PSY 3121 Lecture Notes - Manboy, Pansexuality, Genderqueer
4 May 2018
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Study Guide for Midterm Exam
Know the basics of each of the following. This may mean knowing the definition, and examples
of each if they were included. Know the authors of the required readings for each week and their
description of the weekly topic. How have they discussed their topic? How is each term used in
psychology?
Week 1 Fitting into a Tight Skirt: Defining Gender
-Sexual orientation. What is it and what does it mean?
-sexual orientation is what “gender” you are attracted to, being that the opposite or same
-can be romantic or sexual attraction
-terms such as gay, lesbian, transsexual, pansexual, genderqueer, questioning, queer
-Scott (femininity and masculinity). What does she mean by these terms?
-femininity and masculinity are just socially constructed terms used alongside gender to provide categories
to society and provide meaning
-Psychoanalysis sees no necessary correspondence between the psychic positions of masculinity and
femininity and a physical body; indeed it is “the body that comes to represent the psychic realization of
sexual difference and not the reverse”
-Transgender. What does it mean to be transgendered?
-gender does not match theirs assigned at birth
-does not represent their sexual orientation! individual romantic/sexual attraction has nothing to do with
their gender
Week 2 Fitting into a Tight Skirt: Gender Stereotypes
-Ways to eliminate/change stereotypes.
-stereotypes refer to how people look, think, and behave, and how these are linked to certain groups, first
impressions, can be reinforced and modified
-it is very difficult to change stereotypes and their prevalence in society, especially as those messages
come to us at a very young age, we are continually presented with stereotypes
-we may keep stereotypes because they make us feel: good about ourselves, feel comfortable with
ourselves, and make groups feel more insular (where we fit, our identity and others, know how to interact)
-Can we change stereotypes or eliminate them all together?
-No. We accept through cognitive processes that stereotypes are true.
-We can: suppress the thoughts that you may have to judge someone right away (especially based on
their appearance), be open minded and embrace differences, pay attention and be aware of unconscious
stereotyping, make a conscious choice, stand against stereotypes by calling out others
-Male Bias.
-another important movement is the Feminist Language Reform, to eliminate gender bias in the “structure,
content, and usage of language” (Crawford)
-we still actively struggle with the male bias (media, daily life)
-ie. in the 1970s, we changed “fireman” to “firefighter”, “policeman” to “police officer”
-however, it still exists today where we actively refer to a group as “hey guys” or say “girl” when referring to
a grown woman (vs. grown man/boy)
-the LQBTQ community is taking away the power of language of making it negative by either rejecting it or
embracing the words (ie. “gay” used to be seen as bad, but now they accepted it)
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Week 3 The “F” word: Feminism/Femininity
-Quebec Feminism.
-Occurred from 1960-1980 (later) and the movement/wave did not mat the other confirmed waves.
-Their challenges were a little different. Quebec was associated with the Catholic church which continually
preserved male/female roles in society. Their goal was to relinquish their control over health care and
education. These women had more of a Quiet Revolution where they lobbied for change.
-when a large religious group (ie. Catholic church) has control over large aspects of life, it directs one
method of life and society and one method only
-these women wanted broader experiences and the CHOICE
-Therefore there were differences in the needs and wants of Franco-Canadians vs. Anglo-Canadian
women.
-The Federation des Femmes du Quebec (FFQ) in 1966 were a group of women of various professional
backgrounds with one purpose, to coordinate the action of several women groups.
-they rallied everyone and all women together under the same banner
-their major goal was to recognize the fundamental rights of women and mitigation of various forms of
discrimination against them
-ie. wanted the right to an education, employment, and choice of religion
-Types of Feminism (know the basics of each type of feminism from the chart). What they talk about and their
goals.
-There are a number of categories of feminism with different originations and goals. These are very fluid
and can be borrowed from each other depending on the issue. Eventually, individuals seem to prescribe
to one more than the other.
-Socialist/Marxist: capitalism, domestic work, and child-care is what is discriminating women, we need to
overthrow capitalism, dissolve the family as an economic
-Radical: biological responsibility for reproduction and sexual pleasure (change in the private sphere)
-Liberal: laws and institutional policies discriminate women (change in the public sphere)
-Black and Womanist: issues for white women are different than for people of colour, repressed by racism
-Cultural: rooted in devaluation of feminine traits, by elevating essentialist “womanly traits” (ie. nurturing)
-Global: need to change conditions for women at a global level within each culture
-Eco-Feminism, Aboriginal Feminism, Christian Feminism, Pro-Feminism? Relatively new with no clear mandate.
Week 4 Growing up Female: From Childhood to Adolescence
-Gender system.
-The gender system is what we as a society use to categorize gender into two sections, boy or girl.
Children begin learning what it means to be of either gender early on in society, and often understand
their gendered roles and responsibilities relatively young. This is shaped by their interactions and
worldview by those around them (including friends, family, teachers, media).
-They become a part of the “Gender System” when they gain a sense of what it means to be a boy or girl,
expressed by outward or subtle ways.
