Gender

• Sex


  Biological term which describes the biological idea of being male or female
• Gender


  Social construct that allows each individual to identify themselves as being either feminine or masculine
• You cannot choose your sex, but you can choose your gender
• Sex means that there are uncontrollable internal workings, whereas gender means that you have some control over how you behave and present yourself
• Gender-identity disorder


  Occurs when a person's sex is not in accordance with their gender
• Transgender


  Individuals who identify as being transgender, and/or undergo gender transitioning
• Sex-role stereotypes


  Expectations and perceptions that individuals and society have as to what is appropriate behaviour for each sex
• Androgyny


  Describes someone who, from a psychological standpoint, displays a balance of both 'masculine' and 'feminine' characteristics
• Androgyny


  • Can be viewed from two perspectives - personality and appearance
• Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI)


  Measure of androgyny, with 20 items representing typically male characteristics, 20 representing typically female characteristics and 20 representing neutral characteristics
• The BSRI is a self-report measure, which is a methodological issue as androgyny is a subjective social construct
• There is evidence supporting the reliability and validity of the BSRI
• The BSRI may be an oversimplification of the complex and subjective social construct of gender
• Chromosomes


  Small sections of DNA, containing genes which code for proteins and hormones
• Sex chromosomes


  The 23rd pair of chromosomes, with the genotype for females being XX and for males being XY

  
• SRY gene


  Signals the foetus to develop as a male, triggering the production of androgens and testosterone
• High levels of testosterone


  Closely associated with increased levels of aggression
• Castration of male animals results in them becoming calmer and less aggressive
• Oestrogen


  The female sex hormone, triggering the development of female reproductive organs and increased irritability/emotion during menstruation
• Oxytocin


  The 'love hormone', provokes feelings of intimacy and closeness, and is released in high concentrations before and after birth
• Offenders who've committed aggressive or sexually abusive crimes were more likely to have high levels of the male androgen testosterone
• Explaining gender entirely in terms of chromosomes and hormones may be an oversimplification, ignoring differences within genders and being an example of biological determinism
• The reliance on biology as an explanation for gender differences may act as a 'scientific justification' for discriminatory practices based on gender
• Klinefelter's Syndrome


  Characterised by the genotype XXY, affecting biological males and resulting in female-like physical and psychological characteristics

  
• Turner's Syndrome


  Characterised by the genotype X0, affecting females and resulting in male-like physical and psychological characteristics

  
• The emphasis on biology and genetics as an explanation for the differences between those with Klinefelter's/Turner's Syndrome and the neurotypical population is an example of biological determinism
• The syndromes resulting from atypical sex chromosome patterns have made considerable contributions towards the nature versus nurture debate, but the focus on determining what is atypical based on what is 'typical' is highly subjective

  
• Understanding the biological basis and development of Klinefelter's and Turner's Syndrome may lead to the development of effective treatments to improve the quality of life and condition of sufferers
• Kohlberg's theory of gender development

  All children mature through the same 3 stages of gender development, in line with biologically-determined physical and cognitive development
• Stage 1 of Kohlberg's theory

  • Gender identity - child can identify themselves as male or female, but not others, and does not appreciate gender constancy
• Kohlberg's stages of gender development


  • Stage 1 (gender identity, 2-3 years old): Child can identify themselves as male or female, but not others
  • Stage 2 (gender stability, 4-5 years old): Child understands their own gender remains constant, but not others
  • Stage 3 (gender constancy, 6 years old): Child understands their own gender and others' genders remain constant
• Kohlberg's theory of gender development

  • Children mature through the same 3 stages of gender development, in line with biologically-determined physical and cognitive development
  • Children imitate and develop characteristics/personality traits of sex-role appropriate role models, potentially leading to sex-role stereotypes
• There is evidence to support Kohlberg's theory, e.g. Slaby and Frey (1975) found children in stage 2 paid more attention to same-sex models
• Gender schema theory (Martin and Halverson)


  • Children actively seek out information to confirm their gender identity beliefs through increasingly sophisticated gender schemas
  • Initially based on stereotypes, but become more comprehensive with experience
  • Creates an 'ingroup' (own gender) and 'outgroup' (other genders)
• There is evidence supporting gender schema theory, e.g. children remember gender-consistent photos better
• Kohlberg's theory and gender schema theory

  Complementary, not opposites - Kohlberg explains motivation to confirm gender identity, gender schema theory explains distortion of memory and perception

  
• Psychodynamic explanation (Freud)


  • Children mature through 5 psychosexual stages, with gender identity developing in the phallic stage
  • Oedipus Complex (boys): Castration anxiety, identify with father
  • Electra Complex (girls): Penis envy, identify with mother
• Social learning theory


  • Learning occurs through direct (conditioning) or indirect (vicarious reinforcement) experience, facilitated by role models
  • Differential reinforcement: Parents/society reinforce gender-typical behaviours
• Blakemore and Hill (2008) have demonstrated the opposite, where sons of more liberal fathers actually identify themselves as more masculine than those with strict fathers, which is not as predicted by Freud
• Freud's psychodynamic explanation of gender development appears to have little ecological validity and is not a universal concept