Introduction

Whether we realize it or not, gender affects each of us from the moment we are born and throughout our lives.  In this text we will learn about the history of the study of the psychology of gender, the difference between sex and gender, how gender stereotypes are formed and maintained, how gender influences thoughts and behaviors, and why gender issues will always continue to be at the forefront of social issues.  

Many of the concepts and ideas that will be discussed throughout this textbook will primarily be addressed utilizing common social conceptions which, although they may or may not be accurate, are shared by members of a community.  For readers who have not yet taken a ‘deep dive’ into gender, this hopefully will serve as a starting place to first connect with familiar (or even stereotypical) concepts with which most individuals are aware before critically examining the extent to which those concepts are supported or contradicted by relevant research and coming to a deeper understanding of the reality of how the concepts of gender affect our lives, the lives of others, and society as a whole.

For readers who are already familiar with how gender and gendered identities have a pervasive influence on many interconnected aspects of our social existence, this text will also hopefully provide the appropriate context by which such misconceptions and misapplications of gender and gender-related concepts, particularly as they differ from sex differences, sexuality, etc., have permeated the overall manner in which individuals and society as a whole view these concepts, and how they should instead be conceptualized and effected.

Although many references will be made to specific types of research methodologies and statistical analyses associated with the study of the psychology of gender, it is not necessary to have a mastery of understanding of these concepts.  Pertinent aspects of each will be discussed in terms that are easily approachable (with the explicit understanding that extremely technical aspects of both may necessarily be qualified in higher-level courses).

The most fundamental concept to address before anything else is that there is an important and meaningful difference between the terms “sex” and “gender”.  Whereas most often individuals use these terms interchangeably, there is a clear distinction between the two.  In the same way that race and ethnicity are different, so too are the terms sex and gender.

To begin, when most individuals think about the differences between, for example, men and women, they are most often thinking about how males and females differ from one another in terms of physical characteristics, functional abilities, intelligence, social attitudes, etc.  The distinction thus being made is that males and females are somehow different from one another, that these differences are concrete, and that there must be something responsible for these immutable differences.

Perhaps the most common understanding of what is responsible for these differences is simply that we are born either male or female, and there is not anything that we can do to change that.   In other words, from the moment of our birth, we are placed into a particular category as a function of our biological make-up, such as by what combination of chromosomes we inherited from our parents, and just as that combination is beyond our control, the differences between men and women which result are similarly beyond our control.

As most people are perhaps familiar with the notion of one’s “sex as determined by birth”, it’s not necessary at this point in the discussion to explore the varying definitions of sex.  In this context, suffice it to say that sex relates to the determination of one’s identity as a function of biology, typically either male or female (although these are not exhaustive categories).

As will be explored further in this text, traditionally the determination of one’s sex is based on the appearances of one’s external genitalia at birth:  an infant with a penis is a boy; an infant with a vagina is a girl.  Due to biological variability, however, even determining biological sex as a function of external appearances can be problematic. Genetically, one could attempt to ascertain an infant’s sex as a function of what pair of sex chromosomes is present:  an infant with two X chromosomes (XX) is female; an infant with an X and a Y chromosome (XY) is male.  Although this is true for most people, it is not true for all people.  In other words, a female can be born XY; a male can be born XX.   Just as there is biological variability as it relates to physical appearances, there is also genetic variability in which an individual can be born as neither XX nor XY.

Regardless, whereas it is now possible to surgically alter the appearances of an individual, it is still not possible to alter the sex chromosomes of an infant after birth.  Regardless an individuals’ later gender identification, one’s biological sex will remain a constant throughout one’s life.  Beyond the question of what biological ‘sex’ an individual is, is how that person identifies over the course of a lifespan.   This is where the transition to ‘gender’ comes into play.

Defining gender, however, is not as straightforward.  Indeed, we can find many different definitions of gender throughout the literature:

• “The term gender refers to the meanings that societies and individuals ascribe to female and male categories.” (Wood & Eagly, 2002, p. 699)
• “Gender refers to the economic, social, political, and cultural attributes and opportunities associated with being women and men.  The social definitions of what it means to be a woman or man vary among cultures and change over time.  Gender is a sociocultural expression of particular characteristics and roles that are associated with certain groups of people with reference to their sex and sexuality.” (Jhpiego, n.d.)
• “A reference to the various femininities and masculinities that characterize particular societies and subcultures” (Galliano, 2002).
• “Gender: Culturally and socially constructed roles, responsibilities, privileges, relations and expectations of women, men, boys and girls.” (Gender concepts, 2022)

As such, in this text these terms will be defined as the following:

Sex: a determination of one’s identity as a function of biology.

Gender:  a determination of one’s identity as a function of individual and social factors.

The second main concept is to understand the differences in the research and philosophical approaches that those interested in studying gender bring with them to this area.  In particular, there are two main differences that you will continually run across as you continue to read more about gender studies issues:  the maximalist/minimalist approach and the essentialist/social construction perspectives.

