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Chapter 6: Understanding Gender

Instructor Resources

Objectives

• Describe what gender is and be able to distinguish it from other related concepts.

• Understand the ways we “do” gender in society.

• Describe the influences on gender roles and how we can move beyond gender stereotypes.

• Identify ways that gender shapes and is shaped by our communication and relationships

Discussion Questions

1. What’s one of the earliest gender roles your mother or father taught you?

• We learn early on from our parents about what gender roles girls and boys should

enact. Have students recall early memories about things their parents told them

2. What kinds of toys did your parents buy for you? Were these toys gender neutral or

did they fulfill gender role expectations?

• Discuss with students the idea that toys can be (and usually are) an early socializing

agent in terms of how girls and boys should enact their gender. Girls may talk about

3. What gender roles were imposed upon you by your peers and your school? Were there

particular places and spaces in your school that reinforced gender binaries?

• Institutions such as schools are great sites for witnessing gender binaries, where

4. How has your understanding of your gender changed, if at all, as you’ve grown older?

Do you continue to adhere to the gender socialization of your youth? What has

changed? What has stayed the same?

5. In what ways has your gender shaped your career aspirations and choices?

6. What are some of the ways you perform or “do” your gender?

• West and Zimmerman note that gender is performative in the sense that how we act

is often tied to whether we are male or female. Have students look around the room

and take note of how males and females may act differently. For example, have

wider variety of terms to explain the color blue, for example.

7. What are some of the challenges that may still exist for a person who is

transgendered? Are there different challenges that exist at school? At work? At home?

8. What kinds of pressures do women face today compared to women a decade ago? Do

young men face similar pressures that didn’t exist years ago?

9. What is benevolent sexism? In what ways have you or someone you know been on

the receiving end of benevolent sexism? How is benevolent sexism a problem?

• Start by explaining that benevolent sexism is often seen as harmless flattery or a

compliment, yet the compliment itself often implies that women are weak and

10. How have your own ideas about gender changed from reading Chapter 6? What do

you think is the most important thing for people to know about gender and gender

identity?

Think Pair Share

Think Pair Share prompts support the active engagement of students in the learning

experience. The prompts can be particularly useful in punctuating a lecture

presentation of chapter concepts.

1. Think of children you know today. How are they being socialized into their genders?

Is this socialization similar or different to your own experience with gender

socialization?

2. How do you see “gender” differing from “sex” and “sexuality”?

3. How do we best support nonbinary and gender-diverse individuals?

4. Why is it important to pay attention to pronoun use and how we address various

individuals?

5. Can men wear women’s clothing and can women wear men’s clothing? Is it more

permissible for one than the other?

6. What are some behaviors that you’ve witnessed that are permissible for men but not

for women? What behaviors are permissible for women but for not men?

7. What sports do you watch? In what ways might the types of sports you watch be tied

to gender expectations?

8. What are some ways we can fight against gender stereotypes?

9. Do you agree with the research that verbal communication among men and women is

more similar than different? Can you think of ways that men and women talk

differently? For example, what are some words that only women typically use? Words

only men use? Explain your answer.

Journal Prompts

1. What does it mean to say that we learn how to be boys and girls, men and women

through gender socialization? Give examples to support your claims.

2. What are some expectations our society has for men in terms of “doing” their gender?

What kinds of pressure do these expectations impose on men? How do our

expectations for women differ from those we have for men?

3. What are some gender stereotypes you have encountered in your life? Where did you

encounter these stereotypes? How did you respond to them? Would you respond

differently now that you’ve read the chapter?

4. What barriers do women face that may keep them from succeeding in business? Do

these barriers exist in the same ways for men? How are these barriers related to

dominant ideologies about women and men, femininity and masculinity?

5. Describe an instance where you believe society has achieved gender equality. How

does gender equality still need to be achieved?

6. How might gender stereotypes portrayed in popular culture (e.g., movies, advertising,

etc.) shape a person’s gender identity? Give examples to support your claims.

7. Complete the Self-Quiz: “Test Your Sexism” on LaunchPad. How did you rate on the

hostile sexism scale? How did you rate on the benevolent sexism scale? Do your

results surprise you at all? Why?

