The purpose of this report is to find out how gender identity, gender roles and sexual identity influences and shapes the subsequent development of an individual. The report shall also look at different theories of gender development, namely, Psychodynamic, Biological and Social learning theory. Further, the report will examine the essential components of the Nature and Nurture debate on gender development. The changing nature of gender roles in the 21st century is discussed and some practical examples of these changes being investigated. Then, it will critically analyse the role media plays in shaping human behaviour. Lastly, the report will look how gender roles are acquired through the observation of male and female social role models.
2. FINDINGS
The awareness of who we are and whether we are female or male is an important aspect of human development. Some eminent psychologists have raised concerns about how we come to be identified as male or female. They ask, does the process of identification of who we are starts right from the moment the child is born? Or does she/he learn about its identity from the social environment in which it is raised? Also, what effect does it create and how does it shape our emotional life and future relationships.
When the baby is born, the first question anybody asks is “is the baby a girl or a boy?” From then on, the sex of the child becomes an integral part of our perception of it. While the physical characteristics of the child like its external genitalia indicate the baby’s sex, it is no proof of the baby’s gender. In fact, many parents are not aware of this duality between sex and gender. Ignorance of this can mislead the parents and caretakers into trying to impose unnatural and inconvenient habits and behaviour upon the child. In reality though, the distinction between sex and gender is the starting point to analysis gender development (Wood, 1995). Therefore, gender is a term that has psychological as well as cultural connotations. It is the degree to which the significant others perceive the child’s gender that shows induces the child into male or female behaviour patterns, which are accepted and tolerated by the particular culture and society.
2.1 SEXUAL IDENTITY
At this juncture, a discussion on the difference between sex and gender is quite relevant. The difference between sex and gender is that, sex is limited to biological characteristics at the time of conception. That is, a sperm from the male parent fertilises an ovum of the female parent. Normal ovum and half of all sperms carry x chromosomes. The other half of normal sperms carries a y chromosome. Inheriting a xy chromosome confers maleness on the future child. Y chromosome controls supplies of endogens which will affect the development of male sex organs and the brain while it is in the foetal stage. The absence of endogens results in the development of a female baby.
Usually one tends to expect a correspondence between chromosomes and sex, that is, if the chromosome is xy the physical appearance and the character should be that of male. However, this is not always the case. The presence of arendogenital syndrome in females can alter appearance and behaviour similar to that of a male. Likewise too, the presence of testicular feminising syndrome causes chromosomally male children who are insensitive to testosterone to develop a female external appearance. Normally women produce greater amount of progesterone and oestrogen, while men produce more testosterone and androgen. The level of endogen in male stops hypothalamus from regulating hormonal production, but it does help in female menstruation and ovulation cycle. Hormones can influence behaviour, personality and emotional disposition. (Coy and Phoenic, 1971)
Animal experiments might provide evidence for the link between androgens and aggressive behaviour:
- Castrated male rats tend to fight less. While female rats given extra androgen after birth are more aggressive in adult life than other female rats.
- Coy and Phoenix (1971) claims that, female monkeys given extra androgens display more rough and tumble play than other female monkeys.
- Studies carried out by Archer and Lloyd (2000) shows a direct link between testosterone in human male and aggression.
2.2 CRITICISM OF FINDINGS
* All the experiments were conducted on animals. It is dangerous to assume that the same hormonal changes in animals would result in the same changes in behaviour of human beings. The experiment with rats simply looked at one side, that is: the aggressiveness in animal behaviour, yet they used the same explanation of female aggressiveness throughout its social life.
* The monkey experiment failed to consider the fact that androgens produced masculine genitalia in female monkeys. This implies that the behaviours of monkeys could have resulted from them being treated as males because of their appearance. Social factor was not put into consideration as well. Oakley (1981), accepts that dominant males in monkey groups have higher testosterone levels than less dominant ones. However, Oakley argues, that the social context also affects hormone levels. Experiments show that when less dominant monkeys are caged with females only, their testosterone levels rise.
* Archer Lloyd studied testosterone and aggression in twelve and thirteen year old boys for three years and found out that, although their levels of testosterone increased rapidly, the boys did not become more aggressive. In other words, there were no correlation between levels of testosterone and levels of aggression over the last three years.
3. GENDER ROLE
Gender role starts as soon as children start to realise their instinct sex-type difference at the age of two or three years. Similarly, there is a situation whereby a child acquires behaviours and characteristics that a culture considers sex-appropriate (Atkinson,1993). Soon after the baby is born, boys and girls are dressed differently and given different toys to play with. Boys are perceived as strong, more alert and coordinated than girls, whom parents describe as being smaller, softer and less attentive than boys. Parents have sex expectation towards their child.
