2. Research on Gender, Comm.,
& Culture
Research on gender from range of fields
Communication
Anthropology Philosophy
History Psychology
Sociology
3. Studying Communication,
Gender, & Culture
Learning about communication, gender, and
culture:
Enhances appreciation of ways culture influences
views
4. Research on Gender, Comm.,
& Culture
Quantitative research methods
Data that can be quantified and analyzed
Descriptive statistics
Surveys
Experiments
5. Research on Gender, Comm.,
& Culture
Qualitative research methods/ interpretive
methods
Understand nature of meaning or experiences
Textual analysis
Ethnography
6. Research on Gender, Comm.,
& Culture
Critical research methods
Identify and challenge inequities and problems
7. Learn About Comm., Gender,
&Learning about communication, gender, and
Culture
culture:
Enhances appreciation of cultural complexities
Enhances insight to your own gender
8. Learn About Comm., Gender,
& Culture
Learning about communication, gender, and
culture:
Strengthens effectiveness as communicator
9. Gender in a Transitional Era
Probably don’t prescribe to grandparents’ ideals
Likely are confused about gender issues
10. Gender in a Transitional Era
On one level
Think women and men equal
On another level
May hold traditional values
Live in a transitional era
11. Differences between Women
& Men
Difficult to find language to discuss patterns of
communication
Women and men troublesome
Imply all can be grouped together
12. Differences between
Women & Men
Essentializing
Tendency to reduce to characteristics assume are
essential in every member of category
Presume all members of sex alike
13. Differences between
Women & Men
Essentializing
Obscures range of individual characteristics
Book’s generalizations do not imply essentializing
19. Sex
All have cells with at least one X
Males typically have one X
More vulnerable to X-linked recessive conditions
20. Sex
Some born with biological characteristics of
each sex
Traditionally called hermaphrodites
Today intersexed preferred
Learn more at: http://www.itpeople.org/
21. Sex
Hormones influence development
◦ Fetuses with Y bathed in androgens
Development of male sex organs
◦ Fetuses without Y - fewer androgens
Development of female sex organs
22. Sex
Female fetus may be exposed to excessive
progesterone
May not develop female genitalia
Male fetus may be deprived of progesterone
Male genitalia may not develop
23. Sex
Influence of hormones continues throughout
lifetime
Males more sensitive to hormonal activity
Biology influences how develop but doesn’t
determine behavior or personality
24. Gender
Gender
Neither innate nor necessarily stable
Defined by society
Expressed by individuals as they interact with
others and media
25. Gender
Gender changes over time
Born male or female (sex)
Learn to act masculine and/or feminine (gender)
29. Gender
Gender grows out of cultural ideas that stipulate
social meaning and expectations
Society’s views permeate public and private life
See as normal, natural, right
30. Gender
Not passive recipients
Make choices to accept, modify, or reject
Views challenged by people who define
themselves as trans or gender queer
31. Gender
Meanings of gender also changed by:
Personal communication
Role models
Interactions with friends
Reciprocal relationship between communication
and cultural views
32. Gender
Uphold or remake meanings of masculinity or
femininity
1970s – androgyny coined
Androgynous individuals embody qualities considered
both feminine and masculine
33. Gender
Meanings of gender can vary across cultures:
New Guinea – three genders
Arapesh – all feminine
Mundugumor – all aggressive
Tchambuli – gender reversal
35. Gender
• 1950s – fuller-figures preferred
• See photos of Marilyn Monroe at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_Monroe
• Some cultures regard heavier women as beautiful
36. Gender
Some cultures view person’s gender as
changeable
Some Native American groups – more than two
genders
These individuals esteemed
37. Gender
In U.S., gender varies across racial-ethnic groups
African American women more assertive
African American men more communal
38. Gender
Social meaning of gender varies over time
Prior to Industrial Revolution – family and work
intertwined
Industrial Revolution – division into spheres of
work and home
Femininity and masculinity redefined
39. Gender
Meaning changes over time
Social context changes and affects sense of identity
Relational concept
Femininity and masculinity make sense in relation
As meanings of one changes – so do meanings of other
40. Beyond Sex & Gender
Can also define self in terms of:
Sexual orientation
Transgendered
Transsexual
Society assumes connections between these
categories
41. Beyond Sex & Gender
Sexual orientation
Preference for romantic and sexual partners
Heterosexual
Gay
Lesbian
Bisexual
42. Beyond Sex & Gender
Other cultures’ views of sexual orientation
challenge U.S. views
Sambia in Melanesia
Ancient Greece
Victorian society
43. Beyond Sex & Gender
Changing views of gender and sex
Intersexed individuals
Biological characteristics of male and female
44. Beyond Sex & Gender
◦ Transgendered
individuals
Biological sex
inconsistent
with identity
Often dress and
adopt behaviors
of gender with
which identify
45. Beyond Sex & Gender
Transsexual individuals
Surgery and/or hormonal treatments
Posttransition males to females
Posttransition females to males
46. Beyond Sex & Gender
MTF – Deidre McCloskey
FTM – Thomas Beatie
Gave birth to a child
47. Beyond Sex & Gender
Cross-dressers/transvestites
Enjoy wearing clothing of other sex
Varying motivations
Majority biological, heterosexual males, attracted to
women
48. Beyond Sex & Gender
Transgendered, transsexed, and intersexed people
challenge dualities
49. Culture
Culture = structures, institutions, practices that
reflect and uphold social order
Upheld by defining certain groups, values,
expectations, as good
50. Culture
Surrounded by communication that announces
social views of gender
Women give up name in marriage
Judicial system
Western culture is patriarchal
51. Culture
Messages that reinforce culture views pervade
lives
Seldom pause to reflect
Take for granted
Don’t question
Learning to reflect empowers
Increases freedom to choose
53. Communication is Systemic
More than context affects meaning
All aspects of communication are interlinked
Influenced by how we feel
Time of day, etc. may influence
54. Communication is Systemic
Largest system affecting communication is
culture
Societies’ views of men and women change over
time
Systems interact – each part affects all others
55. Communication is Systemic
Communication has two levels:
Content level of meaning
Literal meaning
Relationship level of meaning
Tell how to interpret content and how communicators
see themselves in relationship
56. Meanings Created through
Interaction with Symbols
Humans symbol-using creatures
Have to think to figure out what symbol means
Symbols can be ambiguous
More than one meaning
59. Meanings Created through
Interaction with Symbols
Differences in interpretation are sources of
misunderstanding
Can become more effective:
Ask for clarification
Check to see how others are interpreting us