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Human Sexuality
Chapter 5: Gender and
Gender Roles
Gender: Topic Areas
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Impact of gender on human development
Gender and sexual development
Biological and cultural perspectives
Sexual orientation
Gender stereotypes and health
Gender socialization
Gender variance and gender identity
Biological differences: brain, hormones, anatomy
Sex
• Sex: biologically male or female, based on
chromosomes and anatomy
– Genetics: XX or XY
– Anatomical: genitals/bodily differences
Gender
• Gender: a social construct; related to
notions of masculinity and femininity
• Gender Identity: the gender one believes
oneself to be
Gender
• Gender roles: attitudes, behaviors, rights
and responsibilities assigned to us based on
our sex
– Varies by culture
Gender
• Gender-role stereotypes: rigidly held,
oversimplified beliefs about sex
appropriate behavior.
Gender
• Gender-role attitudes: our personal
perspectives/beliefs about sex appropriate
behavior
• Gender-role behaviors: activities/behaviors
we engage in as influenced by our
sex/gender
Gender
• Gender presentation: how our sex/gender is
perceived by others
– Based on our physical appearance,
movements, habits, personality, etc.
– Baby X study
Gender:
Congruence and Incongruence
• Biological, cultural, psychological, and
social contexts of gender
– These contexts can be congruent or
incongruent
– Examples?
Gender Variations
• Some do not conform to socially/culturally
constructed gender norms
– How are such violations represented in
dominant discourses?
– Psychological impact of gender variations?
Social Construction of
Gender Identity
• U.S.: gender identity- internalized by age 2
• East African societies: boys is a “womanchild” until an initiation rite which makes
him a man
• Mundugumor of New Guinea: women are
expected to be violent/aggressive
Instrumentality and
Expressiveness
• Instrumentality: being task-oriented;
stereotypically applied to males
• Expressiveness: being emotionally
oriented/focused; stereotypically applied to
females
– “Gender Quotient Test”
Gender Stereotypes and
Sexual Orientation
– Ex. Gay men are not masculine; Lesbian
women are not feminine
– Gay people may have more flexible
interpretations of gender roles and
expectations (Lippa, 2000)
Cognitive Social Learning
Theory
• Albert Bandura
• We “learn” gender as a result of:
– Reinforcements and consequences
– Imitation/modeling and observation
• The social world provides many models and
messages about gender
• Body image: “Women’s Ideal Bodies”
Cognitive-Developmental
Theory
• Developmental level impacts cognitive
processing of gender
• Understanding gender in developmental
perspective
Gender Schemas
• Mental frameworks for understanding
gender
• Accounts for gender stereotypes
Social Constructionism
• Cultures invent or “construct” notions of
gender
• Mediated by language and social systems
Social Constructionism
• Feminist Studies
• Post-Modern Approaches
• Queer Theory
Social Constructionism and
Identity
• (Cohen & Savin-Williams, 1996)
– Many sexual minority youth are not
identifying as gay
• Rejection of the social construction of sexual
orientation
Contextual Influences on
Gender
• Parents “socialize” gender
– Messages about gender appropriate behavior
– Directing children to gender appropriate toys
Parents “Socialize” Gender
– Differential language for the same behavior:
“active” boy vs. a girl who is a “tomboy”
– Directing children toward gender appropriate
activities (I.e. helping mom in the kitchen)
Gender Socialization
• Peers: peer pressure, reinforce gender
norms
• Teachers: differential treatment based on
gender? Classroom reinforcement
• Media: gender roles and stereotypes
Sexual “Scripts”
• Script: acts/rules/expectations associated
with a particular role (male and female
“scripts”)
– Men/women are impacted by certain “scripts”
internalized from social interactions
Male Sexual Scripts
(Zilbergeld, 1992)
• Men should not have/express certain
feelings
• Sex is for physicality
• Men are in charge
Male Sexual Scripts
• Men always want and are ready for sex
• Men should be sexually skilled and
successful in sexual interactions
Female Sexual Scripts
(Barbach, 2001)
• Sex is good and bad (good in the context of
a marriage, stigmatized elsewhere)
• Masturbation is stigmatized
• Sex is for men; women are sexually
passive (nurturers)
Female Sexual Scripts
• Women should not articulate their
needs/desires
• Women shouldn’t discuss sex
• Women should look like models
Androgyny
• Both instrumental and expressive traits
• Flexibility in gender roles
Intersexed People
• Ambiguous genitalia
