Gender Role Preferences Research Articles

Role of desired attitudes in shaping sustainable gender role preferences: A case study of the middle class in Lahore, Pakistan

As gender equality is the basis for realizing social–environmental–economic sustainability, inequality in gender can significantly hamper economic productivity and negatively affect individuals’ lives. This study examines the desired attitudes towards gender norms that can be used to improve gender inequality in a developing country for sustainable development. A survey was conducted with 230 adults from middle-income households in Lahore, Pakistan. A paired sample t-test was used to determine the difference between the desired role allocation for men and women and gender stereotypes. The results revealed that participants believed in the traditional private/public division of gender roles. However, the inclination towards gender equality in daily activities in the public domain, such as shopping and meeting friends and certain professions (e.g., white-collar jobs), encourages empowerment-based intervention. To enhance gender equality in Pakistan and similar societies, people must know they are not alone in thinking and prioritizing gender equality in everyday roles and professions. Acknowledging that ‘others’ in society are also willing to forego traditional patriarchal trends may promote action toward the desired perception.

Fictive home: the politics of urban homemaking of <em>Hijras</em> in Khulna, Bangladesh

The third gender is an identity-based category for people who do not identify themselves as either male or female. This may include people who do not feel the male or female gender roles that their culture dictates in terms of social, sexual, or gender role preference. The aim of the paper is to investigate the crucial role that the dwelling environments play in the lives of the third gender and their ultimate transformation into and stigmatization as a Hijra. In a context characterized by a lack of social acceptance of the third gender people into mainstream activities, and in the near absence of Government (and NGO) support, particularly toward their rehabilitation and resettlement, the third gender population commonly engages in ‘anti-social’ activities in order to ensure a livelihood. A significant portion of these activities, which can also be viewed as different forms of resistance-mostly absent and ritualistic, however, take place within the confines of their urban dwelling. An investigation into their family structure and household spatial implication, organization of house spaces according to their own notion of publicness-privateness, spatial sequencing, layering and hierarchy, formal articulation of houses and their setting/location to the larger urban fabric hence speak of an apparently novel culture of an undesirable community, where such novelties, as this paper argues, degrade their identity into that of a ‘socially excluded’ Hijra. Such identification and understanding of the negative socio-political-spatial products/processes of Hijra homes hence are expected to provide important feedback to policymaking on devising sustainable ways to construct a positive identity for the so-called ‘Hijra’ population and aid through possible spatial-physical intervention (e.g. housing).

Acculturation through global media: Perceptions of University Students in Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab-Pakistan

This study assessed global media (Satellite TV and Internet) exposure of students enrolled in Ghazi University and Education University campus, Dera Ghazi Khan and its effects on cultural identity through observing change in their language, eating habits, dress, ways of celebration, social relations, attitude toward traditional gender role and leisure time preferences. Total 360 respondents were selected purposively (who used global media) equally divided between Ghazi University and Education University campus and were interviewed through a structured interview schedule. The results showed that the majority of respondents were heavy viewers and used the global media for the sake of entertainment, news, information, and fashion. They like to speak words of foreign languages in their daily conversations; enjoy eating foreign food both at home and restaurant; follow dressing style of media celebrities and wear foreign dresses occasionally. They like foreign music, movies and ways of celebrating events. They spent their leisure time in watching satellite TV and chatting friends via cell phone/internet. It was concluded that global media is promoting popular culture and influencing local culture and traditions of local community. It is suggested that media regulatory authorities and owners should perform their role to promote local cultures to preserve ethnic diversity in Pakistan

Gender norms and marriage satisfaction: Evidence from China

This paper examines the association between the traditional gender division norm — “men are breadwinners, and women are homemakers” — and the marriage satisfaction of each gender using Chinese couple-level data. The results reveal that married couples tend to be less satisfied with their marriage if the wife earns more than the husband. Moreover, it seems that the drop in the husband's marriage satisfaction matters more for the drop in the couple's overall marriage satisfaction. By exploring the difference between husbands and wives in their attitudes in terms of economic contribution and housework contribution, we confirm that husbands may have a specific self-image regarding the traditional gender division norm, and can also respond to the wives' gender role preference.

Preference or endowment? Intergenerational transmission of women’s work behavior and the underlying mechanisms

Existing studies have established a positive correlation between a married woman’s work behavior and her mother-in-law’s. Such linkage is attributable to the profound influence of maternal employment on son’s gender role preferences or household productivity. This paper systematically investigates the relative importance of the two potential mechanisms using the Chinese survey data. We show that a substantive part of the intergenerational correlation is left unexplained even if we control for the husband’s gender role attitudes. Instead, we find that the husband’s household productivity is more crucial in the wife’s work decision, suggesting the dominance of the endowment channel over the preference channel.

