reviewcard
CHAPTER 2
G END ER
Learning Outcomes
Key Terms
2.1 What are the important terms related to gender?
androgyny a blend of traits that
are stereotypically associated with
masculinity and femininity.
Sex refers to the biological distinction between females and males. One’s biological sex
is identified on the basis of one’s chromosomes, gonads, hormones, internal sex organs,
and external genitals, and exists on a continuum rather than being a dichotomy. Gender
refers to the social and psychological characteristics often associated with being female
or male. Other terms related to gender include gender identity, gender role, gender role
ideology, transgender, and transgenderism.
biosocial theory (sociobiology)
emphasizes the interaction of one’s
biological or genetic inheritance with
one’s social environment to explain
and predict human behavior.
cross-dresser a generic term for
individuals who may dress or present
themselves in the gender of the
opposite sex.
Feminine
Masculine
feminization of poverty the
idea that women disproportionately
experience poverty.
2.2 What theories explain gender role development?
Biosocial theory emphasizes that social behaviors (for example, gender roles) are
biologically based and have an evolutionary survival function. Traditionally, women
stayed in the nest or gathered food nearby, whereas men traveled far to find food.
Such a conceptualization focuses on the division of labor between women and men as
functional for the survival of the species. Social learning theory emphasizes the roles
of reward and punishment in explaining how children learn gender role behavior.
Identification theory says that children acquire the characteristics and behaviors of their
same-sex parent through a process of identification. Boys identify with their fathers;
girls identify with their mothers. Cognitive-developmental theory emphasizes biological
readiness, in terms of cognitive development, of the child’s responses to gender cues in
the environment. Once children learn the concept of gender permanence, they seek to
become competent, proper members of their gender group.
2.3 What are the various agents of socialization?
Various socialization influences include parents and siblings (representing different
races and ethnicities), peers, religion, the economy, education, and mass media. These
shape individuals toward various gender roles and influence what people think, feel,
and do in their roles as woman or man. For example, the family is a gendered institution
with female and male roles highly structured by gender. The names parents assign to
their children, the clothes they dress them in, and the toys they buy them all reflect
gender. Parents may also be stricter on female children, determining the age they are
allowed to leave the house at night, time of curfew, and directives such as “call when
you get to the party.”
2.4 What are the consequences of traditional gender
role socialization?
gender the social and
psychological behaviors associated
with being female or male.
gender dysphoria the condition
in which one’s gender identity does
not match one’s biological sex.
gender identity the psychological
state of viewing oneself as a girl or a
boy, and later as a woman or a man.
gender role ideology the proper
role relationships between women
and men in a society.
gender role transcendence
abandoning gender frameworks and
looking at phenomena independent
of traditional gender categories.
gender roles behaviors assigned
to women and men in a society.
hermaphrodites (intersexed
individuals) people with mixed or
ambiguous genitals.
intersex development refers
to congenital variations in the
reproductive system, sometimes
resulting in ambiguous genitals.
Traditional female role socialization may result in negative outcomes such as less
education, less income, negative body image, and lower marital satisfaction but positive
Chapter 3: Planning and Decision Making
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occupational sex segregation
the concentration of women in
certain occupations and men in other
occupations.
parental investment any
investment by a parent that increases
the chance that the offspring will
survive and thrive.
positive androgyny a view of
androgyny that is devoid of the
negative traits associated with
masculinity and femininity.
pseudohermaphroditism
refers to a condition in which an
individual is born with gonads
matching the sex chromosomes, but
with genitals either ambiguous or
resembling those of the opposite sex.
sex the biological distinction
between being female and being
male.
outcomes such as a longer life, a stronger relationship focus, keeping relationships on
track, and a closer emotional bond with children. Traditional male role socialization
may result in the fusion of self and occupation, a more limited expression of emotion,
disadvantages in child custody disputes, and a shorter life but higher income, greater
freedom of movement, a greater available pool of potential partners, and greater
acceptance in initiating relationships. The “research application” for the chapter
revealed that about 30 percent of college men in one study reported their preference
for marrying a traditional wife (one who would stay at home to take care of children).
These men believe that a wife’s working outside the home weakens the marriage.
Consequences of Traditional Female Role Socialization
Negative Consequences
Positive Consequences
Less education/income (more dependent)
Longer life
Feminization of poverty
Stronger relationship focus
Higher STD/HIV infection risk
Keep relationships on track
Negative body image
Bonding with children
Less marital satisfaction
Identity not tied to job
Consequences of Traditional Male Role Socialization
Negative Consequences
Positive Consequences
Identity tied to work role
Higher income and occupational status
sex roles behaviors defined by
biological constraints.
Limited emotionality
More positive self-concept
Fear of intimacy; more lonely
Less job discrimination
sexism an attitude, action,
or institutional structure that
subordinates or discriminates against
an individual or group because of
their sex.
Disadvantaged in getting custody Freedom of movement; more partners to
select from; more normative to initiate
relationships
Shorter life
Happier marriage
socialization the process through
which we learn attitudes, values,
beliefs, and behaviors appropriate to
the social positions we occupy.
transgender a generic term
for a person of one biological sex
who displays characteristics of the
opposite sex.
transgenderist an individual who
lives in a gender role that does not
match his or her biological sex, but
has no desire to surgically alter his or
her genitalia.
transsexual an individual who
has the anatomical and genetic
characteristics of one sex but the
self-concept of the other.
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2.5 How are gender roles changing?
Androgyny refers to a blend of traits that are stereotypically associated with both
masculinity and femininity. It may also imply flexibility of traits; for example, an
androgynous individual may be emotional in one situation, logical in another,
assertive in another, and so forth. The concept of gender role transcendence involves
abandoning gender schema (for example, becoming “gender aschematic”), so that
personality traits, social and occupational roles, and other aspects of our lives become
divorced from gender categories. However, such transcendence is not equal for women
and men. Although females are becoming more masculine, partly because our society
values whatever is masculine, men are not becoming more feminine.
transvestite term commonly
associated with homosexual men
who dress provocatively as women
to attract men.
true hermaphroditism an
extremely rare condition in which
individuals are born with both
ovarian and testicular tissue.
Part 2: Planning
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