Carroll Chapter 3

1
Carroll Chapter 3

• Gender

2
Definitions

• Sex Biology, genes, anatomy
• Gender Psychology
• Identity - self-perceived gender
• How do we form our gender identity?
• BIOLOGY v. SOCIAL LEARNING

3
Gender Formation Social Learning

• Learn what it means to be a boy or girl
• Social and cultural influences key
• Gender roles
• Parents teachers
• Respond to children ala gender roles
• Toys, play behaviors, classroom, crying
• Model reinforce gender appropriate behaviors
• 18 months child has GI it perpetuates
• Impacts life trajectory (education, career,
  sexuality)

4
Gender Formation Social Learning

• Media adds to/elaborates early GI (sexuality)
• Magazines, TV, movies
• MTV music videos (key for youth)
• What do music videos tell us about sexuality?

5
Gender Formation Sex Surgery

• Tabula Rosa view of gender at birth
• All due to social influences (discount BIO)
• Any child could develop a male or female GI
• Born w/ ambiguous genitals
• SL approach says gender assignment
• Surgery and raise as chosen gender
• Video

6
Group Activity V Sex Surgery

• Groups of 4-5 (mixed genders)
• Summarize responses to questions
• Share with class
• TURN IN AFTER CLASS!

7
Group Activity V Sex Surgery

• Youre child is born w/ ambiguous genitalia. The
  doctor recommends assigning a gender surgically
  modifying the genitals. Would you do as the
  doctor advises? Explain.
• If yes what gender would you choose why?
• Do you think this sort of procedure is ethical?
• Should we let children be intersexual? Are there
  gt 2 genders?

8
Gender Formation Biology

• Sex ( gender) differentiated prenatally
• Chromosomes (XX, XY) -gt
• Gonadal development (testes, ovaries) -gt
• Hormone production (testosterone, estrogens) -gt
• Reproductive organs (penis, vagina)
• Brain development (some sex differences)

9
Gender Formation Biology

• Prenatal hormone exposure key for GI
• Influences brain development -gt later GI
• XX - estrogen, XY - testosterone
• Atypical prenatal differentiation yield mix
• AIS - XY but not sensitive to testosterone
• Female organs GI
• FAF - XX but excess of testosterone
• Ambiguous organs, female GI but dissatisfaction
  male orientation

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Gender Formation Biology

• Biological differences reflected in behavior
• Males more (physically) aggressive
• Women better at verbal, emotional tasks
• Denser corpus callosum
• Men better at spatial, analytical tasks
• Women more nurturing

11
Transsexualism

• GI opposite of biological sex
• Feels like a woman trapped in a mans body
• Feels like a man trapped in a womans body

12
Transsexualism

• Sexual orientation independent GI
• Many hetero (within GI)
• F-gtM desire females (all)
• M-gtF desire males (most)

Gender Identity
Sexual Orientation
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Transsexualism

• Etiology (unclear)
• Not genetic disorder
• Brain differences (prenatal hormones)
• Zhou et a., 1995 - M-gtF had female sized hypoth
• Not adult hormones levels
• Social learning

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Transsexualism

• Some satisfied with assuming the G Roles
• Many want changed body and G Roles
• Sex reassignment surgery (SRS)
• 1. Psychological therapy
• 2. Lifestyle change
• 3. Hormone therapy
• 4. Surgery
• M-gtF easiest (arousal, O possible)

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Male to Female Transsexual
16
Female to Male Transsexual

• Sex reassignment
• F-gtM hard (O increases)

17
SRS Outcomes (Cohen-Kettenis Gooren, 1999)

• Outcomes measures
• Objective (employment, housing, relationships)
• Subjective (gender dysphoria, life satisfaction)
• Dozens of studies reveal positive outcomes
• Majority satisfied with results of SRS
• MF 71-87
• FM 90-97
• Unsatisfied due to improper diagnosis, poor
  real-life test, poor surgery

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Reaction Paper V Transsexualism

• How would you react if one of your classmates
  told you he or she had had sex reassignment
  surgery? If your date told you? What questions
  would you want to ask him or her?

19
Fausto-Sterling (1993)

• Gender sex may be continuum not qualitative
  dimension
• Female OR male
• Many gradations from male to female
• Allows for various combinations
• Intersexuals physiologically psychologically
• 5 sexes?

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Fausto-Sterling (1993)

• Males, female
• Hermaphrodites
• One testis one ovary
• Male pseudohermaphrodites
• testes female external genitalia (no ovary)
• Female pseudohermaphrodites
• Ovaries external male genitalia (no testes)

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Fausto-Sterling (1993)

• Estimated that 4 of all births intersexed
• 500 KSU students intersexed
• Legal medical response to intersexuality
• Laws require male or female determination
• Medial community responses w/ treatment
• Surgery, hormones in infants
• Prejudice about intersexuals

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Prejudice

• Negative attitudes about social group
• Behavior
• Feelings
• Cognitions or beliefs (stereotypes)
• Conveys homogeneity of group members
• Associated with social categorization

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Social Categorization

• Divide social world into Us Them
• Us - viewed favorably/heterogeneous
• Them - viewed negatively/homogenous
• OutGroup Homogeneity Effect
• Ingroup members seen as heterogeneous Outgroup
  members seen as homogenous
• Maintains prejudice

24
Fausto-Sterling (1993)

• Social reality about sex differences challenged
  by intersexuals
• Evokes attempts to marginalize, control
• Labeled deviants, abnormal (out-group)
• Maintain consensual social reality
• See this in science (Gallileo, Einstein)

25
Conclusion

• Gender and sex different and at times
  inconsistent
• Intersexuals, transsexuals
• Gender identity influenced by social biological
  forces
• Gender more in the brain than between the legs