Chapter 11 discusses several areas where females and males differ, including in cognitive, mathematical, and spatial abilities, among others. Should you choose to complete this assignment for credit, please do the following:
- Either choose an area outlined in the book which discusses gender differences OR
- Find an article that presents some sort of research in this area. You can use Huffington Post, BBC, etc.
- Discuss the gender differences outlined in either the textbook or the article you chose. Remember to use your own words whenever possible, and use quotations when directly using others' words.
- In your experience, do you find these differences to be accurate? Why or why not. It would be helpful to provide examples.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/01/brinks-ad-sexist-gender-roles_n_4022658.html
ReplyDeleteThis article on the Huffington Post outlined the fact that gender stereotypes are very much alive and well in the United States today. The article specifically points out the gender difference that men usually are the money makers in the household. They have to travel the world usually carrying a briefcase. Whereas the woman’s role is to stay home to clean the house, cook and do laundry. In this specific article, an advertisement of a door that opens two ways is analyzed. The man stands on one side of the door with the briefcase a suitcase, and the woman stands on the other side with a laundry basket in her hand.
I believe that this situation is sometimes true, especially for accomplished men. However, I believe that this role is less try than it used to be. More than ever, women are attending college and earning degrees. This means that there are more females in the work force. While there still are more men than women in many professional fields, women have made significant gains. For example, when you walk around the research center at Sanford in Sioux Falls, you see many more men than women. However, the fact that you even see women scientific researchers is a huge step. This is a reason that I do not agree with the accuracy of this gender stereotype.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/09/charitable-giving-gender_n_1503400.html
ReplyDeleteThis Huffington Post article studied the difference between men and women when it came to giving. The results were personally surprising to me. Men came ahead of women when it came to donating to charity and giving more money when they do. Knowing it's not about the money given, but the time spent volunteering more so, women volunteer on a regular basis quite often. When polled, 62% of men give $500 or more annually to charity. Women compared with 46%. These results aren't very drastic, but compared to the kinds of charities supported by each gender, the difference in results becomes a bit more drastic. Men are more likely to donate to environmental causes, while women are morel likely to give to support animal welfare causes.
In my experiences, I find these results to be accurate. Men are more outdoorsy beings while women support animals and their companionship. However, finding that men, typically, give more monetary support more often than women surprised me. I figured that women would be more inclined to donate money to causes they support than men. In my experience, I've seen women to be a little more selfless than men which is why these results surprised me.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rob-watson/hey-toys-r-us-stop-thrusting-gender-roles-on-my-kids_b_4025214.html
ReplyDeleteThis article Hey Toys ‘R’ Us, Stop Thrusting Gender Roles on my Kids displays a huge eye opener of gender stereotyping on children. The article talks about a homosexual man who is going through the gay marriage ban and being told that he will never be a good enough “mom” for his children. He takes the readers through a generic Toys ‘R’ Us store and shows the differences between the roles of girls and boys. He indicates how the girl’s isle is lite up with pink, pink, and more pink, with sparkles, and cleaning toys. Versus the boys with blues and greens and more powerful action figured toys. These stereotypes that are being placed among the children at such a young age are giving them a perspective towards their future on how they are supposed to act. The author who is homosexual has boys and stresses that they were never raised to not like certain toys because they are for girls. But simply that they have learned this from society and peer pressure.
I was so intrigued by reading this article because it is something that is happening in our society today. I do feel that the author’s differences are very accurate. You can walk down Walmart, Kmart, Macy’s, etc. Any isle for children not only toy stores but the clothing department and even school shopping. It is quite obvious on what objects are for what sex. However I do find it interesting that no matter how obvious the stores can make it to the sexes that the action figured toys are for boys and the frilly Barbie’s are for girls, there is always that chance that the opposite sex will go for the opposite toy. It is interesting to see how the parents react to this situation. I liked that the author said that he had no opposition to his children going for the opposite sex toy. I find it very important that kids establish what they feel is right on their own.
Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/terry-gaspard-msw-licsw/getting-the-love-we-want-_b_4111948.html
ReplyDeleteThe article that I picked is "Getting the Love We Want: It All Comes Down to Gender." The author lists several gender differences when it comes to love and relationships. Women and men have different wants and needs when it comes to love. Women are socialized to process emotions where as men are rewarded for being strong and silent. Women have a bigger area of the brain that is associated with language. Women communicate using stories and creating pictures. Men prefer to report information and make more authoritative statementsbecause of the way their brains are wired. The author of this article discusses a longitudinal study that had been conducted. The researchers interviewed and observes 746 people who were newly wed. The results showed that over the years, 46% of the couples had divorced. The researchers of this study also found: men want less relationship talk, men want to be fussed over, men need to be close to their in-laws, women need closure after conflict, women thrive on prayer, and women who are more educated are more likely to stay married. The author of this article also discussed the article "How to Improve your Marriage Without Talking about It." The authors of this article lists 6 ways to connect with your partner and work through gender differences.
• "Gain awareness about how brain differences and socialization can impact you and your partner's preferences for emotional attunement.