8. Why is it important to recognize nonbinary categories for gender? How does moving

away from binary ways of thinking help us interpret and understand others better?

9. How are schools handling the move away from gender polarization? Are schools

doing things right? How can schools do a better job teaching gender diversity?

10. How can parents encourage healthy gender development in boys and girls? How can

parents best support gender conforming and gender-nonconforming children?

Experiential Activities

Exercise: Examining Gender Binaries

Objective: To identify gender binaries and examine how our gender identity is socially

constructed.

• Divide students into small groups and ask them to write down (list) what it means to

be “male” and “female,” “masculine and “feminine.”

• Give small groups 10 to 15 minutes to discuss and list these components.

• Have everyone come together and share their ideas. Use the following questions to

guide discussion:

• Did everyone share similar ideas regarding being male and female? Were

there any disagreements?

• Did everyone share similar ideas regarding what it means to be masculine

and feminine? Were there any disagreements?

• Were there any differences among you regarding how you think about sex

and gender based on your cultural upbringing? For example, how might your

age, race, socioeconomic status, or religious identity shape your beliefs

about what it means to be male or female, masculine or feminine?

• What has been your experience with genderqueer or gender fluid peers?

How might the lists we’ve created about what it means to be male and

female, masculine and feminine shape their experiences in the world?

• In what ways can we rethink these gender binaries to be more inclusive of

others?

Exercise: Exploring Gender in the Media

Objective: To explore the role media play in shaping our values and beliefs about gender.

a. Have students skim through the pages of two magazines, one aimed at male readers and

one aimed at female readers. Examples of magazines for women may include Good

Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, Woman’s Day, Vogue, In Style, Bazaar, Marie Claire, and

Red Book. Magazines for men might include: Men’s Health, GQ, Esquire, Men’s

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Fitness, Maxim, and Forum.

b. Ask students to make a list of the values being promoted in each of these magazines.

Direct students to make observations from each of the magazines using the following

guide:

• What values are being promoted regarding gender in both magazines?

• Are there similarities in values across both types of magazines? Are there

different values being promoted?

• How are women portrayed in these magazines versus how men are portrayed?

Are these portrayals more similar or different?

• What other observations can you make about gender as it is represented in

these magazines? What are the primary topics in each? What issues, ideas, and

behaviors are promoted? Are these representations more similar or different

across both magazines?

c. Have students bring their observations to class and discuss their findings with the larger

group.

Exercise: Examining Gender Stereotypes

Objective: To explore the various stereotypes that exist for women and men.

a. Have students compete the Gender Perception Worksheet. This is also a nice ice-

breaker activity that can be done anytime you wish for students to get to know one

another better. Students will be required to move around the room and ask students

their names (if they do not already know one another well).

b. Once they have completed their forms, have students come together as a larger group

and discuss what they have found. Discuss their perceptions and ask why they choose

certain students for the various statements. Make sure to discuss gender stereotypes

and how these might factor into their answers.

Gender Perception Worksheet

For each statement, write in the name of one of your classmates who you believe has

participated or would participate in the following activities. Try to use everyone’s name at

least once.

2. Has hunted deer

4. Played a varsity sport in high school

6. Is a good cook

8. Knows how to French braid

10. Has rode a motorcycle

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11. Likes to work with his or her hands

12. Would like to have a large family

14. Had a lawn mowing job

16. Knows how to sew

18. Held a babysitting job

20. Has a messy bedroom

22. Is a great driver

24. Has shot a gun

26. Has gotten in a fight

28. Has cried extensively in public

30. Played with Barbie dolls

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Exercise: Learning About LGBTQ+ Individuals

Objective: To understand and appreciate the different types of gender identities that exist for

the LGBTQ+ community.

a. Have students fill out the “Key Terms: LGBTQ+” worksheet. This activity can be

done before or after reading Chapter 6: Understanding Gender.

b. After students have completed the worksheet, provide them with the correct answers

to assess students’ understanding of the various gender identities.