Most psychologists believe that boys are treated differently. For instance, babies are treated more roughly when they realize that the baby is boy, than when it is a girl. The difference comes from different socialisation practices for girls and boys due to gender stereotypes and gender roles (Martyana and Watson, 1976).
In adolescence, the difference in behaviour is reflected in someone’s interest, attitude and occupational choices. In daily life, women are supposed to be ‘nice’, ‘kind’, and ‘helpful’ and follow the ‘rules’ than being successful. Those who challenge the rule are looked down and devalued (Dweck, 1978).
However, attitudes about gender roles are changing. Females are now independent, relatively passive emotionally and good at verbal tasks. They now participate in politics, look after the finances of the home. Previously, there were some sports which were known to be men’s domains, but now, women also participate in them; two good examples are boxing and football.
Nevertheless, occupational choices are expected to reflect these qualities as well. For example, boys are expected to become scientists or medical practitioners and girls expected to become secretaries or nurses. By studying development processes, psychologists have come out with alternative explanations, which help understand whether nature and nurture play an equal role in gender development.
4. NATURE OR BIOLOGICAL APPROACH TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF GENDER ROLE
NATURE
In the biological approach of viewing at development, the evolution of gender role looks at people as a result of genetic inheritance. Genes can control prenatal differences and behaviour, facial features and the sex. They also play a very important role in psychological differences such as dominance, aggression and interest in children.
Research conducted by Clark (1989) found out that, males and females do differ in brain structure. He studied the corpus callosum, which refers to 200 million nerve fibres that links the two hemispheres of brain. The study linked the relationship between the size of the parts of a corpus callosum and cognitive abilities of men and women. The outcome of the study is quite interesting; women’s score on verbal tests were negatively correlated to an area found to be larger in men. These findings should be interpreted cautiously as no relationship between brain structure and sex differences in cognitive processes and behaviour has been established yet.
It has been suggested that exposure to different patterns of hormones during development may result in differences in the development of brain (Hofman and Swaab 1991). There is little evidence showing the effect of such brain difference on gender behaviour. Experiments were carried out on rats and not humans, which is another factor to be considered.
The hormones were injected at a sensitive development period. This means that the development behaviour of these animals were artificially tampered. Similar experiments on humans are prohibited under ethical grounds, and hence the studies on animals fail to conclusively determine their implications for human development.
However, there are some other studies that support the conclusions of the above mentioned findings. For instance, Money and Erhardt (1972) and Hines (1982) studied children with congenital adrenogenital syndrome (CAS). These children had been exposed to hormones appropriate to the opposite sex when their mother received hormonal treatment during pregnancy. Females exposed to male hormones later exhibited more masculine gender role behaviour than a control group who were not exposed to opposite-sexed hormones.
4.1 CRITICISM
Diamond (1965) criticised the study due to the fact that Erhardt and Money did not take into consideration the extent in which innate differences have to be overcome. The participants were predominantly twins and hence the outcome might not be applicable to the general population.
Also, the human nervous system is very flexible in that, it can adjust to the environmental influences in the early years of childhood (Money and Erhardt). Natural intervention cannot wholly be held responsible for the girlish behaviour of infants. Sex-typed learning plays a part as well.
4.2 CASE STUDY – A NORMAL TWIN BOY RAISED AS GIRL.
Money (1974) reported the case of normal monozygotic twin boys. One of these boys had his penis burned in a circumcision accident. His parents decided to raise him as a girl and was dressed as one and treated in the same way other girls were being treated. At the age of seventeen months, he was operated to change his sex and at puberty, he underwent hormonal treatment. In his early years, the response to the treatment was positive in that he showed interest to clothes, cleanliness and involvement in house work. His behaviour was appropriate to that of a girl. The ‘normal’ twin on the other hand developed as a boy as expected.
5. THE PYSCHOANALYTIC THEORY OF DEVELOPMENT OF GENDER ROLE.
This theory suggests that children learn about their gender at a very early stage of gender role development, when pleasure is derived from stimulation of sex organs. Infants become aware that, not everyone is like themselves in the body. This is the period when sexual desire for the opposite sex starts manifesting itself. This fact is based on Oedipus and Electra complexes and the beginning of identification. Gender role starts right from here.
