gender issues
kristha 's List: Gender roles
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GENDER AND SOCIETY
"Men have always been afraid that women could get along without them."
--Margaret Mead In addition to age, gender is one of the universal dimensions on which status differences are based. Unlike sex, which is a biological concept, gender is a social construct specifying the socially and culturally prescribed roles that men and women are to follow. According to Gerda Lerner in The Creation of Patriarchy, gender is the "costume, a mask, a straitjacket in which men and women dance their unequal dance" (p.238). As Alan Wolfe observed in "The Gender Question" (The New Republic, June 6:27-34), "of all the ways that one group has systematically mistreated another, none is more deeply rooted than the way men have subordinated women. All other discriminations pale by contrast." Lerner argues that the subordination of women preceded all other subordinations and that to rid ourselves of all of those other "isms"--racism, classism, ageism, etc.--it is sexism that must first be eradicated. For some specifics, see B. Deutsch's "The Male Privilege Checklist" and Nijole Benokraitis & Joe Feagin's "Overt/Subtle/Covert Sex Discrimination: An Overview."
Women have always had lower status than men, but the extent of the gap between the sexes varies across cultures and time (some arguing that it is inversely related to social evolution). In 1980, the United Nations summed up the burden of this inequality: Women, who comprise half the world's population, do two thirds of the world's work, earn one tenth of the world's income and own one hundredth of the world's property. In Leviticus, God told Moses that a man is worth 50 sheikels and a woman worth 30--approximately the contemporary salary differentials of the sexes in the United States. (Actually, according to one "Current Population Survey" of the US Census Bureau, American women in 1999 earned approximately 77% of what men made, in 2000, according to the Department of Labor, their median weekly earnings were 76% of the male median.) What might be the socio-cultural implications if men were to also be the child bearers? Follow the first human male pregnancy (well, not really) at www.malepregnancy.com.
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Sex Discrimination
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Our language and society reflect one another, so it is important for us as communicators to recognize and respect change in the meaning and acceptability of words. Concern about the use of sexist language is part of our increased awareness that the perceived meanings of some words have changed in response to the changing roles of men and women in our society. For example, girl once meant a young person of either sex, while youth indicated only a young man. Now, girl applies only to young female persons, while youth can refer to young persons of either sex. Just as you would not use girl with its outdated meaning, you should not use other words connoting gender that do not accurately represent the people behind them.
If you write with nonsexist language, you write to represent with fairness the gender identified in many words. Gender-fair language minimizes unnecessary concern about gender in your subject matter, allowing both you and your reader to focus on what people do rather than on which sex they happen to be. For example, the practice of using he and man as generic terms poses a common problem. Rather than presenting a general picture of reality, he and man used generically can mislead your audience. Research by Wendy Martyna has shown that the average reader's tendency is to imagine a male when reading he or man, even if the rest of the passage is gender-neutral. Therefore, you cannot be sure that your reader will see the woman on the job if you refer to every technician as he, or that your reader will see the woman in the history of man. On the other hand, replacing every he with he or she attracts even more attention to gender and defeats your purpose. This predicament merits special attention in scientific and technical writing, where any ambiguity is unacceptable.
Below are some examples of how you can revise the most common sexist usages of he and man.
PROBLEM: By using either he, his, or him as a generic pronoun when the referent's gender is unknown or irrelevant, the writer misrepresents the species as male.
Solution 1: Write the sentence without pronouns. Try to avoid conditional structures, generally introduced by "if" or "when," which often require the use of pronouns.
Original: If the researcher is the principal investigator, he should place an asterisk after his name.
Gender-fair: Place an asterisk after the name of the principal investigator.
Solution 2: Use gender-specific pronouns only to identify a specific gender or a specific person.
Original: Repeat the question for each subject so that he understands it.
Gender-fair: Repeat the question for each male subject so that he fully understands it.
Solution 3: Use plural nouns and pronouns if they do not change the meaning of the sentence.
Original: Repeat the question for each subject so that he understands it.
Gender-fair: Repeat the question for all subjects so that they understand it.
Solution 4: Use a first- or second-person perspective. Notice in the table below that only the third-person singular is marked for gender.
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Girls' self-esteem - it's the hot topic for the new century. Study after study has shown that as girls reach adolescence, their brave, forthright child selves often disappear, to be replaced by young women who are unsure of themselves and who hesitate to take the lead.
