Gender Diversity
Modified: 10/24/2023 8:04 PM
Male and Female are two biological differences between human beings. Along with those biological differences come many psychological and sociological differences too. History and culture play major roles.
History of Gender Roles (the double standard)
- Definition of double standard
- 1: a set of principles that applies differently and usually more rigorously to one group of people or circumstances than to another especially
- 2: a code of morals that applies more severe standards of sexual behavior to women than to men
- Biblical Judaic
- extreme double standard
- women were chattel
- "chattel is technical term for "personal property"
- in Arkansas we pay a personal property tax on homes, vehicles, boats, etc.
- notice men in Arkansas do NOT pay a property tax on their wives
- Rape, in Biblical times, was not a crime against the woman but, rather, a crime against father or husband
- Vestiges of the Biblical double standard remain in fundamentalist groups today
- Southern Baptist Faith and Message
- "A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation."
- Women in Ministry
- "Women participate equally with men in the priesthood of all believers. Their role is crucial, their wisdom, grace and commitment exemplary. Women are an integral part of our Southern Baptist boards, faculties, mission teams, writer pools, and professional staffs. We affirm and celebrate their Great Commission impact. While Scripture teaches that a woman’s role is not identical to that of men in every respect, and that pastoral leadership is assigned to men, it also teaches that women are equal in value to men." (Bold in the original)
- Greek and Roman
- Women and their Role in Ancient Greece and Rome
- Greece-more restrictive
- Women could not vote or hold political office
- Women had to be chaperoned in public
- Marriage's main role: produce male children
- Denied formal education (but Sparta was an exception)
- Women could shop, worship without seeking permission
- Later, they could run businesses, free slaves, and work for pay
- However, they were denied citizenship
- extreme double standard
- the female roles were--wives, concubines, and heterae (cultivated female companion, and usually not a sexual relationship)
- Early Christian
- Women in Ancient Christianity
- PBS site reveals:
- Revisionist history of women in early Christianity
- Majority of early Christians may have been women
- Mary Magdalene's current portrayal may be wrong
- Many women were martyred
- Women's role in Christianity was gradually undermined over time
- Elaine Pagels speaks on how Adam and Eve are interpreted through 1600 years of Christian tradition
- Contrasts the beliefs about sex of ancient Egyptians and Jews to those of Christians (short clip, less than 2 minutes)
- Entire show (27 minutes) on how Adam and Eve are viewed by different religions [OPTIONAL]
- Augustine of Hippo imposed:
- ascetic single standard for Christian males or females: procreation only
- he saw complete celibacy for both males and females as good
- most sexual behavior banned (pretty much everything beyond simple penetration for reproductive purposes)
- sex within marriage restricted, yup, even married couples should not enjoy sex
- he was the one who came up with the doctrine of original sin, e.g., Adam and Eve having sex
- Sex in Medieval Times (cute, short video)
- Courtly Love and Medieval Romance (another cute, short video)
- Victorian Period
- Karen Lystra
- Studied love letters of middle-class Victorians
- Romantic love blurred gender lines
- Double Standard Still Prevalent
- double standard backed up by 'science'
- i.e., smaller brains of women
- men 'driven', women 'chaste'
- meaning men could not control their sexual urges ("boys will be boys")
- Modern Period
- World War I
- The Seattle Union Record (1918, p. 1) newspaper reported:
- There has been a sudden influx of women into such unusual occupations as bank clerks, ticket sellers, elevator operator, chauffeur, street car conductor, railroad trackwalker, section hand, locomotive wiper and oiler, locomotive dispatcher, block operator, draw bridge attendant, and employment in machine shops, steel mills, powder and ammunition factories, airplane works, boot blacking and farming.
- Post WWI flappers (video)
- World War II
- i.e., Rosie the riveter (WWII)
- Norman Rockwell's iconic painting of woman at work
- Cracked the door open to women's employment
- Many "Rosies" were fired or laid off after the war as the men returned from the armed services
- Postwar
- Postmodern Period
- social construction of reality
- Article:
- Does the sexual double standard still exist? Perceptions of university women. (Preview of first page only, including Abstract)
- Sample: 165 women at a Canadian university
- Results: women acknowledged the societal existence of the double standard but personally rejected it; women more likely to enforce the double standard; women with sexual experience more accepting of male partners who had many sexual partners
Gender Roles and Stereotypes
- Definitions
- sex is male or female
- gender roles--norms or expectations about gender-based
behavior. They are different from sex (see below)
- FYI--i.e., ordering at restaurant--In the mid 1980s I visited Los Angeles to attend the APA Convention there. A female friend picked me up at the airport and then we went to lunch. In a diner, she and I chatted and one of the topics was what each might order to eat. When the waitress came back, I ordered for both of us. As soon as the waitress left, my friend said, "Don't you ever do that to me again.!" I had no idea what she was talking about. She explained to me in no uncertain terms that I had violated a social convention by not letting her order her own lunch.
