Cultural Approach to Gender Development - Essay Example

?Running Head: GENDER THEORIES Topic: Lecturer: Presentation: Introduction Gender development is the progressive establishment of socially constructed roles among men and women that begin from infancy to adulthood. There are four approaches to gender development that have been defined in this paper. They include; the biological theory, the interpersonal approach, the cultural and critical approaches. The interpersonal approach has been discussed as the most valid approach to gender development. It has been explained through the psychodynamic and social learning theory as well as the theory of cognitive development. Cultural Approach The cultural approach to gender development is based on the culture of a particular society. Culture comprises the idiosyncratic beliefs, traditions and value systems that are inherent to a particular society. Culture influences gender development through societal expectations about traits and manners appropriate to either male or female members of a particular social order, thereby defining gender roles in day to day life (Appelbaum et al. 2003). Critical Approach The critical approach to gender development is based on the standpoint and the queer performative theories that are focused on societal structures and practices that lead to stratification of people in to groups that possess different privileges unique to each group. For example, men in most cases are accorded the dominant group over women and also enjoy greater privileges in matters of leadership and socio-economic engagements of the society. Critical theorists postulate that the dominant groups advance their interests and viewpoints and impose them on the minority. On the other hand, the subjugated groups become empowered when they realize their plight and fight to overturn the prevailing circumstances so that their viewpoint is accorded consideration (Beck et al. 2006). Biological Theory The biological theory is based on the premise that gender development and differences arise as a result of biological processes that determine how the brain of an individual works. The theory attributes differences in characteristics between men and women to the variance in the functioning of the brain caused by chromosomal and hormonal differences. Women possess two x chromosomes while men possess an x and y chromosome. On the other hand, sex chromosomes in men and women are produced in varying quantities thereby causing the behavioral differences (Perrin, 2003). The biological approach is valid with regards to male and female hormones. Andrea & Moretti (2009) argue that men and women exhibit different characteristics based on their hormonal and chromosomal differences. Androgens are the male sex hormones that lead to the development of male characteristics and in adulthood, males tend to behave more aggressively than their female counterparts with estrogen and progesterone. High level of oxytocin in women is associated with sociability and emotions (Arnold, 2011). It is therefore generally expected that women exhibit greater reaction emotionally to traumatizing experiences than men. This highlights the reason why women are regarded as weak in terms of withstanding stress. The sex hormones exhibit different physical characteristics in men and women whereby men develop strong muscle and are able to undertake vigorous exercises compared to women who possess a tender physical structure. Further more, the hormonal activity in women especially with regards to menstrual cycle and pregnancy leads to irregular mood swings that are typical of the female gender (Andrea & Moretti, 2009). Interpersonal Approach The interpersonal approach to gender development is based on interpersonal factors that contribute to the development of masculine or feminine characteristics. This approach can be explained through the psychodynamic theory that focuses on childhood development within a family that accentuates interpersonal bonds thereby affecting a child’s sense of identity. It can also be explicated through the psychological theory that is based on role modeling and learning between children and adults especially within a family (Appelbaum et al. 2003). The interpersonal approach to gender development is also valid since most of the characteristics that are evident in adults portray the learnt in childhood. The theory focuses on psychodynamic and psychological theories of gender development. In the psychodynamic theory, the child learns his/her gender by observing the roles played by the parents and is likely to associate with the gender that matches him/her. The psychodynamic theory hypothesizes that the earliest relationships in humans are significant in personality development, especially gender identity. Children considerably become heir to the behaviors of the first primary care taker, which determine the manner in which the child relates with others (Wood, 2008). A personal example in real life is at the age of 4-5 year old, a white child raised by an African American middle-aged woman named "Vie" whom I loved dearly because she was my primary caregiver. The influence she had on me was profound to the point that I had to take speech therapy the first two years in kindergarten and first grade because I could not pronounce my "r's". My speech was exactly that of a south Texas uneducated middle-aged low income African American woman. I can remember as a child being the only white person on a bus and how all the black people would laugh at my speech because I sounded exactly like "Vie". According to Cross & Bagilhole (2002), the first relationship is a significant influence on self definition in a child. During the early years, gender identity is developed depending on how children conceive the views of those that they constantly interact with. The fundamental formation of a child’s psyche as well as the acquisition of roles is developed from the internalization of the actions of parents or guardians. This means a child who is affectionately nurtured are likely to develop a sense of value and love for themselves as compared to neglected children. Similarly, the relationship between the parents is internalized by the child and is likely to shape his/her future relationships with the other gender. It is generally the role of the mother to nurse infants until they become semi-autonomous