Here is a list of books designed to help girls build and maintain their self-esteem, from small publishers in the U.S. and Canada. Why only small publishers? Small publishers are not just "small" -- they often are committed to making the world a better place and are often more willing to take risks than big publishing conglomerates. Many of the small publishers on this list are dedicated to publishing empowering books for girls and women, or multicultural books, or books that encourage self-reliance and cooperation. Yet small publishers' books tend to get overlooked in the glare of publicity put out by the major firms. This list helps readers identify these little-known treasures.
These books were chosen not only for their positive messages, but also for their engaging, high-quality writing. Boys should be encouraged to read these books too, to see strong girls and women in action.
If you choose not to buy the books from this site, ask for them at any library or bookstore, especially women's bookstores and independent bookstores.
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girls and boys stereotypes
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Are you looking for good books that help children to break through gender stereotypes and be true to themselves?
This bookstore allows you to buy from the complete Brave Girls and Strong Women book list of over 80 exciting, empowering books for young people ages 2-17, all from small publishers dedicated to creating a world of equality. Most of these wonderful treasures are hard to find in bookstores and libraries, but now you can buy them easily.
Many of these books are multicultural as well! We have folktales, fiction and nonfiction about a wide range of cultures, including African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic-American, Native American, and more!
There's also a list of books for adults about how to raise strong, confident girls.
Boys suffer from gender stereotypes, too. While girls might stifle their opinions in order to be socially acceptable, boys tend to stifle their emotions. See Helping Boys Break Out of Gender Stereotypes to find books that help boys with this issue.
These books can help girls and boys develop a healthy self-esteem by showing them that they do not need to be limited by gender expectations.
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Join Girl Power! Girls At Work by putting your ideas and thoughts about this Web site on the form below. When you're done, just click the "SEND IT NOW!" button at the end. Or, you can click on "file" and then "print" and then write out your ideas. Send your suggestions by mail to this address:
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Depression is one of the most prevalent psychological disorders. Depression can be caused by several factors, including interpersonal relationships. Interpersonal relationships are the relationship between individuals and the reactions and emotions of each individual expressed directly and discreetly to each other. Common interpersonal relationships include (a) within the family, such as between the parents and between parents and children; (b) the social environment where differences in ethnicity and social class come into play; and (c) interactions between genders across age groups for both females and males
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Martial distress can also be caused by the impact of having a child. When a woman is pregnant, she can experience a whole range of emotions due to the changing of interpersonal relationship with husband and the building of a new relationship with the unborn child. For example, the building of a new interpersonal relationship with the child can be very tasking and become a major stressful life event that can cause a mood disorder to develop (O'Hara, Lewis, Schlechte, & Varner, 1991).
Aside from the martial distresses of spouses, the impact of depressed parents can have an effect on their children as well. In a study on the relation between depressed adolescences and depressed mothers (Hammen & Brennan, 2001), they found that the depressed children of depressed mothers had more negative interpersonal behavior as compared with depressed children of non-depressed mothers. This is reinforced when a study (Chen & Rubin, 1995) shows that the parents of depressed children are less warm and caring and more hostile than parents of non-depressed children. Because of this negative interpersonal relation between kids and their parents, children can develop a negative view of their family. This negative view can lead to the feeling of lack of control and having a high risk of conflict, rejection, and low self-esteem (Asarnow, Carlson, & Guthrie, 1987).
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The recent proliferation of material about gender and culture is evident to all, and readers should be alert to new and significant works as they appear. This highly selected list of readings includes monographs, articles, curriculum guides, and reference tools representing various standpoints from which to consider these topics. Most are from the last few years and represent some of the latest thinking on issues of critical concern to our society. Many take a broad scope while others focus on much narrower topics within the area of youth literature.
Those articles available online are hot linked, although some are items in Vandergrift's Cyberlibrary which is a restricted, password protected site.
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gender and culture backgorund
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list of feminist websites
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SOCIAL ATTITUDES
TOWARDS WOMENThe situation of women in Western society has always
been fraught with ambiguity. The writings of innu-
merable authors in a variety of fields attest to the
existence of the problem, although there is by no means
agreement concerning the nature of the problem.
Adherents of the “eternal feminine” mystique accept
as normative the feminine stereotypes of our culture,
according to which a “true woman” does not achieve
self-actualization through intellectual creativity and
participation in political, economic, and social life on
a level equal to that of men. Rather, according to this
view, her destiny lies in generic fulfillment through
motherhood, physical or spiritual, and in being a help-
mate to her husband. Opposition to this position is
strong. Radically opposed to the idea that the feminine
stereotype is “natural” are the findings of anthropol-
ogy, which suggest that “many, if not all, of the per-
sonality traits that we have called masculine or femi-
nine are as lightly linked to sex, as are the clothing,
the manners, and the form of head-dress that a society
at a given period assigns to sex” (Mead [1935], p. 279).
