Chapter 2 Gender Idntity

7. What are some of the potential negative consequences of gender stereotyping?

11. The problem with stereotypes is that forcing everyone to conform to the same mold severly limits the development of individual personality and personal achievement. New gender roles encourage women to be more assertive and less passive and men to be less aggressive and more cooperative. 15. ultimate expression of the self. Television, magazines, and advertisements influence the way women feel about themselves and create unattainable standards for women to live up to, resulting in an increase in eating disorders and negative self-image.

Describe masculine and feminine stereotypes and norms and the problems they create. (Teacher summary points)

9. People develop stereotyped concepts of masculinity and femininity. Traditionally, males were aggressive, dominant, strong, forceful, self-confident, rugged, virile, instrumental, adventurous, courageous, independent, ambitious, direct, logical, and unemotional. To be a man was to be a big wheel, be successful, have status, and be looked up to. 10. Traditionally, females were submissive, weak, sensitive, gentle, tender, kind, tactful, warm and affectionate, sentimental, soft-hearted, dependent, aware of feelings of others, emotional and excitable, and somewhat frivolous, fickle, illogical, and talkative. Female gender norms included the marriage and motherhood mandates; that is, women were expected to get married and to have children. 11. The problem with stereotypes is that forcing everyone to conform to the same mold severly limits the development of individual personality and personal achievement. New gender roles encourage women to be more assertive and less passive and men to be less aggressive and more cooperative. 15. ultimate expression of the self. Television, magazines, and advertisements influence the way women feel about themselves and create unattainable standards for women to live up to, resulting in an increase in eating disorders and negative self-image.

Androgyny

A blending of male and female characteristics and roles; especially, a lack of gender typing with respect to roles.

Gender Role

A person's outward expression of maleness or femaleness.

Gender Identity

A person's personal, internal sense of maleness of femaleness, which is expressed in personality and behavior.

egalitarian marriage

A relationship of equality rather than strict role definition: the focus is on shared power and shared work.

transexual

A transgendered person who seeks to live as a member of the opposite sex with the help of hormones and surgery.

Gender-Role Congruence

Agreement between partners' gender-role expectations and their performance.

Stereotyping begins at what age?

Because programming begins very early in life, gender stereotyping appears as early as 2 or 3 years old and peaks at about 5 (A. Campbell, Shirley, and Candy, 2004).

Theories of or different theoretical view of maleness and femaleness: six (6) theories

Biological Theory Cognitive Developmental Theory Evolutionary Theory Gender Schema Theory Social Learning Theory Social Structural and Cultural Theory

What are the different theoretical view about the development of "maleness" and "femaleness" See also Question

Biological Theory Cognitive Developmental Theory Evolutionary Theory Gender Schema Theory Social Learning Theory Social Structural and Cultural Theory

Biological Theory

Biological theories suggest that some of the differences in male and female behavior are the result of genetic, hormonal, and neurobiological influences.

Explain how concepts of masculinity and femininity vary by society and culture.

Development of masculinity or femininity involves an education in what it means to be a man or a woman within the context of the culture. Gender is as much about a set of beliefs as it is about anatomical differences (Yarber, Sayad, and Strong, 2010). Concepts of masculinity and femininity vary in different societies and cultures. Margaret Mead (1950) studied three groups. Arapesh men and women displayed "feminine personality traits; males and females were trained to be cooperative, unaggressive, and responsive to the needs and demands of others. Mundugumor men and women developed "masculine" traits; ruthless and aggressive, with maternal, nurturant aspects of personality at a minimum. Tchambuli women were dominant/impersonal, men were less responsible/more emotionally dependent. Conceptions of masculinity/ femininity have changed in U.S. A "true man" & gentleman in Colonial time wore hose, powdered wig,lace shirt --the judgments about masculinity are subjective, based accepted standards defined culture that vary from culture to culture and era to era in the same society. Many people develop gender stereotyped concepts of masculinity and femininity as assumed differences, norms, attitudes, and expectations about men/ women. As role alternatives for women change, men must redefine their roles in order to adjust to a society in which masculine/feminine roles are less dichotomized. Many men face dilemma of interacting with women as equal partners, while under the influence of traditions that encourage them to take initiative and assume a dominant role in a variety of situations.

