GENDER

ALI ANTONELLI, SAMANTHA BASILE, JOANNA

LOSQUADRO, AND ERIN PERCACCIOLO

WHAT IS GENDER?

The terms gender and sex are often used interchangeably.

This misconception occurs predominately in western societies
and rarely is questioned. However, gender and sex are very
different!

Sex is biological and includes physical attributes, including sex

chromosomes, gonads, sex hormones, internal reproductive
structures, and external genitalia.

Gender is much more complex! It is a complicated

interrelationship between the physical traits one possess and
ones internal sense of self as male, female, both, or neither.
Gender also includes ones outward presentation, actions and
behaviors related to their perception of themselves.

THE GENDER SPECTRUM

Unfortunately, western culture has come to define gender very

rigidly with two fixed options; either male, or female. When a
child is born, gender is quickly determined solely by physical
attributes. However, gender occurs across a vast continuum.

Beyond anatomy, there are many other domains that help to

define gender. Each of these domains can be further broken
down and independently characterized across a wide range of
possibilities.

Instead of the twofold model produced through solely the

physical understanding of gender, gender needs to be
understood through lenses of biology along with gender
expression and gender identity.

WHERE IS GENDER?
Gender is everywhere. It is taught to us, from the moment we are born.
Expectations and messages regarding gender bombard us constantly.
Our personal upbringings, cultures, group of peers, community
environments, religions and the media are just some of the many
influences that shape our understanding of gender and identity.

GENDER AS A SOCIAL
CONSTRUCT

Gender, in fact, is a socially constructed concept!

Like other social constructs, gender is constantly monitored and

examined by society. Practically everything in society is assigned
a gender.

Toys:
If parents buy little girls dolls, dollhouses, nail polish, and makeup,
they are sending messages about gender to the child.
If parents buy little boys plastic tool kits, building blocks and race
cars to play with, they are sending another set of messages to the
child.
Children learn their roles in society from playing. Therefore, the
toys they play with influence the roles and skills they learn and
come to identify with.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srnaXW9ZgZc

GENDER AS A SOCIAL
CONSTRUCT
Colors:
Dear Abby:
My daughter recently had a baby boy. Mother and baby are doing ne, but the
problem is the sonogram during the pregnancy showed a baby girl . . . So now our
grandson has a slew of pink blankets, jimmies and clothes given by friends before
little Jack was born. I say, no big deal. My wife says it is a big deal. No way a boy
should be dressed in pink...
Jacks Grandpa, April 2, 20071

What do you think of Jacks grandpas post? Agree? Disagree?

Why would the grandma have a problem with the little boy
wearing mostly pink?

GENDER AS A SOCIAL
CONSTRUCT
Girls like pinkboys like blue?
Usually when you walk into a little boy or girls room you can
immediately tell the gender of the baby. If it is blue, one would
assume the baby is a boy and if it is pink, one would assume the baby
is a girl.
This color differentiated is not limited to newborns, advertisements
typically feature little girls dressed in and playing with pink items, while
boys are seen wearing and using blue items.
The social convention of dressing young children in gender-specic
colors was rst documented in the United States in the early 1920s
(Chiu et al., 2006).
Girls and boys are aware of the gender-specific colors at a very
young age.

GENDER AS A SOCIAL
CONSTRUCT
Behaviors:
Within and across a wide variety of cultures, we find a
consistency of desirable gender-role behaviors
Males are expected to be independent, assertive, and
competitive
Females are expected to be more passive, sensitive, and
supportive.

WORDS COMMONLY USED TO

DESCRIBE FEMININITY
Dependent
Emotional
Passive
Sensitive
Quiet
Graceful
Innocent
Weak
Nurturing
Soft
Accepting

WORDS COMMONLY USED TO

DESCRIBE MASCULINITY
independent
non-emotional
aggressive
tough
competitive
clumsy
experienced
strong
active
self-confident
rebellious

WORKSHOP ACTIVITY:
BOYS LIKE, GIRLS LIKE, KIDS LIKE
http://humaneeducation.org/blog/2013/09/02/boys-that-3-activ
ities-exploring-gender-roles-young-children/
NYS Speaking and Listening Standards:
1.Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about
grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
a.Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others with
care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under
discussion).
b.Build on others talk in conversations by responding to the comments of
others through multiple exchanges.
c.Ask questions to clear up any confusion about the topics and texts under
discussion.

GENDER STEREOTYPES:
INTERVIEWS WITH KIDS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VqsbvG40Ww

GENDER BIAS

Through a combination of things like social conditioning and

personal preference, most children begin to choose activities
and display behaviors associated with their sex by the age of
three.

Accepted gender roles and expectations are presented in our

culture so often, that most people cannot imagine it any other
way.

As a result, gender bias are formed and further promote these

expectations without questioning what gender really means.

GENDER BIAS IN THE

CLASSROOM
Question: How is gender inequity in your classroom?
Common Response: I treat all of my students the same.
What are the issues with this statement?
1.Students are diverse and have different learning issues so treating all students in
the same way means that some students will have a better learning experience
others.
2.Teachers may be ignoring their unconscious gender biases towards their
students, their schools and themselves. If these gender biases are ignored, which
could have developed from cultural norms, then it could lead to an even greater
gender bias.
Gender bias occurs when people make assumptions regarding behaviors, abilities
or preferences of others based upon their gender. Since there are strong gender
role stereotypes for masculinity and femininity, students who do not match them
can encounter problems with their teachers and peers.
Example: boys naturally exhibit boisterous, unruly behavior, are academically
able, socially uncommunicative, while girls are thought to be quite, polite and
studious, excel in reading and writing.

