Gender Norms Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
This Research for Development (R4D) Policy Report summarizes findings from a meta-analysis of external evaluations of Ethiopian agricultural development projects, while also highlighting best practices around gender programming. It... more
This Research for Development (R4D) Policy Report summarizes findings from a meta-analysis of external evaluations of Ethiopian agricultural development projects, while also highlighting best practices around gender programming. It explores: What works for gender norm change in agricultural development projects? Intent on building a body of evidence, the inclusion criteria required documents to be: external; methodologically rigorous; incorporate gender in the evaluation; and demonstrate social norm change. With this strict inclusion criteria, external evaluations were then assessed for best practices (n=2), while the disqualified evaluations (n=24) were analyzed for areas in need of improvement. The findings show that the CARE Ethiopia office is producing the most rigorous and successful projects around gender norm change. Agricultural development project evaluations are currently a lost opportunity for learning ‘what works’ for gender norm change. The findings outline both what to do and highlight what to avoid in undertaking gender transformative development.
Children who try to exclude others due to their gender can be considered as “gender enforcers.” Using multiple methods (observations, interviews) and informants (children, teachers, teacher aides), we investigated the prevalence of gender... more
Children who try to exclude others due to their gender can be considered as “gender enforcers.” Using multiple methods (observations, interviews) and informants (children, teachers, teacher aides), we investigated the prevalence of gender enforcement, the characteristics of gender enforcers, and potential associations of exposure to gender enforcers. Participants were 98 (Mage = 49.47 months, SD = 11.40; 52% boys) preschoolers from a southwestern city in the United States. Results showed that both girls and boys engage in gender-enforcing behavior. Further, findings suggest that aggression and biased gender-related beliefs are associated with gender-enforcing behavior. Children who spent more time (over months) with enforcers were observed to play more with same-gender peers and to show more biased gender cognitions than were children who spent less time with enforcers. The study extends our understanding of how gender norms are enforced in early childhood, and it provides insights that may help to identify young gender enforcers. These findings have potential to inform future research and practice related to gender-based aggression in childhood.
The concept of ‘core category’ is most associated with the grounded theory method developed by Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss but has been utilised in relation to other qualitative methods such as phenomenology. The terminology varies... more
The concept of ‘core category’ is most associated with the grounded theory method developed by Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss but has been utilised in relation to other qualitative methods such as phenomenology. The terminology varies and a core category may sometimes be referred to or indexed as core theme, core meaning, core variable, or central category. A core category is the main theme, story-line, or process which subsumes and integrates all lower-level categories in a grounded theory, encapsulates the data efficiently at the most abstract level, and is the category with the strongest explanatory power......
Sexual orientation typically describes people’s sexual attractions or desires based on their sex relative to that of a target. Despite its utility, it has been critiqued in part because it fails to account for non-biological... more
Sexual orientation typically describes people’s sexual attractions or desires based on their sex relative to that of a target. Despite its utility, it has been critiqued in part because it fails to account for non-biological gender-related factors, partnered sexualities unrelated to gender or sex, or potential divergences between love and lust. In this article, I propose Sexual Configurations Theory (SCT) as a testable, empirically grounded framework for understanding diverse partnered sexualities, separate from solitary sexualities. I focus on and provide models of two parameters of partnered sexuality—gender/sex and partner number. SCT also delineates individual gender/sex. I discuss a sexual diversity lens as a way to study the particularities and generalities of diverse sexualities without privileging either. I also discuss how sexual identities, orientations, and statuses that are typically seen as misaligned or aligned are more meaningfully conceptualized as branched or co-incident. I map out some existing identities using SCT and detail its applied implications for health and counseling work. I highlight its importance for sexuality in terms of measurement and social neuroendocrinology, and the ways it may be useful for self-knowledge and feminist and queer empowerment and alliance building. I also make a case that SCT changes existing understandings and conceptualizations of sexuality in constructive and generative ways informed by both biology and culture, and that it is a potential starting point for sexual diversity studies and research.
