© 2013 Cengage Learning

OutlineOutline

Sex and Gender Gender Differences Across Cultures

Hofstede’s Study Cognitive Differences Conformity and Obedience Aggressiveness

Outline (cont’d.)Outline (cont’d.)

Gender Differences Across Cultures (cont’d.) Personality Sex and Sexuality Mate Selection, Mate Poaching, and Jealousy Division of Labor Summary

Outline (cont’d.)Outline (cont’d.)

Culture, Gender Roles, and Stereotypes Culture and Gender Stereotypes Culture, Gender Role Ideology, and Self-Concept Ethnicity and Gender Roles

Changing Cultures, Changing Gender Roles Conclusion

SEX AND GENDERSEX AND GENDER

Sex and GenderSex and Gender

Sex: physical characteristics and differences between men and women

Sex roles: behaviors men and women engage in directly related to biological differences and process of reproduction

Gender: behaviors that culture deems appropriate for men and women

Gender roles: degree to which person adopts gender-specific behaviors ascribed by his/her culture

Sex and Gender (cont’d.)Sex and Gender (cont’d.)

Gender identity: degree to which person has awareness or recognition that he or she adopts a particular gender role

Gender stereotypes: psychological or behavioral characteristics typically associated with men and women

GENDER DIFFERENCES GENDER DIFFERENCES ACROSS CULTURESACROSS CULTURES

Gender Differences Across CulturesGender Differences Across Cultures

Studies in US demonstrate how men and women are different, or not, on variety of psychological and behavioral outcomes

Do same differences occur in other cultures? To what degree do differences occur?

Hofstede’s StudyHofstede’s Study

“Masculinity v. Femininity” Degree to which a culture will foster, encourage, or

maintain differences between males and females

High on masculinity: Moralistic attitudes about sex; double standards Encourages passive role of women

Low on masculinity: Matter-of-fact attitudes about sex; single standard Encourages active role of women

See Table 6.1 in text

Cognitive DifferencesCognitive Differences

Common folklore that males are better at mathematical and spatial reasoning tasks, and females better at verbal comprehension tasks

Male superiority on tasks found in tight sedentary, agriculturally based cultures

Female superiority found in cultures that are loose, nomadic, and based on hunting and gathering

Conformity and ObedienceConformity and Obedience

One common stereotype is that females are more conforming and obedient than males

In actuality, degree to which difference in conformation occurs varies among cultures

Tight cultures foster greater gender difference on conformity, with females more conformist than males

Loose cultures foster less gender difference on conformity, sometimes with males more conforming than females

AggressivenessAggressiveness

Common gender stereotype is that males are more aggressive than females

Support for this stereotype in all cultures exists Males account for disproportionate amount of

violent crime in industrialized and nonindustrialized societies

Hormones may contribute, to some degree, to aggressiveness

Culture and environment can act to encourage or discourage emergence of aggressiveness

PersonalityPersonality

Five Factor Model of Personality Women universally reported higher scores on

Neuroticism, Agreeableness, Warmth, and Openness to Feelings

Men scored higher on Assertiveness and Openness to Ideas

Differences between men and women were largest in Europe and U.S.

Sex and SexualitySex and Sexuality

Major cultural differences in degree of importance placed on values concerning chastity, especially for women

Many traditional, conservative cultures view chastity as virtue among non-married women

Other cultures more open and explicit about sex, approving of sexual partners before marriage

Cultural differences in attitudes toward sex also related to attitudes toward sexual orientation

Culture affects practice of circumcision and FGM

Mate Selection, Mate Poaching, Mate Selection, Mate Poaching, and Jealousyand Jealousy

Cultural differences in mate poaching and jealousy explained by evolutionary model: Males look for younger, chaste mates to bear

offspring; females look for mates that can provide resources for offspring

Males more jealous about sexual infidelity; females more jealous of emotional infidelity: Women sleeping with others threaten man’s ability to

create offspring; men falling in love with other women threatens woman’s family

Division of LaborDivision of Labor

Biological differences between men and women lead to division of labor in evolutionary history

Men generally physically bigger and stronger Provide shelter, food, protection

Women carry children, give birth, and breastfeed Care for infants and newborns

Biggest cultural differences between men and women is division of labor in house However, women take brunt of housework in all

societies

Division of Labor (cont’d.)Division of Labor (cont’d.)

See Figure 6.2 in text: family roles of mothers See Table 6.1 in text: average percentage of

male participation in activities in societies

SummarySummary

How does culture influence gender? Process of learning gender roles begins very

early in life American culture: boys and girls given different

types of toys and dressed according to gender Gender is construct that develops in children as

they are socialized in their environments Different cultures must deal with different

external factors; thus, gender differences vary by culture

CULTURE, GENDER CULTURE, GENDER ROLES, AND ROLES, AND

STEREOTYPESSTEREOTYPES

Culture and Gender StereotypesCulture and Gender Stereotypes

Many gender-related stereotypes universally held across cultures

Williams and Best (1982): High degree of pancultural agreement across all

countries studied in characteristics associated with men and women

Characteristics associated with men were stronger and more active than those associated with women across all countries

Cultural differences exist for favorability

Culture and Gender Role IdeologyCulture and Gender Role Ideology

Gender role ideology: judgments about what males and females ought to be like or do

Williams and Best (1990): Traditional scores Egalitarian scores Masculinity/femininity

Gibbons (studies in younger populations): Being “kind and honest” is universal for boys and girls Adolescents from wealthy/individualistic countries

were less traditional than those from poorer countries

Ethnicity and Gender RolesEthnicity and Gender Roles

Androgyny: gender identity involving endorsement of male and female characteristics

Gender identities of African Americans are more androgynous than those of European Americans

Adolescent girls with androgynous identity have higher levels of self-acceptance than either feminine or masculine girls

For boys, masculine, not androgynous, identity is associated with highest level of self-acceptance

CHANGING CULTURES, CHANGING CULTURES, CHANGING GENDER CHANGING GENDER

ROLESROLES

Changing Cultures, Changing Changing Cultures, Changing Gender RolesGender Roles

United Nations: commitment to equal rights and opportunities for men and women

Obstacle to this is violence against women Despite desires for equality, inequality still

persists strongly around world People of different ethnic backgrounds in U.S.

have different gender role expectations Much of cultural changes due to economics give

rise to tensions between tradition and progress, conservatism, and liberalism

CONCLUSIONCONCLUSION

ConclusionConclusion

Gender and its permutations—roles, identities, stereotypes—share important link with culture

Gender roles are different for males and females in all cultures

Some stereotypic notions about gender differences are universal across cultures

Studying gender differences in U.S. is challenging because of cultural and ethnic diversity

All cultures help to define roles, duties, and responsibilities appropriate for males or females