Sex appropriate behaviours are produced as children identify themselves with the same sex-parent. Fathers play a very important role to sons when they reach the age of two and the interaction between them as they grow. Eventually boys start paying much attention to girls and vice versa (Lamb, 1979). However, if the father is absent for the first four years, boys become more dependent on peers, less assertive and less interested in physical activities and girls. They may also find it difficult to sustain heterosexual relationships when they reach the stage of puberty (Hetheringhton 1972).
Research shows that children raised by homosexual single mothers develop gender roles just as normally as children of heterosexual single mothers do (Green 1983). Also, children brought up by lesbian parents do not differ from those reared by heterosexual single parents when it comes to their gender roles.
Sigmund Freud, who is the father of psychoanalytic theory, implies that the effect of divorce on a child is greater when it happens during the early stage in the parents’ relationship. This is the period when the identification stage requires the presence of both parents. If children stay with their mothers after divorce, boys tend to suffer most as they lack male role models and may end up with a confused identity.
5.1 CRITICISM
Freud’s concept takes it for granted that gender role identification in children is already predetermined in a child body immediately after conception. The unconscious conflict between their fears and desires tries to shape their behaviours. He depended very much on observation and imitation rather than looking at external forces surrounding the child.
6. SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF GENDER
NURTURE
Behaviour is seen as a social construct through reinforcement and punishment, modelling and observation. The individual learns to modify their behaviour in line with their expectation. Gender role is seen to be achieved by shaping towards male or female gender appropriate behaviours, for example, boys reinforced for aggression and punished for dependency, whereas girls are punished for aggression and rewarded for dependency (Smith and Lloyd, 1978). However, women these days do not solely depend on men to provide them with everything; they also engage in activities which help them to move forward without depending on men.
Sex appropriate behaviour can also be learned from observing and imitating same sex role models (Tuner1995). Children learn by observing others, modelling their particular types of behaviour. For instance, children will copy the behaviour of their parents like dressing, eating and talking. When they learn such behaviour it becomes part of their life. Some models might be more important than others. For example, children who like football will want to live a lifestyle that is more or less the same as that of David Beckham’s, including his hair cut, dressing and talking. The influence of similar model generates gender related behaviours. Albert Bandura (1969-1986) noted that in order for modelling to take place, there must be some favourable factors present. This includes:
- Influence
- Caring
- Similar
- FamiliarInfluence
Bandura believed that for any learning to take place, it has to have some significance for the individual. The person trying to copy a particular act must feel that such behaviour is useful and there will be rewards in doing so. Only then does the child gets motivated and starts seeing the importance of his/her actions.
Caring
If the parent is exercising a particular behaviour in order for the child to emulate it, he/she must do it in the form of caring. A child must know that whatever their model does, it is for their better interests.
Similar
The acted behaviour of the parent should be the same as what their model is doing. The learner must be capable of reproducing the observed behaviour. Duck (1990) suggested that the same sexed models are more influential and same sexed were more likely to be imitated.
Familiar
The behaviour should be attainable and not uncommon to the learner (Duck 1990). Only if the behaviour observed is possible in the child’s frame of influence, does any learning take place.
The components for learning
Bandura (1977) identified four stages for any learning to take place.
- Availability: the behaviour to be observed must be available either directly in the environment or through books, newspapers magazines or television.
- Attention: learners must pay attention to the model and understand the main features of the behaviour.
- Memory: only when the observation is labelled, it can be memorialised easily.
- Motor reproduction process: only if the behaviour can be observed, it is possible for the child to repeat it.
Turner (1995) noted that a young child learns behaviour through reinforcement and punishment. Sex appropriate behaviour is reinforced through reward and the ones which are unacceptable are punished. Such practice and training in gender appropriate behaviour will improve performance. For example, children are encouraged to greet visitors, every body at home and are punished if they do not react accordingly. Reinforcement of both negative and positive behaviour is meant to strengthen a desirable behaviour and increases the likelihood of such behaviour to happen again.
Fagot and Hagen (1991) found out that as early as 18 months, parents buy different toys and respond more positively when their son and daughter play with sex appropriate toys. Women are more tolerant to their children and this explains why male stereotype develops earlier than female stereotype.
Leinbach (1989) found that before 18 months children were not aware of their sex but parents started labelling them by buying and rewarding sex appropriate behaviour more often. With time, after the labelling has taken place, children of both sexes start differentiating between themselves and what kind of toys one should play with.
Boys whose fathers had more traditional attitude to sex typed behaviour reacted in more gender typical manner. Turner and Gerva (1995) state, that fathers who were more ‘feminine’ in personality had children who showed less confidence, did not show off much and play a lot less. This shows that gender identity by labelling is reinforced more consistently by parents with traditional characteristics.