Jane Austen'in ilk yayımlanan romanı, temel izleğinde aşk bulunan Sense and Sensebility mektup formatında yazılmıştır. Farklı dillere çevirisi yapılmış olan roman gerek başlığı gerekse anlatı yapısıyla sosyal, ekonomik, düşünsel, ahlaki... more
Jane Austen'in ilk yayımlanan romanı, temel izleğinde aşk bulunan Sense and Sensebility mektup formatında yazılmıştır. Farklı dillere çevirisi yapılmış olan roman gerek başlığı gerekse anlatı yapısıyla sosyal, ekonomik, düşünsel, ahlaki ve etik açıdan İngiliz toplumunun normlarını yansıtmaktadır. Bu ölçütler, kadının gerek ailevi gerekse toplumsal yaşam içinde üstlendiği rolleri ve bu rollerin işlevini ve konumunu sergilemesi bakımından oldukça önemlidir. Bu çalışmada söz konusu roman, anlatı yapısına doğrudan yerleştirilen veya dolaylı olarak sızdırılan feminist imgeler aracılığıyla okunmaya çalışılacaktır. İngiliz Yazını klasiklerinden biri olarak değerlendirilen roman özellikle de yazıldığı dönem itibariyle önemli feminist düşünceler içermekte, kadına karşı bakış açısı ve ona yüklenen roller bakımından farklı açılımlar yapmaktadır. Romanı bu imgeler ışığında okumak romanın yazıldığı dönem koşulları ve toplum yapısı hakkında bilgilendirici olmasının yanında değişen kadın algısının yansımalarını göstermesi bakımından da günümüz yazın çalışmalarına model olacak niteliklere sahiptir. Çalışmada feminist yöntembilim ilkeleri bağlamında romanda yer alan evlilik, miras, aile kavramlarının toplumsal cinsiyet algısıyla kazandıkları anlamlar bulgulanmaya çalışılmıştır. Bu algıda özellikle kadının konumu örtük ya da açık biçimde içerdikleri göndermeler bakımından değerlendirilmiştir. Romanın ana eksenini kadın ve kadınlık olgusu oluşturduğundan yapıtın anlamsal ve biçimsel özellikleri feminist imgelerle değerlendirilecektir. Bu yüzden romanı feminist imgeler ışığında okumak geniş bir bakış açısı sunmayı hedeflemektedir.
In Brick Lane (2003), Monica Ali describes both the spatial and metaphysical geography of Bangladeshi immigrants living in the diaspora in Britain. Face-to-face with immigrant anxieties as well as material constraints in the host society,... more
In Brick Lane (2003), Monica Ali describes both the spatial and metaphysical geography of Bangladeshi immigrants living in the diaspora in Britain. Face-to-face with immigrant anxieties as well as material constraints in the host society, diasporic patriarchy seeks to transplant gender norms of its country of origin and imposes domestic seclusion on women under its control. Against such a cultural backdrop, Ali depicts the problem of identity and gendered expectations of women in the diaspora. There is a persistent concern over women's nomadic existence in patriarchal society and over their profound loss of confidence and cultural belonging. This specific, cultural pattern finds a concrete expression in Ali's description of the transplantation of Bangladeshi gender ideology in London, as the novel unravels its limits and inefficacy in the postcolonial world of information technology. Keywords Monica Ali, diasporic anxiety, transplanted gender norms, the Bangladeshi diaspora in Britain, permeable seclusion, diasporic patriarchy
Despite the frequent depiction of heterosexual anal sex in pornography, and growing indications that heterosexual couples engage in anal sex, almost no research has examined women’s subjective experiences with receptive anal sex with men.... more
Despite the frequent depiction of heterosexual anal sex in pornography, and growing indications that heterosexual couples engage in anal sex, almost no research has examined women’s subjective experiences with receptive anal sex with men. This
study draws upon qualitative interviews with 20 American women (mean age ¼ 34, SD ¼ 13.35) from diverse ages and backgrounds to illuminate five themes in women’s narratives about receptive anal sex: (1) initial resistance followed by submission; (2) initial interest followed by withdrawal from subsequent anal sex experiences; (3) violence and coercion surrounding anal sex; (4) social norming (e.g. men’s male friends normalizing heterosexual anal sex; seeing anal sex as normative after watching
pornography); and (5) pleasurable experiences with anal eroticism. Implications for the re-evaluation of consent, imagining a continuum of sexualized violence, heteronormative
assumptions about access to and power over women, silences surrounding non-penetrative anal eroticism, and women’s (dis)engagement with anal sex are explored.
