Expert answer:Gender and gender inequality discussion
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Gender1
This week we will explore the topic of gender. The textbook will provide an
overview of the sociological study of gender. In our lecture notes we will focus on
explaining gender and gender inequality.
I. Explaining Gender
Let’s start our discussion on gender by looking at six approaches that attempt to
explain gender differences: the biological approach, the cultural approach, the feminist
psychodynamic approach, the social learning approach, the social position approach, and
the symbolic interactionist approach.
A. Biological Approach
The biological approach is perhaps one of the earliest attempts to explain
differences between women and men and is still quite popular today. The biological
approach maintains that biological differences of the sexes, such as chromosomal and
hormonal differences, are the basis of gender differences, such as differences in physical
strength, aggression, and ability to nurture.
More moderate forms of the biological approach concede that biologically based
tendencies can be significantly modified by culture and environment, but an extreme
form of the biological approach, known as biological determinism, argues that biological
conditions inevitably determine behavior. Some of you may know the research that finds
1
Lecture notes are written as lecture notes and therefore are not cited as would be required for publication.
Please do not reference these notes outside of this class.
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a relationship between testosterone (a biological condition) and aggressiveness. Though
high levels of testosterone have been found to be related to aggression, there are also
studies that suggest that environmental factors play a greater role. In one study,
researchers found that when levels of testosterone rose in lower class males, they were
more likely to be aggressive. However, this relationship did not hold true for higher class
males. Among males of higher social classes, there was no relationship. This may be
because higher class males have learned not to react by being aggressive when their
testosterone levels rise. What this research suggests is that biology is not destiny.
Another characteristic where culture may have a strong influence is strength. In
American society, men are given strong cultural messages to become muscular. And the
cultural message given to women is to become slender. Thus, as men attempt to achieve
the body shape held as the ideal for men by working out with weights and as women try
to slim down in aerobics classes in order to achieve the body shape held as ideal for
women, biologically based strength differences are heightened. As an exercise, think
about your body and the bodies of people that you know well. To what extent have you
manipulated your body? To what extent have others you know manipulated their bodies?
Do you see any gender differences? Post your comments on our discussion board.
These and other evidence suggest that biological conditions, though important,
can significantly be modified by culture and environment. Biology predisposes the sexes
in certain directions but is subject to cultural and environmental influences.
One major weakness of the biological approach is that though it recognizes the
importance of culture, its main focus is on biological differences, neglecting the role of
culture. How exactly does culture shape biology? This question is usually insufficiently
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answered by those that focus on biology. As an exercise, think about a gendered
characteristic that you think might be related to biology. To what degree do you think that
the manifestation of that trait is influenced by culture? Post you comments on our
discussion board.
B. Cultural Approach
The cultural approach argues that men and women are different because of
different cultural expectations assigned to each gender. These cultural expectations are
social constructions which powerfully shape our behavior and attitudes as well as guiding
our interactions with others. These cultural expectations are known as gender roles,
where gender roles are defined as the behaviors and attitudes that a culture defines as
appropriate for each gender. That gender roles are social constructions can easily be seen
by looking at how gender roles differ from place to place and time period to time period.
The anthropologist Margaret Mead in her 1935 book, Sex and Temperament in
Three Primitive Societies, noted wide variability in gender role prescriptions among three
tribes in New Guinea. Among the Arapesh, both sexes were feminine. That is, feminine
according to the definition of femininity in the 1930s United States. Both sexes were
cooperative, passive, gentle, unaggressive, and emotionally sensitive. Among the
Mundugumor, both sexes were masculine. Again, masculine according to the definition
of masculinity in the 1930s United States. They were aggressive, ruthless, unresponsive
to the needs of others, and excessively cruel toward children. Among the Tchambuli, the
gender roles were the opposite of those found in the United States. The women were
dominating, impersonal, aggressively organizing, actively sexed and willing to initiate
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sex relations. The men were dependent, submissive, prissy and coquettish. Mead’s
research clearly suggests the socially constructed nature of gender roles.
The cultural approach helps us to see how gender roles powerfully constrain our
behavior. For example, gender roles limit what we can wear; men cannot wear dresses or
fingernail polish. Gender roles limit what activities we can engage in; boys cannot play
with baby dolls or Barbie dolls, and men cannot attend Tupperware parties. Gender roles
can even limit what may seem like very trivial things like the ways in which we sit.
Let me ask the male students. What would happen if you sat like that girl on the left?
What would your male friends say? People often react strongly to those persons who
deviate from gender roles. I show a video called Tough Guise in my face-to-face classes.
In that video, we see that men who act too effeminately are negatively sanctioned by
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being called “fags.”2 It is difficult to go against gender roles. We are powerfully
constrained by them.
