Welcome to Sex Roles and Behaviours Introductions Course outlines Text Masculinity & Femininity: Myths & Stereotypes Video: Gender

Masculinity & Femininity: Myths & Stereotypes

Central concepts Similarities and differences Sex and Gender Stereotypes Exercise “isms”

Similarities and Differences SIMILARITIES PERSPECTIVE EMPHASIZE HOW SIMILAR WOMEN AND MEN ARE BUT! WHY DO MEN AND WOMEN SEEM SO DIFFERENT AT TIMES? SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONIST EXPLANATION WE BUILD OUR VERSION OF REALITY BASED ON WHAT WE HAVE EXPERIENCED BEFORE, WHOM WE INTERACT WITH, AND WHAT WE BELIEVE.

DIFFERENCES PERSPECTIVE WOMEN AND MEN GENERALLY DIFFER INTELLECTUALLY IN SOCIAL SKILLS EMPHASIZE POSITIVE CHARACTERISTICS UNDERVALUED WHEN ASSOCIATED WITH WOMEN ESSENTIALISM EXPLANATION GENDER IS A BASIC STABLE CHARACTERISTIC ALL WOMEN SHARE THE SAME PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS DIFFERENT FROM THOSE SHARED BY MEN

“You throw… like a woman” Sex Stereotypes Socially shared beliefs that certain qualities can be assigned to individuals based on their sex Many sex stereotypes are based on the notion of opposites “You throw… like a woman” “You think … like a man” © 2004 Slide Design by H. Lips & W. Andrew

Sex Stereotypes Socially shared beliefs that certain qualities can be assigned to individuals based on their sex Many sex stereotypes are based on the notion of opposites An earlier hierarchical tradition considered women and men to be similar—but women were less advanced

Can sex and gender be cleanly separated? Sex or Gender? Sex: a person’s biological maleness or femaleness Related to reproduction Gender: cultural expectations for femininity and masculinity. It is learned behaviour Can sex and gender be cleanly separated? © 2004 Slide Design by H. Lips & W. Andrew

Gender stereotypes have a dynamic component (Diekman & Eagly, 2000) How likely is it that the average woman/man in 2050 will be nurturing? Leadership-oriented? Ambitious? In 2050, what percentage of physicians will be women? What percentage of flight attendants will be men? In 2050, will women or men be more likely to perform these household tasks: Cooking? Laundry? Mowing the lawn?

Gender stereotypes have a dynamic component (Diekman & Eagly, 2000) Respondents predicted that women and men would become increasingly similar in the future They also thought women’s and men’s roles were converging They perceived most of the changes as occurring in women LONGITUDINAL STUDY RESULTS … … … … … Would this be the same for your cohort? WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Video: Gender

Exercise – female and Male characteristics? Handout What does this say about Men? … Women? What are the implications for Men? … … … … Women?... … … …

The Content of Gender Stereotypes I: Personality Traits Women Sentimental Submissive Superstitious Expressive Men Adventurous Dominant Forceful Independent Masculine Strong Instrumental © 2004 Slide Design by H. Lips & W. Andrew

Two Kinds of Gender Stereotypes Descriptive: what the typical woman and man are like Prescriptive: what the typical woman and man should be like

The Content of Gender Stereotypes II: Beyond Personality Traits Components of gender stereotypes: Traits Roles Behaviors Occupations Physical appearance Stereotypes are expressions of probability

Evaluative Aspects of Gender Stereotypes Prejudice: negative evaluation of persons or their activities because they belong to a particular group Sexism: prejudice based on a person’s sex Sexism has a long history © 2004 Slide Design by H. Lips & W. Andrew

More than one kind of sexism? Ambivalent sexism has two faces: Hostile sexism: dominance-oriented paternalism, derogatory beliefs about women, heterosexual hostility Benevolent sexism: protective paternalism, idealization of women, desire for intimate relations

The Changing Face of Sexism Old-fashioned sexism openly endorses stereotypic judgments about women and men and the way they should be treated Modern sexism (also called neosexism) more subtle, characterized by denial that women are still targets of discrimination, antagonism to women’s demands, lack of support for policies designed to improve women’s status

Sexism directed at men? Stereotypes can harm males through unrealistic expectations Men are more rigid than women in their insistence on stereotypic masculinity

Sexism in the Evaluation of Work Goldberg study (1968): Women rated articles more favorably when they were supposedly written by a man Later studies: When gender differences in evaluation are found, they tend to favor men

