Discuss the evolutionary explanation of gender behaviour Evolutionary psychologists take the view that gender roles are the outcome of evolutionary pressures of natural and sexual selection, which took place in the EEA (environment of evolutionary adaptation). It is argued that our gendered behaviours are not a matter of choice they exist because they provide a means of reproductive success. The traditional division in hunter-gatherer societies of women spending their lives pregnant and producing milk etc whilst men hunt is considered to hold adaptive advantage for the group. Kuhn and Stiner (2006) propose that such gender divisions lead to the survival of homo-sapians and explain why Neanderthal man failed to survive. This division of
They argue that religion is patriarchal in that women are exploited by men and seen as subordinate. Feminist sociologists are interested in how women have become subservient and how religion has promoted patriarchy. This view is not just shared by female and feminist sociologists. Anthony Giddens argues that; " The Christian religion is a resolutely male affair in its symbolism as well as its hierarchy. While Mary, the mother of Jesus may sometimes be treated as if she had divine qualities, God is the father, a male figure, and Jesus took the human shape of a man.
Sex Roles, Vol. 4, No. 2, 1978 Is Beauty Talent? Sex Interaction in the Attractiveness Halo Effect 1 Robert M. Kaplan 2 San Diego State University Two experiments were performed to replicate and extend previous findings o f judgmental bias which favors physically attractive people. In the first experiment male and female subjects judged an essay purportedly written by an attractive or an unattractive female author.
Sex-role stereotypes are magnified in male-dominant firms and are harmful to women psychologically as stereotypes generate violence and gender inequality that is a form of exclusion (Forret & Dougherty, 2004). Stereotypes place women in a subordinate position to men in a patriarchal and sexist model in which their function is to serve the other and not to lead (Llopis, 2006). Men can handily adjust to male-dominated structures because they can read masculine culture better than women and because their peers are just as them. Increasing internal visibility is greatly related to the number of promotions and total compensation for men but not for women. There can be several explanations but one explanation might be that the work assignments
Bilal Adem Professor Boyle English 111 18 January 2012 Response to the high cost of manliness Robert Jensen writes in his essay “The High Cost of Manliness” that our culture defines the idea of masculinity in a way that it creates certain expectations that have to be fulfilled. Jensen talks about the aspects biology and culture that affect our view of humanity. Jensen says that masculinity is associated with traits such as seeking control, aggression, and competition. Jensen also talks about the consequences such as rape and vulnerability that are connected to the fact that men and women are different, but Jensen later counters that argument by mentioning that men and women are more alike than they are different. Most importantly men can also be associated with the ideals of caring and sacrifice.
She also suggested that his research was flawed because his research participants were Caucasian males that were well off, and therefore could not present an accurate theory with such limitations on his research. Gilligan suggested that moral development in females goes from selfish, to social morality, and then to principled morality. Her own theory suggests that Kohlberg's theories are gender biased, because he determined that a man's moral judgment rates higher than that of women (Muus, 1988). While men organize their relationships according to hierarchy, women's relationships are based on "interpersonal connectedness, care, sensitivity, and responsibility to people" (Muus, 1988). She theorized that women, because of their caring nature will wait to pass judgment because they understand the complex nature of relationships more than men, who tend to think in a more linear fashion.
John Gray’s (2004) book Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus only served to advance this idea, which is better known as the “Differences Hypothesis”. Another book that has supported this hypothesis is You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation (Tannen, 1991) However, new research shows that there are more similarities in the genders than previously thought. Psychologists such as Janet Shibley Hyde, Harry Reis and Bobbi Carothers assert that the differences in genders, if any, are minimal (Hyde 2005, Carothers, Reis 2012). So, discard the notion that men and women are completely different psychologically. Research shows that there are more similarities between men and women than differences.
Our perception of sex-roles could be either liberal or conservative. Those who hold conservative views concerning sex-roles believe that there are obvious delineations in the roles played by men and women, while those who hold liberal views do not ascribe roles according to sex (Konrad & Harris, 2002). Therefore, a traditionalist would say that men should be more directive while women should be more nurturing, while a liberal would approve of a more androgynous role for both sexes. One example of the extent to which advertisements are gender-stereotyped can be seen in televised images of men and women. According to a survey on the U. S., an average television viewer watches six hours of
Raising the achievements of boys has become a government priority, and there are many suggestions offered regarding the reasons why boys are now lagging behind girls in educational performance’. There are distinct branches of feminism ranging from the traditional liberal feminists with their concerns over legal restrictions; Marxist feminists concerned with class inequality; radical feminists who cite male violence and ‘sexploitatation’ of females; black feminism that alludes to a duality of oppression: racism and patriarchy[1]. Finally, post –modernist feminism challenges the view that gender is certain and promotes the ideology that femininity is a chosen social construct rather than simplistic biological sexuality. This
Kit Ting Lai Professor Lewis Eng 1A 3/18/2011 Where can we see gender inequality? Our gender identities are constructed by our inborn biological characteristics and sociological factors. In terms of biological factors, men are generally more muscular than women. People may presume that men are stronger than women and tend to discriminate against women due to their physical differences. As a result, women may have a sense of inferiority due to the physical differences between the two, which serve as the basis of gender inequality.