Correct Answers:

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Key Terms: LGBTQ+

Match each term on the left with its corresponding definition on the right.

1. Gay ______

2. Lesbian ______

3. Bisexual ______

4. Queer ______

5. Questioning ______

6. Transgender ______

7. Transsexual ______

8. Cross Dresser ______

9. Intersex ______

10. Genderqueer ______

11. Ally ______

a. A person who has changed, or is in the process of changing,

his or her physical sex to conform to his or her internal

sense of gender identity.

b. A person who identifies as a gender other than “man” or

“woman,” or someone who identifies as neither, both, or

some combination thereof.

c. A person who is a member of the dominant or majority

group who works to end oppression in his or her personal

and professional life through support of, and as an advocate

for, the oppressed population.

d. A term or period where individuals re-assess (however

privately or openly) the orientation/identity that they have

either asserted for themselves, or been brought up as.

e. A woman whose enduring physical, romantic, emotional

and/or spiritual attraction is to other women.

f. An individual who is physically, romantically, emotionally,

and/or spiritually attracted to men and women. These people

need not have had equal sexual experience with both men

and women; in fact, they need not have had any sexual

experience at all to identify this way.

g. An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or

gender expression differs from the sex they were assigned at

birth.

h. Describing a person whose biological sex is ambiguous.

i. People who wear the clothing and/or accouterments that are

considered by society to correspond to the “opposite sex.”

j. The adjective used to describe people whose enduring

physical, romantic, emotional, and/or spiritual attractions

are to people of the same sex— though in contemporary

contexts, the term is more commonly used to describe men.

k. Traditionally a pejorative term, it has been appropriated by

some LGBTQ+ people to describe themselves. Some value

the term for its defiance and because it can be inclusive of

the entire LGBTQ+ community.

Informed by the LGBT Resource Center at https://lgbtrc.usc.edu/education/activities

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Exercise: “Doing Gender”

Objective: To examine the various ways that we perform or “do” our gender.

a. Have students spend 30 minutes observing people in public spaces. Direct students to

observe both males and females. Students should take notes about what they are seeing,

hearing, and feeling.

b. Using their notes, have students answer the following questions:

• What were the processes by which different groups performed gender?

• How did you experience women (females) performing gender?

• How did you experience men (males) performing gender?

• Did you experience gender performances that did not adhere to the norms of

male and female? If so, explain.

c. Ask students to bring in their observation notes and answers to the above questions and

share them with the class.

d. Spend some time talking about gender performances and how students felt about

conforming and nonconforming gender performances. Were there some performances

that were more acceptable than others for males and females? Have students explain

their answers.

e. Finally, have students discuss how their own gender socialization has shaped their

feelings about conforming and nonconforming gender performances.

Video Recommendations

Killing Us Softly Series (1979–2010, 30–60 minutes). This documentary series is based on

Jean Kilbourne’s work on gender stereotypes in advertising and the effects these have on

women’s and girls’ self-esteem and identity. There are four films in the series: “Killing Us

Softly” (1979), “Still Killing Us Softly” (1987), “Killing Us Softly III” (2000), and “Killing

Us Softly IV” (2010).

Tough Guise (1999), Tough Guise 2 (2013). These documentary films explore images of

masculinity in American popular culture. Jackson Katz, scholar and social activist, created

and narrates this documentary. He argues that there is an epidemic of violent masculinity in

America, which is rooted in deep ideologies about what it means to be a man. This manhood

is often attached to toughness and violence. Tough Guise 2 was released in 2013 and

examines more contemporary examples of violent masculinity in the media.

Wonder Woman (2017, 141 minutes). Diana (Gal Gadot), also known as Wonder Woman,

leaves her home in a beautiful paradise in the Amazon to fight against evil forces set against

the backdrop of World War I. This film provides a deeper look at gender stereotypes and

what it means to be female, yet it breaks with stereotypical gender expectations with the main

character Wonder Woman who is beautiful, self-confident, and fully able to take care of

herself rather than needing protection or rescuing.