Recent research in experimental psychology also tends
to refute the idea that the cluster of qualities expressed
by the “eternal feminine” stereotype are innate and
peculiar to women (Maccoby, 1963 and 1966). A
growing number of authors argue that the charac-
teristics of the “eternal feminine” are opposed to those
of a developing, authentic person, who must be unique,
self-critical, active, and searching (De Beauvoir, 1949;
Jeannière, 1964; Daly, 1968). Modern feminists argue
that the biological burdens associated with maternity
and the restrictions imposed by cultural conditioning
have held women back from the attainment of full
human stature. They note with irony that the com-
pensation offered by society to women for acceptance
of the restrictions which it has imposed upon them in
the political, economic, social, educational, and moral
spheres has been imprisonment upon a pedestal.-
social attitudes towards women
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Add Sticky NoteGender, Body and the Sacred:
Heterosexual Hegemony as a Sacred Order-
gender, body ....
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Feb 27, 08
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Add Sticky Note
Geena Davis (pictured at right) was watching preschool TV shows and children's videos with her two-year-old daughter when she began to wonder: where were the girls? Where were the animated girl mice, the girl ninjas, the girl puppy dogs? Boy rodents, canines and martial artists seemed to dominate every frame and animated cell, but only an occasional female came popping in for comic or gratuitous effect.
For an actress who had galvanized women with Thelma and Louise and A League of their Own, and was soon to change the course of television history as the first female president of the United States (Commander in Chief), "Where are the girls?" was a question that needed to be answered.
"I mentioned it to a studio head whose movies were largely family fare," Davis told me in Los Angeles. "I said, 'Have you ever noticed that in kids' programs there are fewer female characters than male?' and he said, 'No no, not US! We're all over this issue!'"
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sexist stereotypes pervade childrens media.
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"What he meant," Davis said, "was this: 'We have ONE female in our movie; we make sure we have one female that everyone can approve of.' I realized then that if we were going to address this question seriously, we needed facts. We needed data."
So Davis set out to get them. She started her own non-profit, and over the course of the next three years, with the help of USC Annenberg School of Journalism professor Stacy Smith, Davis began research to assess portrayals of males and females in children's media. On January 30 and 31, 2008, at the University of Southern California, under the auspices of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender and Children in the Media (GDIDM) she presented the findings at a forum for studio heads, writers, educators and students
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Add Sticky NoteAs the contest for a Democratic presidential nominee enters its final stages, the feminist dilemma has become palpable and painful. My inbox has been filled with passionate and provocative pieces from Katha Pollitt, Frances Kissling, Caroline Kennedy and Feminists for Peace and Barack Obama, all explaining why they are not supporting Hillary Clinton. Equally strong commentary in support of Clinton, and dismissing Obama, has arrived from Gloria Steinem, Robin Morgan, Ellie Smeal and Ellen Malcolm. All decry the misogyny evident in media coverage of the candidates and grapple -- with varying degrees of success -- with race and gender conflict. Clinton fans mention in passing that Hillary has been an international voice for women's rights.
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Power of race and gender
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As a feminist whose daily work focuses on the challenges facing women outside the United States -- particularly those living in poverty, in war zones and under extreme patriarchal control -- I think these conversations have a surreal quality. They are surreal because they are so perfectly American in their insularity. What is alarmingly absent from our conversations and arguments, even as they allude to race and gender, is any sense of how our decisions affect the well-being of people across the planet -- not least the status of women, 51 percent of us, who are being treated with appalling brutality around the globe.
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Where Do Gender Roles Come From?
A person's sexuality comes from within him or her, making a person heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, or asexual, depending on the partners he or she is(or is not) attracted to. Unlike sexuality, however, gender roles are imposedfrom without, through a variety of social influences. Formed during the socialization phases of childhood and adolescence, gender role issues influence people throughout their lives; conflict can arise when some one does not feelat ease with his or her gender role.
The first and one of the strongest influences on a person's perceived genderrole is his or her parents. Parents are our first teachers--not only of suchbasic skills as talking and walking, but also of attitudes and behavior. Someparents still hold traditional definitions of maleness and femaleness and what kind of activities are appropriate for each.
Parents start early in treating their baby boys and baby girls differently. Although baby boys are more likely to die in infancy than girls, and are actually more fragile as infants than girls are, studies have shown that parents tend to respond more quickly to an infant daughter's cries than they are to those of an infant son. Parents also tend to cuddle girls more than they do boys. They are also more likely to allow boys to try new things and activities--such as learning to walk and explore--than they are girls; parents tend to fear more for the safety of girls.
