1. Gender: Sex/Gender and Androgyny

2. Specification checklist:
Sex and Gender.
Sex-role stereotypes.
Androgyny and measuring androgyny including the Bem Sex Role Inventory

3. Activity You are going to be told a story You then need to answer
This should be done confidentially and completely independently
We will then look at the answers and discuss findings.

4. Story
A builder, leaning out of a van, shouts ‘nice legs’ to a nurse cycling by.
The same nurse arrives at work, and casually mentions this to a senior doctor
The doctor said, ‘I’d never say that’.
The doctor has two grown up children who are 22 and 30
They get on very well. One is a sergeant in the army; the other is training to be a hairdresser.
The doctor divorced last year, and is currently dating someone.

5. Answer the following questions…
TRUE
FALSE
DON'T KNOW
1) The builder was driving a van
2) The van was travelling quicker than the nurse
3) There was at least one man in the van
4) Not every man mentioned would shout 'nice-legs' to a passer by
5) The doctor is no longer living with his wife
6) The doctor has a new girlfriend
7) The doctor's son is in the army
8) The youngest child is training to be a hairdresser
9) At some point a man spoke to a woman
10) At least two of the people mentioned are men
11) A woman was shouted at

6. Answers Don’t know 8) Don’t know Don’t know 9) Don’t know

7. Term
Definition
Sex
Gender
Gender role
Gender schema
Gender identity
Gender dysphoria .

8. Term
Definition
Sex
Biological factors – is the child biologically a male or female
Gender
The social and psychological characteristics of males and females (masculine/feminime)
Gender role
Culturally determined male and female behaviours
Gender schema
A means of understanding gender knowledge that changes with environmental experience.
Gender identity
Personal conception of oneself as male or female
Gender dysphoria
When a male or female feels they belong to the wrong gender or are confused about their gender.

9. Sex role stereotypes/gender stereotypes
Gender role:
A set of expectations that dictate how men and women (and girls and boys) should act, think and feel
Where do these stereotypes derive from?
(gender stereotyping in the fashion world)

10. Gender: nature vs. nurture?
Biological psychologists would argue though that any environmental influence may be overridden by more powerful hormonal and chromosomal factors that have a decisive impact upon our bodies, brains, thoughts and behaviour.
Social learning theorists, on the other hand, would argue that social and environmental influences are all-important, otherwise why would we find evidence of different cultures and societies ‘doing’ gender differently in various parts of the world.

11. Research: nature/nurture argument
Read the research on the sheet.
Smith and Lloyd
Infant and child development study (Todd et al)
Rubin
Seavey
Highlight the findings of each study
Evaluate the research (annotate)
Which side of the nature vs. nurture debate does the research support?

12. Rubin et al (1977)
Aim: To find out if new parents stereotype their babies
Method: Parents were asked to describe their new babies within 24 hours of the baby being born
Results/findings: They found that parents of baby boys described their babies as being alert and strong, whereas parents of baby girls described their babies as soft and delicate
Conclusion: Parents stereotype their children from a very early stage despite no stereotypical behaviour being shown. For a lot of parents who know the sex of the baby before birth, this stereotyping behaviour starts before the baby is born by painting a room pink for a girl or blue for a boy

13. Seavey et al (1975)
Aim: To see whether the gender label attached to a baby affected adult responses
Method: A three-month-old infant was dressed in a yellow baby-suit. One third of the participants were told that the infant was male, another third were told that the infant was female, and the other third were not given a gender label. Participants were left to interact with the child for three minutes. Also in the room were some toys: a ball, a rag doll and a plastic ring.
Results: When the baby was labelled as female, participants were more likely to use the doll when playing with the child. When the baby was labelled as male, the plastic ring was chosen most frequently as the plaything. Where no gender was given, the female participants interacted far more with the baby than the males did. In the no-label condition almost all the participants spontaneously decided on a sex for the baby. Their decision was often justified in terms of how the baby was perceived physically (e.g. ‘it’s a boy because he’s got a good grip, it’s a girl because she’s soft’)
Conclusion: Adults will interact differently with infants depending on whether they believe they are male or female