Environmental influence media : Magazines and body image

For the 1 2 magazines most frequently read by women, 54 of the 69 covers (78%) contained some message about bodily appearance, whereas none of the 53 covers of the men's magazines contained such messages.covers of women's magazines, they 94% showed a slender female in excellent shape, whereas only about 3% showed a male on the cover. e covers of men's magazines, they found that 28% showed a male model or celebrity, whereas almost 50% showed a slim young woman wearing revealing clothing. position of weight- By their placement of message, magazines suggest losing weight or changing the shape of one's body will lead to a better life. imply that by changing their appearance people will be happier, sexier, and more lovable.]

Discuss gender-role influences in interpersonal relationships between men and women.

Influence marital and family dynamics, how men and women approach communication, conflict resolution, sexual encounters, stress management, and problem solving differently. See p 63 of Word version of book regarding Roles in Marriage, Housework & Childcare Roles, Do Everyday things Together, Gender/Marriage/and Depression, & Coping with Depression. Changes in gender roles many situations better for both men and women and life more complex as roles less distinct can lead to role conflict, strain and overload. . [Side Bar: role ambiguity The uncertainty felt when choosing a gender role.] [Side Bar: role strain The stress of trying to meet the demands of many roles.] [Side Bar: egalitarian marriage A relationship of equality rather than strict role definition; the focus is on shared power and shared work.] [Side Bar: gender-role congruence Agreement between partners' gender-role expectations and their performance.] Couples can be strictly traditional or totally egalitarian or some hybrid. The important factor is for them to be in agreement (Stevens, Kiger, and Riley, 2001). Couples who focus on mutual support, concern, and thoughtfulness are likely to have good relationships. Contests to determine who is the "boss" or who can get the most while giving the least are disappointing and destructive.

Social Learning Theory

Key Term: A theory emphasizing that boys develop "malesness" and girls develop "femaleness" through exposure to scores of influences - including parents, television, school, and peers- that teach them what it means to be a man or a woman in their culture. Explanation: The social learning theory asserts that concepts of gender roles and appropriate gender behavior are established through exposure to social influences such as parents, teachers, peers, and media. parental models, particularly those offered by the same-sex parent, are the most influential in shaping gender behavior. Other socializing agents, such as television, teachers, and peers, distinguish and reinforce children's gender roles. By the first year of life, children begin to be aware of the differences in gender roles, and by the third year, it is quite evident how girls and boys have been socialized to behave, play, and dress. A great deal of evidence supports social learning theory, but by itself it is insufficient to explain the development of gender roles and gender identity (Lips, 1997). Environmental influences of exposure to parents, television and school are noted under this theory.

Cognitive Developmental Theory

Key Term: A theory suggesting that gender roles and identities cannot be learned until children reach a certain stage of intellectual development. Explanation: Cognitive developmental theory suggests that children actively seek out cues and learn gender stereotypes at a particular stage of intellectual development, going through phases of rigidity and flexibility concerning gender behavior.This theory suggests that between the ages of 3 and 5 children acquire "gender constancy," a fixed concept of gender that cannot be altered by superficial things, such as clothing or appearance. Prior to the development of gender constancy, children may confuse gender classifications and believe that classifications can arbitrarily change. For example, a girl who wears a short hairstyle or a baseball cap suddenly becomes a boy. According to cognitive developmental theory, once children categorize themselves as female or male, they will use this self-categorization to figure out how to behave. In response to positive reinforcement, they will attach higher value to gender-appropriate behaviors than to gender-inappropriate behaviors, which receive negative reinforcement (Leaper and Friedman, 2007). As children develop a model for proper gender behavior, they enter a phase of great rigidity. Around the age of 5 or 6, their views of gender roles are oversimplified and inflexible, relying greatly on stereotypes.

