Gender research: key discussion questions and concepts

Women's Studies - Gender & Society

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GENDER ROLE QUESTIONS

Identify behaviors you think might be interpreted differently when displayed by male vs. female. For each one, explain why.

Virtually any behavior that is generally associated primarily (or exclusively) with one gender is susceptible to completely different interpretation when displayed by the other. For example, outward displays of assertiveness or authority in many "traditional" business environments are much more associated with male attributes than with female attributes. Therefore, an assertive style and the exercise of authority are both consistent with expectations of male behavior.

Conversely, those attributes are still less often associated with females in the same environment, despite considerable progress in the relaxation of certain gender-based stereotypes in the last several decades. Assertive women and those fulfilling their responsibilities in positions of authority are more likely to be labeled pejoratively as being "overbearing" or "cold."

2. Describe the greatest difficulty you believe researchers face when studying gender. What is the best precaution to take again this difficulty?

The greatest difficulty faced by researchers studying gender is the fact that so much gender-based behavior is attributable to both biological and environmental influences. By the time many observable behaviors possibly determined by gender manifest themselves in ways that can be studied, it may be difficult if not impossible to determine whether and to what degree each respective influence shaped the behavior.

Furthermore, researchers are, themselves, the product of their social environments as much as their subjects and, therefore, susceptible to some of the same learned social biases as the general public.

Certainly, there are evolutionary components to human development that resulted in biological differences between the genders. Likewise, the socialization process profoundly influences many types of behavior, including many of those associated with gender identification. The best precaution against this inherent difficulty is for researchers to maintain an objective perspective devoid of any a-priori expectations or differential characterizations of behavior in interpreting observed behavior.

3. What are some of the weaknesses and strengths of the instruments that have been used to measure masculinity and femininity?

The Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) and the Personal Attributes Questionnaire

PAQ) and the are both widespread instruments used to measure masculinity and femininity in adults. The BSRI consists of various adjectives considered desirable either for males, for females, or considered gender-neutral from which subjects are asked to select those that most pertain to them.

Based on those responses, the BSRI assigns a characterization of either "sex- typed" or "androgynous" depending on how much subjects identify only with adjectives considered desirable of their gender or with desirable traits of both genders, respectively.

The PAQ uses similar methodology to generate results that link identification with adjectives considered desirable in both genders with high self-esteem in subjects of either gender.

Generally, both instruments have been criticized because it is virtually impossible to ignore the influence of social learning on the degree to which individuals identify with gender-specific attributes. In effect, a diagnostic questionnaire may answer little else besides the identification of particular attributes associated positively with masculinity or femininity in the social culture in which subjects were socialized. More specifically, the PAQ has been criticized for equating identification with desirable male attributes with high self-esteem in "androgynous" females without considering the greater degree to which society reinforces self-esteem in conjunction with masculinity in the first place.

4. What are some areas of gender-role strain for men and women today?

In principle, gender-role strain arises whenever the individual encounters social situations in which the individual is incapable of living up to fundamental components of roles, behaviors, and responsibilities corresponding to established social expectations within a particular society. Typical examples of gender-role strains experienced by males in American culture may arise in conjunction with difficulty earning maintaining sufficient monetary income to support the needs of one's family. Females may also experience despair from financial difficulties, but cultural attitudes and expectations about the male role as "breadwinner" intensify the importance of earning a living for males as a component of their masculinity.