14. Activity 1: Capture Answer the exam questions:
Distinguish between the terms sex and gender (2 marks)
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Describe one study related to sex-role stereotypes (4 marks)

15. Androgyny and the BSRI
Sandra Bem

16. Androgyny
“Androgyny is not trying to manage the relationship between the opposites, it is simply flowing between them”
Dr June Singer (1976)
In psychological terms, androgyny is used to describe a flexible gender role – displaying a balance of both masculine and feminine traits

17. Bring on the ‘70s
Sandra Bem (1974), challenged the traditional concept, suggesting more than just two gender types
She added androgynous to the masculine and feminine identities
Andros = male
Gyne = female
Androgyny
Individuals who display equal levels of masculine and feminine traits/characteristics

18. You will now complete your own BSRI
Sandra Bem (1974)
Bem devised and inventory for measuring gender
BSRI – Bem Sex Role Inventory
This was the first systematic attempt to measure androgyny using a rating scale of 60 traits (20 masculine, 20 feminine and 20 neutral) to produce scores across two dimensions:
masculinity-femininity
androgynous-undifferentiated
You will now complete your own BSRI

19. Androgyny (Bem, 1974)
Masculinity and femininity are independent traits
They are not inevitably linked to sex
A person can score high or low on either or both regardless of their sex
High High
femininity
masculinity
Low Low

20. Activity: BSRI Answer the questions on the BSRI
In the evaluation boxes, create PEEL paragraphs
Complete the essay plan

21. Why did Bem (1974) find that androgynous people were more psychologically healthy?
Bem suggested that androgynous people are more comfortable with who they are compared to those who show more conventionally differentiated male or female traits as there are not expectations forced upon them about how they should behave.
Bem argues that it has been usual in Western culture to encourage boys to inhibit the ‘feminine’ side of their personality and girls may learn to inhibit the ‘masculine’ side of their personality. If this does not happen, then the individual can be viewed as ‘abnormal’ (e.g. effeminate).
An advantage of androgyny is that it allows people to handle situations in flexible ways as appropriate. Also androgynous people are not suppressing themselves just to fit in with sex-role stereotypes.

22. How far does it matter that the BSRI was based on the views of US Americans in the 1970s?
The inventory was based upon what American students assessed as desirable traits for men and women in the 1970s and therefore has limited validity as a measure of masculinity and femininity in all societies at all times – therefore the scale may be lacking in temporal validity
In addition, the scale was devised using a panel of judges who were all from the USA and their notions of ‘maleness’ and femaleness’ may not be shared across all cultures and all societies

23. The BSRI is a quantitative, self-report measure
The BSRI is a quantitative, self-report measure. Does this raise any validity concerns?
A self-report relies on an individual having insight into their personality and behaviour which not everyone has. Respondents may also lie or exaggerate (but answers were given confidentially so this would have reduced this somewhat)
The inventory was tested on over 1,000 students and it produces similar results if repeated with the same sample – it therefore has good test-retest reliability. Quantitative data is easier to analyse and draw comparisons and therefore is more objective
Qualitative research provides rich, valid data that cannot be easily analysed

24. Summary questions Explain the difference between sex and gender
Give an example of feminine behaviour
Give an example of masculine behaviour
Outline what is meant by androgyny
Give two criticisms of the BSRI

25. Raising your child as gender neutral.
Watch the youtube video and answer the questions:
What might be the benefits and potential issues of raising your child as gender-neutral?
To what extent do you agree with the idea that a child gender shapes the kind of person they are?
Raising your children as gender neutral may contribute to a gradual breakdown of gender stereotypes within society.
This may mean that more children (adults?) would be judged on their merits rather than on pre-fixed ideas of what they are ‘capable of’ based on their sex.
That said, raising a child as ‘gender-neutral’ in a sex-typed world does place a significant burden on that child who risks being teased and labelled on the basis of their attitudes and behaviour.