Gender Stereotypes: Masculinity and Femininity

Gender ◽  
2015 ◽  
pp. 66-90
Keyword(s):  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Masculinity And Femininity

scholarly journals Voice Cues Influence Children’s Assessment of Adults’ Occupational Competence

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Cartei ◽  
Jane Oakhill ◽  
Alan Garnham ◽  
Robin Banerjee ◽  
David Reby
Keyword(s):  
Social Environment ◽  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Voice Pitch ◽  
Masculinity And Femininity ◽  
Gender Neutral ◽  
Male Occupations

AbstractThe adult voice is a strong bio-social marker for masculinity and femininity. In this study we investigated whether children make gender stereotypical judgments about adults’ occupational competence on the basis of their voice. Forty-eight 8- to 10- year olds were asked to rate the competence of adult voices that varied in vocal masculinity (by artificially manipulating voice pitch) and were randomly paired with 9 occupations (3 stereotypically male, 3 female, 3 gender-neutral). In line with gender stereotypes, children rated men as more competent for the male occupations and women as more competent for the female occupations. Moreover, children rated speakers of both sexes with feminine (high-pitched) voices as more competent for the female occupations. Finally, children rated men (but not women) with masculine (low-pitched) voices as more competent for stereotypically male occupations. Our results thus indicate that stereotypical voice-based judgments of occupational competence previously identified in adults are already present in children, and likely to affect how they consider adults and interact with them in their social environment.

Why Trump and Clinton won and lost: the roles of hypermasculinity and androgyny

2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary N. Powell ◽  
D. Anthony Butterfield ◽  
Xueting Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
General Assumption ◽  
Political Preference ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Presidential Candidates ◽  
Masculinity And Femininity ◽  
Us Presidential Election

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine perceptions of the “Ideal President” (IP) and presidential candidates in the 2016 US presidential election in relation to gender stereotypes and leader prototypes. Design/methodology/approach In all, 378 business students assessed perceptions of either the IP or a particular candidate on measures of masculinity and femininity. Androgyny (balance of masculinity and femininity) and hypermasculinity (extremely high masculinity) scores were calculated from these measures. Findings The IP was perceived as higher in masculinity than femininity, but less similar to the male (Donald Trump) than the female (Hillary Clinton) candidate. IP perceptions were more androgynous than in the 2008 US presidential election. Respondents’ political preferences were related to their IP perceptions on hypermasculinity, which in turn were consistent with perceptions of their preferred candidate. Social implications Trump’s high hypermasculinity scores may explain why he won the electoral college vote, whereas Clinton’s being perceived as more similar to the IP, and IP perceptions’ becoming more androgynous over time, may explain why she won the popular vote. Originality/value The study extends the literature on the linkages between gender stereotypes and leader prototypes in two respects. Contrary to the general assumption of a shared leader prototype, it demonstrates the existence of different leader prototypes according to political preference. The hypermasculinity construct, which was introduced to interpret leader prototypes in light of Trump’s candidacy and election, represents a valuable addition to the literature with potentially greater explanatory power than masculinity in some situations.

scholarly journals Balancing Gender and Power: How Disney’s Hercules Fails to Go the Distance

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cassandra Primo
Keyword(s):  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Male Identity ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Feminine Trait ◽  
Masculinity And Femininity ◽  
Gender And Power ◽  
Mixed Messages ◽  
Gender Traits

Disney’s Hercules (1997) includes multiple examples of gender tropes throughout the film that provide a hodgepodge of portrayals of traditional conceptions of masculinity and femininity. Hercules’ phenomenal strength and idealized masculine body, coupled with his decision to relinquish power at the end of the film, may have resulted in a character lacking resonance because of a hybridization of stereotypically male and female traits. The film pivots from hypermasculinity to a noncohesive male identity that valorizes the traditionally-feminine trait of selflessness. This incongruous mixture of traits that comprise masculinity and femininity conflicts with stereotypical gender traits that characterize most Disney princes and princesses. As a result of the mixed messages pertaining to gender, Hercules does not appear to have spurred more progressive portrayals of masculinity in subsequent Disney movies, showing the complexity underlying gender stereotypes.

Gender Understandings Among Teachers and Students: Discourses From Delhi

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meenu Anand
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Gender Issues ◽  
School Education ◽  
Primary Research ◽  
Masculinity And Femininity ◽  
Educational Challenges ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Education In India ◽  
Gender Awareness

Gender issues are of paramount interest in school education in India, but questions remain about what girls and boys actually learn about gender once they are in school. Are schools really places where teachers effectively combat traditional gender stereotypes among students? Relying on primary research in schools in Delhi, this article examines teachers’ biases and stereotypes regarding gender issues. Comparing this grassroots reality to the opinions on masculinity and femininity held by children in the same schools, the article identifies a need for more focused teacher education. The persistent gaps between tall claims about improved gender awareness, ambitious promises in policies and existing ground realities pose significant educational challenges for India, especially with regard to methods of promoting consciousness about gender-related issues in all domains of education.