The cultural approach also helps us to see how we rely on cultural definitions of
gender to guide our interactions with others. To not know the gender of the individual we
are talking to may make some of us uncomfortable. This is because we may feel unsure
about how to act. Anybody remember Pat from Saturday Night Live? Pat was a character
that did not clearly mark his/her gender. The comedy was watching the discomfort of
others that could not figure out if Pat was a man or a woman. We need to identify the
gender of the other so that we know how we should act. Have any of you noticed how
you act differently around men and women? Female students have mentioned to me in
the past how their boyfriends will act tough around their male friends but would become
vulnerable and sensitive when no other males were around. Post your comments on our
discussion board.
One weakness of the cultural approach, though a minor one from the sociological
perspective, is that it neglects the role of biology. How does biology influence culture? In
what ways does culture reflect biology? These questions are usually left unanswered.
Another weakness of the cultural approach is that it doesn’t adequately explain how
individuals come to have the gendered selves that they do. It leaves insufficiently
answered the question of how our cultural expectations are transmitted from one
individual to another. Cultural approaches tend focus on the cultural expectations that
exist in a culture but do not often address in detail the question of cultural transmission.
The next few approaches we will look at can be seen as theories of cultural transmission.
2
In the face-to-face class, we watched this video in class. If you want, you can go to the Cuesta
library in SLO and watch it there.
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C. Feminist Psychodynamic Approach (Chodorow)
The next approach that we will examine is the feminist psychodynamic approach. This
approach is in the psychodynamic or psychoanalytic tradition. Does anyone know who
originally developed psychoanalytic theory? Sigmund Freud. The psychodynamic
approach focuses on how family and psychic dynamics shape the development of gender
identity. According to the feminist psychodynamic approach, as mothers interact
differently with their infant sons and daughters, they form gendered identities which
remain fairly stable throughout life.
The feminist psychodynamic approach, unlike Freud, who focused on the early
relationship between the child and the father, focuses on the relationship between the
child and the mother. Feminist psychodynamic theorists like Nancy Chodorow argue that
the development of masculine and feminine identity is the result of different kinds of
relationships that exist between mothers and the children of each sex. Between a mother
and daughter there is a fundamental likeness, which encourages close identification
between them. Mothers generally interact more with daughters and keep them physically
and psychologically closer than sons. This closeness allows an infant girl to import her
mother into herself in so basic a way that her mother becomes a part of her own self.
The relationship between a mother and son typically departs from that between a
mother and daughter. Because they are not the same sex, full identification may not be
possible. Infant boys recognize in a primitive way that they differ from their mothers.
More important, mothers realize the difference, and they reflect it in their interactions
with their sons. In general, mothers encourage more and earlier independence in sons
than in daughters, and they interact less closely with sons. Because they cannot define
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their identity through the relationship with their mothers as daughters typically do, boys
pursue a different path. To establish identity, a boy must differentiate himself from his
mother—declare himself unlike her. Not only do boys differentiate themselves from their
mothers, they may also reject their mothers in order to define an independent self. As
they do this, they reject and devalue what is feminine in themselves and in society.
One major weakness of the feminist psychoanalytic approach is that it largely
ignores the role of learning. We will explore the role of learning next.
D. Social Learning Approach (Bandura)
The social learning approach focuses on learning. We were not simply born to act
and think in ways associated with our gender, nor did we simple choose to act and think
in ways typical of our gender; rather, we were socialized by our parents, teachers, friends,
the media, as well as others to act and think in gender-specific ways. We learn how to be
men and women.
According to the social learning approach, most of our behavior as males and
females is not a function of biology or psychodynamic processes but rather of learning in
childhood. Social learning theory claims that individuals learn to be masculine and
feminine through observation, experimentation, and responses from others. Children
notice how others behave, and imitate the communication they see on television and in
parents, peers, and others. At first, young children are likely to mimic almost anything
that catches their eyes or ears. However, other people will reward only some of a child’s
behaviors, and those behaviors that are reinforced tend to be repeated. Because children
prefer rewards to punishments or neutral responses, they are likely to develop behavioral
patterns that others approve. As parents and others reinforce in girls what is considered
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feminine and discourage behaviors and attitudes that are masculine, they shape little girls
into femininity. Similarly, as parents communicate approval to boys for behaving in
masculine ways and curb them for acting feminine—for instance, from crying—they
influence little boys to become masculine. By adulthood, men and women have
developed very different personalities that are quite resistant to change.
Let’s take a closer look at the process of learning by examining some socializing
agents: parents, school, peers, and the media. Before we get into our discussion of the
various socializing agents, let me begin by saying that the process of learning gender
begins by marking gender. As mentioned a few minutes ago, we may have difficulty
interacting with someone if we could not tell its gender. Just by looking at an infant we
really can’t tell if that infant is a boy or a girl. It’s only after we mark its gender with
gendered clothing that we know whether an infant is a boy or girl. Because men and
women are roughly about the same size and shape, unlike California sea lions or
peacocks for example, we have to mark our gender. We constantly mark our gender by
our hairstyle, by the clothes we wear, by wearing or not wearing makeup. Has anyone
ever been mistaken for someone of the other gender? How did it feel? Think about the
ways in which you mark your gender. Post your comments on our discussion board.
