Existing Gender Stereotypes Research Articles

Gender representation and stereotyping in Moroccan print media coverage of the 2023 Haouz Earthquake

ABSTRACT Natural crises often amplify and reflect preexisting societal inequalities, with varying impacts on women across different regions. This research paper examines gender representation in the visual coverage of the 2023 Haouz earthquake. Data was collected from images published in Morocco's leading Arabic newspapers – Assabah, Bayanalyawm, and Alayam. The study analyzes how these visuals frame gender and argues that they reinforce existing gender stereotypes and cultural norms in Moroccan society. The coverage often portrayed women in limited, gender-specific roles, depicting them primarily as helpless victims. While this approach elicited sympathy from readers and donors, motivating immediate support for those affected, it may also have exploited the politics of sympathy, inadvertently perpetuating gender stereotypes.

Gender dynamics in nursing profession: impact on professional practice and development in Tanzania

BackgroundGender disparity has long been noted in nursing, a predominantly female-dominated profession. However, recently the increase in the number of male nurses disproves the existing belief that nursing is exclusively a female profession. Even though the studies have reported changing gender trends in nursing, the information is not sufficient and the effects of the changing trend on professional practice and professional development have not been explored. Therefore this study aims to assess the influence of gender in nursing on professional practice and development in Tanzania.MethodsThis was an analytical Hospital-Based Cross-sectional Study Design, conducted at four hospitals in Dar es Salaam, with 580 nurses between 20th May and 20th June 2024. Proportionate sampling was used to determine the required number of participants from each of the four facilities. Moreover, systematic random sampling was used to recruit participants from each facility. The validated questionnaire was used to obtain data, which were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics.ResultsAmong seventy items that measured professional practices, sixty three items indicated good professional practices among female nurses compared with their male counterparts male. On the association of gender in nursing to professional practice and development, the findings revealed no significant association between gender in nursing and professional practice (χ2 = 1.384; P = 0.239). Moreover, the item analysis revealed that male nurses have professional development in three items similar to female nurse who had shown professional development on other three items. Through binary logistic regression, male nurses were 0.528 (OR) times less likely to have good professional development than their female counterpart (P < 0.001; 95% CI: 0.379, 0.737). Several social demographic factors were found to be associated with professional practice and development.ConclusionIt was found that professional practice does not depend on gender in nursing, because the practice was optimal across both genders. Nurse’s self-image of nursing, facility factors, and professional development influence their professional practice. Moreover, gender in nursing is associated with professional development, indicating the existence of gender stereotypes in the distribution of opportunities between male and female nurses. The study recommends extending this cross-sectional study to nonclinical settings such as training institutions.

Selling soldiering: Marketisation, gender complementarity and the promise of military femininity in 1990s Sweden

AbstractThis article examines the first large‐scale attempts to recruit women as soldiers and officers in 1990s Sweden, focusing on the techniques and promises employed by the Swedish Armed Forces (SAF). Building on a wide range of documents and audiovisual sources, we demonstrate how the SAF utilised various marketing techniques, including advertisements and sponsorships, to attract and ‘sell’ soldiering to young women. Analysing these efforts through scholarship on neoliberal governmentality and gendered military identity, we argue that these strategies marked the onset of military marketisation, reflecting broader neoliberal trends in 1990s Sweden. Moreover, we show how the SAF's marketing techniques promised women a narrowly defined, complementary, feminine military identity that reinforced existing gender stereotypes in the name of gender equality. Our findings shed new light on the instability of gender equality policies deemed progressive and pioneering and, in contrast, the stability of the global racialised hierarchies that inscribe some nations as gender equality forerunners.