The following article investigates the extent to which not only linguistic acts, but embodied experience and action itself must be accounted for as "performative." In doing so, I will take Judith Butler's account of performativity as a... more
The following article investigates the extent to which not only linguistic acts, but embodied experience and action itself must be accounted for as "performative." In doing so, I will take Judith Butler's account of performativity as a starting point and complement it with a phenomenological account of embodied experience. I will critically engage with the problem of how norms "work upon bodies" and how bodies themselves "work on" these norms to change and even create new ones. I will argue that the need for repetition and iteration of norms, which is at the heart of Butler's account of performativity, presupposes bodily subjects who do the repeating, i.e. enact those very norms that act upon them. In this respect, bodily performativity has a "dual dimension": it preserves and stabilizes prevailing social norms, plus, it changes these norms through their enactment. Therefore, we give norms a reality by enacting them, but also have the possibility to transcend them.
The conceptual framework envisages that by effectively tackling multi-level risk factors underpinning IPV, important changes can be achieved including broader sanctions against IPV, fostering progressive masculinities and ultimately a... more
The conceptual framework envisages that by effectively tackling multi-level risk factors underpinning IPV, important changes can be achieved including broader sanctions against IPV, fostering progressive masculinities and ultimately a society where there are gender equitable norms and behaviours.
- by Anita Ghimire and +1
- •
- Gender Norms
Cette étude s’inscrit dans la prise en considération d’une augmentation récente des performances artistiques jouant avec les catégories de genre et de leurs réceptions ostensibles par les publics. La question des catégories de genre... more
Cette étude s’inscrit dans la prise en considération d’une augmentation récente des performances artistiques jouant avec les catégories de genre et de leurs réceptions ostensibles par les publics. La question des catégories de genre interroge des phénomènes imbriqués : stratégies idéologiques institutionnelles, représentations sociales, rapports sociaux hiérarchiques.
Cette recherche explore la dimension performative et incarnée du langage. Elle tente de rendre visibles les mécanismes et les effets des processus de différenciation et de catégorisation dans le cadre de performances artistiques queers et féministes. Basée sur une enquête qualitative de terrain, ce travail cherche à mettre en lumière les stratégies langagières multimodales et les réceptions des publics, en termes de subversion et de reproduction de la domination systémique.
D’abord, cette recherche analyse le processus linguistique de différentiation et comment, en se constituant en sanction sociale, celui-ci induit de la hiérarchie. Ensuite, le processus de catégorisation est étudié au prisme de l’ordre social ; utilisé comme un outil de maintien, il s’inscrit dans des rapports de pouvoir/des dynamiques de domination. Enfin, les performances artistiques queers et féministes seront étudiées comme un lieu de construction et de déconstruction des catégories de genres - et donc, des normes induites.
Some of the most alarming gender-based violence (GBV) statistics are found in the Highlands region of Papua New Guinea (PNG). A literature review of GBV in the Highlands provinces (Enga, Chimbu, Hela, Jiwaka, the Southern, Western and... more
Some of the most alarming gender-based violence (GBV) statistics are found in the Highlands region of Papua New Guinea (PNG). A literature review of GBV in the Highlands provinces (Enga, Chimbu, Hela, Jiwaka, the Southern, Western and Eastern Highlands provinces) is lacking. This paper will provide a comprehensive review of existing literature related to GBV in the Highlands region of PNG focusing on gender roles and norms, intimate partner violence, polygyny, bride price, tribal conflict, the introduction of Christianity, mining and existing local and international policy. The literature is analyzed using Merry’s “Concept of Culture and Human Rights” (2003) and correlations are drawn to the three gender dichotomies discussed in Yanagisako and Collier’s (1987) work: “Nature and Culture” (Ortner 1974), “Domestic and Public” (Rosaldo 1974) and “Reproduction and Production” (Harris and Young 1981). Our findings indicate there are several gaps in existing literature. A dynamic understanding of culture is best suited to understand factors contributing to GBV in the Highlands of PNG, contemporary cultural change has exacerbated GBV and existent gender dichotomies are often used as justification for control and violence. Such findings should be taken into account when addressing GBV in the Highlands of PNG.
