gender differences

Gender DifferencesGender Differences

Independent LivingIndependent Living

Early ChildhoodEarly Childhood

All children are “relatively” androgynous before All children are “relatively” androgynous before they are bornthey are born

Current U.S. culture (like most societies) has Current U.S. culture (like most societies) has stereotypical assumptions about people based stereotypical assumptions about people based on genderon gender

Parents and “society” usually treat children in Parents and “society” usually treat children in gendered ways: names, colors, clothing, gendered ways: names, colors, clothing, behaviors, etc.behaviors, etc. What do baby girls wear?What do baby girls wear? What do baby boys wear?What do baby boys wear?

GirlsGirls

In general, In general, Parents talk to girls more than boys Parents talk to girls more than boys Hold girls moreHold girls more Treat girls more gentlyTreat girls more gently Pick up girls more when they cryPick up girls more when they cry Keep girls closer to the parentKeep girls closer to the parent Focus on Focus on appearanceappearance for complements for complements Sexually abuse girls more than boysSexually abuse girls more than boys

BoysBoys

In general,In general, Parents let boys cry longerParents let boys cry longer Give boys more freedomGive boys more freedom Give boys less attentionGive boys less attention Play more roughly with boys Play more roughly with boys Focus on boy’s Focus on boy’s activitiesactivities for complements for complements Yell at, punish, hit and physically abuse boys Yell at, punish, hit and physically abuse boys

moremore

Rules of lifeRules of life Underlying (unspoken) rules of life for current Underlying (unspoken) rules of life for current

U.S. dominant culture:U.S. dominant culture:

Females: Everyone should take responsibility for Females: Everyone should take responsibility for everyone else (interdependence)everyone else (interdependence) How do we label independent women?How do we label independent women?

Males: Everyone should be responsible for Males: Everyone should be responsible for themselves (independence)themselves (independence)

So a woman may be taking care of herself and So a woman may be taking care of herself and her husband, but who is taking care of her?her husband, but who is taking care of her?

AdolescenceAdolescence Gender role traditionalGender role traditional students- students-

(Feminine Females & Masculine Males)(Feminine Females & Masculine Males) False stereotype that False stereotype that allall females are feminine females are feminine

and and allall males are masculine. males are masculine. Mixed results in the research:Mixed results in the research:

• More positive peer relations for moderate levels of More positive peer relations for moderate levels of traditional behaviors.traditional behaviors.

• Uncertain effect on self esteem (depends on Uncertain effect on self esteem (depends on study), better for masc. boys than feminine girls.study), better for masc. boys than feminine girls.

• Hyper-masculine boys and hyper-feminine girls Hyper-masculine boys and hyper-feminine girls typically have difficulty with relations with peerstypically have difficulty with relations with peers

Non-Traditional Gender Non-Traditional Gender

(Feminine Males, Masculine Females, and (Feminine Males, Masculine Females, and Androgynous Females and Males) Androgynous Females and Males)

Increased ridicule and bullying by peersIncreased ridicule and bullying by peers• Especially against feminine boysEspecially against feminine boys

Lower self esteem, increased shame for boysLower self esteem, increased shame for boys Higher level of depression and suicide Higher level of depression and suicide

(especially if gay)(especially if gay) Self esteem and agency higher for masculine Self esteem and agency higher for masculine

and adrogynous female adolescents and adrogynous female adolescents

Masculine Speaking Style Masculine Speaking Style

AutonomousAutonomous Parallel communication Parallel communication CompetitiveCompetitive Focus on tasks and ideas Focus on tasks and ideas Detach feelings and egoDetach feelings and ego

Masculine Style – continuedMasculine Style – continued

Responsible for Self Responsible for Self Jump in to conversationJump in to conversation Declarative statementsDeclarative statements Aggressive/swearingAggressive/swearing Talk others out of feelingsTalk others out of feelings Give few complements and affirmations Give few complements and affirmations

Feminine Speaking StyleFeminine Speaking Style

ConnectingConnecting Direct communication Direct communication CooperativeCooperative Focus on people and feelingsFocus on people and feelings Integrate feelings and egoIntegrate feelings and ego

Feminine Style – continuedFeminine Style – continued

Responsible for other(s)Responsible for other(s) Wait for turn or invitation Wait for turn or invitation Qualifiers and tag-on endingsQualifiers and tag-on endings Join others in feelingsJoin others in feelings Give complements and affirmationsGive complements and affirmations

Get With ItGet With It

Help teens see value in androgynyHelp teens see value in androgyny Research shows psychologically healthiest Research shows psychologically healthiest

adults typically androgynous, also better adults typically androgynous, also better relationships, think yin and yang.relationships, think yin and yang.