Walking the line of the double bind: A cross-country comparison on women and men politicians’ self-presentations on social media

Abstract Political leaders play a crucial role in shaping societal perceptions and citizens’ expectations of gender roles. Through their self-presentation on social media, political leaders have the power to either reinforce or challenge existing gender stereotypes, thereby influencing how citizens perceive and interpret gender norms. However, research on how women and men politicians present themselves on social media is scarce. This comparative study contributes to remedying this research gap by content analysing the official Facebook and Instagram pages of 18 political leaders during the 2021 national election campaigns in Germany and Norway. In contrast to earlier research on gendered presentations of politicians in the news, we did not find strong evidence of gendered self-presentations in either country, neither in terms of personalisation nor in terms of gender issue ownership. This could be because gender roles in Germany and Norway have become more fluid, or because the successful politicians we have analysed have been successful due to their ability to “walk the double bind” of needing to conform to both masculine and feminine gender expectations. Our study calls for more comparative research into this field, including studies of lower profile politicians and politicians in countries with lower degrees of gender equality.

Social Media Attention to Geopolitical Conflicts - An Analysis of Weibo Users' Comments on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

In the globalized information age, social media has become a primary channel for news and information dissemination, particularly during geopolitical conflicts. This study investigates public sentiment and discourse on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. Utilizing content analysis, the researcher conducted sentiment statistics and word frequency analysis on Weibo comments to understand Chinese public attitudes toward this conflict. The research reveals a significant increase in negative emotions from 33.33% in October 2023 to 100% in April 2024, indicating growing public discontent and concern as the conflict intensified. Concurrently, positive emotions sharply declined from 47.62% to 0%, reflecting diminished hopes for a peaceful resolution. Neutral sentiments also fluctuated, initially at 19.05%, dropping to 0% by April 2024. Additionally, the study identifies a shift in keyword usage from "world peace" and "hope" to specific entities like "Israel" and "Hamas," and terms like "disaster." This highlights a change in public and media focus from peace initiatives to the humanitarian impact of the conflict. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for promoting a more inclusive gaming environment, challenging existing gender stereotypes, and fostering social stability. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of Chinese public opinion on international geopolitical issues and underscores the importance of social media in shaping public discourse.

Is Epistemic Status Gender-Biased? Gender As a Predictor of Testimonial Reliability Assessments in Violent Crimes

It is rather uncontroversial that gender should have no influence on treating others as equal epistemic agents. However, is this view reflected in practice? This paper aims to test whether the gender of the testifier and the accused of assault is related to the perception of a testimony’s reliability and the guilt of the potential perpetrator. Two experiments were conducted: the subjects (n = 361, 47% females, 53% males) assessed the reliability of the testifier in four scenarios of assault accusation, in which the only difference was the gender of the people presented. During the study, we have observed dependencies of gender and ascription of reliability, but only marginal differences in guilt attribution. The results of our research may constitute an argument for the existence of different epistemic status endowed on people depending on their gender and existing gender stereotypes. Our results suggest that gender bias may be situated at a deeper level than the linguistically triggered representation.

Investigating the Prevalence of Gender Stereotypes in a South African Mine

The existence of gender stereotypes is a common phenomenon. Pressure on organisations to establish workforce diversity evolves constantly. However, diversity encourages stereotyping. Once organisations know the stereotypes, they will be able to manage these more effectively. The main aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of gender stereotypes in a mine in South Africa. Limited research has been undertaken to date on the existence of gender stereotypes in the South African mining industry. A sample of 39 employees from a South African mine was selected and semi-structured interviews were conducted. The data were analysed by means of content analysis. Most of the employees who were interviewed understood the concept of gender stereotypes. The most prevalent stereotypes that were found were in-group stereotypes, out-group stereotypes and perceived in- and out-group stereotypes (meta stereotypes). The existence of gender stereotypes in a mine can be managed through establishing various interventions to assist employees to confront their own stereotypes and valuing employees for their contribution and not according to the gender group they belong to. This study adds to the literature and knowledge of gender stereotypes. Limited studies have been conducted on gender stereotypes in South African mines. The information obtained in this study provides insight into the stereotypes that should be managed in the South African mining industry.

