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Chapter Intro
We use the words sex and gender so often that we may not realize they have different meanings. Sex focuses on biological factors in behavior; gender focuses on social and psychological influences on behavior. The basic cause of our biological sex is in our genes; in addition, hormones play a vital role in determining our biological sex. A number of problems can occur at the various stages of prenatal development.
Gender roles are behaviors that are considered appropriate for males and females in a given culture. There are several theories of how children develop gender roles. One point of agreement across these explanations is gender roles develop quite early in life. Gender stereotyping describes socially shared beliefs about members of a particular group that are widely held. These stereotypes develop early and are generally similar across cultures; however, there are some interesting differences.
One of the most frequently asked questions is, “What are the differences between males and females?” Among the findings are there are few, if any, brain differences. Past reports of greater brain size in males did not consider differences in overall size. When examining differences in intelligence, we must understand that these tests were developed to balance out any possible differences. Closer examination of cognitive abilities did reveal differences: for example, greater verbal ability among females, greater spatial ability among males. However, many of these differences between males and females have become smaller over time. The typical classroom offers different experiences for boys and girls. For example, boys are expected to be assertive; girls are expected to be polite. These expectations set the stage for differences between men and women in the workplace.
About half of working women have been subjected to incidents of sexual harassment, yet very few of them have ever reported these incidents. Although men and women do not differ in their perceptions of serious incidents of sexual harassment, men tend to perceive less serious incidents as part of the normal social exchange between men and women.
Although the word women is generally evaluated quite positively by the general population, this positive evaluation does not translate into acceptance in the workplace, especially when women have leadership roles. In the home, there are dramatic differences in the amount of house work done by husbands and wives, even when both of them work outside the home. Some women, called jugglers, successfully manage a career, work in the home, and child care. Their constantly changing roles may have some stress buffering effects.