SEX TYPING : PSYCHOSOCIAL DETERMINANTS MARIA MUSTAFA LECTURER, GWS DEPTT.,AIOU.

SEX TYPING ONE IS NOT BORN A WOMAN RATHER BECOMES ONE. (SIMONE DE BEAVOIR)

SEX TYPING  PHILOSOPHICAL CONCEPT “TABULA RASA”

Sex-Typing  Men and women are two essential characters of human life.  Men and women are equal but they are not same: one should not forget that equality is the not synonymous to sameness.

SEX TYPING  The biological factors determine the physical differences between males and females whereas the social, cultural and environmental factors give rise to personality differences, temperamental differences and the differences in the roles and expectations of the members of both sexes.

DEFINITIONS  sex role refers to behaviours, attitudes values, beliefs that a particular cultural group considers appropriate for males and females on the basis of their biological sex.  Sex typing refers to the Psychological make up of women and men

SEX ROLES  Sex-roles are expected set of thinking and behavior patterns for males and females.  A group of social scientists take development of gender-roles as positive factor for socialization and adjustment process of individual.  Others opine that gender-identity minimize the use of individual potential and abilities considering not suitable for their sex. They view that sex-typing stereotypes also affect the process of self-exploration, especially in case of women.

DEVELOPMENT OF SEXTYPING  Sex-typing, which is expressed through sex-roles. The sex-roles are the results of social stereotypes which give rise to certain type of behaviour that are regarded culturally appropriate.  It has been found that the child learns first about her own sex-identity, then develops the ability to generalize the gender constancy to other people and then to other situations. Generally children model their own behavior after adult sex-role.

THEORIES OF SEX TYPING  Psycho-analytical Theories  Social Learning Theory  Cognitive Development Theory  Cerebral Lateralization Theory

PSYCHOSOCIAL DETERMINANTS  Socialization  Family  Parents  School  Childhood play  Language  Peers

MASS MEDIA  six major media of mass communication are newspapers, magazines, books, television, radio and films(shahid,1999) These can be further divided in two categories:  Electronic Media  Print Media Functions of Mass Media  To educate  To inform  To entertain

INFLUENCE OF MASS MEDIA  One of the greatest influences on the sex-typed behaviour is from mass media. Many studies have been quoted by Pervez (1982) which high light the significant role of media agents in the development of personality and also in the sex specific behavior.  Media should not be taken as a source of entertainment rather these are significant tools for the development and preservation of cultural values and norms. They play a significant role in the development of cultural identity.

 It not only offers us something to see, but also shapes the way in which we see by creating shared perceptual mode.  Media images are powerful tools of socialization, shaping and reinforcing both positive and negative attitudes (Rider, 2000).

 All forms of media communicate images of the sexes, many of which perpetuate unrealistic, stereotypical and limiting perceptions (Wood, 1996).  The role and status of women in any given society can be studied through the images of woman which the media projects.

Wood( 1996) elaborated on the themes how the media represents gender:  Women are underrepresented, which falsely implies that men are the cultural standard and women are unimportant or invisible.  Men and women are portrayed in stereotypical ways that reflected in stereotypical ways that reflect and sustain socially endorsed views of gender.  Depiction of relationships between men and women emphasize traditional roles and normalize violence against women.

Portrayal and Participation of women in media  Overall media treatment of the women can best be described as narrow. On films, in the press and the broadcast media, women’s activities and interests typically don’t go further than the confines of homes and family. Characterized as essentially dependent and romantic, women are rarely portrayed as rational, active or decisive. Both as characters in the fictional media contents, and as newsmakers in press and broadcasting, women are numerically under represented –an absence which underlines their marginal and inferior status in many spheres of social economics and cultural life. Prevalent news values define most women and most women’s problems as un-newsworthy, admitting women to coverage primarily as wives, mothers or daughters of men in the news. In their own right they make headlines usually only as fashionable or entertainment figures. Much media advertising directed at women as consumers is condescending in tone, and manipulative in intention, as the bait through which products are advertised. Women are exploited in terms of their sexuality and physical appearance.(GALLAGHER,1979)

ANALYSIS OF PORTARYAL OF GENDER IN MASS MEDIA Pakistani media Pakistani media projects a very specific image of women, (Pervez, 1982, 1992) which not only provide a guide line to the youths to adopt that specific life style but also helps in sustaining the status quo.  Electronic media  Print Media

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