Mr. Active and Little Miss Passive? The Transmission and Existence of Gender Stereotypes in Children’s Books

Do popular children’s books tend to reflect gender stereotypes, and do parents prefer their daughters to read books reflecting this pattern? We explored these research questions using the popular Roger Hargreaves’ Mr. Men and Little Miss collection of children’s storybooks, which is a series of individual stories all titled with and based on a binarized gendered character (e.g., Mr. Greedy, Little Miss Sunshine). Using a deductive content analysis approach, Study 1 revealed that the characters in the series’ 81 books tend to behave in gender stereotypical ways, with male characters more adventurous and active and female characters more domestic and passive. Books that had female leads were also more likely to have male secondary characters. In Study 2, participants rated the masculinity/femininity and positivity/negativity of the traits of each of the book series’ titular main characters without knowing the (gendered) book title. The traits used in Little Miss stories were associated with femininity, and the Mr Men story traits with masculinity. In Study 3, when faced with the prospect of selecting a Little Miss book to read to their daughter, parents preferred counter-stereotypical book choices (e.g., Little Miss Brainy). Perceived consistency with what parents wanted to teach their daughters about women predicted this book choice. Overall, although these books tended to reflect traditional gender stereotypes (Studies 1, 2), and people held these beliefs (Study 3), we found that parents wanted a counter-stereotypical book for their daughter. Implications for the transmission of gender stereotypes via children’s literature and parental choices are discussed.

Gender stereotypes and voice assistants: do users’ gender and conversation topic matter?

ABSTRACT Voice assistants (VAs), such as Alexa, Siri, or Google Now, are becoming increasingly ubiquitous. Consequently, the potential societal impacts of such systems are gaining relevance in public and academic discourses. Investigating the effects of VA voice features on user perception of VAs is one central aspect of research. Here, the potential effects of VAs on the perception of gender roles and the attribution of gender stereotypes stand out. Following the Computers as Social Actors paradigm, it is assumed that gendered voices have the potential to reproduce existing gender stereotypes. Yet, recently, the implementation of gender-ambiguous voices has been suggested to mitigate such effects and promote more diverse technology design. In this study, we set out to inquire about the relationship between gendered VA voice (male, female, gender-ambiguous) and gender stereotype activation. In two online surveys with an experimental manipulation (Study 1: N = 140, Study 2: N = 397), we test stereotype activation as a function of VA voice, user gender, and conversation topic. Empirical findings are mixed, with no effects for conversation topic but indications of small effects of VA voice. Implications for future research are discussed.

Этические проблемы применения искусственного интеллекта: гендерный аспект

The article gives a brief description of the fourth industrial revolution, as well as an interpretation of the phenomena of “intelligence”, “artificial intelligence”. Questions are raised about the admissibility of artificial intelligence intervention in the life of our society, as well as the boundaries of such interference, the problem of responsibility for the consequences of decisions made by artificial intelligence is raised. The development of modern technologies can create new ethical problems. And the personal voice assistants or assistants that have become widespread today (Siri from Apple, Cortana from Microsoft, Alexa from Amazon, Alice from Yandex, Marusya from Mail.ru, etc.), working on the basis of artificial intelligence, can reflect and help strengthen existing gender stereotypes. The purpose of this article is to consider the main reasons for the feminization of artificial intelligence using the example of personal voice assistants that have become widespread in the realities of the 21st century. It is also important to study the influence of developers on the artificial intelligence they created already at the initial stage of development. It is noted that specialists in the field of artificial intelligence managed to develop a prototype of a gender-neutral language model, as well as create a gender-neutral voice for personal voice assistants. In the future, this will help to avoid the gender bias of artificial intelligence, which will contribute to the fight against gender stereotypes that exist in our society.

Gender dynamics in the history of nursing education at Ainsworth Dickson Nurse Training School in Swaziland, 1927–2007

ABSTRACT In Swaziland the misconception that nursing is a female profession delayed male nurse training at Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital’s Ainsworth Dickson Nurse Training School. Started by the Church of the Nazarene in 1927, nursing training in this school remained exclusively women-centred until 1980, when four male students from the Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force enrolled. Since then, male nurse training in Swaziland has continued unabated, although at a very low rate. The trifling numbers of men in nursing training from the 1980s to 2007 indicate that this misconception persists. While scholarly attention has been given to female nurse training in Swaziland, nothing has been written on male nurse training. This article investigates how male nurse training was perceived in Swaziland before the 1980s, why male nurse training started in 1980 and how its commencement impacted existing gender stereotypes. It also explores how male nurses were received, especially by patients.

