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WHAT IS GENDER?
WHAT IS GENDER? – LECTURE OUTLINE
The biology of sex
 Cultural approach
 Social learning approach
 Social position approach
 Symbolic interactionist approach

WHAT IS GENDER? – LECTURE OUTLINE
The biology of sex
 Cultural approach
 Social learning approach
 Social position approach
 Symbolic interactionist approach

THE BIOLOGY OF SEX -- OUTLINE
What is the conceptual difference between sex
and gender?
 How many sexes are there?
 What we may think of as a biological difference
may actually be a cultural difference.

WHAT IS THE CONCEPTUAL DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN SEX AND GENDER?

Sex
 Sex
refers to biological differences between men
and women.

Gender
 Gender
refers to the psychological, social, and
cultural differences between women and men.
HOW MANY SEXES ARE THERE?

There are many dimensions along which we can
measure biological sex








Hormones
Chromosomes
Genitalia and other sex-related organs
Body shape
Brain structure
Sexual orientation
Sexual identity
Rather than thinking about sex as a dichotomous
variable, it is useful to think of it as a continuous
variable.
In some societies, there are more than two genders.
The berdache is a term that refers a third gender, not
male or female.
WHAT WE MAY THINK OF AS A BIOLOGICAL
DIFFERENCE MAY ACTUALLY BE A CULTURAL
DIFFERENCE
Sociologists using the theory of the social
construction of gender would argue that gender
and sex are not biologically but socially
constructed.
 Discussion


Mothering
 Many
men make great mothers, many women are not so good
mothers

Strength differences (better protectors)
 The
strength difference between genders is at least in part
explained by culture.
THE BIOLOGY OF SEX -- OUTLINE
What is the conceptual difference between sex
and gender?
 How many sexes are there?
 What we may think of as a biological difference
may actually be a cultural difference.

WHAT IS GENDER? – LECTURE OUTLINE
The biology of sex
 Cultural approach
 Social learning approach
 Social position approach
 Symbolic interactionist approach

CULTURAL APPROACH -- OUTLINE
The socially constructed nature of gender roles
 American gender roles
 Gender roles vary across cultures

 Sex
and temperament in Three Primitive Societies.
Margaret Mead (1935)

The power of gender roles
THE SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED NATURE OF
GENDER ROLES

From the cultural approach, gender is socially
constructed.
Traditional notions of
gender identity value
masculine over
feminine traits.
Recall our discussion
on culture, where
culture is shaped by
ideology.
AMERICAN GENDER ROLES
GENDER ROLES VARY ACROSS CULTURES

There is significant variation across cultures with
respect to gender roles.


Variations in gender roles across cultures demonstrate that
gender roles are culturally determined.
Margaret Mead


Mead was the first social scientist to reinforce the idea that
gender and sex are two different concepts and should be
analyzed as such.
In her classic study of gender roles in three New Guinea
tribes, Margaret Mead found that gender roles varied
significantly from one tribe to the other.
SEX AND TEMPERAMENT IN THREE PRIMITIVE
SOCIETIES. MARGARET MEAD (1935)

Arapesh

both sexes were feminine
cooperative
 passive
 gentle
 unaggressive
 emotionally sensitive

SEX AND TEMPERAMENT IN THREE PRIMITIVE
SOCIETIES. MARGARET MEAD (1935)

Mundugumor

both sexes were
masculine
aggressive
 ruthless
 unresponsive to the needs
of others,
 excessively cruel toward
children

SEX AND TEMPERAMENT IN THREE PRIMITIVE
SOCIETIES. MARGARET MEAD (1935)

Tchambuli -- gender role
reversal

Women






dominating
impersonal
aggressively organizing
actively sexed
willing to initiate sex
relations
men




dependent
submissive
prissy
coquettish
THE POWER OF GENDER ROLES

Gender roles shape just
about every aspect of
our lives.

even the way we sit
CULTURAL APPROACH -- OUTLINE
The socially constructed nature of gender roles
 American gender roles
 Gender roles vary across cultures

 Sex
and temperament in Three Primitive Societies.
Margaret Mead (1935)

The power of gender roles
WHAT IS GENDER? – LECTURE OUTLINE
The biology of sex
 Cultural approach
 Social learning approach
 Social position approach
 Symbolic interactionist approach

SOCIAL LEARNING APPROACH

The social learning approach argues that we
are socialized into our gender.
 Socializing
 Family
 Teachers
 Friends
 Media
agents
SOCIAL LEARNING APPROACH


People begin to treat
children in specific ways
because of their gender
from the moment they
are born.
Social learning begins
by marking gender.

We are constantly
marking our gender.
SOCIALIZING AGENTS -- PARENTS

Parents treat sons and daughters differently.
SOCIALIZING AGENTS -- SCHOOLS

Differential treatment by teachers
 Male
students interacted more with their teachers
than female students did.
 Boys
receive more teacher attention and instructional
time.
 Teachers
are more likely to solicit information from
boys than girls.
 Teachers posed more academic challenges to boys.
 Teachers provide girls with the correct answers,
whereas they help boys solve the problems.
SOCIALIZING AGENTS -- SCHOOLS
 Boys
were more likely to call out answers in class
than girls.
 Boys
are eight times more likely to call out answers
 When girls tried to bring attention to themselves by
calling out in class without raising their hands, they were
reprimanded.
 Boys
girls.
were more often scolded and punished than
SOCIALIZING AGENTS -- SCHOOLS

As a result of differential treatment in schools
 Girls
are socialized to be
 quiet
 passive
 Boys
are socialized to be
 inquisitive
 active
problem solvers
 assertive
 group leaders
SOCIALIZING AGENTS -- PEERS

Peers act as the gender
role police.


Orenstein recounts a story
about a kid, Jeremy, who
wore his favorite barrettes
to school and was taunted
by another kid who said,
“You’re a girl!”
Jeremy denied it, arguing
that he had a penis and
testicles. The classmate
replied, “Everyone has a
penis, only girls wear
barrettes.”
Do your friends police what you wear?
SOCIALIZING AGENTS -- MEDIA

The media provides gender ideals.
SOCIAL LEARNING APPROACH
 Socializing
 Family
 Teachers
 Friends
 Media
agents
WHAT IS GENDER? – LECTURE OUTLINE
The biology of sex
 Cultural approach
 Social learning approach
 Social position approach
 Symbolic interactionist approach

THE SOCIAL POSITION APPROACH

The social position approach argues that
gender is a characteristic of the social position,
not the individual.
THE SOCIAL POSITION APPROACH

Kanter found that those in
upper-level management
positions, male or female,
act in ways some consider
masculine—competitive
(oriented toward rivalry)
and ambitious—while
those in secretarial
positions, male or female,
act in ways some consider
feminine—passive and
unambitious.
THE SOCIAL POSITION APPROACH
The single fathers created tight relationships with their
children that more resembled the kind women have with
their kids than the kind married fathers have with theirs.
WHAT IS GENDER? – LECTURE OUTLINE
The biology of sex
 Cultural approach
 Social learning approach
 Social position approach
 Symbolic interactionist approach

SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONIST APPROACH
The symbolic interactionist approach argues
that gender is created in the interaction.
 We “do gender” in the interaction

 Examples
 growing
of “doing gender”:
a beard
 choosing to wear a dress
 keeping your hair long
 deepening your voice
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONIST APPROACH

The symbolic interactionist approach argues
that gender is created in the interaction.
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONIST APPROACH
WHAT IS GENDER? – LECTURE OUTLINE
The biology of sex
 Cultural approach
 Social learning approach
 Social position approach
 Symbolic interactionist approach