Gender Schema Theory

Key Term: A theory suggesting that people have definite ideas about how males and females should look and behave, based on the framework of logic and ideas used to organize information and make sense of it. Explanation: Gender schema theory combines elements of both cognitive developmental and social learning theories, suggesting that children have frameworks (schema) of how males and females act and look. Example Of course, people differ in the degree to which they use their gender schemas to process information about themselves and others, with strongly sex-typed individuals tending to have stronger gender schemas (Bern, 1985). Gender schemas are shaped through the socialization of children and the degree to which males and females are treated differently. Thus, gender schema theory builds on both cognitive developmental and social learning theories in suggesting that children both cognitively construct gender categories and learn to respond to environmental cues about gender roles (Yarber et al., 2010).

Evolutionary Theory

Key Term: Theories suggesting that genetic heritage is more important than social learning in the development of gender roles. Explanation: Evolutionary theories assert that gender roles have been established through genetic evolution based on biological functions of the sexes and reproductive successes. Other Information There is little empirical evidence to support evolutionary theories of gender, but they are still the basis for many societal assumptions. No evidence has linked any gender behaviors to a specific gene, and the universality of a trait does not mean that the trait is necessarily genetic rather than learned. If males are biologically predisposed to be aggressive and females to be submissive, it is certainly also true that society reinforces and accentuates these differences. Other information Interesting research strongly suggests genetic, hormonal, and neurological ("brain") bases for some of the differences in the behavior of males and females. For example, by about 5 years of age (when the brain reaches adult size), the brains of boys are about 10% larger than those of girls (Halpern, Benbow, Geary, Gur, Hyde, and Gernsbacher, 2007). Other research shows that women's brains are wired to feel and recall emotions more keenly than the brains of men (Canli, Desmond, Zhao, and Gabrieli, 2002). Differences in their nervous systems make domination and rough-and-tumble play appealing to boys and intimacy and empathic relationships pleasing to girls (Fabes, 1994). This may account for why girls typically prefer to negotiate and cooperate when playing as compared to boys being more competitive, aggressive, and rough. Finally a number of studies suggest that gender identity may be rooted in chromosomes and not easily changed. These studies have involved babies born with ambiguous or missing external genitals. In one study, 27 chromosomally male babies born without penises were raised as girls; 25 still considered themselves boys (Reiner, 2000). In another, 14 genetically male babies born with testes (but without normal penises) were surgically assigned to female sex shortly after birth and raised as girls. When they were older (between 5 and 16 years old), 6 declared themselves male, 5 declared definite female identity but had difficulty fitting in with other girls, 2 were living ambiguously, and 1 refused to discuss the issue (Reiner and Gearhart, 2004). Biological theories also fall short of explaining all the differences in males and females. The issue of whether nature or nurture is more important in determining gender roles is a timeless argument most likely never to be resolved.

Social Structure/Cultural Theory

Key Term: Theories suggesting that most of the differences between male and female gender roles are established because of the status, power, and division of labor in a given society Explanation: Social structural and cultural theories directly relate power, status, and division of labor to concepts of gender identity. The view of women as subordinates in the workplace parallels the gender conception of women as less powerful and in need of support. Examples Cultural theorists argue that, if males and females were seen as equally powerful in society, many of the so-called gender differences would disappear. For example, both women and members of lower-status groups are characterized as more controlled and passive, whereas men and members of higher-status groups are characterized as more direct and opinionated (Henley and Freeman, 1995). These power and status differences are related to the differences in the division of labor between the sexes that still exists. For example, there are still far more male executives and female secretaries than vice versa

2. Environmental influences

Major determinant of gender identities and general roles. Society defines qualities of maleness and femaleness expected and influenced by roles of parents, television and school.

Describe masculine and feminine stereotypes and norms and the problems they create.

