sex and gender

• sex

  the biological differences between males and females including chromosomes, hormones and anatomy
• gender

  the psychological, social and cultural differences between boys/mean and girls/women including attitudes, behaviours and social roles
• sex-role stereotypes

  a set of beliefs and preconceived ideas about what is expected or appropriate for men and women in a given society or social group
• chromosomes

  XX - female

  XY - male
• chromosomes:

  influence hormonal differences as well as differences in anatomy - reproductive organs, body shape, hair growth
• sex = innate - nature

  gender = partly environmental - nurture
• gender

  • social construct
  • not fixed - flued
  • depends on social context they are in
• gender dysphoria

  • biological prescribed sex does not reflect the way they feel inside and the gender they identify themselves as being
  • may choose to have gender reassignment surgery to bring their sexual identity in line with their gender identity
• sex-role stereotypes

  • shared set of expectations that people within society hold
  • communicated or transmitted throughout society
  • reinforced by parents, peers, the media
  • may lead to sexist assumptions - over emotional women cannot work high positions
• research into sex-role stereotypes - Ingalhalikar

  • study into neurological brain activity supported the stereotype that women are better at multi-tasking than men
  • scanned brains 949 men and women
  • hi-tech diffusion MRI imaging to map connections
  • women's brains have much better connections between the left and right sides of the brain
  • men's brain - intense activity within the brains individual parts
  • female brain hardwired to cope better with several tasks
• sex-role stereotypes throughout life

  A) handled

  B) sensitivity

  C) gender

  D) specific

  E) dolls

  F) aggressively

  G) non-stereotypical

  H) hostility

  I) gender specific

  J) nursing

  K) engineering

  
• androgyny

  displaying a balance of masculine and feminine characteristics in one's personality
• Bem sex role inventory

  the first systematic attempt to measure androgyny using a rating scale of 60 traits to produce scores across 2 dimensions: masculinity-feminity and androgynous-undifferentiated
• androgyny

  • e.g man or woman who is competitive and aggressive at work, but a caring and sensitive parent
  • Bem - high androgyny is associated with psychological well-being
  • individuals who are both masculine and feminine in roughly equal measure are better equipped to adapt to a range of situations
• Bem sex role inventory

  • 20 characteristic - masculine
  • 20 characteristic - feminine
  • 20 characteristic - neutral
  • respondents rate themselves on a 7-point rating scale for each item
  • high masc, low fem = masculine
  • high fem, low masc = feminine
  • high masc, low fem = androgynous
  • low fem, low masc = undifferentiated
• AO3 BSRI - strength

  P: at the time it was developed it appeared valid and reliable

  E: The scale was developed by asking 50 male and 50 female judges to rate 200 traits in terms of how traits represented male or female - highest rated became the traits of the scale

  • piloted with 1000 students
  • follow up study involved a smaller sample of the same students - similar scores - test-retest reliability

  L: the test was both valid and reliable
• AO3 BSRI - counterpoint

  P: the BSRI may not be a suitable measure of gender identity today

  E: BSRI developed over 40 years ago and behaviours that are regarded as typical in relation of gender have changed - made up of stereotypical ideas in the context of the time and the US

  E: Showing it could be outdated and notions of maleness and femaleness in US may not be shared across cultures

  L: may lack temporal validity and generalizability so we should not use it as a measure
• AO3 BSRI - limitation

  P: people may not have insight into their degree of masculinity, femininity or androgyny

  E: Asking people to rate themselves on a questionnaire relies on people having an understanding of their personality and behaviour that they may not necessarily have

  E: gender is social construct which may be open to interpretation - questionnaire scoring system is subjective and people's interpretation of the 7-point scale differs

  L: may not be an objective, scientific way of assessing masculinity, feminity or androgyny
• Bem sex role inventory characteristicsMasculine

  • aggressive
  • ambitious
  • independent
  • dominant

  Feminine

  • affectionate
  • loyal
  • tender
  • sympathetic