1. Chapter 10 Gender Identity and Gender Roles
For use with text,
Human Sexuality Today,
5th edition.
Bruce M. King
Slides by Callista Lee
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

2. King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall
Becoming a man or woman
Gender identity – your personal sense of self as a man (boy) or a woman (girl).
Gender role – everything you feel, think, say and do that shows to yourself and others that you are a man or a woman.
Gender role stereotypes – oversimplified, rigid beliefs that all members of a sex have distinct behavioral psychological and emotional characteristics.
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

3. Masculine, Feminine or Androgynous?
Our culture have defined masculine and feminine as polar opposites (e.g., m = loud/ aggressive/brave; f = quiet/passive/timid)
The Bem Sex Role Inventory categorizes people as:
Having mostly “masculine” traits
Having mostly “feminine” traits
Having a pretty even mix of each = Androgyny
Not fitting these stereotypes = Undifferentiated
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

4. Biological influences on gender identity
Chromosomal sex + hormonal sex = anatomical sex (genitals, reproductive structures and the brain)
Each ovum (egg) and each sperm has only half of the normal genetic material for a human cell; after conception the zygote contains the full complement of 23 pairs of chromosomes.
The genetic blueprint for females is “XX” and the genetic blueprint for males is “XY.”
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

5. King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall
The role of hormones
During the first 6 weeks of development the embryo is genetically male or female but its anatomy is sex neutral = undifferentiated.
Before sexual differentiation, the embryo contains gonads that can develop into either testes or ovaries, and a set of “male” tissue (Wolffian duct system) and a set of “female” tissue (Mullerian duct system).
External genitalia are “bipotential.”
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

6. Sexual differentiation
Prior to week 7
Differentiation in
progress
Fully differentiated
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

7. Becoming anatomically “normal”
Normally, the Y chromosome initiates changes in the embryo that begin the production of testosterone, which will masculinize the embryo. Without testosterone, the male pathway cannot develop and the organs will feminize.
Male development – gonads > testes; Wolffian ducts > internal male reproductive structures.
Female development – gonads > ovaries; Mullerian ducts > internal female reproductive structures.
External genitalia take on the male form in the presence of testosterone; without it, the female.
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

8. Sexual differentiation of the brain
Sex differences in the brain are small but significant in a few ways. Testosterone appears to play a role.
Gender identity, sexual orientation and some sexual behaviors are governed by small areas of the hypothalamus.
Both animal and human studies continue to shed light on other sex differences in behavior and cognition. In general, we are more the same than different.
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

9. Variations: Intersexed individuals
Prenatal irregularities in either chromosomes or hormones can lead to development of ambiguous genitalia. These individuals are called “intersexuals.”
In the not-so-distant past, doctors were quick to assign a sex based upon what the genitals looked most like or availability of surgery to create more female-looking genitals, but the idea that gender identity may be set in the brain prenatally was not considered.
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

10. King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall
A failed experiment
1960s - It was believed that children were born psychosexually neutral.
A normal boy suffered a circumcision accident that left him without a penis. Psychologist John Money sought to use this child to prove his theory that if a child is raised as a girl, it will develop a female gender identity.
The child never felt female, however, and reclaimed his manhood in adolescence.
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

11. Chromosome variations
1 in 426 people is born with an unusual sex chromosome combination (70 known types).
Klinefelter’s syndrome – XXY or XXXXY
1 in 500 live births.
Tall, long arms, poor muscular development, enlarged breasts and hips, a small penis, shrunken testes and low sexual desire. They are often confused about their gender identity.
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

12. Other chromosome variations
Turner’s syndrome – X0
1 in 2,000-3,000 live births
Ovaries never develop properly > absence of ovarian hormones.
They do not menstruate or develop adult breasts and are usually infertile.
Usually short, and with skeletal abnormalities.
Stella Walsh – some body cells were XX and some were XY. She lived as a woman but had nonfunctional male organs. World class athlete.
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

13. King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall
Hormonal variations
Hermaphroditism – having both male and female reproductive systems due to failure of primitive gonads to differentiate.
1 in 65,000 births; usually genetic females
Often have one ovary and Fallopian tube on one side and one vas deferens and a teste on the other, usually with a uterus in between
Ambiguous external genitalia
2/3 are raised as boys but at puberty develop breasts and begin to menstruate
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

14. Other hormonal variations
Pseudohermaphroditism – having either testes or ovaries (matching the genetic sex) but with either ambiguous genitalia or genitalia of the other sex.
Many have early problems with gender identity but most have a heterosexual orientation as adults.
Hormonal and surgical treatments partially correct the appearance of the genitals.
Adrenogenital syndrome – 1 in 20,000 births; An XX embryo’s adrenal glands secrete too much masculinizing hormone > masculine genitalia.
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

15. Pseudohermaphroditism, cont’d.
Androgen insensitivity syndrome (AGS) – in 20,000 births; XY testes secrete testosterone but embryonic tissues fail to respond. Female internal structures do not develop because the Mullerian duct inhibiting substance is correctly “read” by the embryo. External genitals generally appear very feminine. Testes do not descend.
DHT Deficiency type AGS – 38 boys in the Dominican Republic; 18 raised as girls until puberty and then adopted a male identity; this culture could accept a change from female to male and called them quevote (“penis at twelve”) boys.
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

16. Gender and sex as social constructs
In our culture we are committed to the idea of persons being either male or female; we accept no third sex, anatomically or socially.
Gender is a social construction of femininity and masculinity; differences in temperament and behavior we expect beyond anatomical differences.
Awareness of intersexed individuals helps us see that sex is not dichotomous.
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

