Reading Questions
Chapter 2: Theories of Gender/Sex
Instructors are provided with two sets of questions to engage students: discussion questions
(in the text) and reading questions (below).
1. Does testosterone determine one’s behavior? Explain.
2. Name two interesting facts about differences in male and female brains. What happens
when research does not start from the assumption that the sexes differ, and instead sorts
people based on gender?
3. Why has Freud’s work been critiqued? What has Freud offered to our understanding of
gender/sex?
4. What is object relations theory?
5. List three things we have learned from social learning theory. How have you been
rewarded for engaging in “appropriate” gendered/sexed behaviors?
6. What is a gender diversity perspective?