Many people develop stereotyped concepts of masculinity and femininity. These gender stereotypes are assumed differences, norms, attitudes, and expectations about men and women. [Masculinity traditionally: Aggressive, dominant, strong, forceful, self-confident, rugged, virile, instrumental, adventurous, courageous, independent, ambitious, direct, logical, unemotional) Initiator in pre and post marital relationships and the decision maker and woman was expected to follow and demurely respond or she was a threat to traditional relationship. He was supposed to have the last word over both his wife and his children. Male gender stereotype may suppress men's natural ability for socialization, emotional self-awareness and expressivity. Boys grow to be men who cannot sense their feelings and put them into words and have difficulty emotional empathy (Levant, 2003)."Men tend to channel their vulnerable emotions (such as fear, sadness, loneliness, feeling unloved) into anger, and to transform their caring feelings (such as fondness, love, attachment) into sexuality" (Levant, 2003, p.177). Femininity traditionally: unaggressive, submissive, weak, sensitive, gentle, tender, kind, tactful, warm, affectionate, sentimental, softhearted, dependent, aware of the feelings of others, emotional, excitable, frivolous, fickle, illogical and talkative. interested in the home and family, frilly... society emphasized primary gender norm was the motherhood mandate, play with dolls as preparation, babysitters, marry and when would she have babies, be a good mother, The marriage mandate was second in importance to the motherhood mandate. Women were expected to get married, since it was the rite of passage to the adult world, the way to unlock the shackles of dependency on their parents and best fulfill the motherhood mandate, please men, disregard their own needs (and intimacy needs), attend to husbands, and many became depressed(Whisman and Jacobson, 1990). One problem with gender stereotypes applied to all members of one sex, individual personalities can become distorted. Everyone is expected to conform, regardless of individual differences or inclinations. Furthermore, gender identity and gender-role stereotypes place serious limitations on the relationships that people are capable of forming and on career or personal achievements. [Side Bar: gender stereotypes Assumed differences, norms, attitudes, and expectations about men and women.

National Opinion Research Center Social Surveys

National Opinion Research Center General Social Surveys show that traditional gender-role ideology in both men and women contributes to lower observed earnings for females, independent of the influences of individual characteristics. A male boss may know female employees are competent workers, but believe they will put family first (to have babies or care for elders, for example). Traditional gender-role ideology also can impact men's earnings. Employers may view men with sexist views of women as "lacking in openness to diversity" or as open invitations to discrimination lawsuits, which may affect their career success (Firestone, Harris, and Lambert, 1999). Trying to follow traditional male gender roles also can be harmful to men in other ways. Adherence to the traditional male role is associated with higher levels of suicide, substance abuse, health problems, stress, and emotional illness (Good and Mintz, 1990). Being openly aggressive, dominant, independent, and unemotional is distinctly disadvantageous leading to trouble with friends, family, and society.

9. How might gender roles impact same-sex marriages?

Opinion? It would seem like this would be based on the same thing as teacher input earlier on gender roles in any marriage: A gender role is the outward expression of one's maleness or femaleness in a social setting. Agreement between partners' gender-role expectations and their performance, and these factors [Side Bar: role ambiguity The uncertainty felt when choosing a gender role.] [Side Bar: role strain The stress of trying to meet the demands of many roles.] [Side Bar: egalitarian marriage A relationship of equality rather than strict role definition; the focus is on shared power and shared work.] [Side Bar: gender-role congruence Agreement between partners' gender-role expectations and their performance.]Couples can be strictly traditional or totally egalitarian or some hybrid. The important factor is for them to be in agreement (Stevens, Kiger, and Riley, 2001). Couples who focus on mutual support, concern, and thoughtfulness are likely to have good relationships. Contests to determine who is the "boss" or who can get the most while giving the least are disappointing and destructive.

Discuss how the following environmental influences mold masculinity and femininity: societal expectations, parents, television, and school.

