Public Health and Sexuality

Chapter_05_PowerPoint.ppt

Chapter 5: Gender and Gender Roles

Main Topics

Sex, Gender, and Gender Roles: What’s the Difference?

Sex, Gender, and Gender Roles: What’s the Difference?

Gender role - Attitudes, behaviors, rights, responsibilities associated with each sex
Stereotypes
Rigid and generalized beliefs about each gender’s behavior
Tend to be misleading
Gender-role attitude
Beliefs a person has about oneself and others regarding personality traits and activities
Gender-role behavior
Actual activities or behaviors a person engages in as a female or a male
Gender presentation
Gestures or personality as perceived by others

Sex and Gender Identity

Gender variations
Deviations from gender norms
Gender variants - Individuals who do not or choose not to conform to societal gender norms
Assigned gender - Gender that is assigned based on anatomical appearance
Transgender - Umbrella term for those who do not conform to traditional notions of gender expression

Masculinity and Femininity: Opposites or Similar?

Culture determines the content of gender roles in its own way
Cultural norms fluctuate and change with time and across cultures
Stereotypes fit this pattern of polar differences
Men embody instrumentality and are task-oriented
Women embody expressiveness and are emotion-oriented
Sexism - Discrimination against people based on their sex rather than their individual merits
Often associated with gender stereotypes
May prevent individuals from expressing their full range of emotions or seeking certain vocations

Gender and Sexual Orientation

Heterosexuality is a critical component of masculinity and femininity
Beliefs about homosexuality
If a man is gay, he cannot be masculine, and if a woman is lesbian, she cannot be feminine
If a man is gay, he must have some feminine characteristics, and if a woman is lesbian, she must have some masculine characteristics
Heteronormativity - Negative stereotypes
Fuel homophobia

Gender-Role Learning: Theories of Socialization

Gender-Role Learning: Theories of Socialization

Social construction theory
Gender - Set of practices and performances that occur through language and a political system
Acknowledges the relationships that exist among meaning, power, and gender
Gendered meanings are only one vehicle through which sexuality is constituted

Gender-Role Learning in Childhood and Adolescence

Gender Schemas:
Exaggerating Differences

Culture creates gender differences where none otherwise exist
Gender schema - Cognitive organization of the world according to gender
Associate gender with non-sex-linked qualities
Gender distinctions form the basis of cultural norms, status, taboos, and privileges

Contemporary Gender
Roles and Scripts

Changing Gender
Roles and Scripts

Androgyny

Figure 1: Gender Variations: The Gender Continuum

Gender Variations

Transgender phenomenon - Embraces the possibility of
Numerous genders
Multiple social identities
Disorders of sexual development/intersex
Conditions other than standard male or female anatomy
Intersex - Variations in congenital sex anatomy that are considered atypical for females or males
Sex chromosome anomalies
Turner syndrome - Genetic condition where a female does not have the usual pair of two X chromosomes
Klinefelter syndrome - Males have one or more extra X chromosomes
Mosiacism - Condition in which cells within the same person have a different genetic makeup

Gender Variations

Hormonal disorders
Androgen insensitivity syndrome - When a person is genetically male but is resistant to male hormones or androgens
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia - A group of inherited disorders of the adrenal gland
Can affect both boys and girls
5-Alpha reductase deficiency - A condition whereby a genetic male will not produce enough of a hormone called dihydrotestosterone
Unclassified form of abnormal development
Hypospadias - Condition where opening of the penis is misplaced
Foreskin may form a hood over the top of the glans
Twist in the shaft, slit in the underside of the glans

Gender Variations

Gender identity disorder
Strong and persistent cross-gender identification
Persistent discomfort about one’s assigned sex
Medical treatment includes three phases:
A real life experience in the desired role
Hormones of the desired gender
Surgery to change the genitalia and other sex characteristics
Transsexuality
Incompatibility of a person’s gender identity and sexual anatomy
Sex reassignment surgery (SRS) - Brings genitals in line with preferred gender identity

Gender Variations

Final Thoughts