Culture and GenderCulture and Gender

Part 1

DefinitionsDefinitions Before we get into how culture influences gender

dynamics, it’s important that we attempt to clarify some misconceptions. Let’s start with basic definitions of key terms.

Sex Sex roles Sexual Identity Gender Gender role Gender Identity Gender Stereotypes

Definitions (cont.)Definitions (cont.) Sex - the biological and physiological differences

between men and women. Sex Roles - the behaviors and patterns of activities men

and women may engage in that are directly related to their biological differences.

Sexual Identity - the degree of awareness and recognition of sex and sex roles.

Gender - behaviors or patterns of activities that a society or culture deems appropriate for men and women.

Definitions (cont.)Definitions (cont.) Gender Role - the degree to which a person

adopts the gender-specific behaviors ascribed by his or her culture.

Gender Identity - the degree to which a person has awareness or recognition that he or she adopts a particular gender role.

Gender Stereotypes - the psychological or behavioral characteristics typically associated with men and women.

IIntroductory Commentsntroductory Comments

Who does what? It is clear that men and women perform different

tasks in most cultures. Hence, division of labor between the man and

women, among other things, is said to be culturally determined.

IIntro Comments (cont.)ntro Comments (cont.) A prevalent view regarding gender-linked behavior is that

the qualities cultures associate with masculinity or femininity are not innately male or female.

These are socially construed roles. Sandra Bem is a leading expert on the social

construction of gender roles. Her work on androgyny is particularly noteworthy.

Gender SchemaGender Schema

According to Sandra Bem, our attitudes and behaviors are based on our “gender schema” which she defines as a cognitive network of assumptions about the personalities and moral qualities of men and women.

Gender IdeologiesGender Ideologies

David Gilmore, the author of “Manhood in the Making” (1991), has proposed that we use “gender ideologies” to better understand gender differences.

He sees internalized gender ideologies as the collective representations that pressure men and women into acting in certain ways.

THE IMPACT OF GENDER AND THE IMPACT OF GENDER AND CULTURE TO PSYCHOLOGYCULTURE TO PSYCHOLOGY

Parallels between impact of gender and culture on psychology

Psychological research 30-40 years ago conducted on men which raised questions about whether it was applicable to women

Women were included as participants Research on gender differences

Similar for research on cultural differences

SEX AND GENDER ACROSS SEX AND GENDER ACROSS CULTURESCULTURES

The Relationship between Sex and The Relationship between Sex and Gender across CulturesGender across Cultures

Differences in sex roles exist universally Georgas et al. (2006) study on 27 countries found

that women did most of housework Fathers concerned with finances, expressive

issues, childcare in all countries Mothers concerned with childcare only in less-

affluent countries

Cultures differ in type and differentiation encouraged between sexes; gender, gender roles, gender-role ideologies and gender stereotypes

CULTURE, GENDER ROLES, and CULTURE, GENDER ROLES, and STEREOTYPESSTEREOTYPES

Culture and Gender StereotypesCulture and Gender Stereotypes

Williams and Best (1982) study of 30 countries found high pancultural agreement on adjectives used to describe males and females

In all countries, adjectives associated with men were rated as being stronger and more active

Japan and South African rated male characteristics as more favorable; Italy and Peru rated female characteristics more favorable

Culture and Gender StereotypesCulture and Gender Stereotypes

Follow up studies by Williams and colleagues

These studies show gender stereotypes around the world are stable Men viewed as active, strong, critical,

conscientious, extraverted, and open

Women viewed passive, weak, nurturing, adaptive, agreeable, and neurotic

Culture and Gender StereotypesCulture and Gender Stereotypes

Other studies support William and Best studies examination of how gender stereotypes develop

Many unanswered questions remain

How congruent are behaviors with stereotypes and does this congruence differ across cultures?

Are stereotypes related to important psychological constructs or behaviors?

Culture, Gender-Role Ideology, Culture, Gender-Role Ideology, and Self-Conceptand Self-Concept

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

Williams and Best (1990) study on 14 countries

Highly egalitarian: Netherlands, Germany and Finland

Highly traditional: Nigeria, Pakistan and India

Culture, Gender-Role Ideology, Culture, Gender-Role Ideology, and Self-Conceptand Self-Concept

Gibbons and colleagues (1990) study on adolescents

Adolescents from wealthier and more individualistic countries were less traditional

Gender ideologies may be changing as societies change

Religion may play a role in keeping with traditional gender roles

GENDER DIFFERENCES GENDER DIFFERENCES ACROSS CULTURESACROSS CULTURES

Cross-Cultural Research on GenderCross-Cultural Research on Gender

Culture and Gender Stereotypes Williams and Best (1982)-used the Adjective

Check List where subjects characterized adjectives as male or female characteristics Men are generally viewed as active,

strong, critical, and adult like with needs such as dominance, autonomy, aggression, exhibition, achievement and endurance.

Cross-Cultural Research (cont.)Cross-Cultural Research (cont.)

Women are viewed as passive, weak, nurturing, and adaptive with needs such as abasement, deference, nurturance, affiliation, and heterosexuality.

These researchers are suggesting that their findings support a “psychological universal” when it comes to gender stereotypes.

Cross-Cultural Research (cont.)Cross-Cultural Research (cont.)

Later studies, however, found considerable gender-related cultural differences.

These findings suggest that gender stereotype differentiation tended to be higher in countries that were conservative and hierarchical with low levels of socioeconomic development, Christian affiliation, and proportion of women attending a university.

Hofstede’s StudyHofstede’s Study

Masculinity versus Femininity: degree to which culture will foster, encourage, or maintain differences between males and females Highly masculine: Japan, Austria, Venezuela,

Italy Low masculine: Denmark, Netherlands, Norway,

Sweden

Masculine and feminine cultures differ in sexuality and attitudes toward religion

Perceptual/Spatial/Cognitive Perceptual/Spatial/Cognitive DifferencesDifferences

Common American folklore is that males better at mathematical and spatial reasoning tasks and females better at verbal comprehension tasks

This is not necessarily true for other cultures No gender difference in spatial abilities in Inuit

culture in Canada and Ecuador (women engage in tasks that require spatial abilities)

Males did better in tight, sedentary, and agriculturally based cultures

Females did better in loose, nomadic, and hunting and gathering based cultures

Conformity and ObedienceConformity and Obedience

Common gender-role stereotypes is that females more conforming and obedient than males

This is not necessarily true for other cultures In tighter cultures, females more conformists than

males In looser cultures, less gender difference in

conformity or males more conformists