Girls vs. Boys in School

How are girls treated in school?

How are boys treated in school?

Do different teachers treat students differently?

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Male-Female

What are the differences?

Brain-based TeachingBrain-based Teaching

The Minds of GirlsThe Minds of Girls

By adolescence, a By adolescence, a girl’s girl’s corpus corpus callosum callosum is 25 is 25 percent larger than a percent larger than a boy’s. This enable boy’s. This enable more “cross talk” more “cross talk” between between hemispheres.hemispheres.Source: Gurian, M. & Stevens, K. “With Boys and

Girls in Mind,” Educational Leadership, Nov. 2004.



Because of the greater cross talk, girls Because of the greater cross talk, girls are able to multitask better than boys. are able to multitask better than boys. They have fewer attention span They have fewer attention span problems and can make faster problems and can make faster transitions between lessons.transitions between lessons.

Source: Gurian, M. & Stevens, K. “With Boys and Girls in Mind,” Educational Leadership, Nov. 2004.



Stronger neural Stronger neural connectors creates connectors creates better listening better listening skills, more detailed skills, more detailed memory storage, and memory storage, and better discrimination better discrimination among the tones of among the tones of voice.voice.




A girl’s stronger A girl’s stronger neural connectors neural connectors and a larger and a larger hippocampus hippocampus provide greater use provide greater use of sensory memory of sensory memory details in speaking details in speaking and writing.and writing.




Girls’ prefrontal Girls’ prefrontal cortex develops cortex develops earlier and is larger earlier and is larger than boys’. Girls than boys’. Girls have more serotonin have more serotonin and make fewer and make fewer impulsive decisions.impulsive decisions.




With more cortical areas devoted With more cortical areas devoted to verbal functioning, girls are to verbal functioning, girls are better at: better at: sensory memory, sitting sensory memory, sitting still, listening, tonality, mental still, listening, tonality, mental cross talk, and the complexities of cross talk, and the complexities of reading and writingreading and writing..


i.e. The very skills and behaviors often rewarded in schools.


The Minds of The Minds of BoysBoys

Boys have more Boys have more cortical area devoted cortical area devoted to spatial-mechanical to spatial-mechanical functioning and functioning and half half as muchas much to verbal- to verbal-emotive functioning.emotive functioning.


“Honey, why don’t you want to talk about it?”



Spatial-mechanical Spatial-mechanical functioning makes functioning makes boys want to move boys want to move objects through the objects through the air, such as balls, air, such as balls, airplanes, their little airplanes, their little sisters, or just their sisters, or just their arms and legs.arms and legs.




Boys have less Boys have less serotonin and less serotonin and less oxytocin, which oxytocin, which makes them more makes them more impulsive and less impulsive and less likely to sit still to talk likely to sit still to talk to someone.to someone.




Boys have less blood Boys have less blood flow to the brain and flow to the brain and tend to structure or tend to structure or compartmentalize compartmentalize learning.learning.




The more words a The more words a teacher uses, the teacher uses, the greater chance a boy greater chance a boy will zone out. Boys’ will zone out. Boys’ brains are better brains are better suited to symbols, suited to symbols, abstractions, and abstractions, and pictures.pictures.




Consequently, boys generally learn Consequently, boys generally learn higher math and physics better than higher math and physics better than girls. Boys prefer video games for the girls. Boys prefer video games for the physical movement and destruction. physical movement and destruction. And boys get into more trouble for not And boys get into more trouble for not listening, fidgeting, sleeping in class, listening, fidgeting, sleeping in class, and incomplete assignments.and incomplete assignments.


The Trouble with BoysThe Trouble with Boys

“Girl behavior becomes the gold

standard. Boys are treated like

defective girls.”

Dr. Michael Thompson

PBS Series Author of “Raising Cain”

Girls Feel It, Too.

Dove

Campaign for Real Beauty

Videos:

“Onslaught”

&

“Evolution”



gender differences

Documents

girls moretreat girls

longergive boys

freedomgive boys

boys activities

hypermasculine boys

baby girls

hyperfeminine girls

baby boys wear