Gender Roles Chapter 4

Boy or Girl? Read the description of the person. Hold up the blue card if you think the person is a boy. Hold up the pink card if you think the person is a girl.

Boy or Girl? 34 years old College Degrees in History (BA) & Education (MA) Single Likes: – Action Movies – Hunting – Reading Mystery Novels and Westerns

GIRL That would be ME!

Boy or Girl? Married 4 kids Bachelor’s Degree in Theater Stay at Home Parent Likes: – Gardening – Science Fiction Movies – Swimming

Girl My roommate from college - Trista

Boy or Girl? Kindergarten Teacher 25 years old Married 1 kid Likes: – Romantic Comedies – Fantasy novels – Gardening – Couponing (shopping sales)

Boy A friend of my sister’s

Boy or Girl? Retired Sg. Detective with Local Police Force 6 different college degrees 55 years old Single – never married No Kids Likes: – Football – Baseball – Soccer – Basketball

Girl My second cousin - Roberts

Boy or Girl? Retired (General Manager for a company that sold industrial equipment) Married 35+ years 3 kids Likes: Harry Potter Animals (always adopting strays) Cooking

Boy! My Dad

WHY did we draw those conclusions? Depending on who you listen to, we’re born with or taught gender roles – our ideas of what men and women should do, be interested in, act like, etc.

Previewing the Topic 2 groups (all the boys and all the girls) – Boys: List all the advantages & disadvantages of being male that you can think of. – Girls: List all the advantages & disadvantages of being female that you can think of.

Agree or Disagree Blue = agree Pink = disagree

Most cultures place equal importance on the apperance.

Most parents treat their daughters and sons in the same way.

There are some jobs at which women are better than men.

Feminists do more to hurt women than to help them.

Women are naturally better at parenting than men.

Mass media is very important in shaping a person’s sense of gender.

The ways females and males learn to behave are the same throughout the world.

Females and males have equal educational and employment opportunities in my culture.

The experiences considered necessary for girls to become women and for boys to become men are very different in my culture.

The world would be a better place if there were no distinct gender ideas.

Sex Roles Hamilton McCubbin and Barbara Blum Dahl

Previewing the Reading Who are the authors? Where was the reading taken from? When was it written?

Previewing the Reading Read through the subheadings What do you guess the reading is going to be about?

Vocabulary Notes Read through the vocabulary notes BEFORE you start reading!

Sex Roles and Gender Identity What is a sex role? What are social norms and what do they do?

The Cause of Sex Roles: Biology or Culture? The authors use this section to set up the organization for the rest of the reading. What question does the rest of the reading seek to answer?

Note Taking Split into 3 groups Each group will makes notes about the Main Idea + Major Details for the section they are assigned Group 1: Genetics: The Biological Evidence Group 2: Culture: The Anthropological Evidence Group 3: Society: Learning Evidence

Discussion Do you think that biological, anthropological, or social factors are most important in determining gender roles? Why?

Expanding Ideas In small groups, look through the magazine you are given. Look at the ads and answer the following questions: – Which types of products are geared toward females and which types toward males? – What traits, activities, and values are associated with each gender? – What social messages are conveyed about female and about male roles? – Do the advertisements reflect any type of gender stereotyping? Explain.

Sex, Sighs, and Conversation: Why Men & Women Can’t Communicate By Deborah Tannen

Previewing the Reading Who is the author? Where was the reading taken from? When was it written?

Previewing the Reading Read through the first sentence of each paragraph What do you guess the reading is going to be about?

Vocabulary Notes Read through the vocabulary notes BEFORE you start reading!

Main Ideas What are the major differences in the ways females and males use language?

Main Ideas What is the main point Tannen makes about these differences in the article?

Discussion How do the gender differences in language use that Tannen discusses reflect traditional female and male roles and expectations?

What is the primary audience for which the article was written? How does the nature of the audience help shape the content of the piece?

Making Connections How might one (or more) of the types of evidence presented in “Sex Roles” – biological, anthropological, or social – help explain a major difference in gender roles and expectations that Tannen discusses in “Sex, Sighs, and Conversation”?

Examining Gender Roles Brainstorm a list of traditional gender roles in your culture. Think about money, household chores, caring for children, who makes decisions, what games children should play, what hobbies and activities men and women should enjoy, etc. Be prepared to share!

Examining Gender Roles Take a look at our list of gender roles. Identify 4 or 5 that have influenced you. Be prepared to share! For example: my cousins (all boys) were taught how to ride ATVs and hunt when they were little. It took until I was 24 to convince my dad to take me hunting with him because, to him, that was something that men did, not an activity that a girl would enjoy.