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Hidden Figures (2016, 127 minutes). This film is based on the true story of a team of

African American women who served as mathematicians for NASA during the early years of

the space program. These women crossed both racial and gender lines during a time when

African Americans were openly segregated and discriminated against, and women were

thought best to be stay-at-home mothers. The film explores gender and racial stereotypes,

hostile and benevolent sexism, and offers insight into how men and women are expected to

perform or “do” gender.

Dallas Buyers Club (2013, 116 minutes). Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) is an

AIDS patient who is diagnosed in the mid-1980s during a time that HIV/AIDS was not well

understood or researched. The main character spends his time “working around the system”

to bring AIDS patients the medication they need when that medication isn’t available through

regular medical institutions. This film explores issues of gender, sexual orientation, and

gender conformity and nonconformity. Specifically, the film explores the deep

misunderstandings about who can and cannot get HIV/AIDS.

3 Generations (2017, 92 minutes). This film follows three generations of family members

living under one roof; there’s Ray (Elle Fanning); his single mother, Maggie (Naomi

Watts),;and his lesbian grandmother, Dolly (Susan Sarandon). Ray was born a girl but knows

that he is really a boy. Ray begins hormone replacement therapy as a teenager and must track

down his biological father to get permission to make the full transition from a girl to a boy.

The movie makes real the challenges faced by transgendered individuals and offers insight

into how we can learn about and accept those who do not conform to gender binaries.

Web Resources

Gender Spectrum

https://www.genderspectrum.org/resources/

This site offers resources to individuals, families, and work organizations to help create

gender-inclusive environments. The primary goal is to promote gender understanding and to

provide resources in a variety of contexts to include legal, medical, social services,

faith/spiritual, education, and parenting and family.

National Geographic’s Gender Revolution

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/01/

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/gender-revolution-a-journey-with-katie-couric/

This website offers various resources related to the changing landscape of gender and how we

think about being male and female in today’s society. This site offers access to the National

Geographic’s January 2017 Special Issue on Gender, discussion guides for teachers and

parents, as well as links to videos and contemporary research on how science is helping us

better understand gender and its social construction.

Understanding Benevolent Sexism

https://www.facebook.com/benevolentsexism/

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This Facebook page is maintained by Dr. Peter Glick and is meant as a useful resource for

understanding all the ways that benevolent sexism occurs in our society.

Gender and Family Project, Ackerman Institute for the Family

www.ackerman.org/gfp

This website is produced by the Ackerman Institute for the Family and offers resources to

help youth, families, and communities understand, embrace, and create safe spaces for gender

nonconforming youth.

Rainbow Youth Alliance

www.rainbowyouthalliancemd.org

Rainbow Youth Alliance (RYA) provides support for LGBTQ youth. Their services include

adult-facilitated, peer-to-peer support groups and other community events to help create safe,

nurturing environments for the community of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex,

queer, and questioning teens and their allies.

Gender Odyssey

http://www.genderodyssey.org

Gender Odyssey is an international conference created to support and bring awareness to

transgender and gender diverse children, their families, educators, researchers, and other

professionals.

“This Isn’t an Act!” The Sociology of Gender Performances

http://sociologyinfocus.com/2015/04/this-isnt-an–act-the-sociology-of-gender-performances/

This article highlights the performative act of “doing gender.” The author offers insight into

how we must disentangle gender from sex, and become aware that even if our gender

performance feels comfortable and automatic, it doesn’t mean it’s natural.

How We “Do Gender”

http://sociologyinfocus.com/2013/05/performing-gender/

This short article explores the concept of performing our gender and how gender

performances are “policed” through social means. Any deviation from appropriate gender

displays can (and often is) met with stigmatizing behavior or punishment.

What Does It Mean to be a Good Girl?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-705535d7-11fc-4065-848f-9e2e5d47d1d5

This site follows six teenage girls from all over the world, from Siberia to Syria, as they talk

about what their lives are “really like,” and what it means to be a “good girl” in their culture.

What Does It Mean to Be “A Real Man”?

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behaviors. The article explores the “mask” that men so often must wear to hide their true

selves. Questions for student discussion are also provided.