-Brown study.
-In 1998, a group of young girls in Maine went to their principal reporting harassment from young boys
aged 6-7. These boys were enacting scenarios with male dominance and superior behaviour (aggressive)
using words of escalating violence (messages of death).
-Their language was used to insult both boys and girls, their sex and sexuality. Used words like “bitch” and
“slut” targeted towards girls, and insulted boy sexuality (“homo”, “fag”) to further debase women and bring
men to the female level.
-Their language targeted both sex and sexuality.
-When reporting to the principle, these individuals in power ignored their complaints. These power
imbalances and ignoring reinforced these behaviours, as it told the boys it was okay. Later on, this
becomes an issue when older adults ignore this behaviour, as this perpetuates rape culture and rape
language.
-Empowerment.
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-Gender based harassment.
-The definition for gender-based harassment is any behaviour that polices and reinforces traditional
heterosexual gender norms. It’s a sub-type of sexual harassment, used to get people to follow gendered
stereotype roles (ie. women are submissive, men are dominant).
-It is a bullying tactic, and often occurs between members of the same sex (ie. friend groups in small
schools). This is used to reinforce heterosexual gendered stereotypes (ie. boy has girl>boy friends,
considered “fag”) and not generally motivated by sexual interest or intent (not sexual in nature, not done
to attempt to rape). This is based on hostility and is an attempt to make the target feel unwelcome in their
environment.
-This may look like harassment (homophobic bullying) however it is discrimination, basing harassment on
gender expression.
-The American Association of University Women: 2001
-Created to promote equality and education for all women. Defined harassment as anything from sexual
rumours, remarking on sexuality or someone’s body, forcing kissing or touching. When worded this way, it
was reported that 83% of girls and 79% of boys experienced harassment.
-These results indicated that there is an equality in the number of children who were harassed. The
difference was their reactions as boys viewed it as more flattering and welcome, where girls felt
frightened, embarrassed, and uncomfortable.
-Bleidorn study. Age and Gender Differences in Self-Esteem - A Cross-Cultural Window (2015)
-Summary: This was the first large-scale systematic cross-cultural examination of gender and age differences
in self esteem.
-Who: Cross cultural analysis across 48 nations.
-Asian: women stay at home and look after families, men are stoic. Society is very family-oriented. This
resulted in a small gender gap and gender difference.
-Latina: women stay at home and men have more freedom.
-African American: groups of people raise families, they are never alone.
-Also dependent on class, where girls from the upper glass are snobby (prestigious schools, look for
husbands who are educated) while boys have freedom and are wild. Women are cougars while men are
only concerned with work. Women from poorer households are considered loose, wild, and uncultured.
-What: Survey with questions relating to self-esteem.
-Why: To determine any differences in self-esteem in terms of age and gender. Also to test if these significant
differences in Western cultures could be seen worldwide. Done to determine possible causes and
explanations.
-Results: Across cultures, they differed significantly in the magnitude of gender, age and goenderxage effects
on self-esteem. These differences were associated with cultural differences in socioeconomic,
sociodemographic, gender-equality, and cultural value indicators. Both men and women show that self
esteem is relatively high in childhood, drops during adolescence, rises gradually throughout adulthood, before
it tends to decline in old age.
A person’s cultural background represents a powerful and pervasive set of environment influences that may shape
the expression, sources, and the development of self-esteem.
•Males consistently report higher self-esteem than females (significant gender gaps).
•Socioeconomic indicators, sociodemographic indicators, gender-equality indicators, and cultural value indicators
all play a part in the visible increase/decrease in self-esteem of women and at what age. Depending on these
values, the rate of self-esteem in girls either increased or decreased.
-Bridge study in 1993.
-This study tested the messages and visual appeal of congratulatory baby birth cards (can also be seen in
birthday cards). They determined that these cards were incredible gendered, and it was very clear as to which
gender this card would be going to.
-Female cards were focused on physical attributes and expressed sweetness without congratulatory
messages. These were docile in nature and referred to physical characteristics like pretty (vs. internal, smart).
-The male cards were positive and very active, leading to a more outward expression. The messages seemed
to congratulate parents on having a baby boy.
Week 4 Growing up Female: From Childhood to Adolescence
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Know the basics of each of the following. This may mean knowing the de nition, and examples of each if they were included. Know the authors of the required readings for each week and their description of the weekly topic. Week 1 fitting into a tight skirt: de ning gender. Sexual orientation is what gender you are attracted to, being that the opposite or same. Terms such as gay, lesbian, transsexual, pansexual, genderqueer, questioning, queer. Femininity and masculinity are just socially constructed terms used alongside gender to provide categories to society and provide meaning. Psychoanalysis sees no necessary correspondence between the psychic positions of masculinity and femininity and a physical body; indeed it is the body that comes to represent the psychic realization of sexual difference and not the reverse . Gender does not match theirs assigned at birth. Does not represent their sexual orientation! individual romantic/sexual attraction has nothing to do with their gender.