Let’s now look at some socializing agents. Usually our first socializing agents are
our parents. We acquire gender-specific personalities as our parents treat us differently.
Parents encourage girls to play with girl’s toys and boys to play with boy’s toys,
particularly discouraging boys from playing with girl’s toys. Fathers are rougher with
boys and parents speak more softly to girls. Parents encourage boys to engage in
instrumental play, such as building something but encourage girls toward expressive play,
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such as making themselves look attractive. As parents have different expectations for
boys and girls and treat them differently, boys and girls acquire gender-specific
personalities. Think about how you were raised by your parents. In what ways did they
socialize you into your gender? Post your comments on our discussion board.
We also acquire gender-specific personalities as our teachers treat us differently.
There is evidence that when girls ask questions, teachers give them direct answers, but
when boys ask questions, they are encouraged to figure out the answers for themselves.
This encourages independence in boys and dependence in girls. In an extensive study of
4th-, 6th-, and 8th-grade students, researchers found that boys were eight times more likely
to call out answers (that is, shout out answers without raising their hands). When girls did
call out, they were told things like, “In this class we don’t shout our answers. We raise
our hands.” The message that was being conveyed was that “boys should be
academically assertive and grab teacher attention; girls should act like ladies and keep
quiet.” As teachers have different expectations for boys and girls and treat them
differently, boys and girls acquire gender-specific personalities. Do you think that your
teachers treated girls differently than boys? Post your comments on our discussion board.
We also acquire gender-specific traits as we are sanctioned by our peers. Peers
play the role of gender “enforcers.” They act as the “gender police.” Even very young
children make harsh judgments about other children, especially boys, who violate gender
stereotypes. The girl who tries to join a boys’ game is likely to be told, “You can’t play.
You’re a girl.” The boy who picks up a girl’s toy is likely to be taunted, “Now you’re a
girl.” So in order to avoid negative sanction, we don’t behave in ways that are associated
with the other gender.
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Not only do we try to avoid getting negatively sanctioned, we try to receive
positive sanction. If you are a woman, your friends may admire you because you are
thin—the body shape associated with femininity. If you are a man, your friends may
admire you because you are excessively muscular—the body shape associated with
masculinity. And since we like the attention and praise, men might work out even more
or women may try to lose even more weight. How many of you men feel pressured by
your peers to work out at the gym? How many of you women feel pressured by your
women friends to diet? So our friends play an important role in shaping our genderspecific personalities, particularly as gender enforcers.
We also acquire gender-specific traits as we internalize media conceptions of
what are desirable male and female characteristics. I used to show a video in my face-toface classes called Beyond Killing Us Softly. In this video, it is argued that women may
internalize the media image of the thin body as being the most attractive body shape. It
was mentioned that before the introduction of television to the island of Fiji, the plentiful
and rounded figures were the most attractive body shape. However, in a survey of
teenage girls conducted after the introduction of television, those who watched TV on
three or more nights per week were 50 percent more likely to consider themselves “too
fat” with a full two-thirds of them having dieted in the past month, and 15 percent
becoming anorexic. This is in a society that before television, anorexia was unknown. We
learn how to be women by internalizing media conceptions of what are desirable female
characteristics. As an exercise, think about how you have internalized media conceptions
of femininity and masculinity. Post your comments on our discussion board.
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One weakness of the social learning approach is that it presumes behavioral
continuity throughout the life course. However, individuals can reject their childhood
socialization as adults. For example, women not socialized to be competitive or
aggressive can become competitive and aggressive as adults, and men not socialized to be
affectionate or nurturing can become affectionate and nurturing as adults.
E. Social Position Approach
According to the social position approach, gendered behavior is created as men
and women fill different positions at work and at home. For example, women may
become more nurturing as they become mothers and start taking care of young children.
This relationship between nurturing and taking care of young children is thought to be
irrespective of gender. One study that found that when men become single fathers, they
can be just as nurturing as women. In the workplace also, the position may create
gendered behavior. For example, those in upper-level management positions, male or
female, may act in ways some consider masculine—competitive (oriented toward rivalry)
and ambitious—while those in secretarial positions, male or female, may act in ways
some consider feminine—passive and unambitious.3
So according to the social position approach, gender is a quality of the position.
As individuals enter the position, their personalities transform to the position that they
occupy. We can compare this understanding of gender to the social learning approach
which considers gender to be a quality of the individual, gendered identities being carried
from context to context. Think about the positions that you occupy at work and in your
3
Kanter, Rosabeth M. (1977) Men and Women of the Corporation. New York: Basic Books.
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family. Do you see yourself becoming more masculine or feminine as you occupy
particular positions in your life? Post your comments to our discussion board.
One weakness of the social position approach is that it neglects the role of
interactional expectations independent of social position. For example, do we expect
male secretaries to act like female secretaries? Ev …
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