Over the past two decades, there has been increasing recognition that to understand the nature of conflict and design effective peacebuilding responses, it is necessary to think about gender. The different roles and behaviours of women,... more
Over the past two decades, there has been increasing recognition that
to understand the nature of conflict and design effective peacebuilding responses, it is necessary to think about gender. The different roles and behaviours of women, men and sexual and gender minorities affect the way that conflicts play out, as well as the impacts they have on people’s lives. Expectations relating to gender influence the roles that people play in efforts to build peace, and peacebuilding activities can also influence gender roles and behaviours. There are many resources available which explain how to analyse gender issues, and plenty for analysing conflict. However, conflict analysis tools typically lack a strong gender lens and gender analysis tools tend to lack a strong conflict lens. This toolkit aims to help fill that gap.
Background Early adolescence (ages 10–14) is a period of increased expectations for boys and girls to adhere to socially constructed and often stereotypical norms that perpetuate gender inequalities. The endorsement of such gender norms... more
Background
Early adolescence (ages 10–14) is a period of increased expectations for boys and girls to adhere to socially constructed and often stereotypical norms that perpetuate gender inequalities. The endorsement of such gender norms is closely linked to poor adolescent sexual and reproductive and other health-related outcomes yet little is known about the factors
that influence young adolescents’ personal gender attitudes.
Objectives
To explore factors that shape gender attitudes in early adolescence across different cultural settings globally.
Methods
A mixed-methods systematic review was conducted of the peer-reviewed literature in 12 databases from 1984–2014. Four reviewers screened the titles and abstracts of articles and reviewed full text articles in duplicate. Data extraction and quality assessments were conducted using standardized templates by study design. Thematic analysis was used to synthesize quantitative and qualitative data organized by the social-ecological framework (individual, interpersonal and community/societal-level factors influencing gender attitudes).
Results
Eighty-two studies (46 quantitative, 31 qualitative, 5 mixed-methods) spanning 29 countries were included. Ninety percent of studies were from North America or Western Europe. The review findings indicate that young adolescents, across cultural settings, commonly express stereotypical or inequitable gender attitudes, and such attitudes appear to vary by individual sociodemographic characteristics (sex, race/ethnicity and immigration, social class, and age). Findings highlight that interpersonal influences (family and peers) are central influences on young adolescents’ construction of gender attitudes, and these gender socialization processes differ for boys and girls. The role of community factors (e.g. media) is less clear though there is some evidence that schools may reinforce stereotypical gender attitudes among young adolescents.
Conclusions
The findings from this review suggest that young adolescents in different cultural settings commonly endorse norms that perpetuate gender inequalities, and that parents and peers are especially central in shaping such attitudes. Programs to promote equitable gender attitudes thus need to move beyond a focus on individuals to target their interpersonal relationships and wider social environments. Such programs need to start early and be tailored to the unique needs of sub-populations of boys and girls. Longitudinal studies, particularly from low-and middle-income countries, are needed to better understand how gender attitudes unfold in adolescence and to identify the key points for intervention.
In this excerpt, I unpack my field notes from the day to reveal the ways in which female sex workers in Kalighat, a red-light area embedded in a middleclass neighbourhood in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, negotiate middle-class norms of... more
In this excerpt, I unpack my field notes from the day to reveal the ways in which female sex workers in Kalighat, a red-light area embedded in a middleclass neighbourhood in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, negotiate middle-class norms of respectability and female propriety. Specifically, I focus on how the women navigate and manipulate sartorial norms which are imposed on them and their work to their social and economic advantage.