especially the period between birth and early childhood education. This relationship between mothers and their children of either sex critically influences the reasoning behind the view that ‘women are mothers’. The relationship that results between mothers and their sons and daughters is therefore based on the gender constructed during infancy. This relationship leads to divergent courses of development between male and female children, whereby mothers tend to get closer to their daughters emotionally and physically due to a basic resemblance between them. The more a mother talks about individual and relationship matters with daughters the greater the strength of the bond and gender identity in the daughter (Wood, 2008). A young girl therefore feels at ease playing the roles of her mother that are deeply internalized in her. As boys develop, their identification with the mother is not significant especially when they realize that they are sexually different. As the boys learn to become independent at an early stage, mothers tend to promote this independence through their day to day interactions. Beck et al. (2006) observe that mothers promote early self dependence due to the realization that they are biologically different from their sons. Relationship and emotional bonding between sons and their mothers is usually minimal compared to the daughters. As the boys develop in to puberty, the difference between them and their mothers is evident and the desire to establish identity comes with greater independence and the sense of power. This tendency is sustained in to adulthood and hence forms the basis of masculinity. According to Cross & Bagilhole (2002), the self identity of girls is based on their relationship with the mother and hence as they develop in to young women, they are likely to pay greater attention to relationships. On the other hand, the self identity of the boy is built on self dependence and power and hence masculinity is based on these characteristics. The psychological theory postulates that communication contributes significantly to the development of gender. As the child grows within the society, there are behaviors that are learned from observation and listening. The social learning theory hypothesizes that children develop gender identities through mimicking adults that they live with or behaviors that they watch on the media as well as information acquired from parents and teachers. However, the influence of parents and teachers through rewarding some of the learnt behaviors promotes their development among boys and girls (Beck et al. 2006). For example in many occasions, the toys that parents buy for their young rewards certain behavior that promotes the development of a particular gender. A girl will most likely be presented with a toddler doll while a boy is likely to receive a toy car. This is interpreted by the children as befitting the girl’s role of mothering while the boy is expected to deal with the more difficult task of driving. Children also see mothers constantly carrying their babies along, suckling, cleaning and feeding them while fathers are rarely involved in such actions. In cases where both parents are working, a female caretaker discharges such duties. Men are mainly associated with difficult tasks and are mostly the bread winners in most households. It is either both parents are working or a man is the bread winner. Children eventually associate the mother with household chores while the father is associated with work. Boys and girls begin imitating their parents depending on the perceived similarities. With the parents and teachers constantly rewarding the gendered behaviors in children, they eventually become permanently instilled with the notion and begin to define their gender depending on the learnt behaviors (Wood, 2008). To identify that children are aware of their gender identity during early stages of learning, observing children in primary schools imitating their parents is a good example. Female children are rarely assigned the role of the father and vise versa. On the other hand, a boy feels humiliated when he is told that he is crying like a girl. This is a learnt idea from parents and peers that boys should not cry. A girl is presumed to be emotional and crying therefore is regarded as right for her. Similarly, a girl may not be happy if she is told such a thing as, “you are behaving like a boy”. This indicates that there are certain behaviors each of the children has learnt that they belong to the other gender (Cross & Bagilhole, 2002). Conclusion The biological theory is based on different biological processes that occur between men and women. Cultural approach is focused on the generally accepted beliefs and traditions of a particular society. The critical approach hypothesizes various groups in the society whereby one group possess various privileges over the other. The interpersonal approach is based on the psychodynamic and psychological theories that explain how interpersonal relationships and learning lead to the development of gender identity. The biological and interpersonal approaches are the most valid among the four approaches to gender development. References Arnold, A. (2011), “Biology of Sex Differences” Journal of Human Physiology, Vol. 6(4) pp. 22-27 Andrea, I. & Moretti, E. (2009), “Biological Gender Differences, Absenteeism, and the Earnings Gap,” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, Vol. 1(1) pp. 183–218. Appelbaum, S. H., Audet, L. & Joanne C. Miller, (2003), “Gender and leadership? Leadership and gender? A journey through the landscape of theories”, Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 24(1), pp.43 - 51 Beck. V., Fuller, A. & Unwin, L. (2006), “Safety in stereotypes? The impact of gender and 'race' on young people's perceptions of their post-compulsory education and labour market opportunities” British Educational Research Journal, Vol.32(5), pp. 667-686 Cross, S. & Bagilhole, B. (2002), “Girls’ Jobs for the Boys? Men, Masculinity and Non- Traditional Occupations”, Gender Work and Organization. Vol. 9(2) pp 204-26 Perrin, E. C. (2003), “Helping Parents and Children Understand Gender Identity Disorder”, The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter, Vol. 12(3) pp.1- 4. Wood, J. T. (2010), Gendered Lives. Communication, Gender & Culture. Tenth edition, Wadsworth Publishing Read More