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68
those close to you?
• Who do you know who challenges these notions?
• Are there any ways in which thinking about men and women in these ways
can be problematic?
The concept of essentializing (i.e., assuming all members of a group are the same) should
underlie this discussion, and if it is not raised by a student, you should introduce it during
the discussion. After examining the discussion questions, students should have an idea of
how essentializing can be useful (it helps us organize the world neatly) but also very
narrowing and confining.
3.
Exploring Trans Identity: Show the film Ma Vie En Rose (My Life in Pink) about a boy
who hopes and thinks he will grow up to be a girl. The film shows the struggle for him,
his family, and his community as he explores his gender and sexual identity. (The film is
rated R, but there is no sex or violence enacted in the film.) Alternatively, the film
Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She explores similar issues and includes commentary
on gender in many different cultures. Discuss students’ responses to the film, imagining
what it would have been like to be the boy in the film, his parents, or his neighbor.
Chapter 2: Theoretical Approaches to Gender Development
I.
Theoretical Approaches to Gender
A.
A theory is a way to explain, describe, and predict relationships among phenomena
in our everyday lives.
B.
We use theoretical frameworks to make sense of men’s and women’s behaviors. For
example, different theories would explain the differences between twins.
C.
Theories offer more than explanations. They also influence attitudes and behaviors.
D.
One theory should not be considered the theory on gender development; theories
work together to create a fuller picture.
II.
Biological Theories of Gender
A.
Biological theory maintains that biological characteristics like
chromosomes, hormones, and brain specialization account for gender
differences.
B.
Sex chromosomes are the X and Y chromosomes. Most people inherit one sex
chromosome from each parent.
1.
The Y chromosome’s primary function is to determine if the fertilized egg
will become male.
2.
The X chromosome influences intelligence, some hereditary conditions, and
sociability.
C.
Hormonal activity also plays an important role in biological theories.
1.
Estrogen, the primary female hormone, has been shown to have a positive
influence on cardiovascular functioning, to strengthen the immune system, to
create greater deposits of fat around the hips and breasts, and to slow liver
processing of alcohol.
2.
Testosterone, the primary male hormone, has been shown to have a hormonal
69
cycle and has been linked to violence, aggression, and changes in cognitive
functioning. One study shows that men’s testosterone levels decrease when
they become fathers, which may increase their nurturing tendencies.
3.
Both men and women experience changes in their hormonal levels over time.
Men’s testosterone levels begin gradually decreasing around age 30.
D.
Brain structure and development is a third focus of biological theories.
1.
While research has shown that women and men use both the right and left
lobes of their brains, the sexes tend to specialize in using different lobes.
a.
Men tend to emphasize left brain functioning, responsible for
traditionally linear, logical thought and abstract, analytical thinking.
b.
Women tend to emphasize right brain functioning, responsible for
imaginative, artistic, and intuitive thinking and some visual and spatial
functions.
c.
The prefrontal cortex, which restrains aggression, is larger and
develops earlier in women than men. For women, the insula, which
affects intuition and empathy, is larger, while for men, the amygdala,
which is the center for emotions such as anger and fear, is larger.
2.
The corpus callosum joins the two sides of the brain and has been shown to
be more highly developed in women. This structure generally allows
women the greater ability to cross from one lobe to the other.
3.
Most differences in the sexes’ brains are absent or very small at birth and
tend to increase as individuals age.
E.
Biological classification into male or female is not as clear-cut as many people
think. The term gender binary refers to the division of humans into two sexes that
are presumed to be opposite, distinct, and natural.
1.
One of the earliest challenges to the gender binary came from research on
intersex people. Other research has noted that there is more variation within
each socially defined sex than between the two.
2.
The term genderqueer was developed to signify identities outside of the
gender binary.
III.
Interpersonal Theories of Gender
A.
Psychodynamic Theories of Gender Development
1.
Psychodynamic theories argue that the first relationship we have influences
how we define our identity, including our gender.