Therefore social learning stresses the influence of the situation and its circumstances in shaping and maintaining behaviour changes. Once the situation and circumstances change, so does the behaviour. Sex appropriate behaviour comes into play depending on the gender of the child and who he/she plays with. Maccoby (1990) states that preschool girls are very passive when playing with other girls; but display different behaviour when playing with boys. This is because boys always tend to dominate and take roles unless when parents are present.
6.1 CRITICISM OF SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
Social learning theorists did come out with important explanations about the development of gender, but some problems were not clearly explained. It failed to show the central concepts of reward and reinforcement clearly.
* Children do come from different backgrounds and have different biological development (nature). What is reinforcement and reward in one child might not work in another child. Bandura tried to explain this as cognitive variability, but does not look at primary factors, say when the child is in infancy.
* Social leaning theorists assume that children are passive recipients of the environment. That is they accept whatever rewards and punishments their caregiver exercises.
7. CULTURE DIFFERENTIATION
In most cultures children are encouraged to play with their own sex mates. By doing this, children get the opportunity to strengthen their behaviour appropriate to the same sex. Edwards (1988) says that the social world of boys and girls do differ in many aspects:
* When boys meet, they involve more in rough play and one person takes over as a leader of group and their attitude is competitive in nature.
* While with girls the situation is different. They tend to be less competitive, work together and play more in dyads (same) group. Their criticisms of each other are more constructive and give a chance to others to contribute.
In many countries, children between 5-8 years had less gender stereotypes than the adults and it was strong in male dominated societies. Though there were some differences which showed than some children do learn gender stereotype earlier, the pattern was very much common in adults. Every society has its own values and norms. This means that the society can shape one’s emotional makeup and behaviour. Advocates of nature believe that children learn their gender roles right from an early age.
The stimulation in the environment helps the individual by improving their behaviour, say, learning a language. It is urged that if it was a genetic creation, it would have been impossible or difficult for a child to learn the language and speak. Take for instance the story of ‘Genie’ who grew up in the jungle and could not speak and also had poor language abilities.
Researchers do believe that biological influence plays a very important role in early stage to bring about such behaviour. Campbell (1996), who studied babies as young as seven months, says that they prefer their own sex mates.
8 THE ROLE OF MEDIA IN SHAPING GENDER ROLES
Media has played a very important role in the development of gender behaviour. A lot of research has been made to find out if consistent viewing of television does create gender roles to change. Manstead and McCulloch (1981) found that stereotypes on television often do not reflect the reality. Men were portrayed as powerful and are always in control while women were seen as homemakers and mothers. Children tend to copy new fusions, designs and life styles of celebrities. This is most commonly found in young adults.
9. GENDER ROLE IN THE 20th AND 21st CENTURY
As soon as the ‘winds’ of industrialisation started blowing across the world, human behaviour and gender roles started to change. Prior to the 20th century, men and women have had specific roles to play in society. Men were seen as ‘breadwinners’, that is, they were responsible to look after their families financially while women were supposed to care and look after the children at home.
Women did not participate in politics, hunting and any physical activities, which can endanger their body. But now that that myth is gone, women are present in politics and are in forefront in decision making and running house activities that used to be the domain of men.
Women can now decide not to get married or not have children naturally. They might opt for artificial insemination or choose to adopt a child. Many women are now single mothers and a significant minority are now lesbians as well.
In England, gender roles have changed as well. In some societies marriage is done on contract basis, that is, a man and a woman can decide for how long they can be married and when to separate.
Also, subjects that were regarded to be a women‘s subjects like nursing, social work, catering, now see the involvement of men.
9.1 CRITICISM
During the twentieth century, divorce, single parenthood and live-in relationships are on the increase. Since gender roles have changed, there is equality in each and everything and everybody is restrained by the requirements of modern civil societies. People are now independent. They do not see the usefulness of the arguments in favour of human nature and “natural” gender roles.
CONCLUSION
To sum it all, the report has looked at different arguments. Some of the researchers have put forward explanations about the development of gender roles in human societies. Is it a result of nature or nurture that human behaviour changes? Biologists argue that genetics play an important role in shaping human behaviour. The psychoanalysts believe that children construct their gender as masculine or feminine from their experience of Oedipus and Electra complexes. Behaviour can also be acquired through social learning, which is based on observation, reward and punishment. Media plays a very important role as well in shaping someone’s behaviour. The report has also looked at how gender roles have changed during the 20th and 21st centuries.
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