962948
Sex and Gender
- Sex: Biological, male/female
Gender: Psychological,
masculine/feminine/androgynous
- Core Theory: Biological Approach
- Gender decided same time as sex -
at conception. XY for male/masculine
and XX for female/feminine
- Gender and sex roles
instinctive to reproduce,
woman are choosier
than men with mates as
they have less sex cells.
- Men are more aggressive
as they had to hunt (spatial
skills), women caring as they
had to look after kids (verbal
skills).
- Men are more aggressive
as they had to hunt (spatial
skills), women caring as they
had to look after kids (verbal
skills).
- Gender and sex roles
instinctive to reproduce,
woman are choosier
than men with mates as
they have less sex cells.
- Hormone development: Up to 6
weeks male/female fetus gonads
(sex organs) same. Y
chromosome then 'switches on' a
hormone to create testes,
females go on to create ovaries.
- Testes then create
testosterone, meant to give
masculine characteristics
(aggressive/maths and
spatial skills). Oestrogen
meant to give better verbal
skills (feminine)
- Testes then create
testosterone, meant to give
masculine characteristics
(aggressive/maths and
spatial skills). Oestrogen
meant to give better verbal
skills (feminine)
- Evaluation
- Ignores idea that gender
may be learnt: Evidence
that gender may be nurture
not nature - boys rewarded
for being tough, girls for
being 'lady-like'
- Why is there gender
variation in the sexes if
the are biologically
similar: E.g. two men
with same testosterone
and chromosomes end
up different in gender
- Biology is said to be fixed, but gender
varies over time and between cultures:
Roles are completely switched in other
parts of the world, and we are said to be
more feminine/androgynous these days.
- Ignores idea that gender
may be learnt: Evidence
that gender may be nurture
not nature - boys rewarded
for being tough, girls for
being 'lady-like'
- Gender decided same time as sex -
at conception. XY for male/masculine
and XX for female/feminine
- Alternative Theory: Psychodynamic Approach
- Gender is more to do with upbringing
and focuses on the parents
- Freud believed that children develop in stages between 3
and 6 where they have a strong attachment to the
opposite sex parent, whilst having difficulties with the
same sex ones
- Oedipus complex: Where the boy
unconsciously desires his mother but
fears the father will cut off his penis if
he finds out (castration anxiety), so he
identifies with his father (masculinity)
to not raise suspiscion
- Electra complex: Girls want a penis and blame the
mother for not having one, they believe they have been
castrated already and realise they will never have a
penis. They have a baby instead as a penis substitute
and a t this point realise they're in the same position as
the mother so identify with a feminine gender
- Oedipus complex: Where the boy
unconsciously desires his mother but
fears the father will cut off his penis if
he finds out (castration anxiety), so he
identifies with his father (masculinity)
to not raise suspiscion
- Gender is more to do with upbringing
and focuses on the parents
- Core study: Diamond and Sigmundson (1997)
- Aim: to show that a child cannot
be socialised/raised to take on the
role of the opposite sex
- Procedure: Researched the case of
a boy from a pair of twins born in
Canada 1965 who was brought up
as a girl. At 8 months they went for
a circumcision where 'Bruce's' penis
was burnt off, reconstruction was
out of the question and Doctor
money said to raise him as a girl.
At 17 months his testes were
removed and now 'Brenda' was to
be brought up as a girl.
- Results: Doctor money at first insisted
Brenda had adapted well, however when
puberty hit although taking female
hormones she still looked and was very
masculine. At 13 her parents told her
the truth, she was relived as it explained
her emotions and she changed back to a
man 'David'. Gender more nature not
nurture.
- Limitations
- Case studies rely on
small sample sizes (only
one individual Bruce),
cannot generalise
- Not all variables can be controlled as case
studies are on natural situations: Bruce had
a twin brother as a close masculine role
model, was raised a boy for 1.5 years and
his parents new he was a boy.
- Case studies a very thorough, personal
investigations: Money became so involved
with the investigation that he may have
interpreted/changed Brenda's behaviour to suit
his theory of a male being able to be raised as
female
- Case studies rely on
small sample sizes (only
one individual Bruce),
cannot generalise
- Aim: to show that a child cannot
be socialised/raised to take on the
role of the opposite sex
- Applications of research: Equal Opportnities
- For the Sexes: Discovering any
gender differences is important
as if males and females are born
more or less the same, they can
achieve the same things.
- In work: Although females are shown to
do better in education, men do better
when it comes to the workplace. Men
have higher pay and promotion
prospects and this can suggest a need for
equal opportunites
- In Education: Positive discrimination may have to be used if a sex
struggles with one aspect more than the other (E.g. females and
maths). The 'gender gap' shows how females are doing better than
males in GCSEs and A-levels, however the is no proof that they are
naturally better. Many psychologists argue that it is down to
upbringing, however there is evidence of each sex have natural
talents. This means that for example girls get more help in maths
whilst boys get more help in speaking tests
- For the Sexes: Discovering any
gender differences is important
as if males and females are born
more or less the same, they can
achieve the same things.
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