2.
Since the primary caretaker for most infants is the mother, she provides a
fundamental influence on later self-definition and how interactions with
others are understood.
a.
The mother, as a gendered being herself, may act differently toward
sons and daughters based on her social views of boys and girls.
b.
There is a fundamental likeness between mothers and daughters,
which creates closer identification.
c.
Sons must establish an independent identity from their
mothers.
3.
According to psychodynamic theories, the identity formed in infancy remains
core to the self. So, infants carry the basic identity formed in the pivotal first
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relationship.
a.
Many women tend to define their identities in connections with
others, prioritizing their relationships with others.
b.
Many men tend to emphasize independence and autonomy.
B.
Psychological Theories of Gender Development
1.
Social learning theory claims that individuals learn to be masculine and
feminine by imitating others and then observing how others respond to
those behaviors.
a.
Reinforcement of gendered roles and behaviors occurs when people
around the children reward some behaviors appropriate for one’s gender
and react neutrally or negatively to others.
b.
These messages about gender can also come from the media. When
children see media that reward girls for being feminine and boys for being
masculine, traditional gender roles can be reinforced.
2.
Cognitive Development Theory
a.
This theory assumes that children play active roles in developing their
gender identities.
b.
Children notice the ways others label and describe them.
c.
A key developmental stage occurs at or before the age of three. Gender
constancy is the point at which a child recognizes that her/his gender is
relatively unchanging. At this point, children are motivated to learn to be
competent at their gender. They do this by observing same-sex role
models to see what behaviors, attitudes, and feelings are associated with
their gender.
i.
Gender constancy can be more challenging for children who
do not identify with their assigned sex and its gender
expectations.
d.
Gender schema theory holds that by age two, children begin to organize
their understandings of gender into coherent wholes.
i.
A gender schema is a framework for categorizing behaviors and
artifacts related to gender. Using gender schemata helps children
choose toys, clothes, activities, and so forth.
e.
Children continue to seek out role models of femininity and
masculinity into adolescence.
IV.
Cultural Theories of Gender
A.
Cultural theorists assume that biological and interpersonal influences on
gender reflect larger cultural contexts.
B.
Anthropology
1.
Many societies have views of gender that differ from those currently
prevalent in the United States.
2.
For example, Australian Aboriginal fathers have no say in their daughters’
marriages. Germany, New Zealand, Nepal, and Australia legally recognize
more than two genders.
3.
In the Dominican Republic, “conditional girls” are males with undescended
testes and an underdeveloped penis, who are treated and dressed as females
until puberty, when typical masculine traits appear.
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C.
Symbolic Interactionism
1.
Symbolic interactionism emphasizes the pivotal role of communication as
the primary way we develop identity, including gender identity.
2.
Play with peers and teachers’ interactions with students are key ways
cultural views of gender are communicated to children.
3.
Roles are important for understanding cultural theories of gender. A role
represents a set of expected behaviors and the values associated with them.
a.
For example, gender roles assume women are caretakers and men
are primary breadwinners.
b.
Society also assigns value to the roles. Women are taught to accept
their role, but it is also clearly devalued compared to the primary
roles assigned to men.
c.
We internalize our culture’s gender roles.
V.
Critical Theories of Gender
A.
Critical theories direct our attention to structure and practices by which
societies accord more or less privilege and power to different groups.
B.
Standpoint Theory
1.
Standpoint theory notes that all societies are made up of different groups
that have different amounts of power and privilege. It focuses on how being
a member of those groups (race, class, gender, sexual orientation, etc.)
shapes what a person experiences, knows, feels, or does, as well as how he
or she understands social life as a whole.
2.
Three significant claims: All perspectives in social life are partial, some
perspectives are more partial than others, and a standpoint is earned by
developing political awareness of power differences among social groups.
3.
A social location is a group to which an individual belongs but is not a
standpoint. A standpoint is earned through critical reflection on power
relations and engagement in an oppositional stance to the dominant one.
