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


  Identify as a gender different from the one assigned at birth
• Gender transitioning


  Changes a person's sexual identity through changing their reproductive organs and hormone levels
• Sex-role stereotypes


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


  Displays a balance of both 'masculine' and 'feminine' characteristics
• Androgyny


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


  Measures androgyny across two dimensions: androgyny (or undifferentiated) and masculinity (or femininity)
• 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 females having XX and males having XY
• SRY gene


  Produces androgens that trigger the development of male reproductive organs and testosterone production
• Testosterone


  Male hormone associated with increased aggression
• Oestrogen


  Female sex hormone that triggers the development of female reproductive organs and increased irritability/emotion during menstruation
• Oxytocin


  The 'love hormone' that provokes feelings of intimacy and closeness, and is released in high concentrations before and after birth
• Explaining gender entirely in terms of chromosomes and hormones may be an oversimplification and an example of biological determinism
• Klinefelter's Syndrome


  Characterized by the genotype XXY, resulting in physical and psychological characteristics similar to females

  
• Turner's Syndrome


  Characterized by the genotype X0, resulting in physical and psychological characteristics similar to males

  
• The emphasis on biology and genetics as an explanation for the differences between 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 of Klinefelter's and Turner's Syndrome may lead to the development of effective treatments to improve the quality of life for sufferers

  
• Kohlberg's Theory of Gender Development

  Suggests that all children mature through the same 3 stages of gender development in line with biologically-determined physical and cognitive development
• Kohlberg's Stages of Gender Development

  • Stage 1 (2-3 years old): Can identify themselves as male or female, but not others

  Stage 2 (3-6 years old): Can identify gender in others, but think it can change

  Stage 3 (6-11 years old): Understand that gender is stable and consistent across time and situations
• Kohlberg suggested that all children mature through the same 3 stages of gender development
• Kohlberg's stages of gender development

  • Occur inline with biologically-determined development in terms of physical appearance and intellectual/cognitive development
  • A child's understanding of gender becomes more advanced and accurate with time
• Stage 1: Gender identity

  1. Occurs between 2-3 years old

  2. Child can identify themselves as male or female but not others

  3. Child does not appreciate that gender remains the same across time and situations
• Stage 2: Gender stability

  1. Occurs between 4-5 years old

  2. Child appreciates their own gender remains constant

  3. Child does not understand that strangers can have characteristics of the opposite gender
• Stage 3: Gender constancy

  1. Occurs at 6 years old

  2. Child appreciates their own gender and everyone else's remains the same over time and place

  3. Child will seek out and imitate same-sex models to confirm beliefs
• Social learning theory


  Children imitate and develop characteristics/personality traits of sex-role appropriate role models
• This may be the beginning of the development of sex-role stereotypes, and so may not always be a positive outcome
• Evidence for Kohlberg's theory

  • Slaby and Frey (1975) found children in stage 2 paid more attention to same-sex models
• Kohlberg's theory may suffer from systematic errors and lack ecological validity due to issues with the interviews and researcher bias
• Kohlberg's theory suffers from biological determinism and biological reductionism by placing too much emphasis on neurodevelopmental changes
• Kohlberg's theory ignores social influences on gender identity development
• Egocentrism


  The tendency of a pre-operational child to recall events from their own view and focus on their own perspective