Sex, gender, androgyny

• What is a persons' sex? 


  Biological differences between males and females including chromosomes, hormones and anatomy. ​

  Chromosomes influence hormonal differences in anatomy, such as reproductive organs, body shape, hair growth etc. ​

  Sex is innate
• What is gender?


  Psychological and cultural differences between males and females including attitudes, behaviours and social roles. ​Heavily influenced by social norms and expectations. ​Environmentally determined due to nurture.

  May be more fluid and open to change.
• What is gender dysphoria? 


  Some people experience gender dysphoria, when their biologically prescribed sex does not reflect the way they feel inside and the gender they identify themselves as being
• What are sex-role stereotypes? 


  Set of beliefs and preconceived ideas about what is accepted or appropriate for men and women in a given society or social group transmitted throughout society and reinforced by parents, peers, the media, as well as institutions such as schools.

  • Can lead to the formation of sexist assumptions
• What did Smith & Lloyd (1978) research about?

  Sex-role stereotypes in how mothers treat boy and girl babies
• How did mothers interact with babies in the Smith & Lloyd study?

  Mothers were videotaped playing for 10 minutes with a baby that wasn't their own
• How old were the babies in the Smith & Lloyd study?

  Six months old
• How many toys were present during the mothers' playtime in the study?

  Seven toys
• What was the purpose of dressing and naming the babies in the Smith & Lloyd study?

  To align with sex-role stereotypes and observe mothers' reactions
• What types of toys were included in the Smith & Lloyd study?

  • Masculine: squeaky hammer, stuffed rabbit in trousers
  • Feminine: doll, squeaky Bambi
  • Neutral: squeaky pig, ball, rattle
• How did mothers respond when they thought they were playing with a boy?

  They verbally encouraged more motor activity and offered gender-appropriate toys
• What does the Smith & Lloyd study suggest about mothers' behavior?

  Mothers respond to the perceived sex of the infant in line with typical gender expectations
• Androgyny

  • Displaying a balance of masc and fem characteristics, behaviours and attitudes
  • Over-representation of opposite-gender characteristic doesn''t qualify as androgyny. E.g a very masc man who's very fem
  • Androgyny example: Man/woman who's competitive + aggressive at work but a caring,sensitive parent
• Bem's BSRI

  • Bem suggested high androgyny is associated w/psychological wellbeing
  • She said androgynous personalities adapted better to situations
  • BSRI:
  • Self-report questionnaire
  • 50 males + 50 females rated personality traits as m or f
  • Most highly rated masc,fem and neutral words were used to form a questionnaire aimed at measuring a mix of stereotypical traits presented in an individual
  • 20 characteristics of f,m and neutral
  • Respondents rated themselves on a 7 point rating scale which were then classified on 2 scales

  A03

  + Appears to be valid & reliable - tested using a pilot study first

  - Cultural and historical bias

  - Potential methodological issues - response Bias ++ Social desirability