• Think back to when you were more emotionally attuned to your partner, earlier in your relationship, and try to recreate that level of emotional intimacy.
• Don't let your fear and shame of failure keep you from being vulnerable with your partner.
• Accept your differences and try to understand rather than criticize your partner.
• Stop the blame game. Practice tolerance and forgiveness for real and non-intentional acts or hurtful words.
• If you or your partner feels flooded, walk away but not in anger or blame. Disengage as a way to restore your composure not to punish your partner."
From my expericences, I find these gender differences to be pretty accurate. I do believe that men and women have different wants and needs when it comes to love. There is also a huge gender difference on expressing emotions. Women express more emotions then men. If a male expresses emotion many people refer to them as "pussies." In my past relationship, the guys do not like to talk about our relationship. Whenever we had a fight, I would need closure and the guy would like to push it away and just pretended that nothing had happened.
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ReplyDeleteAccording to this Huffington post about gender roles, boys are more likely to play with trucks, whereas girls are more likely to play with dolls. This article explains how adolescent monkeys chose the same types of toys as humans depending on their gender. This means that the types of toys humans play with is not a societal explanation, but a biological explanation. Since these toy choices happen early in life, it shows another reason why this is not a socialized explanation. There is a hormonal explanation towards these toy preferences, according to psychologist Alexander at Teas A&M University. They say that male sex hormones are more attracted to wheeled vehicles and balls because they hold more vigorous activity. Another study determined that children playing with a truck, ball, or doll use the same amount of physical activity. Alexander eventually concluded that girls find it important to gain social stimuli, which explains why doll playing is more prominent. With boys, they are developing navigation abilities, which explains why playing with balls or wheels is more noticeable.
ReplyDeleteI find that toy preference has a lot to do with societal aspects, but biological aspects as well. Without reading this article I would have only thought toy preferences were due to society encouragements. Since girls and boys have different hormones, there is a change in types of activities and gains that they want. I agree with Alexander’s conclusion as to why girls and boys play with a gender stereotyped toy. Women are eventually the primary care takers of children, which I think a girls hormones helps with gaining patience, love and caring emotions. Boys on the other hand are used to working with their hands and maneuvering things, so their hormones decide that trucks and balls with suit them better.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/24/gender-toys-children-toy-preferences-hormones_n_1827727.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/04/men-women-differences-minimal-mars-venus-study_n_2618199.html
ReplyDeleteThis article talks about not necessarily the differences between men and women, but how different they actually aren't on a psychological basis. The research provided supports the idea that characteristics we usually assign to one or the other when it comes to gender actually exist on a continuum. The research includes data from 13 different studies, covering 122 characteristics. The article does a great job of explaining that there is an overlap between genders, not a solid line that separates and defines us as completely different. The article shows this in two tables, the first one showing strength, a physical attribute, and the second showing assertiveness, a personality characteristic thought to be considered "masculine." The first table shows very little overlap, while the second table is almost ALL overlap.
This article just goes to show how much stereotyping and socialization play a role into how we perceive and define gender. It's almost reassuring to know that men and women aren't that different on a psychological level. Most think that they are, and this creates boundaries and obstacles in many different areas, such as the work place, relationships, etc. I'd love to see more research and details on a topic such as this!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/09/charitable-giving-gender_n_1503400.html
ReplyDeleteThe article that I found did a study on whether men or women gave more money to charity. What they found was that more men donate then women. The people who conducted the survey were not expecting such a wide gap between the two genders. They survey also found that genders also seemed to give to different charities. This shows that men and women put importance on different issues.
In some ways, this is true. It was very suprising to me that men give more than woman. The part about giving to different types of charities I believe was very true. Men and women put importance on different aspects of life.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/09/charitable-giving-gender_n_1503400.html
ReplyDeleteThe Huffington Post article I read was about the difference between genders when it came to giving like donating to charity. I was surprised that men are ahead of women and not only just for donating but the amount they give also. Although the amounts given by different genders was surprising to me the different charities each gender donate to did not shock me. I was not surprised to read that men donate more to organizations and charities that benefit the environment. And the fact that women donate more to animal welfare causes made me instantly think about the commercials with sad songs playing in the background showing beaten up and starving animals- I personally change the channel every time it comes on.
Me too, too sad!
Deletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/28/boy-or-girl-gender-a-new-_n_3345965.html
ReplyDeleteThis article is written about a family whose son really felt that he was a girl on the inside. Ryan is a fourth grader from Chicago who, ever since his second birthday, has strongly felt that he is a girl. At that age, he was drawn to every sparkly and shiny thing, and dressed up as a princess for Halloween. Originally, Ryan’s parents were told that he had gender identity disorder. In kindergarten is when Ryan publicly began to identify as a girl. As little kids, they soon accepted Ryan, but not before the expected rude remarks. I think that this is a pretty accurate reaction. Not so much an accurate situation though. I think that if it were my child I would not let them.