PARENTS: parental identification and modeling-- process child adopts and internalizes parental values, attitudes, behavioral traits, and personality characteristics. Gender Identification and gender-role learning soon after birth due to dependency.. emotional attachment.. unconsciously/indirectly. Mothers are affectionate & nurturing/ fathers are playful & strong. Child observes different parent behavior, speaking, dressing, acting to others. Study 2 years old, subtle messages about gender in mother-child conversations, even for mothers who expressed gender egalitarian beliefs (Gelman, Taylor, and Nguyen, 2004). Studies--before school age, organized patterns of beliefs about gender that affect the way they process social information (Giles and Heyman, 2005). Child learns what it is to be mother/father, wife/husband, and woman/ man through parental example, daily contacts, and associations.. Traditional or nontraditional parents' gender roles affect gender-role attitudes (Sabattini and Leaper, 2004). Study adolescent daughters of employed mothers less traditional gender-role attitudes (C. Nelson and Keith, 1990) and if husband happy with her employment=more nontraditional daughter. Study adult of nontraditional parents tend to nontraditional gender-role attitudes (Booth and Amato, 1994). TELEVISION : Studies popular media depict men/women in gender stereotyped manner (Yarber et al., 2010). Slight decrease stereotypical women in advertisements (Lindner, 2004), and women in the hip-hop culture is often sexist & misogynistic (Javors, 2004). Study newspaper comics few women & married w/children low status domestic work or no jobs, more attention to appearance (Glascock and Preston-Schreck, 2004). Study intercollegiate athletic gender messages intecollegiate National Collegiate Athletic Association media guide covers..women less as active participants in sports/more in passive and traditionally feminine poses (Buysse and Embser-Herbert, 2004). Media influence begins first books ..boys active leaders and girls passive followers; men career skills, women tasks in home; fathers underrepresented and withdrawn ineffectual parents (D. Anderson and Hamilton, 2005). Even self-help books general parenting advice 1997 to 2002 found 82% implicit gender stereotypical (Krafchick, Schindler Zimmerman, Haddock, and Banning, 2005). Television influence young and old.. TVs on more than 7 hours a day and average person watches 3 hours and children watch prime time gender bias and sexism. Some recent women in wider occupations (Coltrane and Adams, 2008), butstill underrepresented 2:1 less likely to be leading characters (Comstock and Scharrer, 2006; Signorielli, 1998). Men aggressive, decisive, powerful, stable, and professionally competent. Women often sociable, emotional, warmer, married, and younger. A woman on TV is mostly early thirties; a late thirties. Men over 65 are more likely cast younger roles, employed, and romantically involved while women over 65 are cast as elderly (Comstock and Scharrer, 2006; Signorielli, 1998). Research supports impact of stereotypical presentations of males and females on gender-role formation. Children who are heavy TV viewers tend to have stereotypical ideas of gender and to show conformity to culturally accepted gender-role typing (Berry, 2000; L. M. Ward and Friedman, 2006). In adults, television viewing is related to more sexist responses to questions about the nature of men and women and their appropriate roles in society (Signorielli, 1998). TEACHER INPUT: 15. ultimate expression of the self. Television, magazines, and advertisements influence the way women feel about themselves and create unattainable standards for women to live up to, resulting in an increase in eating disorders and negative self-image. SCHOOL: books may promote gender stereotypes--. educational psychology textbooks males depicted as aggressive significantly more often than females (Yanowitz and Weathers, 2004). Teachers unconciously direct them and have different ideas about male and female students. ..math and science for boys (and they overrate male abilities and interest in them) and literature. (Q. Li, 1999; Wigfield, Eccles, and Schiefele, 2006). Children pick up on these attitudes (Eccles, 2007) and internalize them. By high school, girls say they don't care for math and tend to drop it (Shea, Lubinski, and Benbow, 2001).

What are 3 of societies environmental influences on gender identity and quality of maleness and femaleness

Parents Television School

Transgendered people

People who feel that their biological sex does not match their gender identity.

Femininity

Personality and behavioral characteristics of a female according to culturally defined standards of femaleness.

Masculinity

Personality and behavioral characteristics of a male according to culturally defined standards of maleness.

Gender

Personality traits and behavior that characterize an individual as masculine or feminine.

5. The text provides several examples of gender schema according to gender schema theory. Can you think of any additional gender schemas?

Remember Gender Schema is theory suggesting that people have definite ideas about how males and females should look and behave, based on the framework of logic and ideas used to organize information and make sense of it. Explanation: Gender schema theory combines elements of both cognitive developmental and social learning theories, suggesting that children have frameworks (schema) of how males and females act and look.

4. Did your experience in school shape your gender identity? How?

Remember gender identity A person's personal, internal sense of maleness of femaleness, which is expressed in personality and behavior.

6. How does gender identity, or gender roles impact career choices?

Remember gender identity A person's personal, internal sense of maleness of femaleness, which is expressed in personality and behavior. and gender roles are A person's outward expression of maleness or femaleness.

Discussion Question 3.. Why might social learning theory be insufficient in explaining gender role or identity? What about cognitive developmental theory?