• 1 in every 2,000 births
• Due to genetic or hormonal factors
Intersexed People
• Sex chromosomes, external genitalia, or
internal reproductive system
• Underdeveloped penis or enlarged clitoris
Intersexed People:
Chromosomal Abnormalities
• Turner Syndrome:
• XO
• 1 in 2,000 births
• Female external genitalia, no ovaries
Turner Syndrome
• Secondary sexual development cannot occur; no
menstruation
• Short
• Treated with hormonal therapy
• Infertility
Klinefelter Syndrome
• XXY;XXXY;XXXXY
• 1 in 1,000 births
• Male genitalia (small penis)
• Female characteristics: breasts
Klinefelter Syndrome
• Sparse body hair
• Learning disabilities
• Low sex drive, sexual dysfunction
Intersexed People:
Hormonal Disorders
• Androgen-Insensitivity Syndrome:
• (testicular feminization)
• Inherited condition; passed on through X
chromosomes
Androgen-Insensitivity
Syndrome
• 1 in 13,000 individuals
• Genetically male
• Born with undescended testes (inside the
abdomen)
• estrogen is prevalent in the body
Androgen-Insensitivity
Syndrome
• Vagina and labia, but no female internal
reproductive structures
• Secondary female characteristics develop
during puberty, without pubic hair
Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
• Genetic female
• Ovaries
• Malfunctioning adrenal gland
• Develops externally as a male
Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
• 1 in 13,000 births
• Penis and empty scrotum
• External genitalia are ambiguous
• Often assigned “female”
DHT Deficiency
• Unable to convert testosterone to DHT
• Internal male organs
• Ambiguous external genitalia (looking
more female)
DHT Deficiency
• Begin to look male during puberty
(genitalia and physical development)
Gender Identity Disorder
• Cross-gender identification
• Discomfort with one’s assigned gender
• Psychological distress
Transsexuality
• Gender identity and sexual anatomy are not
compatible
• Different from homosexuality
Transgendered People
• Arguably the most stigmatized sexual
minority
Transgendered People
• An umbrella term; inclusive
• Flexibility in terms of gender and social
identity
• Move toward transgender rights; legal to
fire transgender people in many states
Positioning Theory
• Rom Harre
• We “position” ourselves and others in
discourse
– Power relationships
Positioning Theory
• Ex. Positioning oneself as an expert, others
as uninformed
• Ex. Positioning oneself as masculine,
another male as powerless/emasculated
Masculinity
• How does culture/society construct
masculinity?
– Dominant discourses on masculinity
– Contested discourses on masculinity
Masculinity
• How are constructions of masculinity
sustained and reproduced?
Hyper-masculinity
• Exaggerated, stereotypical male behavior
– Aggression
– Strength
– Dominance
Chauvinism
• Origins: nationalism; revering one’s own
group
• Current usage: male/female relationships
• Refers to *power*
Anxious Masculinity
• Enactments of masculinity/manliness that
are motivated by a fear of being perceived
as feminine
• “the most important thing about being a
man is not being a woman” – Ducat, S.
Anxious Masculinity
• Rejection of feminine activities/qualities
• Rejection of non-heterosexual discourses
• Challenging/needing to prove one’s
manliness
Mixed Cultural Messages
• Masculinity
– Need to be strong, unemotional, rational,
dominant
– Constructions of the “modern man”emotionally connected and sensitive
Mansfield article
• “The Manliness of Men”
• Holds that feminists fault men for society’s
ills
• “gains and losses” in the women’s
movement
Mansfield article
• Women have a problem with manliness
because they are excluded
– Argues that women overcompensate/seek to be
more like men
Mansfield article
• “Feminists insist that men must work
harder to appreciate women. Yet they
never ask women to be more understanding
of men” - Mansfield
Mansfield article
• Because women don’t want to be
dependent, men may become more selfish
(an unintended consequence)
Mansfield article
• Equates masculinity with “noble sacrifice
for a cause beyond oneself”
Ducat book
• Central Questions:
– When are men so terrified of being like
women?
– Why must men constantly prove their
masculinity?
Ducat: Men’s “fear of the
feminine”
• Being a “sissy” has a very negative
connotation
• Cross-gender behaviors are taboo in men
Ducat
• Men are encouraged to “cut the apron
strings”
• Exude independence; reject nurturance
from mom
Ducat
• Studies: men were more anxious when
engaging in cross gender activities,
answering cross gender questions
Ducat
• Men are conflicted
– Men reject all things feminine
– May secretly want to violate these gender
barriers
Ducat
• Men are attracted to qualities in women
that they detest in themselves