Breaking Gender Stereotypes in the Gaming Community: Importance in Providing All-Round Support for Female Gamer Against Misogyny

The experience of female gamers in online gaming and gaming communities arecharacterized by a lack of social-emotional and organizational support, as well as prevalent general harassment and sexual harassment. Offline, negative stereotypes associated with female gamers and the lack of understanding from others towards women with video games as a hobbylead to the unwillingness of women to self-identify as gamers. Gender stereotypes, specifically, traits of male gamers being traditionally associated with gamer stereotypes cause the exclusion of female gamers and feminine traits from fair and normal treatment in the gaming community. In this contribution, the effects of existing gender stereotypes and misogynistic ideals present insociety on the gamer stereotype and gaming community, as well as the subsequent treatment of female gamers are examined. I conclude that only a multifaceted approach capable of addressing the aforementioned relationship between the larger society and the gaming world would beeffective in improving the overall condition and support for women in the gaming community. Additionally, I argue that the categorization and grouping of coping strategies used by female gamers in response to harassment online should be standardized into specific categories – taking into account previous methods of categorization grounded in both quantitative and qualitativeapproaches – to benefit future research.

Gender Stereotypes and Women Participation in STEM Fields in the Western Balkans: A Scoping Review

The prevalence of gender stereotypes in STEM fields is evidenced by a large body of literature across the world, however, this area of research is still understudied in the Western Balkan region. To get a better knowledge of the extent of studies addressing this topic, we conducted a scoping review investigating existing gender stereotypes and educational choices in STEM in that region. As expected, the number of studies discovered was very limited, despite our generous inclusion criteria. In these limited studies, however, we found ample evidence of existing gender stereotypes in STEM and their impact on career aspirations. As this scoping review focused only on high-school university students, we conclude the paper with thoughts on future work ideas to expand the target group as well as to use systems thinking as an overarching perspective to conduct a holistic examination. This could be achieved by including relevant actors within and outside the immediate context, such as parents, schools, policymakers, businesses, and organizations. Finally, the paper also discusses the impact and opportunities that come with digitalization efforts, which could be leveraged to increase women participation in STEM.&#x0D; &#x0D; Received: 11 December 2022 / Accepted: 17 February 2023 / Published: 5 March 2023

Perceptions, facilitators and barriers of physical activity among people living with HIV: a qualitative study

BackgroundPeople living with HIV (PLWH) have low levels of physical activity. Using the social ecological model to understand perceptions, facilitators and barriers of physical activity in this population is of importance for developing contextualised interventions to improve physical activity in PLWH.MethodThis was a qualitative sub-study conducted between august and November 2019 as part of a cohort study on diabetes and associated complications in HIV infected in Mwanza, Tanzania. Sixteen in-depth interviews and three focus groups with nine participants in each were conducted. The interviews and focus groups were audio recorded, transcribed and translated into English. The social ecological model was considered during the coding and interpretation of the results. Transcripts were discussed, coded and analyzed using deductive content analysis.ResultsForty-three PLWH aged 23–61 years participated in this study. The findings showed that most PLWH perceived physical activity as beneficial to their health. However, their perceptions of physical activity were rooted within existing gender stereotypes and roles in the community. Running and playing football were perceived as activities for men while household chores activities were for women. Further, men were perceived to do more physical activity than women. For women, household chores and income-generating activities were perceived as sufficient physical activity. Social support and engagement of family members and friends in physical activity were reported as facilitators of physical activity. Reported barriers of physical activity were lack of time, money, availability of physical activity facilities and social support groups, and poor information on physical activity from health care providers in HIV clinics. Human-immunodeficiency virus (HIV) HIV infection was not perceived by PLWH as a barrier for doing physical activity but most family members did not support them to do physical activity, fearing that it might worsen their condition.ConclusionThe findings demonstrated differing perceptions, facilitators and barriers of physical activity among PLWH. Interventions addressing awareness, gender stereotypes and roles related to physical activity from individual to community level are needed. Supportive environment and infrastructures are needed to improve physical activity levels in PLWH in Tanzania.