See p 48 specifics and examples on this.Boys will refuse even to touch a baby doll, for example. But within a few years, children become secure in their gender identity and so are more comfortable with occasional departures from the stereotypical gender role. She can play trucks with her boy cousins or he can cook in a pretend restaurant. Whereas social learning theory is based on gender typing, such as sex-appropriate activities or occupations, cognitive developmental theory is based on cognitive aspects, such as knowledge of stereotypes and flexibility in applying them. Although support exists for both theories, neither can fully explain the development and maintenance of gender roles and gender identity (Carroll, 2010). Contrast Social Learning Theory emphasizing that boys develop "maleness" and girls develop "femaleness" through exposure to scores of influences - including parents, television, school, and peers- that teach them what it means to be a man or a woman in their culture. with Cognitive Developmental Theory that suggesting that gender roles and identities cannot be learned until children reach a certain stage of intellectual development. that children actively seek out cues and learn gender stereotypes at a particular stage of intellectual development, going through phases of rigidity and flexibility concerning gender behavior.

Define sex, gender, gender identity, and gender roles

Sex refers to one's biological identity, male or female. Gender includes those psychosocial components that characterize one as masculine or feminine. Gender identity is an individual's personal. Internal sense of maleness or femaleness that is expressed in personality and behavior. A gender role is the outward expression of one's maleness or femaleness in a social setting.

sexual dysphoria

Some children and adults, however, have difficulty establishing their gender identity. They may experience gender dysphoria, or the feeling that their biological sex does not match their gender identity. Such trans-gendered people may alter their gender identity occasionally or permanently by cross-dressing or by becoming transsexuals with the help of hormones and surgery. In this chapter, we examine the concepts of gender and gender roles and describe some of the influences on their development.

Two major problems facing women today are role ambiguity and role strain. S

Strict feminists argue that women can find satisfaction only in salaried work, whereas strict traditionalists insist that only family and motherhood yield true satisfaction. Many women are confused about which choice is best and feel guilty regardless of their choice.

Describe how marital quality can be influences by gender-role expectations.

Teacher Input: 17. Recent decades have witnessed major changes in the way women perceive themselves: Marriage and motherhood mandates are relaxed and more mothers are employed. Men have redefined their roles as well, becoming more sensitive, warm, and communicative. 18. Gender-role expectations and attitudes have an effect on marital and family dynamics. Some couples prefer an egalitarian marriage with shared power and work; others prefer traditional relationship. Congruence between gender-role expectations and behavior is more important in relationship satisfaction. 19. Egalitarian roles have not been achieved fully, although Gender-role expectations and attitudes have an effect on marital and family dynamics. Some couples prefer an egalitarian marriage with shared power and work; others prefer traditional relationship. Congruence between gender-role expectations and behavior is more important in relationship satisfaction. 20. marital satisfaction, individual psychological well-being, and child-care quality are improved when spouses share in family tasks. Women still spend significantly more time than men doing housework and caring for children, even when they work full-time outside the home. This unequal division of labor is a source of resentment and anger for many women. 21. Depression is an issue for many families and often involves negative behaviors such as lowered motivation, self-focus, and irritability. The causes of depression are varied, such as a chemical imbalance or situational factors, but more researchers agree that depression and interpersonal relationships are affected by one another. From book: In general, couples who have achieved gender-role congruence--that is, agreement on gender-role expectations and performance--report higher marital quality than those who do not. [Side Bar: role ambiguity The uncertainty felt when choosing a gender role.] [Side Bar: role strain The stress of trying to meet the demands of many roles.] [Side Bar: egalitarian marriage A relationship of equality rather than strict role definition; the focus is on shared power and shared work.] [Side Bar: gender-role congruence Agreement between partners' gender-role expectations and their performance.]

Define androgyny and identify its possible advantages and disadvantages.

