ABSTRACT
The terms sex and gender are distinct. Sex refers to biological and genetic differences. Gender refers to the different clusters of traits, interests, and behaviors that societies ascribe to each sex. Although some traits and abilities are statistically different between the sexes, due to either socialization or biology, many “differences” in behavior are nonexistent, small, or moderate. Evolutionary psychology is important because it takes into consideration the biological differences historically believed to exist between the sexes; however, it is not testable and does not take into account the fact that women currently engage in many of the activities that were previously considered to be solely performed by men. The social constructionist perspective in psychology examines how differences are created and then used to justify nonneutral differences between men and women, which ultimately prove to be disadvantageous to women.
Theoreticians and researchers have developed different explanations for beliefs about gender. Some psychologists believe that gender is an outcome of socialization (cultural approach). Others believe gender is an outcome of the varying positions that women and men occupy in society (structural approach). Yet other psychologists have focused on the stereotypes, that is, cognitive rules of thumb that are widely held, oversimplified beliefs. Individuals use stereotypes when they cope with information. These gender stereotypes, or beliefs about what is appropriately feminine or masculine behavior, are influenced by sex, race, and class. The stereotypes associated with gender affect an individual’s access to resources and power but so too does the environment or social context in which women care for others and engage in paid employment.
Sex discrimination underlies both everyday life and the practice of science. Sexism constantly reproduces the power inequities of women on a daily basis and varies along a number of dimensions. There are different types of sexism: blatant, subtle, and covert. Historically, myths about women’s inferiority pervaded psychological science as well as society as witnessed in the difficulties women had in achieving parity with men in higher education. Paradoxically, some researchers insist on sex differences between men and women but note the superiority of women to men along a number of psychological dimensions. Psychologists themselves are divided regarding the implications of sex difference research. Feminists in psychology, just as “women” themselves, are not a homogenous group. The term feminist when used by itself does not accurately portray the various views which inform scholarship that is considered feminist. Some of the types of feminists identified were social feminists, radical feminists, and liberal feminists.
In science, values influence the questions asked, the methods pursued, and the interpretation of data. A variety of problems and biases occur in research. Some of these are exclusion of women as research participants, publication bias, gender differences in self-report, and an overreliance on college-age participants. Further problems in research concern the difficulty in discerning confounds. Are observed differences due to gender or are they due to status and power? Feminists have critiqued traditional research strategies and provided a number of solutions for gender-fair research. Such solutions hinge on accepting that science can never be completely value-neutral. In this context, social change brought about 26by psychological research promises to challenge the status quo. The psychology of women and gender has received recognition by the American Psychological Association. The importance of ethnicity, race, and class to the conduct of research will only enhance the production of knowledge that aims to maximize women’s well-being.
Now that we have initiated the process of bringing women into focus, the next chapter will review the origins of the stereotypes and images of women that remain with us today.