4.
Marginalized people can generate unique insights on how a society works
by offering perspectives outside the cultural center.
a.
Some theorists assert that for survival, those in subordinate positions
must understand their own positions, as well as those of individuals
with more power.
5.
Standpoint theory’s major contribution to understanding gender is calling
our attention to how membership in groups shapes individuals’ experiences.
C.
Queer Performative Theory
1.
Queer performative theory looks at people who defy conventional identity
categories of sex, gender, and sexual identity. It troubles our thinking, and
that trouble is productive.
2.
Queer theory is a critique of conventional categories and cultural view of
“normal” and “abnormal,” particularly in relation to sexuality.
a.
Queer theory arose in the content of gay and lesbian studies and
originally focused on heteronormativity (the assumption that
being straight is normal and the standard for sexuality).
b.
The word queer refers to anything that departs from what society
considers normal and challenges the ways that a culture defines
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what is considered normal and abnormal.
c.
One idea central to queer theory is that terms such as men, women,
gay, and straight are not useful since there are multiple ways of being
any of those things. Labeling someone according to such a category is
inherently misleading.
d.
A second key idea is that identities are fluid. This fluidity of identity
means being able to refuse accepting any stable identity.
e.
Performative theory suggests people generate identities through
performance or expression. Without performance, there is no
gender.
i.
We all perform our gender, and our performances are not
solo but collaborative.
f.
Queer performative theory looks at queer performances as a means
of challenging and destabilizing cultural categories and the values
attached to them.
i.
Allows us to understand transgressive presentations of self as
political acts that point to the insufficiency of binary
categories.
VI.
Theories Working Together
A.
Different theories often work together to shed light on how we develop and
enact gendered identities.
Women athletes are at higher risks for certain injuries. This fact means that there is a
biologically based difference and that socialization teaches girls and boys to
run and hold themselves differently.
Journal Entries
1.
Describe one situation and explain gendered attitudes and/or behaviors in it, using three
different theories of gender development. Which theory do you think provides the most
insight into this situation?
2.
How does your social location as a member of one sex (male or female) shape your
experiences and interactions with others? Explain how other social locations besides sex
and/or gender help you to understand your position or location within our culture.
3.
Consider a way in which you do or could engage in a queer gender performance. This may
mean dressing in drag (masculine, feminine, hyper-feminine, hyper-masculine,
androgynous, etc.), changing your gestures and facial expressions, and modifying your
speech patterns. Enact that performance of gender, and reflect on how others responded to
you. You may want to note how they were co-performers in your gender (since we know it
is not an individual act). How do you think your behavior queered existing categories of
gender for those who observed you and for yourself?
4.
Ask an older friend or relative to reflect on gender. For example, you might ask “what do
you think makes a man a man and a woman a woman?” Then, consider what theories of
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gender underlie your friend’s or relative’s response. Do you agree with this person’s
response? Why or why not? What does this say about the gender theories that you hold?
Be explicit about why/how your own and your informant’s responses reflect a specific
gender theory or specific gender theories.
Suggested Activities
1.
Examining Theories: The various theoretical approaches to gender development can be
confusing at times to students as they try to differentiate between the theories. One option
for structuring a class period involves allowing students to work in groups to examine the
different theories. By dividing the class into groups, students can work together and share
their views and perspectives on gender development. Often, through working together,
students develop greater understandings by listening to the perspectives of others.
At the end of the following suggested activity, you will find an exercise that can be used to
examine six different approaches to gender development. Allow the groups of students to
work for 10 to 15 minutes, during which time they should find an example to support the
theory assigned to their group. The groups should then present their example to the rest of
the class and explain the reasoning behind their choice.