This paper examines the localization process of the global gender equality norm in Turkey and argues that the normative contestations on this concern, among rival political blocs and activist groups, have not allowed any resolution.... more
This paper examines the localization process of the global gender equality norm in Turkey and argues that the normative contestations on this concern, among rival political blocs and activist groups, have not allowed any resolution. Accordingly, the global gender equality norm has undergone state-led secular localization as of the 1990s. In the post-2010 context under AKP rule, however, this process was disrupted by the proponents of the alternative conservative local norm of gender justice, who sought to replace the already localized norm of gender equality. Our study examines the contestations and rivalries regarding gender equality in the country with an emphasis on normative strategies utilised by the secular and conservative political blocs. Based on face-to-face interviews conducted with representatives of the main trade unions in the country, we also did a minor case study of the ongoing contestations regarding the adoption of gender equality norms, as manifested in trade union activism.
Through an ethnographic account of Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation (AADF), this article examines the tensions between the production and the liberation of the queer black male dancing body. Drawing from fieldwork conducted at the AADF during... more
Through an ethnographic account of Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation (AADF), this article examines the tensions between the production and the liberation of the queer black male dancing body. Drawing from fieldwork conducted at the AADF during the summers of 2005, 2006, and 2008, it exposes the politics between on- and offstage performances of masculinity in two sites; the studio and the 2009 Ailey Gala. Within this context, space becomes an important framework for observing the internationally recognized branding of black male dancers for the AADF. Organizational culture, gender norms, and the policing of masculinity reveal strategies of the AADF in which traditional signifiers of (heterosexual) masculinity are emphasized, praised, and rewarded. Straying from this script not only risks suspicion and rejection within the presumed queer space of dance, but also reveals the narrow definitions of gender performance and expression allowed for black male dancers in the twenty-first century.
Some of the most alarming gender-based violence (GBV) statistics are found in the Highlands region of Papua New Guinea (PNG). A literature review of GBV in the Highlands provinces (Enga, Chimbu, Hela, Jiwaka, the Southern, Western and... more
Some of the most alarming gender-based violence (GBV) statistics are found in the Highlands region of Papua New Guinea (PNG). A literature review of GBV in the Highlands provinces (Enga, Chimbu, Hela, Jiwaka, the Southern, Western and Eastern Highlands provinces) is lacking. This paper will provide a comprehensive review of existing literature related to GBV in the Highlands region of PNG focusing on gender roles and norms, intimate partner violence, polygyny, bride price, tribal conflict, the introduction of Christianity, mining and existing local and international policy. The literature is analyzed using Merry's "Concept of Culture and Human Rights" (2003) and correlations are drawn to the three gender dichotomies discussed in Yanagisako and Collier's (1987) work: "Nature and Culture" (Ortner 1974), "Domestic and Public" (Rosaldo 1974) and "Reproduction and Production" (Harris and Young 1981). Our findings indicate there are several gaps in existing literature. A dynamic understanding of culture is best suited to understand factors contributing to GBV in the Highlands of PNG, contemporary cultural change has exacerbated GBV and existent gender dichotomies are often used as justification for control and violence. Such findings should be taken into account when addressing GBV in the Highlands of PNG.
- by Gabriella Richardson and +2
- •
- Anthropology, Globalization, Women's Rights, Gender
This fieldwork focused on exploring local men's, women's and clergy's perceptions and understandings of spousal abuse in juxtaposition to: a) theology-informed analysis of Church teachings concerning the metaphysics of gender relations,... more
This fieldwork focused on exploring local men's, women's and clergy's perceptions and understandings of spousal abuse in juxtaposition to: a) theology-informed analysis of Church teachings concerning the metaphysics of gender relations, marriage and spousal abuse, and b) an analysis of culture-specific gender ideals and norms. This research has been motivated by the aim to identify local mechanisms and resources for changing attitudes that sustain spousal abuse and, especially, the relevance and feasibility of theology-informed and clergy-centred solutions. Ms Istratii presents here an overview of the project and fieldwork, contextualising it in the relevant literatures and the rationale for its epistemological and methodological innovations. While early to reach any conclusions, some research findings are delineated in ways that suggest intricate, multifarious realities on the ground and the need for multidimensional approaches to normative change.
