GENDER IDENTITY AND STRATIFICATION

1. GENDER IDENTITY AND STRATIFICATION

2. Do Now: • In your notebooks, answer the question: IS GENDER SOMETHING WE ARE BORN WITH OR IS IT LEARNED? (Nature [Biology] or Nurture [Social]?) • On the board is a spectrum. Please come up and place your initials somewhere on the line.

3. What is the difference between sex, gender, and gender roles?

4. SEX – BIOLOGY • Chromosomal Sexual Development • XX Chromosomes • XY Chromosomes • Hormones • Testosterone • Estrogen • What happens when these chromosomes are complicated? • Turner Syndrome • Hermaphrodite

5. Turner Syndrome • In Turner syndrome, only one sex chromosome is created (X). • The resultant XO individual is born with female external genitalia; however, in many such individuals, ovarian development is stunted. • Other characteristics usually include short stature, neck and chest abnormalities, and heart defects. • A significant percentage of individuals with Turner syndrome have varying levels of mental retardation. • The vast majority of individuals with Turner syndrome are infertile. • Although gender identity is usually female, many XO individuals have significant psychologic stress because of their infertility, their appearance, and, in some, the awareness of their genetic profile, which may make them feel inadequate or incomplete as females. This, in turn, may cause some to feel confusion about or to question their gender role.

6. Hermaphroditism • People with anatomically intersexed conditions are at times referred to as hermaphrodites. The term is commonly used to describe those with specific genital aspects of both sexes. • In the past, one sex was chosen for rearing, with all the advantages and disadvantages brought on by that process. Now, increasingly, some suggest allowing hermaphrodites to remain in the intersex state until self-determination can be made to either continue as such or choose a male or female gender role. • The plasticity of gender identity is most apparent in intersexed patients. Some consider themselves both male and female. • Others, believing hermaphroditism to be a unique third gender, consider themselves to be neither male nor female.

7. GENDER – COGNITIVE • The inner sense a person has of being a male or a female • The sense of masculinity/femininity which may be the same or different from one’s biologic gender • Gender Dysphoria/Gender Identity Disorder • Transsexuality

8. Gender Dysphoria/GID • The DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for gender identity disorder (transsexualism): • In children, gender identity disorder is defined by 4 or more of the following characteristics: • Preference for cross-sex roles in play or preference for cross-dressing • Persistent fantasies of being the other sex • An intense desire to participate in stereotypical games and pastimes of the other sex • Strong preference for playmates of the other sex • Persistent discomfort with his or her sex or sense of inappropriateness in the gender role of that sex • Boys have an aversion to their genitals, a belief the genitals will disappear, an aversion to rough-and-tumble play, and a rejection of male toys. • Girls have a rejection of urinating in the sitting position, an assertion that they will grow a penis, an assertion that they do not want to grow breasts or menstruate, and an aversion toward normative feminine clothing. • Adolescents and adults may have a preoccupation with getting rid of primary and secondary sex characteristics, and they may believe that they were born as the wrong sex. Prevalence: In Europe, 1 per 30,000 adult males and 1 per 100,000 adult females seek sexual reassignment surgery (SRS).

9. GENDER ROLES – SOCIAL • The way one acts as male or female including the expression of one’s gender of what is perceived as gender appropriate behavior • Outward expression of one’s gender • Transvestite • Examples of how we express our gender: • Voice • Physique • Dress • Behavior • Hair style • Where are lines blurred between male and female characteristics? • Examples?