088 Influence of genotype and hyperandrogenism on sexual function, gender role and sexual preference in 35 females with congenital adrenal hyperplasia

088 Influence of genotype and hyperandrogenism on sexual function, gender role and sexual preference in 35 females with congenital adrenal hyperplasia

Gimstamumo, laimės ir lyčių vaidmenų sąsajos

Šio straipsnio tikslas – pristatyti naujas gimstamumo teorines prieigas, aiškinančias vaikų susilaukimo, laimės bei lyčių vaidmenų, lyčių (ne)lygybės ir (ne)teisingumo sąsajas, atskleisti šių teorinių prieigų ryšį, aptarti galimybes jas jungti, išryškinant jų perspektyvumą jau išplėtotų teorijų kontekste. Pastarųjų kelių dešimtmečių išsivysčiusių šalių neigiami gimstamumo pokyčiai, pasižymintys gimstamumo mažėjimu ir žemu lygiu, neužtikrinančiu kartų kaitos, nuo XX a. devinto dešimtmečio aiškinti remiantis antrojo demografinio perėjimo (ADP) teorija. Tačiau kai kuriose šalyse jau matomo gimstamumo atsigavimo ADP teorija paaiškinti negali. Kaip atsakas į išplėtotų gimstamumo teorijų trūkumus ir prieštaringus gimstamumo pokyčius šiuo metu plėtojamos dvi naujos, tarpusavyje susijusios teorinės perspektyvos – laimės ir lyčių vaidmenų sąsajos su gimstamumo pokyčiais. Šiuos tris dėmesnis integruojanti analitinė perspektyva papildo R. Lesthaeghe’o ir D. van de Kaa pasiūlytas ADP idėjas. Joje plėtojama bei naujai pritaikoma ir P. McDonaldo pasiūlyta teorinė schema, apimanti kintamas gimstamumo ir lyčių lygybės, lyčių teisingumo sąsajas. Kintamų lyčių vaidmenų modelių ir laimės bei gimstamumo kitimas priklauso nuo platesnio konteksto – darbo ir šeimos vaidmenų derinimo galimybių, susijusių su socialine ir šeimos politika bei darbo rinkos lankstumu, į individą ir šeimą orientuotų institucijų prisitaikymo prie kintamų lyčių vaidmenų. Dėl institucijų neprisitaikymo lyčių vaidmenų modelių kaita, pereinant nuo tradicinio prie egalitarinio lyčių vaidmenų modelio, yra „įstrigusi“ pereinamajame etape, pasireiškiančiame normatyvine sumaištimi, darbo ir šeimos vaidmenų derinimo konfliktu, dėl struktūrinių suvaržymų ribojančiu prokreacinių lūkesčių realizaciją. Pagrindinė dviejų teorijų junginio ir naujas gimstamumo pokyčių aiškinimo galimybes suteikiančios kompleksinės teorinės perspektyvos idėja – žemas gimstamumo ir laimės lygis yra pasikeitusių lyčių vaidmenų preferencijų ir struktūrinių galimybių neatitikimo padarinys, kai institucijos negeba prisitaikyti prie kintamų lyčių vaidmenų.

A Qualitative Case Study on the Discrepancy between Children’s Gender Schema and Gender Role Acceptability：With a Focus on the Intersexual Role Playing of Two Brothers’

It is generally known that children’s development of ‘gender schema’ and ‘gender role stereotype’ has a positive relationship with the notion of ‘gender role preference’. This study analyzed an unusual case focusing on the role playing of two brothers’. The elder brother, Hyoung-Gyoo, always preferred to take the female role, and he had a preference for feminine names like “Cordelia” whilst engaging in role playing situations. The brothers can be said to have crossed the border into the realm of intersexual role playing. The results revealed Hyoung-Gyoo’s clear discrepancy between gender-related perceptions and reality, and showed his younger sibling Je-Gyoo’s high level of acceptance towards his brother’s extraordinary gender role preference. The results of this study can serve as a useful reference point for detailing unusual development from early childhood regarding ‘opposite-gender-role seeking’ characteristics. 색인어: 성 도식, 성 ì—­í• ê³ ì •ê´€ë , 이성지향자(ç•°æ€§å¿—å‘è€ ), 성 ì •ì²´ê°, 성 ì—­í• ìˆ˜ìš©ì„± Keywords: gender schema, gender role stereotype, opposite-gender-role seeker, gender identity, gender role acceptability

Gender Roles and Organizational HR Practices: The Case of Women's Careers in Accountancy and Consultancy Firms in China