Gender: Early Socialization

http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/gender-early-socialization/according-experts/role-

schools-early-socialization-gender-differences

This article examines schools as a primary socializing agent where teachers and peers

influence our understanding of gender roles. The article documents ways in which schools

contribute to gender differences and offers suggestions for reshaping gender attitudes.

The Impact of Socialization on Gender

https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-impact-of-socialization-on-gender.html

This video addresses how girls and boys are socialized into a particular gender from a very

early age. The film examines gender scripts we learn from our family and friends, as well as

the negative impact these rigid gender roles can have on our sense of personal and relational

identities.

Gender Pronoun Recourses

https://www.samuelmerritt.edu/pride/gender

This site serves as resource for faculty and students to learn how to be more gender inclusive.

The site addresses gender pronouns, what they are, why they are important, and how to use

them effectively and inclusively.

Genderqueer and Nonbinary Identities

http://genderqueerid.com/gq-links

The aim of this site is to provide awareness, information, and resources for individuals who

identify as genderqueer, nonbinary, questioning, and gender-nonconforming.

GLADD Media Institute

https://www.glaad.org/

GLAAD works to reshape the narrative about the LGBTQ community to bring about cultural

change. Specifically, this organization works through entertainment, news, and digital media

to bring awareness to the LGBTQ community and to address the tough issues facing this

community and our culture.

The Bechdel Test for women in movies

https://feministfrequency.com/video/the-bechdel-test-for-women-in–movies/

This website was created as a means to gauge the active presence of female characters in

Hollywood films. Visitors to the website can take the “Bechdel Test” to see how films in

Hollywood stack up when it comes to representing strong female characters and leads in

films.

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MUSIC RECOMMENDATIONS

The following music examples have been included for illustrating interpersonal

communication concepts addressed in this chapter. It is recommended that the instructor

preview songs before using them, as some contain adult language. Each instructor must

decide what is appropriate for his or her class.

“Who Wears the Pants,” performed by Soko

“For Today I Am a Boy,” performed by Antony & The Johnsons

“Prince Johnny,” performed by St. Vincent

“Can’t Be Tamed,” performed by Miley Cyrus

“Body Was Made,” performed by Ezra Furman

“Salt,” performed by Bad Suns

“The Man,” performed by The Killers

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Chapter 6: Understanding Gender

Lecture Outline

I. We are gradually moving away from a society in which “virtually every other aspect of

human experience” is connected to male-female sex distinctions, a concept known as

gender polarization.

A. This movement away from binary male/female categories can be seen in

individuals who discard binary understandings of gender and instead describe

themselves as gender fluid or genderqueer (not identifying at one end or the

other of the male-female spectrum).

1. This cultural shift is also reflected in our language and interpersonal

encounters, such as our use of the preferred pronouns they/them, she/her,

and he/him.

2. Public and professional communities also reflect this shift, as illustrated by

the American Psychological Association’s resolution on gender and sexual

orientation diversity for public schools.

B. Gender is distinct from sex and gender identity.

1. Our sex is the anatomical, biological distinctions each of us is born with; at

birth, we are assigned a “sex category” of male, female, or intersex.

2. Our gender identity consists of our internal self; our deeply felt sense of

being a boy, man, or male; a girl, woman, or female; or an alternative such

as genderqueer, gender-nonconforming, or gender-neutral.

a. Individuals may identify as transgender if their identity does not

correspond to their assigned sex category.

b. Others may identify as cisgender if their gender identity and gender

expression correspond to their assigned sex category.

C. Our gender encompasses the social, psychological, and behavioral attributes

that a particular culture associates with our biological sex.

1. These may include beliefs about individual characteristics, such as strength,

leadership, or emotionality.

2. They may also include beliefs about our roles in society, such as being a

parent, teacher, politician, or CEO.

D. Gender varies according to culture because different cultures have different

standards, or norms, for expected behaviors, roles, and gender expressions.

1. Many cultures expect males to display masculine behaviors and females to

display feminine behaviors.

2. Our (U.S.) society, for example, often associates attributes such as beauty

with females, or femininity, rather than with males, or masculinity.