BEYOND THE BINARY: HOW TEACHING CHILDREN ABOUT GENDER ASPECTS CAN HELP REDUCING THE LEVELS OF SEXISM

The article examines the sexist attitudes of teenagers from a sociological point of view. The purpose of the article is to theoretically substantiate the importance of teaching teenagers about gender issues in order to overcome sexism. It was found that there are differences in the approval of sexist attitudes depending on the social characteristics of adolescent boys and girls. It was found that the endorsement of sexist attitudes was less likely for girls who were not in a romantic relationship than for girls who were in a romantic relationship. Social characteristics are of particular importance in explaining differences in sexist attitudes in girls and boys. Gender equality education should start from the moment children enter school and continue throughout their education. Sexism is a normalizing ideology related to gender that devalues the attributes of women and the work that women do. By glorifying the qualities and achievements of men and demeaning women, sexism contributes to inequality between the sexes. Sexist social attitudes assert masculine norms and dictate what behavior is considered “normal” for both boys and girls. This dyad permeates all other social differences, including disability, determines the priority of interests in educational activities. Creating a gender-sensitive environment based on the idea of gender equality consists in avoiding sexism, overcoming existing gender stereotypes, forming the experience of a partnership between the sexes on an equal basis, minimizing facts of opposition based on gender, creating equal conditions and opportunities for realizing creative potential, opportunities for personal development of everyone a teenager. Parents are one of the earliest and most important socializers of gender ideas.&#x0D; Keywords: training; education; gender; teenagers; sexism; gender equality; gender stereotypes; gender roles

ON THE QUESTION OF THE GENDER AUDIT OF UNIVERSITIES

The relevance of gender studies for democratic transformations in Ukraine is determined by theoretical and practical approaches, appropriate tools that allow to assess the real situation in the country, the quality of life in relation to the priority problems, needs and interests of women and men, to determine the causes and consequences of such problems for the future, and also to propose ways out of difficult situations to ensure gender balance, social justice and sustainable development. The purpose of the article is to display objective information about the gender situation in Uman State Pedagogical University named after Pavlo Tychyna. One of the first tasks of the scientists of the Gender Center of Pavlo Tychyna State Pedagogical University of Uman determined the monitoring of the gender situation at the university, the result of which was the concluded «Gender Passport of the Pavlo Tychyna UDPU».The gender audit contains objective information about the gender situation at the university, reflects the educational work carried out by the Center of the Pavel Tychyna UDPU, outlines promising research directions in this area and provides recommendations for the further implementation of the principles of gender equality and justice in the educational environment.«Gender passport of the Pavlo Tychyna UDPU» was created with the involvement of a wide range of participants, team members who studied, acquired new knowledge and skills, noticed the manifestations and causes of gender disparity, that is, became bearers of values with a deep social meaning.The Faculty of Social and Psychological Education is a center for the development of gender cultureand education at the university.The audit confirmed the presence of significant gender disparities. A number of seminars and trainings were held, which helped to clarify the existing gender stereotypes, as well as to determine the peculiarities of their manifestation in the current activities of universities and to assess the level of development of the principles of gender equality.

The vicious circle of stereotypes: Teachers' awareness of and responses to students' gender-stereotypical behaviour.

The study was conducted using a mixed methods approach combining lesson observations and interviews with teachers. A total of 204 hours of observation in 34 classes of 7th and 8th graders (aged 13-14 in the Polish primary school system) were conducted to investigate teachers' behaviour that may exacerbate gender stereotypes and gender bias in the classroom. Moreover, the 25 female teachers conducting the observed lessons were interviewed to identify: (i) teachers' awareness of stereotypical behaviours of girls and boys during classes; (ii) teachers' awareness of possible causes of these behaviours; (iii) teachers' responses to these behaviours, including actions that could deepen gender stereotypes; and (iv) teachers' sensitivity to the gender polarised content of school textbooks. The results of the study show that teachers, although they are aware of the existence of gender stereotypes and declare their willingness to counteract them, tend to strengthen rather than eliminate these stereotypes with the strategies and actions undertaken. They have difficulty recognising possible reasons for the occurrence of stereotypical student behaviour and have little awareness of the gender-polarised content of school textbooks. The results of the study are discussed, inter alia, in light of the concept of the vicious circle of stereotypes and self-fulfilling prophecies in education.