GENDER BIAS IN SUBJECTS

Gender bias can occur within subject areas and school activities.
Example: (Myth) Boys are better in mathematics and the sciences
than girls. If girls succeed in these subject, it is because of their hard
work not intelligence
Gender bias decreasing?
The percentage of girls participating in science has increased in
subjects like biology, chemistry and algebra. However college majors
such as engineering and physics are still primarily dominated by men.
Males and African Americans are enrolled in remedial mathematics
and reading courses.
Non white students have a higher percentage in vocational and non
college preparatory courses.

GENDER BIAS IN TEACHERS

Teachers' unconscious gender biases can produce stereo-typical
expectations for students' success and participation in the
classroom.
Target Students ( White Males)
More than two decades ago, researchers identified and named
groups of students who dominated the teacher's time and the
classroom resources as target students (Tobin & Gallagher, 1987).
These students participated the most and had more dialogue with
the teachers.
Teachers asked the boys more difficult questions and if they did not
get the answers, the teacher rephrased the questions to provide the
answer.
Teachers will spend more time with the boys in math and the girls
with more feminine subjects like creative writing.

EFFECTS OF GENDER BIAS

Gender bias can impact students' attitudes towards learning

and their engagement with the subject.

Girls will believe that their success is from hard work not any
innate talent or intelligence.

Boys may be encouraged to believe that success in science

and mathematics should come easily to them.

From this, reports show that males are dropping out of college
science and mathematics programs because the subjects are
not easy to them.

Girls receive fewer opportunities to engage in classroom

discussion, use of equipment and use their knowledge.

REDUCING GENDER BIAS

Teachers can examine their pedagogical practices and by

posing simple questions about their practices.

Example: Which students do they frequently interact with?

Teachers can videotape their classes and review their
interactions with students or invite a colleague to watch their
teacher and record which students are being asked questions
and what type of questions

TIPS TO CREATE A
GENDER NEUTRAL
ENVIRONMENT
- Be very aware of calling on male and female students equally
- Look around the classroom and see what type of examples of
gender you have around. Are there any stereotypes?
- Utilize wait time so that you are always thinking about who you
are calling on
- Use inclusive language
- Have a very open discussion about genders and gender roles.

HOW GENDER EFFECTS

LEARNING
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jiE8dMw5xA

SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AND WOMEN

Research indicates that SES is a key factor in determining the

quality of life of women, with resulting effects on the lives of
children and families.
Low SES among women and its correlates, such as poverty,
lower education, and poor health for children and families, in the
end do affect our society as a whole.

SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AND

WOMEN (CONTINUED)
Even though they make less money, women are more likely to be
single heads of household than men. Women tend to take on the
responsibility of raising children with fewer economic resources.
In 2006, there were about 14 million female heads of household,
compared to 5 million male heads of household in the United
States
The parents of the children you teach may fall in this area, we
must stop the cycle.

USING LITERATURE
TO TEACH
The following five childrens books incorporate the issue of
gender stereotypes into literature.

BALLERINO NATE
BY KIMBERLY
BRUBAKER BRADLEY

Nate has the heart of a dancer, and

he is determined to learn ballet.
Even his older brother, Ben,
cant change his mind with his
claims that "boys dont dance."
Or can he? When Ben tells Nate
that hell have to wear pink
shoes and a dress, Nate
becomes awfully worried. And
when hes the only boy in his
ballet class, he begins to think
that Ben is right: Maybe boys
dont dance. Exuberant and trueto-childhood, this is a warm and
funny story about sibling
squabbles, the joy of ballet, and
best of all, grabbing hold of your
dreams.

THE BASKET BALL

BY ESME RAJI CODELL
Lulu prefers playing basketball
to playing with dolls. So
when the boys wont let her
join their school-yard team,
she decides to host a Basket
Ballwhere ball gowns are
traded in for sequined
basketball jerseys and hightop heels! Girls travel from all
over the world to attend the
ball, shooting hoops,
showing off their skills, and
forming a league of their own.

THE SISSY DUCKLING

BY HARVEY FIERSTEIN
Elmer is not like the other boy
ducklings. While they like to
build forts, he loves to bake
cakes. While they like to play
baseball, he wants to put on the
halftime show. Elmer is a great
big sissy. But when his father is
wounded by a hunter's shot,
Elmer proves that the biggest
sissy can also be the greatest
hero.

WILLIAMS DOLL
BY CHARLOTTE ZOLOTOW
More than anything, William
wants a doll. "Don't be a
creep," says his brother.
"Sissy, sissy," chants the boy
next door. Then one day
someone really understands
William's wish, and makes it
easy for others to
understand, too.

ELENAS SERENADE
BY CAMPBELL GEESLIN
Who ever heard of a girl
glassblower? In Mexico, where
the sun is called el sol and the
moon is called la luna, a little
girl called Elena wants to blow
into a long pipe...and make
bottles appear, like magic. But
girls can't be glassblowers. Or
can they?

REFERENCES
https://www.genderspectrum.org/understanding-gender
http://www.education.com/reference/article/toys-gender-roles/
http://www.education.com/reference/article/gender-bias-inteaching/
http://childstudycenter.rutgers.edu/Publications_files/LoBue
%20%26%20DeLoache,%202011.pdf
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/sexualorientation-gender/gender-gender-identity-26530.htm
http://www.education.com/reference/article/gender-bias-inteaching/#C
http://teacherhandbook.wordpress.com/gender-bias/