Intro
Chapter 10:
Some Definitions
• Sex—the biological category of male or female; sexual intercourse
• Gender—cultural, social, and psychological meanings associated with masculinity or femininity
• Gender roles—behaviors, attitudes, and personality traits designated either masculine or feminine in a given culture • Gender identity—A person’s psychological sense of
being male or female
Gender Role Stereotypes
• The beliefs and expectations people hold about the typical characteristics, preferences, and
behaviors of men and women
• In the US, when men and women accept the
female stereotype more positively than the male stereotype, “benevolent sexism” results.
Contributes to gender inequality.
• There is a high degree of agreement on the
Gender Related Differences
• Differences do not mean deficiencies
• Overall: men and women more similar than
different
• Three main areas of gender differences
– Personality
– Cognitive abilities
Personality Differences
• No significant differences between
men and women have been found on
most characteristics
• Women tend to be more nurturant
than men
Cognitive Differences
• No differences for most cognitive abilities
• Verbal, reading, and writing—females
consistently score higher
• Spatial skills—males outscore females on
mentally rotating objects, females score
better on remembering locations of objects
• Math Skills—males score slightly better than
Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors
• Reported differences between males
and females in these areas have
become less pronounced since the
1960s
• Recent meta-analyses indicate that men
tend to have more sexual partners,
experience first intercourse at an earlier
age, and masturbate more frequently
Gender Role Development
• Between ages 2-3 years, children can identify themselves and other children as boys or girls. The concept of gender or sex, however, is based more on outward characteristics such as clothing • Toddler girls tend to play more with dolls and ask
for help more than boys
• Toddler boys tend to play more with trucks and wagons, and tend to play more actively
Social Learning Theory
Gender roles are acquired through the basic
processes of learning, including
Some Definitions
• Gender schema theory—the theory that gender-role development is influenced by the formation of schemas, or mental representations, of masculinity and femininity
• Intersexed—condition in which a person’s biological sex is ambiguous, often combining aspects of both male and female anatomy and/or physiology.
• Transgendered—condition in which a person’s psychological gender identity conflicts with his or her biological sex.
Gender Schema Theory
An example of how a child forms a schema associated with gender. A girl is offered a choice of 4 toys to play with.
I am a girl
Toy car Doll Orange Artichoke Approach object Who for?
Gender Identity Disorder
•Persistent discomfort about one’s
physical gender along with the desire
to be a member of the opposite sex
Human Sexuality
Sexuality both private and public.
The human sexual response cycle
was first mapped by sex research
pioneers William Masters and
Human Sexual Response
• Stage 1: Excitement—beginning of sexual
arousal
• Stage 2: Plateau—increased physical arousal
• Stage 3: Orgasm—male ejaculates, female
vaginal contractions
What Motivates Sexual Behavior
• Necessary for the survival of the
species but not of the individual
• Lower animals motivated by
hormonal changes in the female
• Higher species less influenced by
Sexual Orientation
• Sexual orientation—direction of a person's emotional and erotic attractions
• Heterosexual—sexual attraction for the opposite sex
• Homosexual—sexual attraction for the same sex • Gay—typically used to describe male
homosexuals
Determination of Sexual
Orientation
• Genetics—role suggested by twin
and family studies
• Brain structure—differences found in
hypothalamus of homosexual and
heterosexual men
Some General Findings
• Sexual orientation is an early-emerging, ingrained aspect of the self that probably does not change
• No consistent relationship between orientation and childhood experiences (e.g., parenting, abuse,
sexual experience)
• Controversial findings suggest a possible
Sexuality in Adulthood
• Majority of adults (80%) report having none or one sexual partner in the past year (marriage factor)
• Majority of men ages 18-59 have sex about seven times per month
• Majority of women ages 18-59 have sex about six times per month
• Vaginal intercourse is nearly universal as the most widely practiced sexual activity among heterosexual couples
Sexual Disorders and Problems
• Sexual dysfunction—consistent disturbance in sexual desire, arousal, or orgasm that causes psychological distress and interpersonal
difficulties
• 43% of women and 31% of men report sexual problems
• Low desire and arousal problems common among women
Categories of Sexual Dysfunctions
• Hypoactive sexual desire disorder—
characterized by little or no sexual desire
• Sexual aversion disorder—characterized by active avoidance of genital sexual contact because of extreme anxiety, fear, or disgust • Dysparenia—characterized by genital pain
before, during, or after intercourse
Categories of Sexual Dysfunctions
• Premature ejaculation—in males, characterized by orgasm occurring before it is desired, often immediately or shortly after sexual stimulation or penetration
• Female orgasmic disorder—in females,
characterized by consistent delays in achieving orgasm or the inability to achieve orgasm
• Vaginismus—characterized by persistent,
Paraphelia
Any of several forms of nontraditional sexual behavior where sexual gratification depends on an unusual experience, object, or fantasy
– Exhibitionism—arousal from exposing one’s genitals to strangers
– Fetishism—arousal in response to inanimate objects (shoes, leather)
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
(STD)
• STD—any of several infectious diseases
transmitted through sexual intercourse or other sexual contact
• Of the 19 million cases of STDs diagnosed
annually in the US, about half are among those aged 15 to 24
AIDS Epidemic
• Acquired immune deficiency syndrome—caused by
exchange of bodily fluids (blood, blood products, semen) containing the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which attacks and weakens the immune system
• HIV can stay in the body for many years without apparent symptoms
• As the HIV attacks the immune system, the person
becomes very susceptible to other opportunistic diseases (pneumonia, cancers)
Prevention and Treatment
• There is currently no cure for AIDS, but it can be treated with complex “drug cocktails,” which
improve quality and duration of life, but have many side effects and are extremely expensive • Prevention is possible using condoms, not
