Transnational media consumption dissonance and ambivalent sexism: How American and Korean television drama consumption shapes Chinese audiences’ gender-role values

Driven by globalization, modernity and the development of media technology, transnational media consumption is increasingly prevalent. Together with domestic media consumption, transnational media consumption constitutes the fragmentation and diversification of individuals’ media consumption behaviors. Yet research concerning the hybrid media effects generated by domestic and transnational media consumption is still underdeveloped. Using a sample of 556 Chinese Internet users, this study proposes a concept of transnational media consumption dissonance to compare the effects of hybrid media consumption on sexism and gender-role norms in marriage (GRIM). The findings suggest that individuals’ perceptions of gender-role norms are not only affected by domestic media usage but also altered through transnational media usage. We illustrate how transnational media consumption dissonance can affect Chinese audiences’ perception of GRIM through the mediating roles of perceived sexism in American and Korean dramas and their general sexism values.

The Family Origin of the Math Gender Gap Is a White Affluent Phenomenon

Previous research has shown that norms around the role of women in society could help explain the gender gap in mathematics and that these norms could be transmitted within the family. Using data from the Florida Department of Education combined with birth certificates, we uncover important heterogeneity in the transmission of gender biases within the family. We find that gender role norms can explain the lower performance of girls in mathematics only in relatively affluent White families, whereas they do not apparently matter for the performance of Black girls.

Is being gender nonconforming distressing? It depends where you live: gender equality across 15 nations predicts how much gender nonconformity is related to self-esteem

Background Individuals exhibiting gender nonconforming behaviors experience low self-esteem and a number of other mental health conditions, including elevated suicide risk. Most of the relevant evidence is confined to US studies, however. Adopting a cross-national approach, we examined the pervasiveness of the psychological burden associated with gender nonconformity. Because self-esteem is sensitive to the fulfillment of societal expectations for gender conformity, we reasoned that the relationship between gender conformity and self-esteem ought to decrease as societies become less restrictive in their gender norms. Methods To test this proposition, we conducted two studies including 18 national samples from 15 countries varying in gender equality. Participants responded to an online survey that included measures of gender conformity and self-esteem (N = 4486). Results Using multilevel analyses and meta-analytic statistics over the samples of both studies, we found that as gender equality increased, the association between gender conformity and self-esteem decreased. Conclusions The results suggest that rather than being inherently noxious, gender non-conformity becomes detrimental to self-esteem when it clashes with restrictive gender role norms that are enacted by the macrosocial context. We suggest that previous findings on psychological problems related to gender nonconformity be considered within a broader macrosocial context that may constrain people's freedom to move against gender role norms.

Examining gender differentials in the association of low control work with cognitive performance in older workers

Background Limited workplace control, an important dimension of job strain, can reduce occupational opportunities for problem solving and learning. Women may have fewer professional resources to mitigate effects of low control, while conversely, gender-role norms may moderate the influence of occupational psychosocial risk factors. We therefore examined whether the links between control and cognitive function were similarly gendered. Methods This observational, longitudinal study included respondents of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe who were aged 50–64 years at entry, employed and provided at least two measurements of control and cognition (n = 6697). Relationships between control and cognition, quantified with standardized scores from verbal fluency, immediate and delayed word recall tests, were explored using linear fixed-effect and random-effect models with gender interactions. Results Consistent trends of improved verbal fluency performance with high control were evident across analyses, equal to producing around three-quarters of a word more under high control conditions, with an effect size ∼0.1 SD units (fully adjusted models, range 0.077–0.104 SD), although associations with recall tests were inconsistent. We did not find evidence of clear gender differences in control–cognition relationships for any of the cognitive domains. Conclusions The cognitive health of older European workers may benefit from improved workplace control irrespective of gender. Possible sources of bias that could explain the lack of gender differences are discussed, particularly gender differences in labour force participation, response behaviour in job control ratings and implications of gender-role norms on the importance of occupational risk factors.

Gendered Perceptions of Child Sexual Abusers: The Paradox of the “Vulnerable Other”

A growing body of evidence indicates that women who contravene traditional gender-role norms by committing sexual crime toward children are treated more leniently than their male counterparts. Such lenience has been explained by some scholars in terms of the “denial” thesis, which suggests that sexual scripts regarding masculine and feminine norms influence how society reacts to particular kinds of behavior. This study investigates the influence of gender-based attitudes and beliefs on practitioner perceptions of male and female child sexual abusers. It also explores whether and how gender-based ideals impact on practitioner punitiveness and discusses implications for policy and practice.

A critical discussion of theoretical foundations and measurement methods of gender roles

Background Public health researchers have frequently investigated associations of individual gender role norms or attitudes with a variety of health outcomes. It has been suggested that the construct of gender roles is multidimensional, including norms about gender inequality and gender-related division of labour. Implications of multidimensionality and limitations of applied measurement methods, however, have rarely been discussed critically in published studies. Methods I will summarise theoretical considerations about the multidimensionality of the construct of gender roles. Examples of recently applied approaches to operationalise gender role attitudes in mental health research will be presented. The talk will conclude with a discussion of advantages and limitations of these approaches regarding consistency with theory, applicability, and reduction of measurement error. Results Gender role norms include assumptions about inequality and division of labour in the public and private sphere. Items about gender role attitudes are regularly included in questionnaires of large social surveys and are suitable to explore associations with disease occurrence or quality of healthcare. Data reduction methods such as factor analysis might be applied to differentiate dimensions and to reduce measurement error. Conclusions Shortcomings in considering theoretical foundations and inconsistencies in operationalisation might have contributed to the limited recognition of findings about possible impacts of gender roles on health. We need to advance measurement methods to increase the quality of public health research on gender. Finally, aspects of gender on the contextual level should complement investigations of individual gender roles.