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

2. Masculinity & Femininity: Myths & Stereotypes

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

4. 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.

5. 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

6. “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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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?

10. 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?

11. Video: Gender

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

13. 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

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

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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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)

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

25. 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

26. 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? …

27. 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

28. The double-standard of aging
Examples …

29. 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

30. 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

31. 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

32. 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

33. 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

34. 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

35. 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) …

36. 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?

37. 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

38. 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

39. 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.