Gender

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Sex-role Stereotypes

You already know gender stereotypes babes. 

Evidence:

Eccles: parents influence their childs activities based on gender roles, supporting the idea that socialisation may continue sex-role stereotyping 

+ likely to differ by culture, supports idea gender is influenced by external factors (stereotypes) rather than solely biology

- it may place invisible barriers for children of what they can and cannot accomlish

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Androgyny

Psychological androgyny: high levels of both masc and fem characteritics 

* Prakash: indian women less depressed; more androgynous 

Measuring androgyny: BSRI 

  • Femenine 
  • Masculine 
  • Androgynous 
  • Undifferentiated 

34% (males) 27% (females) tested androgenous - large sample 

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Atypical Chromosome Patterns

Klinefelters syndrome: XXY

  • breast
  • small penis 
  • wide hips 

* Simpson: males with KS responded well to treatment with male hormones 

- socially sensetive, can argue that soemthing is 'wrong with them' = more marginalisation

Turners Syndrome: XO

  • skin flaps 
  • rudimentary ovaries 
  • heart defects 

* Price: life expectancy of TS is lower 

- can be diagnosed prenatally and aborted, ethically questionable 

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Kohlbergs Theory of Gender development

1) Gender labelling - 18 months to 3 years 

Basic comprehension of female and male 

2) Gender Stabilty - 3 to 5 years 

Gender labels are fixed but still based on clothing etc (e.g a woman w short hair = boy)

3) Gender constancy - 5 to 7 years

Knowlege that gender reamins consistent between clothing changes etc. Become aware of what it means to 'be female/male' 

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Gender Schema theory

Martin and Halverson: schema of gender develops around 3 when a child learsn to identify genders

The schema becomes more intrictae and detailed as the child grows and accuires more information. Often in early years, they focus heavily on their own genders.

- reductionist; ignores biological ifluence on gender. Explains gender through cognitive processes and ignores role of biologcal differences between men and women 

+ explains why children imitate same-sex role models unlike SLT  

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Freuds psychoanalytic theory

Girls: Electra complex 

  • daddy want
  • mother has castrated her 
  • penis envy
  • fear replaces with want for baby 
  • identify w mother

Boys: Oedopus complex

  • want mother
  • fear of father (castration anxiety) 
  • identify w father to escape 

Little Hans: fear of father represents the complex, fear stopped when Hans dreamed about a plumer fitting him with a big penis (identify w father)

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SLT

Models (parents, peers etc) 

Vicarious reinforcemnt 

Mediational Processes

*Fagot: boys and girls were reinforced for different behavoiurs

- fails to take into accocunt biological influences to gender 

+ identifies cognitions in gender developmnt 

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Influence of Culture

Gender norms:

  • Western: male and female only
  • Samoan: male, female and fa'afafine (bio males w female roles and characteristics)

*Mead: three tribes in Papua New Guinea 

- Tchambule: western gender roles reversed 

- Arapesh: everyone female roles

- Mundongmor: everyone aggressive 

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Influence of Media

kids shown charcters on TV with specific gender rolesm stereotypes perpetuate gender roles.

* Bee: childrens books show characters in stereotypica; gender roles, same with TV adverts 

- over simplistkc to assume cgildren passively learn gender from TV

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Social Explanation for GID

Gender identiy disorder: psychological gender is not the same as biological gender

Operant Conditioning: if parents reinforce opposite gender roles w rewards, GID is more likely to occur (e.g. boy dressing as a fairy princess)

SLT: lack of suitable same sex role model can lead to opposite sex role model of behaviour

*Reckers: similarity in 70 boys w GID, all lack male role models 

- disorder is as if somethings wrong, disphoria more recent 

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Biological Explanation for GID

Genetics: males w GID inherited androgen receptors not sensetive to male hormones 

Brain: post mortems show differences in hypothalamus 

Hormones: literally any hormonal chnages pre or post natal can effect gender 

*Zhou: MtF trans people had more female typical brain activity (hormones prevent brain from mascularisation) 

- ignores role of socio or psychological factors 

+ helps in hromone treatmets for trans people 

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