10. How much of you is made male or female by the following? – Rate by percentage: SEX GENDER GENDER ROLES

11. Male or Female?

12. Male or Female?

13. Male or Female?

14. Male or Female?

15. Male or Female?

16. Male or Female?

17. Male or Female?

18. Which category did we use to decide on whether or not these individuals are male/female?

19. BE A MAN • Be a Man What does this statement mean? What comes to mind? • Men never cry • Should not show emotion • Not quitters • Physically brave • Independent • Heroic and patriotic ideals • Adventurous • Tough • Courageous • Physical strength • Sex

20. ACT LIKE A LADY • Act like a Lady What does this phrase mean? What comes to mind? • Kind • Tasteful • Sexy • Supportive • Expressive • Petite • Sensitive • Creative • Pretty • Gentle • Artistic • Sympathetic • Intuitive • Affectionate • Imaginative • Motherly

21. Where do we run into issues? • Gender Discrimination • Cultural construction of gender (normal) • Gender relations- how people understand, view, and treat certain people based on their perceived gender

22. Gender Discrimination • Women • “Glass ceiling” • Are these divisions “natural”? • Biological makeup of females • Transsexuals • How much of our gender is physical? Biological? • Mastectomy, gender transitions • Homosexuals – blurring the line of “gender” • How are each gender of homosexuals viewed in society? Why?

23. Glass Ceiling • Although many more women work today than in the past, they continue to be paid less than men on average for the same positions. • There is a “glass ceiling” that prevents/prohibits women from reaching executive offices • The “Mommy Track” also presents a very large barrier for advancement in the workplace • In order to advance into high positions, you must give up a part of life that is considered “natural”

24. Gender Transition • Desire to physically become another gender • Why the physical transformation (including the dangers and irreversible effects) as opposed to simple cross-dressing? • What do biological elements provide for us in terms of gender? • What does this say for people who do not make the CHOICE (Mastectomy)?

25. Homosexuality • One of the “norms” of our defined gender is to procreate with the opposite gender. • When homosexuality is prevalent, society makes judgments about this blurred gender line. • Why does society react differently to lesbians than to gay men? • What does this say about the societal gender role expectations?

27. How has the idea of gender changed? The World War II woman

28. From a 1950's high school home economics textbook, teaching girls how to prepare for married life. 1. Have dinner ready: Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal on time. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him, and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospects of a good meal are part of the warm welcome needed.2. Prepare yourself: Take 15 minutes to rest so you will be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh looking. He has just been with a lot of work- weary people. Be a little gay and a little more interesting. His boring day may need a lift.3. Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives, gathering up school books, toys, paper, etc. Then run a dust cloth over the tables. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift, too.

29. 4. Prepare the children: Take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and faces if they are small, comb their hair, and if necessary, change their clothes.They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part.5. Minimize the noise: At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of washer, dryer, dishwasher or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet. Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and be glad to see him.6. Things to avoid: Don't greet him with problems or complaints. Don't complain if he's late for dinner. Count this as minor compared with what he might have gone through that day.

30. 7. Make him comfortable: Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or suggest he lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soft, soothing and pleasant voice. Allow him to relax and unwind.8. Listen to him: You may have a dozen things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first.9. Make the evening his: Never complain if he does not take you out to dinner or to other places of entertainment; instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure, his need to be home and relax.10. The goal: Try to make your home a place of peace and order where your husband can relax.

31. 21st Century Woman • Women in the 21st century are expected to do it all.

36. Cross Dressing – Double Standard? • Men – dresses, bras, lipstick, etc. • Women – pants, men’s shirts, ties, etc. • The difference in our perceptions are affected by the acceptance or rejection received by society

37. Gender Identity Disorder • Why is this labeled as a disorder? • What does this label indicate to an individual who fits this description? • What does it indicate to society?

38. Relativity of Gender • There can be no universal meaning to “male” or “female” • What it means to be a man or a woman is relative to particular societies

39. Do we need gender? • What purpose does the separation of genders serve? • What were to happen if these lines were blurred? • Genderless baby • David Reimer • Must we have two genders? • Is it possible to have a genderless society? • DEBATE

40. As we move out of an age where reproduction was our main purpose in life our society begins to revise and expand our ideas about how gender and sex roles work with each other.

41. Homework: • Don’t forget to bring in your favorite childhood toy or book for tomorrow’s class!