Gender and Sexuality

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Gender and Sexuality

• Dr Rhoda Wilkie
• SO 1004

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Week 10 Becoming Gendered (1)

• some commonsense assumptions
• sex-gender distinction
• gender stereotypes
• historical and anthropological evidence?

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Becoming Gendered (2)

• how is gender socially constructed?
• gender roles, socialisation process and the role
  of social institutions (e.g. family school)
• summary

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commonsense assumptions

• there are only two sex/gender categories
• interchangeable use of terms
• it is natural taken-for-granted and it has
  always been this way?

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two-sex model (Laqueur 1990)

• e.g. medical anatomical illustrations of
  reproductive organs
• shift from one-sex model
• - emphasised similarities
• mid 18th century - two-sex model
• - emphasised binary differences

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sex

• biological distinction between females and males
• female (XX) and male (XY)
• chromosomes hormones reproductive organs
  external and internal genitals and secondary sex
  characteristics
• - assigned at birth genitals
• - fixed

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gender

• distinction between sex and gender
• Ann Oakley (1972) Sex, Gender and Society
• social, psychological and cultural interpretation
  of biological sex
• basis of assigning and classifying behaviours
  and attributes as masculine and feminine
• mapped on respectively to male and female?

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gender stereotypes e.g.

• Masculinity
• assertive
• rational
• strong
• active
• competitive
• unemotional
• (culture)

• Femininity
• submissive
• intuitive
• weak
• passive
• cooperative
• emotional
• (nature)

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gender power and inequality?

• not just about differences
• hierarchically organised and valued
• e.g. men and masculinity privileged over women
  and femininity?
• POWER and INEQUALITY?
• (patriarchy discuss further next week)

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Simone de Beauvoir (1949 295)

• One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman
• feminists challenge the idea that biology is
  destiny

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cross-cultural differences

• historical and anthropological studies
• e.g. Margaret Mead (1935)
• - New Guinea
• - three societies Arapesh, Mundugmor and
  Tchambuli
• central role of culture
• social change?

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how is gender socially constructed?

• socialisation (see Oakley 1972)
• gender roles
• lifelong process
• social institutions
• e.g. family, school, work and media

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e.g. family.

• primary socialisation
• parent-child interactions e.g. Adam and Beth
• gendered childrearing practices
• gendered task allocation

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deviate from culturally-specific gender role
expectations? e.g.

• girls tomboys
• boys sissy
• women assertive aggressive?
• men- emotionally expressive?
• gender-neutral childrearing?

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e.g. school

• secondary socialisation
• teacher-pupil interaction and expectations
• reinforce gender-stereotyped roles
• subject - career choices

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summary

• sex (male/female) biological concept
• gender (masculinity/femininity) social and
  cultural interpretation of biological sex
• cross-cultural and historical evidence
• nature v nurture debate

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In other words

• born as human beings (males and females)
• become gendered social beings - masculinity and
  femininity
• lifelong process of socialisation - learn and
  acquire socially and culturally appropriate
  gender roles and gender identities

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lecture tomorrow

• sexual/gender ambiguity intersex/ transsexuals/
  transgender?
• are there masculinities and femininities?
• what about agency (choice) do we play an active
  part is gender something we do?