- I thought about it. I was in California, not Arkansas. Obviously, the social rules were different in the two places.
- What do you think?
- Gender Schema Theory
- Sandra Bem developed gender schema theory
- BSRI (Bem Sex Role Inventory)
- Bem's Personality Characteristics*
- Realize that these characteristics can be independent of biological sex
| Feminine |
Masculine |
Neutral |
| Affectionate |
Acts as a leader |
Adaptable |
| Cheerful |
Aggressive |
Conceited |
| Childlike |
Ambitious |
Conscientious |
| Compassionate |
Analytical |
Conventional |
| Does not use harsh language |
Assertive |
Friendly |
| Eager to soothe hurt feelings |
Athletic |
Happy |
| Feminine |
Competitive |
Helpful |
| Flatterable |
Defends own beliefs |
Inefficient |
| Gentle |
Dominant |
Jealous |
| Gullible |
Forceful |
Likeable |
| Loves children |
Has leadership abilities |
Moody |
| Loyal |
Independent |
Reliable |
| Sensitive to the needs of others |
Individualistic |
Secretive |
| Shy |
Makes decisions easily |
Sincere |
| Soft-spoken |
Masculine |
Solemn |
| Sympathetic |
Self-reliant |
Tactful |
| Tender |
Self-sufficient |
Theatrical |
| Understanding |
Strong personality |
Truthful |
| Warm |
Willing to take a stand |
Unpredictable |
| Yielding |
Willing to take risks |
Unsystematic |
Source: Bem, S.L. (1974).The measurement of psychological androgyny, Journal of Consulting and ClinicalPsychology, 42, 155-162
- Bem's gender roles
- masculine: score high on masculinity and low on femininity
- feminine: score low on masculinity and high on femininity
- androgynous: score high on masculinity and high on femininity
- undifferentiated: score low on masculinity and low on femininity
- Donnelly, K., Twenge, J.M. (2017). Masculine and Feminine Traits on the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, 1993–2012: a Cross-Temporal Meta-Analysis. Sex Roles 76, 556–565.
- Found:
- Women's Femininity scores have decreased
- Men's Masculinity scores have remained stable
- Women's androgeny scores increased from 1973 to 1993 and stable thereafter
- Men's androgeny scores have remained stable
- "Our findings suggest that since the 1990s, U.S. college women have become less likely to endorse feminine traits as self-representative, potentially revealing a devaluation of traditional femininity. However, it is also possible that the scale items do not match modern gender stereotypes. Future research may need to update the BSRI to reflect current conceptions of gender."
- Socialization
- starts before birth: paint colors in nursery, ultrasound or not
- hospital blankets: pink or blue
- FYI: our daughter was born in 1997. I was looking at her in the nursery in El Dorado and saw that the nurse had stuck of bow to her head. I tapped on the glass to get her attention and motioned to her to remove the bow. I did not wish to socialize her that way. Interestingly, she's now an electrical engineer.
- media: the media have become much better at promoting gender-specific messages
- biological differences too
- Size
- Fertility
- Hormones
- Sex Chromosomes (XX vs XY)
- Male - Female Psychological Differences
- Aggressiveness
- Self-disclosure
- Intellectual differences (Kimura, Doreen, (1992). Sex differences in the brain, Scientific
American, 267 (3), 118-125.)
- females better at:
- tests of perceptual speed
- object displacement tests
- ideational fluency (i.e., list objects of same
color)
- verbal fluency (i.e., list words that start with a
particular letter)
- precise fine motor tasks
- mathematical calculation
- males better at:
- spatial tasks--i.e., mental rotations of objects
- target directed skills--i.e., guiding or intercepting
projectiles
- disembedding tests--i.e., telling foreground from
background
- tests of mathematical reasoning
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