17. Gender Identity “Disorder” (GID)
Gender dysphoria – when gender identity does not match anatomical sex; the person feels trapped inside the wrong body.
Awareness often occurs in childhood, with boys outnumbering girls 7:1 prior to adolescence.
Adults with this condition are referred to as transsexuals or transgendered persons. Male-to-female transsexuals outnumber female-to-male transsexuals 2:1. Most are heterosexual in relationship to their gender identity.
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

18. King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall
Transsexualism
Differs from transvestism (cross-dressing for sexual arousal); GID is a gender identity issue.
Causes are not well understood but male-to-female transsexuals have a hypothalamus more similar to a female’s than to a male’s.
Parent-child interactions may also play a role.
Sex reassignment surgery follows a long period of psychotherapy and living as the other sex. Psychotherapy alone does not “cure” GID.
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

19. Psychological theories of gender identity development
Freud’s psychodynamic theory – founded on Victorian ideas of morality and sex roles.
Libido = conscious and unconscious sexual desire
Libido develops as it shifts focus from oral > anal > phallic > latency > genital areas
Problems in libidinal development will manifest in adulthood in a variety of ways
Oedipus complex in boys; Electra Complex and penis envy in girls
Identification with the same sex parent is the ultimate developmental goal
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

20. Social Learning Theory
Operant conditioning – we increase behavior which gets rewarded (reinforced) and we decrease behavior which gets punished.
Boys are reinforced for acting in a masculine manner; girls for acting in a feminine manner.
We also learn our gender roles by imitating models of our own sex.
Do daddies wash dishes?
Do mommies fix the plumbing?
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

21. Cognitive-Developmental Theory
Infants are “information seekers.”
They watch, imitate, and try things out
A need to understand causes children to want to learn about gender.
Gender constancy – understanding that one’s sex will not change despite a change in hairstyle, wardrobe or activity.
Generally acquired by age 6 or 7
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

22. King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall
Gender Role Theories
Evolutionary or sociobiological model – different reproductive pressures lead to different values and behaviors.
Sociocultural model – psychological differences between men and women are a social construction.
If society had identical expectations of men and women, then men and women would act the same
Masculinity is instrumental; Femininity is expressive
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

23. Gender roles cross-culturally
Some cultures do not emphasize differences between boys and girls until they are several years old, with ceremonies for the transition.
Margaret Mead found 3 very different cultures
Tchambuli – men were weak, emotional, artistic and gossipy; women made all the important decisions
Arapesh – both men and women were peaceful, nurturing and cooperative
Mundugamur – men were violent, competitive, sexually aggressive, jealous
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

24. Gender role socialization (1)
Parents who assume “traditional” (stereotypic) gender roles behave differently toward their children of different sexes; fathers especially.
Consider the differences in toys promoted for each sex child.
Children pick up on some social gender role expectations as early as 14 months.
Gender schema – objects are either masculine or feminine (e.g., dogs/masc. and cats/fem.)
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

25. Gender role socialization (2)
Children organize their world according to gender starting at age 2 or 3.
Classroom tasks are often assigned according to stereotypic gender roles.
Textbooks often emphasize the central, dominant role of men and the supporting role of women.
Most religions support the philosophy of male superiority; clergy are most often male as well.
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

26. Gender role socialization (3)
By age 4, children know stereotypes about clothing, toys, games, work and occupations.
Even Sesame street promotes stereotypes.
Peer pressure among teens supports traditional stereotypical gender roles.
Fathers who assume child-rearing responsibilities learn new intimacy skills.
Children raised in single-parent homes are more likely to be psychologically androgynous.
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

27. Gender roles in adulthood
Gender differences are a product of physical differences which are then influenced by social factors resulting in a great diversity between individuals of each sex.
Adult gender roles are in transition today; more egalitarian relationships and androgyny.
Fatherhood > more nurturing abilities
Women working outside the home > more assertiveness and independence
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

28. Gender roles and sexual behaviors
Women appear to have a milder sex drive than men, but is it biological, social or bits of both?
Men tend to have more permissive attitudes about sex than do women.
Women want physically attractive mates, but its even more important to men.
Women with egalitarian gender role attributes have more partners than do traditional women.
Women often seek emotional intimacy in sex.
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

29. Cross-cultural perspectives
Native American two-spirits – men who assume the dress, behaviors and occupations of females. They were admired for their skills and ability to act as a go-between for men and women.
Samoan Fa’afafine – cross-dressing men who play a female role in society. Sex between a man and a fa’afafine is considered heterosexual.
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

30. Socio-cultural theories of gender role development
The home used to be the center of all educational, economic and social activities of the family where both men and women shared in all aspects of family life.
With industrialization (early 1800s) men began to earn their livings away from the home; economic activities of men and women split.
Home became an idealized place of peace and affection in contrast to the business world.
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

31. King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall
The “New Woman”
Late 1800s – social changes allowed for single, economically independent and highly educated women who did not believe they should have to become dependent on a man in order to be feminine.
Responses –
Antifeminism; return women to the home
Pro-man; segregate boys to preserve masculinity
Pro-feminist; promotion of equality between the sexes
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall

32. King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall
Gender roles today
Gender role strain perspective – the problem with gender roles is that early socialization is contradictory to adult life experiences.
Multiple roles for women and men are beneficial for mental, physical and relationship health.
Both men and women will respond to the demands of their responsibilities, in the home and in the workplace by learning new skills.
King, Human Sexuality Today, 5/e © 2005 by Prentice Hall