Teacher Input: 22. The present trend is toward androgyny, whereby people are not gender typed with respect to roles. A mixing of roles is advantageous to both sexes. People may actually change gender roles depending on their social context. From Book [Side Bar: androgyny A blending of male and female characteristics and roles; especially, a lack of gender-typing with respect to roles.]Androgynous people are not gender-typed with respect to roles, although they are distinctly male or female in sex. They match their behavior to the situation, rather than being limited by what is culturally defined as male or female. Dress as they want. Male may be comfortable caring for a baby, female changing car oil, expands range of acceptable behavior, allows individuals cope in variety of situations, advantage to both sexes and their relationship in that both not restricted by narrow gender-typed roles, more independent, less conforming, more nurturing males. Historically, mental health clear-cut separation between male and female roles (Cook, 1985). Now, some studies reveal that androgynous individuals have better social relationships and are better adjusted, less depression in college, (Cheng, 1999). Study more adaptive capabilities and resources, coping techniques, emotional integration, communication skills, and a well-defined self-concept with a high level of ego strength (Small, Teagno, and Selz, 1980). Some disagree and feel women's and men's biological, emotional, and psychological attributes should just be valued equally with nonsexist attitudes. In reality our gender self-concept probably changes across the various contexts in which we interact. The gender makeup of the group (that is, same-sex or mixed-sex) may influence the interactional style of the participants Or the situation itself may influence the traits exhibited by individuals...may be more traditional feminine around intimate partner but at work she may exhibit more traditional masculine qualities. National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse found that girls who want to be one of the boys go drink-for-drink with them (S. E. Foster, Vaughan, Foster, and Califano, 2003). C. J. Smith, Noll, and Bryant (1999) males are more likely show feminine traits with females than around males. Females less likely to change their feminine self-concept across contexts. However, among unfamiliar people, both males and females are more likely to display androgynous characteristics. Overall, we seem to be developing more flexible and interchangeable gender roles. [Image: Androgyny expands the range of acceptable behavior. Clothes and hairstyles do not express either maleness or femaleness.] Gender role is influenced by our environment, family, in the media, and in school combine. Sometimes the gender roles cause us to act unhealthy ways or to be burdened with duties without consideration of the effect. Yet society is changing, and more and more people are moving toward choosing behavior appropriate to the situation regardless of gender roles.

Discuss differing expectations and attitudes of various ethnic groups; how race, class, and gender are related; gender roles in the family; and the way gender roles affect housework and child care in families.s

Teacher Summary: 16. Research on white adolescent girls has shown that, in addition to having increased rates of depression and suicide, they are more vulnerable to eating disorders, substance abuse, and low self-esteem. White girls also tend to "lose voice" and become more passive to fit the traditional gender stereotype. But research focusing on minority adolescent girl suggests that they have greater body satisfaction; specifically, African American girls are more assertive and powerful , rather than losing voice. From Book: Most research White, middle-class females and less males and individuals from different ethnicities and social classes..generalizations to other groups misleading (Andersen, 2005). Gender can never be studied in isolation from race, class, and related social conditions (Andersen, 2005). Adolescent white girls ( L. M. Brown and Gilligan (1992), struggle begin "losing voice" and "abandoning self" around age 12 for being a "perfect" girl: passive, quiet, demure, and attractive to boys--qualities that make up and derive their worth from relationships rather than from their abilities and accomplishments. [Side Bar: machismo Spanish for "manhood"; masculinity.]Some studies..Mexican American women traditional submission to spouse's authority, but more research rejects this notion (Gutmann, 1996). Mexican immigrants men expressed greater concern about their daughter's socioeconomic future and attending college and opportunities than a rigidly ideological concern for maintenance of their daughters' premarital virginity with risk of pregnancy, disease, etc. challenging the father "macho" idea (Gonzalez-Lopez, 2004).] Female gender identity in urban adolescents differ from different class and ethnicity. 362 girls from five different ethnic groups (Erkut, Fields, Sing, and Marx, 1996), half cited athletic abilities vs relationships, made them feel good about themselves. African American adolescent girls not as "losing voice" but as being assertive, powerful, resilient, and resistant (Gibbs, 1996; J. Ward, 1996; Way, 1995). African American and Latina girls engage in conflict and argue about the rules of a game when they play (Goodwin, 1998), and that African American boys and girls often engage in playful arguments when playing together (Aydt and Corsaro, 2003; Goodwin, 2001). African American families, mothers socialize their daughters to be independent, strong, self-confident, self-reliant, and resourceful (P. H. Collins, 1987). Black- and White-oriented magazines depicting women's sexuality, Baker (2005) vary by race of audience and race of women in ads. White audiences roles suggest dependency and submissiveness, for Black audiences portray women as independent and dominant. Mexican American importance of culture in understanding how girls negotiate gender roles (Denner and Dunbar, 2004). girls saw clear differences in expectations Mexican American adults have for girls and boys. Being a girl associated with vulnerability and obligation to the family, which results in external limits on their power. Yet being a girl also presented opportunities to speak up, be strong, and to create opportunities for themselves. In general, the girls perceived a high level of power in their lives and relationships. Even though they embraced the more traditional expectations associated with becoming a young Mexican American woman, they also asserted their own desires to be seen as strong and able to protect themselves and their families (Denner and Dunbar, 2004). Body image 120 university men and women, African Americans reported greater body satisfaction and less overestimation of weight than white. African American women rated selves more sexually attractive than white women and higher self-esteem regarding their weight. Hispanic women rated selves as less sexually attractive than white but sexually attractive than did Anglo-American women. Males in all three groups demonstrated little difference (K. J. Miller et al., 2000). Recent scholarship about male attitudes toward gender roles has documented a variety of standards that define manhood differently across ethnic, class, sexual, and regional boundaries (Shirley and Wallace, 2004). Men's attitudes toward female gender roles also vary. The idea that women's roles should be circumscribed by home and family may reflect only a narrow segment of White, middle-class men. For example, generally speaking, African American men are more liberal in their attitudes toward working wives than White men and are far more likely to have lived in a household with a working wife and/or mother (Blee and Tickamyer, 1995).