Sexism in the Evaluation of Work When gender differences in evaluation are found, they tend to favor men When is this bias most likely to appear? Stereotypically masculine domains Gender-neutral material is being rated There is less information about the people being rated Respondents are rating a job application or résumé Measures used to obtain ratings contain gender-stereotypic items

Sexism in the Evaluation of Work When gender differences in evaluation are found, they tend to favor men But sexism can affect men’s evaluations too: Studies show that people may be biased against people trying to behave in ways that don’t match gender stereotypes Women are discriminated against for masculine-stereotyped jobs and men are discriminated against for feminine-stereotyped jobs

Stereotypes and Status Occupations lose status as they become dominated by women (Touhey, 1974a) Occupations gain status as they become dominated by men (Touhey, 1974b) When raters believe masculine traits are required for a job they assign it higher prestige and salary (Glick, 1991) Virtually all high-status jobs are male-dominated (Glick, Wilk, & Perreault, 1995)

Gender Interacts with Other Categories Diversity-mindfulness: openness to differences among people appreciation of varied perspectives receptiveness to other perspectives Respect for others

Gender Stereotypes and Race Ideals of femininity may differ across racial and ethnic groups e.g., African American women’s tradition of speech; European American women’s tradition of silence Ideals of masculinity may differ across racial and ethnic groups e.g., Latino men and “machismo” e.g., the role of the father in different ethnic groups

Gender Stereotypes and Social Class Are some observed differences the result of “middle-class gaze”? College students hold more positive stereotypes of poor women than of poor men. Why? …

Gender Stereotypes and Age Gender stereotypes become less pronounced for older people Perhaps they are partially replaced by age stereotypes Is there a “double standard” of aging? Elderly women sometimes resist gender stereotypes

The double-standard of aging Examples …

Gender Stereotypes and Appearance Beauty is defined as a feminine attribute Physical attractiveness is a more central part of the self-concept for women than men Is this changing? Women are less satisfied with their body appearance and function than men Is this always true? Heavy weight is often linked to low self-esteem

Gender Stereotypes and Appearance Women who describe themselves as feminine and men who describe themselves as masculine are most likely to feel dissatisfied with their bodies Stereotypes vary by group. For instance, African American women report less concern than European American women about heavy weight © 2004 Slide Design by H. Lips & W. Andrew

Gender Stereotypes and Sexual Orientation Lesbians are often characterized as masculine. Gay men are described as feminine People most likely to hold negative attitudes toward homosexuality are hypermasculine men and hyperfeminine women

Gender Stereotypes and Disability For women, the disability stereotype can reinforce the image of dependence People may view men with disabilities less favorably than women with disabilities because disabilities imply weakness People with disabilities are sometimes stereotyped as asexual © 2004 Slide Design by H. Lips & W. Andrew

The Process of Stereotyping Information processing Schemas guide us to pay attention to and remember information that fits a stereotype Self-fulfilling prophecy We behave the way we think others expect us to behave – thus confirming the expectation

How Gender Stereotypes and Prejudice Affect Us Women notice and resent sexist events, even when they do not respond publicly (Swim & Hyers, 1999) People tend to avoid situations where they will be targets of prejudice unless they have exceptionally high confidence (Cohen & Swim, 1995) Stereotype threat: the awareness that we may be judged by or fulfill negative stereotypes about our group

Discrimination – behaviour Examples of discrimination based on sex Examples of how Gender Stereotypes and Prejudice affect us – women and men Stereotype – belief Attitude – affect Discrimination – behaviour Examples of discrimination based on sex The Famous five and the Person’s case(p.18) …

Stereotypes and the Measurement of Masculinity-Femininity Terman and Miles (AIAS, 1936) Femininity and masculinity were considered opposite ends of the same continuum Which would you rather do: Command others? Persuade others? Would you rather do interesting work with a small income or uninteresting work with a large income? Do you dislike people with loud voices? tall women?

Stereotypes and the Measurement of Masculinity-Femininity Sandra Bem (BSRI, 1974) Masculinity and femininity considered as two separate, independent dimensions Masculinity Low High Mid-Points Low High Femininity © 2004 Slide Design by H. Lips & W. Andrew

Stereotypes and the Measurement of Masculinity-Femininity Sandra Bem (BSRI, 1974) Androgyny – the merging of feminine and masculine qualities How does an androgynous person score on the BSRI? - high on femininity and - high on masculinity

Next week Theoretical perspectives and Research Remember, the lectures do not cover all the material in the text Also, the lectures contain material that is not in the text. You are responsible for the material in the text, lectures, handouts and videos Have a good week. See you next Friday.