An example of a cultural phrase that could be explained by social learning theories might
be “boys will be boys” within the following scenario: A two-year-old boy imitates his
father’s actions in building a shelf. The boy watches his father using a hammer and begins
to hit his father on the back with his rattle to mimic the action. The father responds by
smiling and enthusiastically saying, “Oh, what a big, strong boy you are,” thus reinforcing
the behavior. The mother, watching in disbelief thinks to herself, “Well, boys will be
boys,” by which she means that her son is learning to take command over and to exert
control over the world through his physical actions, characteristic of a masculine emphasis
on instrumentality. A recent Barbie doll that was recalled because of the implications
behind its spoken message might represent an approach to gender development premised
on symbolic interactionism. The Barbie doll said, “Math is hard.” Thus, communication
was being used to help establish a girl’s identity and reinforce cultural expectations that
girls do not succeed in math or science. The messages that discourage girls from being
interested in and pursuing careers in math and science come from parents, teachers, peers,
and even Barbie dolls. Playing with Barbie dolls, additionally, may emphasize care giving
functions in little girls, later incorporated into popular notions of women’s roles.
The examples students suggest may range from ordinary to outstandingly creative. Be sure
to listen to the reasons groups give to explain why their example illustrates a particular
theoretical approach.
2.
Queer Performances: Show a clip from a popular reality dating show such as The
Bachelor. (Nondating shows will also work; however, the dating shows can help
emphasize the point.) Many networks such as NBC and MTV include full episodes and/or
clips of their shows online, and you can also access clips via YouTube. After showing the
clip, have students perform the scene with one of the student actors engaging in a queer
74
gender performance. Explore how it changes the scene. Students may be tempted to
engage in hyperbolic or campy/drag performances. Encourage them to also examine less
extreme examples of queer performance. This activity can help students to understand the
impact of queer gender performances and can also demonstrate that queer does not
necessary mean gay or lesbian.
3.
Exploring Heteronormativity: Ask students to bring in a cultural artifact about
relationships. Their artifact may be song lyrics, a magazine, a novel, or any other piece of
popular culture that relates to romantic relationships. You, the instructor, may also want to
bring some artifacts. Clips of commercials or a package of the popular stick-figure family
members that many people use as car window decorations are two useful examples.
Have the students form small groups, and ask them to examine their artifacts for
indications of heteronormativity. They may look for instances of assumed heterosexuality
(such as the suggestion that “every girl dreams of her wedding day” that many magazines
promote; pronoun usage that assumes cross-sex partners in advice columns) and constraints
that do not provide options for queer partners (such as forms that leave blanks only for
male/female partners, the stick-figure families that only include one female adult figure
and one male adult figure).
After discussing the examples in groups, ask the students to share one or two examples from
the class. Alternatively, you may choose to show/share the artifacts to the larger group and
discuss them without using small groups. If any instances exist that represent a challenge to
heteronormativity, you should point out that they are instances of a queer performance. You
may want to emphasize that heteronormativity does not suggest showing heterosexual
partnerships is wrong, but rather than favoring only these and not providing other
options/examples limits the possibilities and ease of interaction for queer couples. Also,
heteronormativity is a problem for all relationships because it is one of the many ways that
diverse relationships are devalued, and many people believe that all oppression is linked.
4.
In Their Words: How Children Are Affected by Gender Issues: In January 2017,
National Geographic Magazine dedicated an entire issue to what they deemed the “Gender
Revolution.” One of these articles focused on the ways nine-year-old children are navigating
gender in their lives. The children live all over the globe and their responses vary, but most
seem to agree that there are differences between boys and girls. Thinking about the theories
studied in this chapter, what theories could account for some of the differences these
children see around them? For example, why might Ayanah Nyawira Kinyua from Nairobi
say the worst thing about being a girl is “when you’re not an adult and you’re still a child
when you [give] birth” and Sediq Samim in Ottawa says the worst part of being a boy is
“when you go to school, the teachers blame the boys, because the girls are most of the time
the teacher’s pets”? How do gender theories help us understand their statements? The article
is available at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/01/children-explain-how-
gender-affects-their-lives/