The aim of this chapter is to investigate how gender norms enter human bodily experience. My focus is not on the explicit ways in which social norms affect and constitute our relation to knowledge and the world but how these epistèmes... more
The aim of this chapter is to investigate how gender norms enter human bodily experience. My focus is not on the explicit ways in which social norms affect and constitute our relation to knowledge and the world but how these epistèmes become embodied, that is, become an assimilated part of our bodily experience. Gender, as a specific social norm, is of particular interest for a number of reasons. First, gender structures all domains of human social life: From matters of family, education, profes- sion, and public life. Second, gender is a norm that structures life not only in explicit ways (e.g., when one is directly addressed as or identifies oneself assertively as female, male, or other) but also in implicit ways and thereby operatively defines our sense of normality. Third, gender norms typically mirror existing power relations insofar as they represent forms of socio-political organization. Gender is not a norm that we are necessarily forced to obey or even naturally identify with, but it remains incorporated and acquired within concrete and repeated bodily experi- ences and practices.
In this way, the following analysis is inspired by Judith Butler’s theory of performativity. While Butler is well-known for her analysis of the discursive, I will probe the phenomenological potential of performativity by applying the analy-sis to the human body. Butler’s theory of gender performativity opens up the picture of social norms as a two-way street – not only do norms effect our language and discursive behaviors, but language must also enact (take up or appropriate) norms in order for them to be effective. This applies, as I will argue, also in the case of the human body. As material and lived bodies, we are situated in a historically and culturally- informed world, wherein norms manifest as well-ordered and typified social practices according to which we live. Yet, at the same time, we are practical agents insofar as we must bodily enact certain norms for them to be effective.
This paper examines Maša Kolanovićs novel Sloboština Barbie (2008, 'Barbie Underground') which is about a coming-of-age during the Croatian War in the 1990's. Drawing upon theories of Judith Butler and Homi Bhaba, the paper focuses on how... more
This paper examines Maša Kolanovićs novel Sloboština Barbie (2008, 'Barbie Underground') which is about a coming-of-age during the Croatian War in the 1990's. Drawing upon theories of Judith Butler and Homi Bhaba, the paper focuses on how the novel's depiction of the Barbie play in a cellar (podrum) in Zagreb subverts conventional gender norms, opening up queer perspectives, too.
This entry explores the concept of structural sexism, which encompasses a broad range of social phenomena related to sex- and gender-based discrimination, disparities, and injustices. The following offers an introduction to the term by... more
This entry explores the concept of structural sexism, which encompasses a broad range of social phenomena related to sex- and gender-based discrimination, disparities, and injustices. The following offers an introduction to the term by first discussing its foundational concepts and theories in terms of social structure and social constructionism related to gender and sexuality and patriarchy as a gender system intersecting with other systems of inequity and as a multi-level social phenomenon that takes different forms. The next section addresses specific iterations of structural sexism to exemplify its workings and how it is reproduced as a social-structural phenomenon. It considers ideology, gender socialization and conformism, and harm and violence as means through which structural sexism is reproduced. Finally, responses to structural sexism are explored globally in terms of various feminisms, their work, and interrelationships. The implications of structural sexism are discussed throughout each part.
Starting in early childhood, girls and boys segregate into same-sex groups and create distinct peer cultures with different norms. Girls tend to form intimate dyadic bonds while boys interact in larger groups, in which they compete for... more
Starting in early childhood, girls and boys segregate into same-sex groups and create distinct peer cultures with different norms. Girls tend to form intimate dyadic bonds while boys interact in larger groups, in which they compete for rank. Girls rarely engage in group activities or openly compete against each other. Instead, female peer culture values harmony and the appearance of equality. These differences in peer culture may have implications for women’s negotiations because they prescribe certain norms on relating to others and coping with competition and conflict. In this chapter, we review differences in female and male peer relationships, and discuss the ways these differences could manifest themselves in negotiations.
