EDD401

Unit 4
INTRODUCTION TO GENDER
What is Gender?
To answer this question, we will discuss the following points:
The difference between gender and sex
The social construction of gender; and
Gender and power
Stereotypes
Women produce children
Women are mothers and wives
Women do the cooking, cleaning, sewing and washing
Women take care of men and are subordinate to male
authority
Women are largely excluded from high-status
occupations and from positions of power
The distinction between sex and gender: Nature or Nurture?
Sex: refers to male / female; biological and physiological characteristics e.g.
Gender: refers to masculine / feminine, socially constructed n m and roles, behaviours,
activities, attributes, vary between cultures e.g.
The distinction between sex and gender
Sexual dimorphism: two physically and genetically different categories of people (men
and women)
Used to explain differences between men and women (and the n m presented on the
previous slide)
Alternate views on sex and gender developed in the 1960s
Stroller (1968) cautioned against assuming physical differences explained all differences
cultural connotations of gender
In other words, it does not necessarily follow that being a woman means being feminine , nor that
being a man means behaving in a ma c line way: girls are not necessarily caring and
compassionate; boys do not have to be aggressive and c m e i i e (Haralambos & Holborn 2013:96).
Sex and Gender Differences
Differences in terms of behaviour and roles
explainable by examining hormones and brain
differences
Hormones facilitate reproduction both sexes
produce full range of hormones, however women
produce more progesterone and estrogen and men
more testosterone and other androgens
Many studies have questioned the assumption that
there is a unambiguous, linear connection between
hormones and human behaviour
Sex and gender differences continued
Contention: link between testosterone and
aggressive male behaviour
Agg e i n has more to do with ma c line values,
All men have testosterone, but are all men
in particular those associated with reputation and
violent and aggressive?
h n , than it has to do with hormone levels.
Halpern et al (1994) studied testosterone Males tend to become aggressive when they
and aggression in 12-13 year old boys perceive others to be challenging their reputation
and honour. Definitions of reputation and honour
Brain lateralization (other theories that deal
are strongly influenced by peer g (Archer and
with gender as biologically determined)
Lloyd 2002 cited in Haralambos and Holborn 2013:
Assumptions that are assumed to be 97).
biological and unquestionable arises out of
historical and cultural context
Activity: Nature or Nurture?
When you were a child, what messages (direct or indirect) did you receive about being a
boy/girl?
Write down as many messages as you can remember.
How were these messages transmitted to you i.e. who did you learn them from?
Messages for / about boys Messages for / about girls Through who or what were these
messages transmitted?
The social construction of gender (Lorber Reading)
Gender is constantly being created and re-created from interactions
and social life around us
Everyone d e gende without being aware of it so fundamental to
our lives
A sex category becomes a gender status through naming, dress, and
the use of other gender ma ke (Lorber 2000:321)
Soon after birth, babies and children are treated differently according
to their gender. They then respond to the different treatment
Gender (like other social statuses) is constructed through teaching,
learning, emulation and enforcement
Through cognitive development, children extract and apply appropriate
actions associated with their gender
 A a social institution, gender is one of the major ways that human beings organise their
lives. Human society depends on a predictable division of labour, a designated allocation of
scarce goods, assigned responsibility for children and others who cannot care for themselves,
common values and their systematic transmission to new members, legitimate leadership,
music, art, stories, games, and other symbolic productions. One way of choosing people for
the different tasks of society is on the basis of their talents, motivations, and competence
their demonstrated achievements. The other way is on the basis of gender, race, ethnicity
ascribed membership in a category of e le (Lorber 2000:322).
Gender Socialisation
Shapes behaviour of girls and boys (Oakley in Haralambos & Holborn 2013:101)
Four main ways that socialisation shapes gender roles:
Manipulation
Canalisation
Verbal appelations
Different activities
Other agents of socialisation: peers, media, social institutions
Gender socialisation has been criticised by some for being too simplistic and viewing
children as passive receivers of gendered messages (Connell 2002 cited in Haralambos &
Holborn 2013:101)
Ra he e lace i h he idea f gende ing (B adle 2007 ci ed in Ha alamb & H lb n
2013:103) d ing gende (L be 2015:104) hich c ea e gende diffe ence
Prescribed and recommended readings
Haralambos, M., Holborn, M., Chapman, S. and Moore, S. 2013. Sociology: Themes and
Perspectives. 8th edn. pp. 95-99, pp. 101-102. London: HarperCollins.
Lorber, J. 2000. "Night to His Day": The Social Construction of Gender. In: Adams, M.,
Blumenfeld, W., Castaneda, C., Hackman, H.W., Peters, M.L. and Zúniga, X. (eds.)
Readings for Diversity and Social Justice. 2nd edn. pp. 321 - 326. New York: Routledge.