PSY 3121 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Femininity, Masculinity, Androgyny
16 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
PSY3121A Dr. Mary-Theresa Howard
Stereotypes – Feminine and Masculine 09.05.18
Movie – Explore your Brain (Male and Female differences)
• Girls and boys play different at a young age
• Men are more likely to express emotion through physical actions, women are more likely to express
emotion verbally
• Women are generally faster to determine an emotion associated to a facial expression, men are slower
o Women more perceptive than men
• Male brains shrink faster in certain regions than the female brain does as an individual age
Femininity and Masculinity
Development of concept of femininity and masculinity
• can start very early i.e dressing babies in blue or pink caps, tend to differentiate genders by saying a big
beautiful boy and a dainty petite girl
• Children create positive stereotypes i.e mother who is caring, loving, cooks, etc.; fathers are hard-
working, aggressive, family-orientated (possibly)
• You are either feminine or masculine, nothing in between
Functions of Femininity and Masculinity
• allow ppl to simplify ppl into gender roles and determine expectations
o i.e expectation for a boy falling behind in school vs girl falling behind in school
• rationalize men and women in different work positions
• power differences associated with femininity and masculinity
Perceptions of Femininity and Masculinity
• most people are in the middle of the scale of expressive traits (feminine) and instrumental traits
(masculine); i.e organized, multitasking
• most ppl prefer asculie traits as opposed to feale traits
Androgyny: men and women could have both feminine and masculine traits
• there are multidimensions to androgyny
Measuring Femininity and Masculinity
• score high on masculine scale and low on feminine scale = more masculine in personality traits
• score high on both masculine and feminine scale = adrogynic
• score low on masculine and feminine scale = multidimensional
o tend to be achievers and successful at any tasks the do, happier with their relationships
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Development of concept of femininity and masculinity can start very early i. e dressing babies in blue or pink caps, tend to differentiate genders by saying a big beautiful boy and a dainty petite girl. Children create positive stereotypes i. e mother who is caring, loving, cooks, etc. ; fathers are hard- working, aggressive, family-orientated (possibly) You are either feminine or masculine, nothing in between. Perceptions of femininity and masculinity: most people are in the middle of the scale of expressive traits (feminine) and instrumental traits (masculine); i. e organized, multitasking, most ppl prefer (cid:858)(cid:373)asculi(cid:374)e(cid:859) traits as opposed to fe(cid:373)ale traits. Androgyny: men and women could have both feminine and masculine traits there are multidimensions to androgyny.