The gender differences article I found talks about the gender differences in advertising. Although the advertisements use lines to target the certain genders, like the manly men campaigns all over, deep down the products seem to be very similar. Apparently the use of such lines or campaigns is actually effective. It is crazy to think that just combining three or four words targeting a specific gender makes the particular product that much more desirable to that gender. I’m sure these differences are accurate and do work, but I don’t really think I buy anything based on what was said about it in the advertisement, I buy it based on whether I think the particular product works or not.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/jessica-pearce-rotondi/advertising-gender_b_1077239.html
There is a part in the book that outlines gender differences in Communication. The book stated that the general stereotype that people have is that women talk more, but they wanted to know if it was true. The book stated that said stereotype was actually not true; men talk more than women do. It went on to say that men interrupt women more than women interrupt men, but that women who held a higher amount of power in their jobs tended to interrupt men more. I can see this as being accurate. My boyfriend talks quite a bit more than I do; in fact he bugs me about it sometimes and says I should talk more. I usually tend to think a lot about what I am going to say before I say it, and if I don’t think it is of any importance I don’t say it, usually. That’s just how I am, but he is like an open book, he’ll say anything that’s on his mind. So I think this is a good example of how the stereotype that women talk more is false.
ReplyDeleteThere is a part in the book that talks about living in today's world and the stereotypes and pressure on genders and their appearances. In this short article it states that in previous studies that there were two groups of females, white and Asian Americans, that tended to focus on being thin and dieting. However, that pressure on self image has moved over to the other two groups of females, African Americans and Hispanics. Studies have also shown in women who were dissatisfied with their image they lead towards the path of eating disorders. This movement of the perfect self-image has made its way to the male gender. There are studies that have shown that men are now dieting more and more along with working out because of the pressure put on them by women. Women want a man who is built with wide shoulders and a slim waist and hips. The article turns to the pressure from the media onto the men and women of today's world. They found that yes the media has a large impact on how we view ourselves. The study that was presented asked men and women to look at three different types of ads. When asked to look at the sexist ad they had a greater dissatisfaction with their bodies than those who looked at the nonsexist ad. Self-esteem went down for both men and women when they are dissatisfied with their bodies.
ReplyDeleteIn my experience with this stereotype I found myself nodding my head to everything that the article was saying. The one part of the article that really made me think about was how much women really pressure men to look their best or how we (women) want them to look like. I wasn't surprised by this but I never thought about how much that really happens every day. In middle school and high school myself and my friends would pick a guy in our class and rate them from one to ten; and the majority of the time the guys that got the higher score had a narrow waist, was muscular, and a larger torso/ wide shoulders. From this experience I find that yes, there is a lot of pressure on gender appearance and that these stereotypes are showing through in TV, movies, and other types of media.
Key terms: self-image, self-esteem, stereotypes, gender, dissatisfaction, eating disorders
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/09/charitable-giving-gender_n_1503400.html
ReplyDeleteThe article I read was about which gender is more giving when it comes to charitable donations. The article shows that men are more willing to donate regularly. It also shows that not only do men donate more frequently but they also on average donate a higher volume at each donation. This surprised me because I thought women would be more charitable overall then men. I was not surprised to see that women were more likely to support animal welfare causes then men. This is because every time I see the animal welfare causes ads I feel like they are just exploiting the images of hurting animals in order to make money. In my personal experience I don’t really find these differences to be accurate. This is because the only experience I have is from watching my parent’s charitable donations and they both seem to be equally charitable in their monetary donations.
There is a section of the book that compares the spatial abilities of men and women. In the section it describes men performing better than women. This has been tested and found true even in young children. Males far outperform females in mental rotation of three dimensional objects, but this can be remedied with training such as action video games, that can help improve female mental rotation in as little as ten hours. The improved spatial abilities of men help suit them for construction type jobs, engineering, and chemistry; jobs not typically associated with women.
ReplyDeleteThe text makes several points on the differences of men and women in terms of cognitive abilities. I found their sub-point on verbal abilities particularly interesting. The book explains how, generally, women tend to have a stronger vocabulary and greater writing skills, while males tend to be better at forming analogies in conversation. Through my experiences, I agree that women are generally stronger in reading and writing, but it is for the most part based on certain circumstances. I believe that reading, writing, and speaking skills are formed and improved through early exposure and practice, as there are plenty of men who can communicate, write, and read better and more clearly than some women, and vice versa.
ReplyDeleteIn mathematical areas, there is a small stereotype that men are better than women. In a recent study done, it showed that men have a better attitude toward math but the difference in success is very small. Even though the difference is small, men tend to take more math courses throughout their high school career. Also, when in college, among the science courses you will see more men. I find this stereotype to be generally correct when thinking about sciences. If you were to go to the chemistry department on campus, you will find that the majority or graduate and undergraduate students are male. Also, a lot of scientists are men, but women are becoming more popular in that field. However, when it comes to math in general, in my experience in high school, I think that it should maybe favor females slightly more. However, my high school was very small so it would be difficult to say. But when you think about the ‘real world’, there are a lot of male engineers out there that require a lot of math courses and knowledge.
ReplyDelete