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INTRODUCTION
Children learn at a very early age what it means to be a boy or a girl in our society. Through myriad activities, opportunities, encouragements, discouragements, overt behaviors, covert suggestions, and various forms of guidance, children experience the process of gender role socialization. It is difficult for a child to grow to adulthood without experiencing some form of gender bias or stereotyping, whether it be the expectation that boys are better than girls at math or the idea that only females can nurture children. As children grow and develop, the gender stereotypes they are exposed to at home are reinforced by other elements in their environment and are thus perpetuated throughout childhood and on into adolescence (Martin, Wood, & Little, 1990).
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in HealthA child's burgeoning sense of self, or self-concept, is a result of the multitude of ideas, attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs to which he or she is exposed. The information that surrounds the child and which is internalized comes to the child within the family arena through parent-child interactions, role modeling, reinforcement for desired behaviors, and parental approval or disapproval (Santrock, 1994). As children move into the larger world of friends and school, many of their ideas and beliefs are reinforced by those around them. A further reinforcement of acceptable and appropriate behavior is shown to children through the media, in particular, television. Through all these socialization agents, children learn gender stereotyped behavior. As children develop, these stereotypes become firmly entrenched beliefs and thus, are a part of the child's self-concept. Figure 1 illustrates some of the factors involved in parental influence on a child's self concep
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- Children between the ages of 2 and 11 watch over 20,000 television ads per year--between 150 and 200 hours (Schneider, 1989).
- Gender bias favors boys over girls in ads. Girls are more likely to show an interest in boys' products than boys in girls' products (Hume, 1993).
- Advertisers favor using boys, even in commercials where gender neutral products are featured. Either boys and girls are used together or only boys are shown (Smith, 1994).
- Commercials with boy models only were found to feature more away from home settings.
- Commercials with girl models only were more likely to be set in the home.
- Only boys were shown in anti-social behavior.
- Girls in commercials show only socially acceptable behavior.
- Boys are shown using more products and in different activities.
- Hume, S. "Fast food caught in the middle: But chains can lean to boy-oriented promos," Advertising Age, Feb. 8, 1993, pp. S12, S22.
- Schneider, C. Children’s television: How it works and its influence on children. Lincolnwood, IL: NTC Business Books, 1989.
- Smith, Lois J. "A content analysis of gender differences in children’s advertising," Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media. Spring, 1994, p. 323.
Children's Advertising And Gender Roles
Did you know?Children learn about their role in the world from a great many teachers. One of the most powerful teachers is the media, especially television. Television provides children with a wealth of opportunity to observe social behaviors and gender roles. For example, how boys behave, how girls behave, what toys to play with, what to wear, games to play, what to eat, etc.
In studies of preschool children up to age 4 there was little regard on the child’s part as to the gender of the child in the advertising. Once children are settled into awareness of their own gender, they are more likely to identify with the model in the commercial and copy behaviors. Given the tremendous number of commercials aimed at children, any stereotyping of gender behaviors can have a tremendous impact on a child’s view of him/herself and what she or he is capable of.
Some typical gender role stereotypes that can be found in commercials aimed at children are:
There has been a change from past commercials in that girls are engaged in active and passive activities. In the past, girls were shown only in passive activities.
The most common activity for both girls and boys in commercials is playing with toys or dolls. For girls the next most common activity in commercials is tied between physical activities and passive activities. For boys the second most common scenario is tied between physical activities and activities usually involving eating or drinking.
Sources
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GENDER ROLES OF CHILDREN
Children are “socialized into a highly gendered-stereotyped culture of computer (in which) computer games and educational programs reflect gender biases and stereotypes.” (Martin 1998) The themes of these games emphasize action, adventure, violence, sports and competition, almost always painting an exaggerated image of “gender stereotypes of macho, dominant males and submissive or sexual females.” (Martin 1998) With images such as these being shown to young children of both genders, how does this urge a sense of equality among the sexes? How are children supposed to know the difference between reality and fantasy when they are playing hours of Mortal Combat a day, watching nothing but gory battles and scantily clad females? Are these recreational tools going to diffuse the patriarchy that rules over our society, or are they taking part in promoting it?
Superman graphic used with permission from JOSE@FXSTATION.COM
Jen graphic used with permission from FIASCO@MAIL.LM.COM
Gender Roles in Cyberspace How Does Cyberspace Affect Gender Roles
in the American Family?Who's Using the Internet? Do You Speak my Language? Gender Specific Communication References
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