Why Context Matters: The Influence of Application Domain on Preferred Degree of Anthropomorphism and Gender Attribution in Human–Robot Interaction

The application of anthropomorphic design features is widely believed to facilitate human–robot interaction. However, the preference for robots’ anthropomorphism is highly context sensitive, as different application domains induce different expectations towards robots. In this study the influence of application domain on the preferred degree of anthropomorphism is examined. Moreover, as anthropomorphic design can reinforce existing gender stereotypes of different work domains, gender associations were investigated. Therefore, participants received different context descriptions and subsequently selected and named one robot out of differently anthropomorphic robots in an online survey. The results indicate that lower degrees of anthropomorphism are preferred in the industrial domain and higher degrees of anthropomorphism in the social domain, whereas no clear preference was found in the service domain. Unexpectedly, mainly functional names were ascribed to the robots and if human names were chosen, male names were given more frequently than female names even in the social domain. The results support the assumption that the preferred degree of anthropomorphism depends on the context. Hence, the sociability of a domain might determine to what extent anthropomorphic design features are suitable. Furthermore, the results indicate that robots are overall associated more functional, than gendered (and if gendered then masculine). Therefore, the design features of robots should enhance functionalities, rather than specific gendered anthropomorphic attributes to avoid stereotypes and not further reinforce the association of masculinity and technology.

The Image of Woman in the Sintren and Kuda Kepang Arts: Gender Reality and Aesthetic Exploration

The image of women that is actualized through the construction of gender roles, positions, and adaptation processes in artistic expression through Sintren and Kuda Kepang performances is very different. In this regard, the research aims to: (1) explain the forms of art performances of Sintren and Kuda Kepang; and (2) explain the image of women in the art performances of Sintren and Kuda Kepang in the context of gender reality and aesthetic exploration. The research was conducted on the art of Sintren Ujung Gede in Pemalang Regency and Kuda Kepang Turonggoseto in Semarang Regency. The research data were collected using the techniques of (1) observation, (2) interviews, and (3) document studies. The validity of the research data was carried out using the confirmability technique. The study used an interactive model analysis procedure, which was carried out with the stages of data collection, data reduction, data classification, and drawing conclusions. The results show that: (1) Sintren and Kuda Kepang arts are forms of traditional folk-art performances in which there is a scene of trance. This art is usually performed on stage or open arena by involving women as players; (2) The presence of women in the Sintren performances is a requirement that traditionally must be fulfilled until now. On the other hand, in the Kuda Kepang performances, the presence of women is a new phenomenon that provides opportunities and freedom for women to express themselves through dance. In the Sintren performance, the position of women becomes the center, subject, and object during the performance process. As a result, changes in the function of arts often result in the exploitation of Sintren dancers. On the other hand, in the Kuda Kepang art, the involvement of women with all their adaptations provides a new space for resistance to the existing gender stereotypes.

Individual Differences in Political Ideology and Disgust Sensitivity Affect Real-Time Spoken Language Comprehension.

Individuals' moral views have been shown to affect their event-related potentials (ERP) response to spoken statements, and people's political ideology has been shown to guide their sentence completion behavior. Using pupillometry, we asked whether political ideology and disgust sensitivity affect online spoken language comprehension. 60 native speakers of English listened to spoken utterances while their pupil size was tracked. Some of those utterances contained grammatical errors, semantic anomalies, or socio-cultural violations, statements incongruent with existing gender stereotypes and perceived speaker identity, such as “I sometimes buy my bras at Hudson's Bay,” spoken by a male speaker. An individual's disgust sensitivity is associated with the Behavioral Immune System, and may be correlated with socio-political attitudes, for example regarding out-group stigmatization. We found that more disgust-sensitive individuals showed greater pupil dilation with semantic anomalies and socio-cultural violations. However, political views differently affected the processing of the two types of violations: whereas more conservative listeners showed a greater pupil response to socio-cultural violations, more progressive listeners engaged more with semantic anomalies, but this effect appeared much later in the pupil record.