Gender role development essay

Historical approaches[ edit ] Although the word "acculturation" was coined by J. Powell in[3] the earliest record of acculturation can be found in Sumerian inscriptions from B. These inscriptions laid out rules for commerce and interaction with foreigners designed to limit acculturation and protect traditional cultural practices.

Gender role development essay

Saul McLeodpublished People often get confused between the terms sex and gender. Sex refers to biological differences between males and females.

Gender role development essay

For example, chromosomes female XX, male XYreproductive organs ovaries, testeshormones oestrogen, testosterone. In the past people tend to have very clear ideas about what was appropriate to each sex and anyone behaving differently was regarded as deviant.

Today we accept a lot more diversity and see gender as a continuum i. Gender is determined by two biological factors: Hormones Hormones are chemical substances secreted by glands throughout the body and carried in the bloodstream. The same sex hormones occur in both men and women, but differ in amounts and in the effect that they have upon different parts of the body.

Testosterone is a sex hormone, which is more present in males than females, and affects development and behavior both before and after birth.

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Testosterone, when released in the womb, causes the development of male sex organs at 7 weeks and acts upon the hypothalamus which results in the masculinization of the brain. Testosterone can cause typically male behaviors such as aggression, competitiveness, Visuospatial abilities, higher sexual drive etc.

An area of the hypothalamus at the base of the brain called the sexually dimorphic nucleus is much larger in male than in females. At the same time testosterone acts on the developing brain. The brain is divided into two hemispheres, left and right. In all humans the left side of the brain is more specialised for language skills and the right for non-verbal and spatial skills.

Shaywitz et al used MRI scans to examine brain whilst men and women carried out language tasks and found that women used both hemispheres, left only used by men. It appears that in males brain hemispheres work more independently than in females, and testosterone influences this lateralization.

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Empirical Evidence The effects of testosterone have been confirmed in animal studies. Young changed the sexual behavior of both male and female rats by manipulating the amount of male and female hormones that the rats received during their early development.

A number of non-reproductive behaviors in rats are also effected by testosterone exposure around birth. These included exploratory behavior, aggression and play. Young believed that the exposure had changed the sexually dimorphic nucleus SDN in the brain, as male rats had a larger SDN than females.

The results have proven to be highly replicable. Critical Evaluation Because this study was conducted in a lab it has low ecological validity.

For example, in the lab hormones are injected in one single high dose. Whereas in real life, hormones tend to be released by the body in pulses, in a graduated fashion.

Therefore, the results might not be generalizable outside of the lab, to a more naturalistic setting. Ultimately psychologists must ask themselves whether in their research the ends justify the means. By this we mean that all research using human or non-human animals must be considered in terms of the value of the results when compared to the cost both moral and financial of carrying out the work.

Main criterion is that benefits must outweigh costs. But benefits are almost always to humans and costs to animals. We should be cautious when extrapolating the results of animal research to a human population. This is because the physiologies e. Also, the social and cultural variables within a human population are more complex when compared to social interactions between rats.

The consequence of this means the external validity of the research is uncertain. However, a study by Hines suggests it might be possible to generalize the results to humans.

Hines studied female babies born to mothers who had been given injections of male hormones during pregnancy to prevent miscarriage. They were found to be more aggressive than normal female children. Hines concluded that the extra testosterone in the womb had affected later behavior.

Chromosomes The normal human body contains 23 pairs of chromosomes. A chromosome is a long thin structure containing thousands of genes, which are biochemical units of heredity and govern the development of every human being.

Each pair of chromosomes controls different aspects of development, and biological sex is determined by the 23rd chromosome pair. Chromosomes physically resemble the letters X and Y.UN Women is the global champion for gender equality, working to develop and uphold standards and create an environment in which every woman and girl can exercise her human rights and live up to her full potential.

Gender role development essay

We are trusted partners for advocates and decision-makers from all walks of life, and a leader in the effort to achieve gender equality. This paper gives a critical review of 25 years of critical accounting research on gender, addressing what we have learned to date and what are the most challenging areas to be investigated in the future.

During this same time of life, children learn gender role behavior—that is, do­ing "things that boys do" or "things that girls do." However, cross-gender preferences and play are a normal part of gender development and exploration regardless of their future gender identity.

The gender-role development of a child is how they develop a sense of what is socially considered typical of a male or female, and applying that to their own gender based behavior (Volkom ).

There are many aspects of society, which act as variables that contribute to the development of a . Essay on Gender Roles in Media It is known that media have always had an enormous impact on the society. Media and communications are considered to be the key elements of modern life, while gender is “the core” of individuals’ identities (Gauntlett 1).


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