Body image and weight

Television, magazines, and other media communicate clear messages about ideal appearance. One study looked at the portrayals of overweight characters from popular TV shows. The researchers discovered that heavyset men and women - Had fewer dates or sexual encounters - Were made fun of more often - Were more likely minorities, older, and unemployed While only 3 out of 100 female characters on TV were obese, in real life, 25% to 35% are (Greenberg, Eastin, Hofschire, Lachlan, and Brownell, 2003; "More than," 2008).Body dissatisfaction among males has been associated with poor psychological adjustment, eating disorders, steriod use, and exercise dependence (McCabe and Ricciardelli, 2004). One study of eating disorders in men found that 2% of men had anorexia or bulimia, compared with 4.8% of women. Men with eating disorders were very similar to women with eating disorders on most variables (Woodside, Garfinkel, Lin, Goering, and Kaplan, 2001).

machismo

The Spanish word for "manhood"; masculinity.

parental identification and modeling

The process by which the child adopts and internalizes parental values.

role strain

The stress of trying to meet the demands of many roles.

8. Why might body image differ among ethnic groups?

There was information in the book about this as related to different urban ethnic groups some had to do with parent, television, media for example influences that were positive or negative but ??? this seems like an opinion question.

Gender equality in work

This gender inequality in youth employment reflects what is occurring among adult workers. Interestingly, studies show that female college students have lower perceived income entitlement for two main reasons. First, women are socialized to value the social and interpersonal aspects of their work rather than to pursue monetary rewards. Second, women learn to downplay their work efforts or contributions when examining whether they are being paid a fair wage and thus tend to compare themselves to other women, who are also underpaid, rather than to men (Desmarais and Curtis, 1999).

9. People develop stereotyped concepts of masculinity and femininity (Teacher input but see also her input incorporated in question 33 and 34 below)

Traditionally, males were aggressive, dominant, strong, forceful, self-confident, rugged, virile, instrumental, adventurous, courageous, independent, ambitious, direct, logical, and unemotional. To be a man was to be a big wheel, be successful, have status, and be looked up to. 10. Traditionally, females were submissive, weak, sensitive, gentle, tender, kind, tactful, warm and affectionate, sentimental, soft-hearted, dependent, aware of feelings of others, emotional and excitable, and somewhat frivolous, fickle, illogical, and talkative. Female gender norms included the marriage and motherhood mandates; that is, women were expected to get married and to have children.

The problem with stereotypes (part of teacher summary points but see question 35 below)

is that forcing everyone to conform to the same mold severely limits the development of individual personality and personal achievement. New gender roles encourage women to be more assertive and less passive and men to be less aggressive and more cooperative.

role ambiguity

the uncertainty felt when choosing a gender role