El objetivo de este artículo fue reflexionar sobre la relación entre alimentación cotidiana y normas de género en la Argentina contemporánea utilizando el etnodrama, un enfoque de investigación cualitativa enmarcado en la corriente... more
El objetivo de este artículo fue reflexionar sobre la relación entre alimentación cotidiana y normas de género en la Argentina contemporánea utilizando el etnodrama, un enfoque de investigación cualitativa enmarcado en la corriente denominada etnografía performativa. A partir del análisis desarrollado encontramos que en la resolución de la alimentación cotidiana al interior de los hogares, la participación masculina se construye en torno a la figura del varón-ayudante que se complementa con la de mujer-pilar-del-hogar quien, por supuesta naturaleza, se asume como la principal responsable de la casa y los hijos. Esta línea de razonamiento contradice las afirmaciones que subrayan situaciones de equidad o justicia en la distribución de las tareas domésticas y muestra cuán profundamente incorporados tenemos mujeres y varones los aprendizajes transmitidos por generaciones.
Some authors propose that gender norms pose divergent effects on generosity, usually being women the gender expected to be kinder. Indeed, some economic experiments show women to be more generous than men in the Dictator Game (DG).... more
Some authors propose that gender norms pose divergent effects on generosity, usually being women the gender expected to be kinder. Indeed, some economic experiments show women to be more generous than men in the Dictator Game (DG). Despite some claiming these results to be determined by socialization into gender norms, data do not speak against a biological explanation of sex differences. In fact, there is evidence that DG generosity varies with the level of pre-natal exposure to testosterone and estrogens, as indirectly measured using participants´ 2D:4D digit ratios. In any case, it is unclear whether DG generosity expresses pure altruism or compliance with social norms. Socialization and biological factors may have diverse effects on these two different motivations. In the present study, we aimed at contributing to this discussion. We randomly assigned participants to two independent conditions. In the prescriptive norm condition, participants were incentivized to accurately estimate others´ opinion about the most socially appropriate option in the DG (i.e., the prescriptive norm), and then made their decisions as dictators. Participants in the control conditions made their decisions as dictators without any prior estimation. We found that the normative exercise increased generosity (relative to the control condition) in women but not in men. In a sub-sample, we also measured participants´ 2D:4D digit ratios as a proxy of a socialization-free sex-dimorphic hormonal influence on behavior. We found no evidence that the normative effect of the estimation exercise was modulated by participants´ digit ratios. In contrast, generosity in the control condition was higher, the more extreme (highest and lowest) the digit ratios were. We conclude in favor of: 1) a socialization-modulated gender effect on responses to prescriptive norms of generosity; and 2) a biological effect of pre-natal hormonal levels on generosity when the norm was not elicited; in this last case, the relationship between pre-natal testosterone and empathic concern might be involved.
Research into intimate partner violence has shown that social isolation constitutes a risk factor, and the presence of social networks can be an important source of social support. This research note presents some results of an empirical... more
Research into intimate partner violence has shown that social isolation constitutes a risk factor, and the presence of social networks can be an important source of social support. This research note presents some results of an empirical study carried out in Mexico into women's social relations, especially their family relations, and their role in the promotion of traditional gender norms. Findings indicate that some of the main conditions that are associated with the production of violence against women are either generated or reinforced within the realm of what can be regarded as women's “strong ties.”
Marriage and love have provided the steadiest supply of narratives for the industry of cinema and television, displacing the profound impact that the novel had exerted on the romantic and domestic imagination. The first half of the... more
Marriage and love have provided the steadiest supply of narratives for the industry of cinema and television, displacing the profound impact that the novel had exerted on the romantic and domestic imagination. The first half of the twentieth century was marked by American culture's belief in the emotional vocation of marriage, and Hollywood reflected the consolidation and even culmination of what historians have called the love marriage, an institutional form that had been in the making throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Europe and the United States. However, from the 1970s researchers have been observing a process of "deinstitutionalization," "disestablishement," or "demariage," citing rising divorce rates, decreasing marriage rates, and the increasing popularity of alternatives to marriage. These changes partially registered in popular culture through the more frequent depictions of divorce, singlehood, and marital difficulties.
