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Chapter Three
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Gender and Families
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The Berdache
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Men or women in Native American
societies who dressed like, performed
the duties of, and behaved like a
member of the opposite sex
Berdaches were found in more than
100 Native American tribes
Number declined rapidly with the
arrival of European culture
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The Difference Between
Gender and Sex
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Gender = social and cultural
characteristics that distinguish
women and men in a society
Different clothing
 Expectations about who should cry
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Sex = biological characteristics
that distinguish women and men
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Sex chromosomes, reproductive
organs, physical characteristics
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Gender
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How many genders are there?
Modification of gender identity
(berdache)
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Intersexuals – people born with
ambiguous sex organs
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Activists want doctors to wait until
individuals are older to reassign their sex
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Gender
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Gender as reflection of power
relationships in society
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How do gender roles reflect men’s
attempts to retain power over women?
Why is the study of gender and sex
important to the understanding of
family?
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3-7
The Gestational
Construction of Gender
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Genetic transmission of sex
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XX = female
XY = male
Gestation Period
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Genitals develop in either male or female
form
Males produce androgens which cause
genitals to develop into male form
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3-8
Hormonal Influences
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Some scientists believe that not only
are sexual organs different, but the
brain also develops differently in the
male and the female
Studies of levels of male sex
hormones while females were in womb
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Led to differences in gendered behavior
Parental socialization had weaker effect
on behavior if hormone level was higher
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Biosocial Influences
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Biosocial approach
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Biology and society influence gender
differences
Biological differences in gendered
behavior exist only “on average”
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Individuals show a wide range of behavior
Social influences can counteract
biological dispositions
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Evolutionary Influences
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Evolutionary biology– women and men
evolved different strategies for
reproductive success
Gender roles = different sets of
behaviors that are commonly
exhibited by women and men
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Gendered division of labor
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Reflects men’s interests more than women’s
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Parental Socialization
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Parents teach us the ways of our
society and how to behave in it
Socialization approach
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Rewarding children for a set of
behaviors appropriate to their sex
Social role = pattern of behaviors
(parent, teacher, child) that society
expects
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The Media
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Children learn from books, television,
advertisements, music
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Characters in books
Males outnumbered females in 1972
 More evenly distributed by 1990
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Television and Computer Games
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Exhibit gender imbalance in favor of males
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Early Peer Groups
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Peer group = a group of people at
roughly the same age and social
status
Boy peer groups reinforce
competition and dominance
Girl peer groups reinforce more open
conversational interaction and
agreement
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Children’s Preferences
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Boys engage in more aggressive
behaviors
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Also more likely to play with blocks
Girls engage in more nurturing
behaviors and are less aggressive
Differences may reflect biological
influences
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Later Peer Groups
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Games and sports
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Boys more likely to play organized games
with rules and a goal
Girls play reinforces the relational and
emotional skills exhibited by women
Most play groups are either all-male
or all-female
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Unconscious Influences
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Psychoanalytic Approach
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Stresses unconscious mental processes
Importance of internalization
 Attachment to mother remains the
same for females
 Attachment changes for males at age
3-4  break/distancing
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3-18
The Continual Construction
of Gender
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Interactionist approach
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Gender identification and behavior based on the
day-to-day behavior that reinforces gender
distinctions
Patriarchy and Male Domination
Sex-gender system =Transformation of
biological differences between men and
women into a social order that supports
male domination
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The Sex-Gender System
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Capitalist economies
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Men have access to more resources
Social economies
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Sexes equal in theory, but not in
practice
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3-20
Gender, Class, and Race
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Gender theorists believe gender is a
primary basis of social stratification,
like class or race
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Sex differences in childbearing
Women becoming pregnant, bearing and
breast-feeding children
 May be relevant to different family roles of
women and men
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Gender: The Male Point of
View
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Gender studies mostly done from
feminist point of view
Sociologists are now studying
masculinity and the personal
characteristics typical to men
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Contribution of Gender
Studies
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Socialization approach best explains
differences between men and women
Biosocial and Psychoanalytic
approaches both suggest girls and
boys have predispositions for
behavior
Gender studies demonstrate that
men’s and women’s family roles are
socially and culturally constructed
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Contribution of Gender
Studies
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Gender distinctions reflect
differences in power
Biological differences exist without
dismissing cultural and social
influences
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