Useful Information
“Gender differences” is a term used to refer to both biological and social characteristics that distinguish men and women. The social characteristics include such things as differences in family responsibilities, occupational roles, acceptable behavior and other culturally learned activities and traits. All of these differences are linked to notions of masculinity and femininity which vary from one culture to another.
Biologicaldifferencesaredeterminedatbirth.Femaleshavetwosimilarsex-determiningchromosomes
(XX),whilemaleshavetwodissimilarsex-determiningchromosomes(XY).Bothsexeshavemale
and female hormones, but the average man has about 10 times as much testosterone as the average woman. Most scientists agree that these biological differences affect, at least to some extent, physical behavior and development. In other words, in most cultures men are bigger, stronger and more aggressive than women. Obviously, physical activity and social roles accentuate these biological differences. Heavy labor builds muscles and the responsibility of providing for a family reinforces the natural aggression of men in society. The child-raising activities of women, on the other hand, reinforce their gentle behavior.
Many of the traditional stereotypes associated with women were questioned by the feminist movement that began in the West in the early 1960s. The movement (also known as the women’s liberation movement) favored increased rights and activities for women. Feminists stressed that it was not primarily biology that determined women’s roles and status in society, but social prejudices.
According to the feminists, women were usually socialized and educated differently from men because it was assumed that women were physically and intellectually inferior.
The theories and analyses that came out of the women’s liberation movement sparked innumerable studies on educational and employment practices. These studies revealed the sexist biases of teachers, employers, schools, universities, textbooks, laws, and other official documents. It was shown that the way girls are treated in the home and in school plays a major role in reinforcing stereotypes, and that if treated similarly, boys and girls have comparable potential and can accomplish similar goals.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, efforts were made to reduce sexist attitudes in educational systems and in the workplace. Girls were encouraged to study medicine, law, mathematics, engineering, etc., and to follow careers normally associated with men. Laws were passed prohibiting sexist discrimination in hiring practices in order to give women equal job opportunities.
Gender Differences
Unit 3
34 Unit 3
The impact of the feminist movement was felt even at the level of everyday language. Since the 1960s, the English language has evolved considerably in order to be more inclusive of women. New words have been invented and pronouns are used differently. Virtually every grammar book published since the late 1970s has a section on avoiding sexist language and sexist pronoun use. Various ways are now used to avoid inequality of the sexes, such as: 1) A person should insist that his or her rights berespected;2)Peopleshouldseethattheiremployertreatsallemployeesequally;3)Everyone
receivedtheirfairshare;4)Thechairpersonofthedepartmentinsistedonnon-sexistlanguageinall
publications.
Despite social reforms and changing attitudes, there are still many unanswered questions regarding gender differences. Do women feel compelled to act more like men in order to overcome stereotypes?
Can or should men and women ever be truly equal in any society?
PART 1 Preparation
1 The Opposite Sex
Sample
1 In the first cartoon, the man, who is sitting comfortably in the sofa, is telling his son that women are called the opposite sex because whatever men want to do, women always want to do the opposite. He seems to believe that men and women are polar opposites. The message of this cartoon is that many men just don’t understand women.
The second cartoon shows that if a boy can’t do well in math, people will think this particular boy isn’t good at math, yet if it’s a girl who is bad at math, people will quickly draw a generalization that girls can’t do math. From this cartoon we can learn that gender stereotypes exist in society at large, and in the education system, too.
2 • I don’t think men and women are born entirely different. It is our culture that teaches women and men to be so in many ways. Whether we admit it or not, the majority of us have been raised to fit and adopt certain gender roles. Yet, the truth is that we are more alike than different. My reason is that I’ve seen girls who are more daring and fearless than many boys and boys no less gentle and sensitive than average girls. I have to say that people are different from each other just because they are different individuals, not because of their different genders.
• In my opinion, the differences between men and women do exist, deeper rooted than any social influences or upbringing can have affected. There is plenty of evidence suggesting that men and women are born different. For instance, in a study, newborn infants, who were less than 24 hours old, were shown a real human face and a mobile of the same size and in similar colors. On average, boys looked longer at the mobile and girls looked longer at the face. This shows that as soon as they are born, girls and boys act differently and are interested in different things. I believe the biological differences have shaped them so differently. The society and families just “follow the crowd”.
35 Gender Differences
2 Differences or Stereotypes
STEP TWO Sample
• I think some of the differences described in the statements are real ones. For instance, I hate to do laundry, so sometimes I do wear a dirty shirt inside out when I have no more clean shirts.
Fortunately,myfriendsdonotseemtohavenoticedit,ormaybetheyjustdon’tcare.Butwhen
I am at home, my mom washes my clothes, and she would never ever allow me to wear a dirty shirt. As for cars, I think boys love cars more than girls. And we know most of the well-known manufacturers and their famous models. When we are on the street, we pay more attention to cars, especially good cars.
• To me, what most of the statements say are just gender stereotypes. For example, I don’t spend much time talking with my friends over the phone. Neither do I spend much time shopping online. In fact, I’m not interested in shopping at all, whether in shops or online. When I need any clothing or other things I just go to the nearby store and quickly pick up what I need. I never stay longer than necessary there. Although I am a girl I am also interested in cars and their new features. That’s probably because of my major. I’m studying engineering, so I’m interested in anything moving and their mechanism.
3 A Gender Survey
STEP ONE (Open.) STEP TWO
• Most people think that women are more emotional and more compassionate than men. They are also viewed as better listeners and able to do many things at a time. Most of us believe women have better “people skills”.
• We all think that men have a more aggressive nature. They are also more willing to take risks than women. All of the girls in our group believe that men are more self-centered.
Additional activity 1 Men or Women?
Below are some characteristics of men or women identified by an American relationship counselor John Gray. Work in pairs and decide whether you think the features describe men or women.
Write “M” for men and “W” for women.
1 They talk to exchange information.
2 They talk to express feelings.
3 They need to be alone sometimes. Every now and then, especially when under stress, they need to retreat to their “cave” and do not want to be disturbed.
4 They are goal-oriented problem solvers.
5 Naturally and cyclically, their moods go through highs and lows.
6 They tend to use dramatic expressions such as “you ALWAYS forget” or “you NEVER listen to me”.
36 Unit 3
Key:
1 M 2 W 3 M 4 M 5 W 6 W
(According to John Gray, the author of the book Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus) 2 Feminine Qualities vs. Masculine Qualities
Work in groups to write in each column as many words as you can that describe feminine or masculine qualities.
Feminine Qualities Masculine Qualities
tender, weak, sensitive, shy, sympathetic, dependent, soft, gentle, caring, considerate, delicate, tolerant, cautious, careful, timid, neat and clean
strong, brave, adventurous, independent, courageous, creative, bold, persistent, manipulative, confident, competent, dominating, vigorous
Teaching tips
The teacher may give all the words to students randomly and ask them to divide them into feminine qualities and masculine qualities. It is advisable that the teacher remind students that in a sense these words represent stereotypes.