Linking leader anti-prototypes and prototypes to gender stereotypes

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary N. Powell ◽  
D. Anthony Butterfield
Keyword(s):  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Women In Management ◽  
Masculinity And Femininity ◽  
Female Candidates ◽  
The Status ◽  
Single Data ◽  
Two Populations ◽  
Status Of Women

Purpose This study aims to examine factors that may explain the status of women in management by exploring the linkages between leader anti-prototypes and prototypes to gender stereotypes. Design/methodology/approach Samples from two populations described either a “bad manager” (representing leader anti-prototypes) or a “good manager” (representing leader prototypes) on two instruments that assessed masculinity and femininity. Findings On each instrument, masculinity was endorsed more than femininity in both leader prototypes and anti-prototypes. Both masculinity and femininity were endorsed more in leader prototypes than leader anti-prototypes but only when the purpose of the instrument was disguised rather than transparent. Research limitations/implications Limitations of a single data collection method, the nature of the samples and a newly designed scale for purposes of the study are acknowledged. Further attention to the linkages of leader anti-prototypes and prototypes to gender stereotypes and the outcomes of these linkages is recommended. Practical implications Individuals who make managerial selection and promotion decisions may devote more attention to the presence or absence of masculine traits in candidates than to the presence or absence of feminine traits, thereby leading to female candidates being passed over and male candidates receiving greater scrutiny in determining who gets ahead. Social implications The study suggests cognitive mechanisms that may influence the status of women in management. Originality/value The study incorporates leader anti-prototypes and leader prototypes to explain the low status of women in management.

scholarly journals Children can control the expression of masculinity and femininity through the voice

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
pp. 190656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Cartei ◽  
Alan Garnham ◽  
Jane Oakhill ◽  
Robin Banerjee ◽  
Lucy Roberts ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Objective Measure ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Child Characters ◽  
Masculinity And Femininity ◽  
Vocal Apparatus ◽  
Voice Fundamental Frequency ◽  
The Voice

Pre-pubertal boys and girls speak with acoustically different voices despite the absence of a clear anatomical dimorphism in the vocal apparatus, suggesting that a strong component of the expression of gender through the voice is behavioural. Initial evidence for this hypothesis was found in a previous study showing that children can alter their voice to sound like a boy or like a girl. However, whether they can spontaneously modulate these voice components within their own gender in order to vary the expression of their masculinity and femininity remained to be investigated. Here, seventy-two English-speaking children aged 6–10 were asked to give voice to child characters varying in masculine and feminine stereotypicality to investigate whether primary school children spontaneously adjust their sex-related cues in the voice—fundamental frequency ( F 0) and formant spacing (Δ F )—along gender stereotypical lines. Boys and girls masculinized their voice, by lowering F 0 and Δ F , when impersonating stereotypically masculine child characters of the same sex. Girls and older boys also feminized their voice, by raising their F 0 and Δ F , when impersonating stereotypically feminine same-sex child characters. These findings reveal that children have some knowledge of the sexually dimorphic acoustic cues underlying the expression of gender, and are capable of controlling them to modulate gender-related attributes, paving the way for the use of the voice as an implicit, objective measure of the development of gender stereotypes and behaviour.

Gender Role Orientation Moderates Effects of Stereotype Activation on Test Performances

2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Tempel ◽  
Roland Neumann
Keyword(s):  
Gender Role ◽  
Stereotype Threat ◽  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Sex Role ◽  
Role Orientation ◽  
Gender Role Orientation ◽  
Stereotype Activation ◽  
Feminine Gender ◽  
Masculinity And Femininity ◽  
Stereotype Lift

Abstract. We investigated the moderation of effects of activated gender stereotypes on the performance of women in tests of different ability domains. The Bem Sex Role Inventory assessed masculinity and femininity. The difference of the masculinity and femininity scores served as a continuous independent variable of gender role orientation. Only participants with feminine gender role orientation suffered from stereotype activation with regard to mental rotation and math performance. In contrast, participants with feminine gender role orientation profited from stereotype activation with regard to emotional sensitivity performance. These results demonstrate a generally higher susceptibility to gender stereotypes of women with feminine gender role orientation. Higher self-relevance of stereotypes was associated with stronger stereotype threat, but also stronger stereotype lift or boost.

scholarly journals KUMYKS’ UPBRINGING TRADITIONS IN THE XIX – EARLY XX CENTURY

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-258
Author(s):  
Kamilla M. Kramynina ◽  
Madina B. Gimbatova
Keyword(s):  
Gender Roles ◽  
Moral Education ◽  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Practical Importance ◽  
Gender Behavior ◽  
Masculinity And Femininity ◽  
Labor Division ◽  
Extensive Field ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
And Gender

The present study aims to consider the specifics of teaching rules of conduct in children in an extended Kumyk family of the XIX – early XX century. Basing on the analysis of a wide range of sources and literature, as well as field ethnographic material obtained in the regions of Kumyks’ concentration, the authors present various aspects of etiquette interaction and pedagogical methods of Kumyk upbringing in the XIX - early XX century. The peculiarities of moral education in Kumyk children, on the example of an extended patriarchal family, have been revealed, since etiquette relations were more pronounced in such families than in a small (nuclear) one. It has been noted that the traditional upbringing among Kumyks was varied and oriented towards the adoption of gender stereotypes by children. The stereotypes of “masculinity” and “femininity”, gender behavior, gender roles and organization of age-sex labor division in a family are analyzed in the paper. On the basis of extensive field material, the authors give examples of various types of games and children activities, which highlight the differences in gender upbringing and the manifestation of “masculinity” and “femininity” in games. It has been established that the existing division of gender roles in a Kumyk family, under which men performed vocational roles, and women – the family ones, formed in children socially accepted ideas of the masculine and feminine types. In the era of globalization, when the institute of traditional family is on the brink of extinction, and gender-neutral upbringing is actively propagated in the mass media, the study of gender stereotypes and features of gender behavior and upbringing in traditional culture has a major scientific and practical importance. The conclusions of the article may be of interest to members of education and culture, or used when writing works in ethnography and pedagogy. The relevance of this study is due to the interest of scholars in various fields and the general public in gender issues and problems of upbringing.

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