Much of the history of the study of the psychology of gender has coincided with the broader development of the field of psychology as a whole. Indeed, around the time that the ‘founders’ of modern psychology were first getting started, much of science in general was heavily influenced by the revolutionary theory of Charles Darwin and his concept of the evolution of a species.  Although this obviously contradicted the prevailing notion that organisms have remained unchanged from the moment they first appeared on the planet, Darwin’s theory was compelling.  Understandably, although Darwin himself hesitated to apply his theory of how ‘lower’ animals change and adapt over time, an immediate connection was made between his theories of changes in mammals in general and in humans specifically.

While still recognizing that small, incremental changes in one’s biological make-up was possible over extremely long periods of time, it still reinforced the idea that a particular organism’s biological make-up at birth had tremendous implications for its ability to live and thrive in its environment.  As related to humans, whether a child was born as male or female therefore had an equally profound and life-long-lasting impact on one’s ability to negotiate with the world around him or her.

In general, researchers and philosophers who operated from this perspective were reflective of what is called the maximalistic perspective.   The maximalistic perspective states that the differences between men and women are large and, because they are based on genetics, these differences are difficult if not impossible to change.

From a purely scientific viewpoint, it is important to first establish a theory (a general idea about something in the world around us), so that from that theory we can derive an hypothesis (a specific way of testing whether that idea is supported or not), to determine whether or not our overall understanding of a situation is valid.

The implication of operating from the maximalistic perspective is that, in those instances where differences between men and women are observed, the underlying premise is that there is a biological explanation for such differences.   As previously discussed, we largely are incapable of changing our biological make-up in the immediacy; therefore, nothing can be done to alter the extent to which these differences exist between men and women.

Tied in directly to the evolutionary perspective, changes in biology are possible, but over extremely long periods of times (certainly not in one individual’s lifetime, or multiple individuals’ lifetimes, but over hundreds of thousands of generations of individuals).  As such, any difference observed between men and women today should be expected to continue to exist conceivably well into the foreseeable future and beyond.   Another term often used to describe this perspective is the essentialist perspective.  The further implication is that we as individuals, and societies as a whole, should expect these differences to exist essentially in perpetuity.

During the timeframe (the late 19th century) in which early research into both biological and psychological differences between men and women were being conducted, these differences were commonly observed and accepted by society.  However consistent and seemingly correct the application of the essentialist perspective was to the observable differences between men and women in society over a century ago, over time these differences became quite inconsistent.  According to the essentialist perspective, such change should not be possible.  As such, researcher then turned to other factors which might be responsible for explaining the changing roles of men and women over time.

Whereas biology hasn’t changed; society has.  While still acknowledging that there are some immutable biological differences between men and women, later researchers were more interested in exploring how social factors may be quite influential in explaining the changes in observable behaviors between men and women according to a biosocial perspective.

In general, researchers and philosophers who operated from this perspective were reflective of what is called the minimalistic perspective.   The minimalistic perspective states that the differences between men and women are small and, because they are based on individual and societal factors, these differences should be expected to change as individuals and societies change.  This is also referred to as the constructionist perspective.

The third main concept is that there are actually myriad concepts of gender, certainly more concepts that could conceivably be effectively discussed in just one textbook.  Pilcher and Whelehan (2004), for example, discuss gender concepts including androcentrism, equality, identity politics, power, representation, and standpoint.  Evans and Williams (2012) also include agency, diaspora, performativity, reflexivity, and subjectivity.

We are all familiar with the notion of being asked a question on a survey whether we are ‘male’ or ‘female’.   What about individuals who do not identify strictly as one or the other?  These include individuals who refer to themselves as gender non-binary, gender-fluid, gender non-conforming, etc.  To further complicate issues associated with the difference between the terms sex and gender, a lot of the initial research into what is now referred to as gender research was at the time referred to as sex research.  Many of the terms that will be discussed throughout this textbook will use ‘sex’ when really gender is being addressed, and ‘gender’ when really sex is being addressed.  Although these terms should arguably be updated to reflect our modern understanding of the distinction between the two, they appear in so many decades of published research that it would potentially become very confusing if the terms were switched today.  As such, regardless which term is being used, it will be important to understand whether such terms are truly referring to either sex or gender.

Evans, M., & Williams, C. (2012).  Gender: The key concepts.  Taylor and Francis Group.

Galliano, G. (2002). Gender: Crossing boundaries.   Thomson Wadsworth.

Gender concepts. (2022, March 8). In Vikispedia. https://vikaspedia.in/social-welfare/women-and-child-development/women-development-1/gender-concepts

James, W. (1890). Principles of psychology.

Jhpiego. (n.d.). Gender concepts and definitions. Retrieved March 8, 2022 from https://gender.jhpiego.org/analysistoolkit/gender-concepts-and-definitions/

Pilcher, J., & Whelehan, I. (2004).  Fifty key concepts in gender studies. Thousand Oaks, CA:  Sage Publications Inc.

Wood, W., & Eagly, A. H. (2002). A cross-cultural analysis of the behavior of women and men: Implications for the origins of sex differences. Psychological Bulletin, 128(5), 699–727. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.128.5.699