary:

There are many different ways to describe characteristic of men and women. When describing women the adjectives are normally associated with weakness, while men are normally describe with adjectives that are associated with strength. He may be called firm, but she would be called stubborn. Even though this characteristics may not pertain to us, or other people we may know, these stereotypes are widely used.

Sex vs. Gender

Sex is the biological characteristics with which we are born: our chromosomal, anatomical, hormonal, and other physical and physiological attributes. Sex will not influence how we feel, think, or act. Gender is used to refer to learned attitudes and behavior that characterize people of one sex or another. Gender identity, is the perception of themselves, which children develop, as either masculine or feminine. Both men and women experience the same emotions; the only difference is how they express that emotion. Gender roles are the characteristics, attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that society expects of females and males; we learn these gender roles from our family and society. Gender stereotypes are expectations about how people will look, act, think, and feel based on their sex.

Nature vs. Nurture

The argument that nature shapes behavior is backed up by health differences between men and women, the effects of sex hormones, and some cases of unsuccessful sex reassignment. Some health conditions, such as breast cancer, migraines, and diabetes are more commonly found in women; also, certain sense (hearing, smelling, and tasting) are better, and have proven to even last longer in women. Both men and females have three of the same sex hormones, which are chemical substances secreted into the bloodstream by glands of the endocrine system; they are estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Right before children hit puberty, the levels of each hormone varies to produce certain physiological changes.

The argument that nurture shapes behavior is backed up by global variations in gender roles, international differences in male violence rates, and successful sex reassignment cases. The work of Margaret Mead provided proof that things that are considered to be either masculine or feminine are determined by a culture and not biologically. This was concluded from tribes where the males and females were both aggressors, both were nurturers, and where the women were the breadwinners and the men cared for the children and gossiped amongst themselves. If men were naturally aggressive then they would be equally as violent in all cultures and societies. However, this is not the case; the percentage of women who are being physically abused is higher in Vietnam, than the United States, Peru, and Japan. In the cases of intersexual newborns, most parents choose a sex for the child and raise their child in the selected gender. The children are given gendered names, clothes that reflect their given gender, and are taught to behave in certain gender-appropriate ways; in most cases this method works, proving that nurture is more important than nature in shaping a child’s gender identity.

Theories on Changes in Gender Roles

1. Sociobiology: The study of how biology affects social behavior; evolution and genetic factors could explain why men are generally more aggressive than women.
2. Social Learning Theory: People learn attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors through social interaction. Children learn gender roles through techniques like reinforcement, observation, imitation.
3. Cognitive Development: Children obtain female or male values on their own by thinking, reasoning, and interpreting information in their environment. The child goes through a series of developmental stages where they learn gender appropriate attitudes and behaviors.
4. Symbolic Interaction: Argues that gender roles are socially constructed categories that emerge in social situations. It says that we are constantly "doing gender", both consciously and unconsciously, by making sure that our behavior matches up with what other people gender role expectations are.
5. Feminist Theory: Like Symbolic Interactionist, feminist veiwed gender as a socially constructed, and one had a gender script (how society says you're supposed to act based on your sex) and the scripts becomes second nature to them.

Learning Gender Roles

1. Parents: Parents treats male and female babied different from birth. Parents communicate differently with boys and girls. Parents have certain expectations for each sex of children; the expectations are sex-stereotypical and can effect the a child's confidence. Parents will only let their children participate in activities that have gender roles that meet society's standards.
2. Play and Peer Groups: A peer group is a group of people who are similar in age, social status, and interests. Toys that children play with are generally gendered (ie. Barbie and G.I. Joe dolls). The more children of the same sex play together, the more likely they are to participate in gendered-type play.
3. Teachers and Schools: In elementary schools all children are evaluated on academic criteria, work habits, and knowledge, but girls are more likely also evaluated on things such as grooming, politeness, and appearance. In high school, girls are are herded toward the social sciences and humanities course, instead of math and science course.
4. Pop Culture and Media: Advertisements show models and "the majority of them [are] nipped, tucked, and airbrushed to perfection". Women are portrayed as sex objects by the media, and in advertisements. Women are pictured at unhealthy weights, and increase concern within other women about their bodies. Newspapers marginalize women. Girls are less likely to see women in leading roles that are strong, positive, and good role models.

Traditional Views and Gender Roles

• · Instrumental Role Players: husbands and fathers, provider, protectors, “real men”, breadwinner, devoted husband, dutiful son, “superman”

• · Expressive Role Players: wives and mothers, provide emotional support, nurturer, keeps the family together, supports husband/father, mediator, problem solver, family helper, kin-keeper (keeps the family connected to relatives)

• · Benefits: provides stability, continuity, and predictability

• · Costs: the instrumental role players may get overwhelmed and be unhappy with his life; expressive role player have never ending responsibilities in the house that are exhausting and monotonous.

Gender Roles in Adulthood

· Gender Stratification: people unequal access to wealth, power, status, prestige, opportunity, and other valued resources because of their gender.

· Second Shift: the household work and child care task that many mothers face after coming home from work. Having a husband creates 7 extra hours of work a week for a woman. Women take care of twice as much child care, as men do housework.

· Gender Discrimination in the Workplace: Women not being able to advance in the workplace because of her gender. The glass ceiling is a collection of attitudinal or organizational biases in the workplace that prevent women from advancing to leadership positions. Sexual Harassment is any unwelcome sexual advancement, request for sexual favors, or other conduct of a sexual nature that makes a person uncomfortable and interfere with her or his work; surveys show that almost half of all women experience some form of sexual harassment in their workplace.

Global View: Variations in Gender Roles

The GGGI (Global Gender Gap Index) measures women’s status and quality of life on more than 90 percent of the world’s population. Norway, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, New Zealand, the Philippines, Denmark, Ireland the Netherlands and Latvia are the top ten countries on the GGGI. The United States is one of the high ranking countries but it is not at the top of the GGGI. An example of a middle ranking country would be Russia. Countries on the very bottom of the list would be Turkey, Pakistan, Nepal, Morocco, Benin, Egypt, Chad, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

New Interesting Things:

I found it interesting that in elementary and middle schools not only are little girls being evaluated on their academic abilities, but also how they present themselves, grooming, politeness, and appearance. These little girls have much more expectation than their boy counterparts who get more attention.

Discussion Topic:

The chapter mentions that in high school, girls are advised to take courses in the social sciences and humanities, while boys are advised to take courses in mathematics and physical sciences. I, however, do not think this is true (at least not anymore). Coming from a high school were our courses were basically laid out in the order in which we had to take them, courses weren't gendered. The question I pose to the class is: do you feel as though high school are participating in this gendered advising?