Yet in this chapter we argue that the genre that translates the disestablishment of marriage in the crispest way is the marriage thriller, which expressed, albeit in an oblique way, the profound changes in marriage in the United States, especially its defining sociological feature-uncertainty. Popular media reflect and address the fact that heterosexual marriage has become a highly uncertain enterprise, unlike traditional modes of courting, entering, and maintaining a marriage. The marriage thriller offers the story of husbands and wives who turn into enemies and killers and marks the most drastic departure from traditional depictions of marriage. The marriage thriller captures not only the deinstitutionalization of marriage but also the uncertainty and anxiety regarding gender roles and the difficulty of deciphering an intimate partner's emotions and motivations.
Health-related behaviors are a part of the way in which people construct their gender role norms. The studies have shown masculine norms being associated with alcohol use in men but there is a lack of preceding data in feminine norms in... more
Health-related behaviors are a part of the way in which people construct their gender role norms. The studies have shown masculine norms being associated with alcohol use in men but there is a lack of preceding data in feminine norms in Spain. The goal of the present study was to analyze the impact of conformity to gender norms on the consumption of tobacco and alcohol. 419 male and 435 female Spanish university students participated in the study. The results indicate that men with high scores on the Playboy scale are more likely to be tobacco smokers and alcohol drinkers. On the other hand, women are less likely to consume tobacco and alcohol because that behavior is not consistent with traditional female gender norms. To sum up, with regard to tobacco and alcohol consumption, masculinity acts multidimensionally. Specifically, some aspects of masculinity protect health, while others jeopardize it. For women, traditional femininity is protective against substance consumption.
À partir de deux enquêtes de terrain croisées, l’article propose une typologie de transition juvénile afin d’analyser les trajectoires socialement différenciées des diplômés chinois en France à l’issue de leurs études supérieures. Il... more
À partir de deux enquêtes de terrain croisées, l’article propose une typologie de transition juvénile afin d’analyser les trajectoires socialement différenciées des diplômés chinois en France à l’issue de leurs études supérieures. Il montre le poids des normes dominantes dans la société chinoise qui pèsent sur les jeunes chinois en mobilité, mais également les processus de reconfiguration des normes sociales dans le contexte migratoire. Les diplômés chinois construisent leurs trajectoires professionnelle, familiale et migratoire en naviguant entre des systèmes de référence différents et des exigences normatives parfois contradictoires.
This entry explores the concept of structural sexism, which encompasses a broad range of social phenomena related to sex- and gender-based discrimination, disparities, and injustices. The following offers an introduction to the term by... more
This entry explores the concept of structural sexism, which encompasses a broad range of social phenomena related to sex- and gender-based discrimination, disparities, and injustices. The following offers an introduction to the term by first discussing its foundational concepts and theories in terms of social structure and social constructionism related to gender and sexuality and patriarchy as a gender system intersecting with other systems of inequity and as a multi-level social phenomenon that takes different forms. The next section addresses specific iterations of structural sexism to exemplify its workings and how it is reproduced as a social-structural phenomenon. It considers ideology, gender socialization and conformism, and harm and violence as means through which structural sexism is reproduced. Finally, responses to structural sexism are explored globally in terms of various feminisms, their work, and interrelationships. The implications of structural sexism are discussed throughout each part.
On the basis of fieldwork conducted in Shanghai, this article explores how Chinese rural-to-urban migrant women cope with the stigmatization they face as a result of conflicting gender norms regarding singlehood and marriage in their home... more
On the basis of fieldwork conducted in Shanghai, this article explores how Chinese rural-to-urban migrant women cope with the stigmatization they face as a result of conflicting gender norms regarding singlehood and marriage in their home communities and in Shanghai. We focus on how migrant women legitimate their relationship status as single, married or having a boyfriend in relation to these norms. Our findings reveal that migrant women, while not rejecting existing norms outright, actively preempt or counteract the stigmatization of their singlehood or of the fact that they live apart from their husband using coping strategies that exploit their position in between the urban context and their rural hometowns in intricate ways.