3. We also may describe the same attribute by using different words when the

attribute is possessed by a male compared to a female, such as characterizing

a boy baby as “handsome” rather than “beautiful.”

II. Gender is both learned and socially constructed.

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A. Gender is learned from a variety of sources, all of which contribute to lifelong

gender socialization.

1. This socialization process begins even before a child is born and occurs

through parents selecting masculine or feminine baby names, baby clothing,

toys, nursery decorations, or even hosting a “gender-reveal party.”

2. Gender socialization continues and escalates as children grow; parents

encourage and discourage behaviors they deem as “appropriate” or

“inappropriate.” This encourages gender conformity rather than

nonconformity.

3. As children grow older they take on more active roles in learning about

gender.

B. A central aspect of learning gender is learning the norms and standards that your

society associates with the sex categories; in other words, our understanding of

gender is socially constructed.

1. Gender is socially constructed through our interactions with other people in

2. As societies change over time, so do our conceptions of gender.

III. To truly understand how gender is socially constructed, we need to explore how we “do

gender” in our society.

A. Gender is not a “singular thing”; instead, it is something we achieve and are held

accountable for every day. This assumes that:

1. Gender is not static

3. It is interactional

B. Our understanding of the expected behaviors in a social setting, and the people

with whom we are interacting, both influence how we do gender.

C. People expect our gender expression to coincide with our sex, such that girls and

women are expected to enact more feminine roles, and boys and men are

expected to enact more masculine roles.

D. Resources for doing gender also teach us how to “do gender.” These take the

form of institutional resources such as public restrooms that separate the sexes

and instill the idea of innate or natural differences between girls and boys, and

women and men.

1. There are many other rich resources society has created for doing gender

according to a binary system in which “male” and “female” are the

primary—and polarized—options, such as “pink” for women, “Lady

Doritos,” and McDonald’s Happy Meals for boys and girls.

2. We are socialized to believe that we should adhere to these societal

expectations and different resources—possibly for fear of being teased or

reprimanded.

IV. Gender Roles are shared societal expectations for conduct and behaviors that are

deemed appropriate for girls or women and boys or men.

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A. We are taught gender roles from a very early age, and as such, these impact our

aspirations for the future; for example, research shows 6-year-old girls were less

likely than boys to believe that girls are “really, really smart,” which may reduce

the range of career options that girls consider.

B. Girls and boys across the world also encounter unequal gender expectations.

1. Boys are encouraged to be tough, strong, and brave and to demonstrate

heterosexual prowess; boys are taught to be independent.

2. Girls are taught to be nice, polite, and submissive and to accentuate their

3. These inequities are enforced by parents as well as peers, who sanction or

2. While girls experience more tolerance when they bend prescriptive gender

norms (i.e., acting like a “tomboy”), boys who act more feminine are

mocked or bullied.

3. Moreover, girls may leave school early, become pregnant, experience

depression, or be victims of violence, whereas boys are more prone to

suicide, substance abuse, and have shorter life expectancy compared to

women.

4. Researchers note that these differences are “socially, not biologically”

determined and call for fostering gender equality.

V. Focus on Culture: Gender Equity and Health

A. Gender inequality is damaging to the physical and mental health of girls and

women, and boys and men around the world.

1. Differential benefits such as access to resources, power, and control

typically favor men.

2. Girls and women have reduced access to education, medical care, and

nutrition; are more likely to occupy lower-wage jobs; and are less likely to

be decision or policy makers, and lack control over their own sexual and

reproductive health.

B. Focusing on how we socially construct gender and socialize gender roles, as

well as toppling existing structural inequities, is necessary to improve the health

of girls and women, and boys and men. We can do this by:

1. Understanding how we socially construct women as primary caregivers,

rather than men.

2. Enacting legislation and other structural improvements to enhance the health

of girls and women, and boys and men.

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A. Some scholars focus on the differences between women’s and men’s verbal

communication, stating that they have different styles, purposes, or goals in

their communication.

1. For example, some scholars suggest that “women focus on intimacy” and

“want to be understood,” whereas “men focus on status and independence,”

and “want to solve problems.”

2. This research has been reinforced by popular culture through books and