AbstractThe Chinese finance industry has experienced significant expansion both within the state sector and into the private sector. Professional consultancy firms have also emerged as a result of the rising interest in the outsourcing of accounting and management services. However, the study of women's careers in the accountancy profession in contemporary China remains largely an uncharted territory. Drawing on data from 69 interviews with auditors in five firms, this article investigates the nature of work of external auditors in China and how women auditors view their work‐life choices and constraints. We explore the likely differences between male and female auditors in their career aspirations and the extent to which these self‐perceived differences are informed by social conventions of gender role, organizational practices, and personal preferences. The study has strong implications for human resource management in professional service firms in China, with particular reference to job design, work organization, career support, and work‐life balance initiatives. The study contributes to the debate on gender, employment, and career development in the accountancy profession in different parts of the world. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Age Preferences in Dating Advertisements by Homosexuals and Heterosexuals: From Sociobiological to Sociological Explanations

Current sociobiological thought suggests that significant components of mate selection are based on indicators that correlate with the ability to produce and support offspring. Theorists have suggested that men tend to be attracted to and marry younger women, while women tend to be attracted to and marry older men. This behavior is referred to as age hypergamy. I complicate this picture by using gay men as a population in which to explore alternative components of mate selection as reflected in our behavior. Analyses of 120 dating advertisements from gay men and heterosexual men and women indicated that there exists a good measure of hypergamic age preference that is comparable to the heterosexual population and that relates to subjects' gender presentation. Data suggest that the biological-reproductive theory of age hypergamy is incomplete and support a cultural reproduction model of gender role behavior and preference in both heterosexuals and homosexuals.

Sex and the American teenager: seeing through the myths and confronting the issues

Chapter 1 Decisions about Sex in School Chapter 2 The Course of Sexual Development Chapter 3 Erotic Acts and Protective Measures Chapter 4 Cases: Breaching Schools' Eroticism Rules Chapter 5 Eroticism Gone Awry 1 - Abuse Chapter 6 Eroticism Gone Awry 2 - Pregnancy Chapter 7 Eroticism Gone Awry 3 - Infection Chapter 8 Gender Traits and Role Preferences Chapter 9 Sex Education Programs Chapter 10 Retrospect and Prospect

Preserve and strengthen family to promote mental health

Byline: Ajit. Avasthi Introduction Unlike the West, in India, family is the key resource in the care of patients with mental illness. Families assume the role of primary caregivers for two reasons. First, it is because of the Indian tradition of interdependence and concern for near and dear ones in adversities. Due to this most Indian families prefer to be meaningfully involved in all aspects of care of their relatives despite it being time-consuming. Second, there is a paucity of trained mental health professionals required to cater to the vast majority of the population; hence, the clinicians depend on the family. Thus, having an adequate family support is the need of the patient, clinician and the healthcare administrators. The term family has its root in the Latin word 'familia' that denotes a household establishment, akin to 'famulus', which denoted a servant who came from that household establishment. In the ancient Roman law, the word denoted the group of producers, slaves and other servants as well as members connected by common descent or marriage. Family as we understand today has been defined in the Oxford dictionary as (i) The body of persons who live in one house or under one head, including parents, children, servants, (ii) The group consisting of parents and their children, whether living together or not; in wider sense, all those who are nearly connected by blood or affinity. (iii) A person's children reared collectively. (iv) Those descended, or claiming descent from a common ancestor. From the point of view of psychiatry, family denotes a group of individuals who live together during important phases of their life time and are bound to each other by biological and /or social and psychological relationship. It is a group defined by a sexual relationship sufficiently precise and enduring to provide for the procreation and upbringing of children.[sup] [1] When we look at the family as a unit, the following features are common across the globe: it is universal, permanent, nucleus of all social relationships, has an emotional basis, has a formative influence over its members, teaches its members as to what is their social responsibility and the necessity for co-operation and follows a social regulation.[sup] [2] Features of Traditional Indian Families India is a secular and pluralistic society characterized by tremendous cultural and ethnic diversity. In India the family is the most important institution that has survived through the ages. India, like most other less industrialized, traditional, eastern societies is a collectivist (a sense of harmony, interdependence and concern for others) society that emphasizes family integrity, family loyalty, and family unity. More specifically, collectivism is reflected in greater readiness to cooperate with family members and extended kin on decisions affecting most aspects of life, including career choice, mate selection, and marriage.[sup] [3] Since ages, the Indian family has been a dominant institution in the life of individuals. It is considered strong, stable, close, resilient and enduring. In India, overwhelmingly, families adhere to a patriarchal ideology, follow the patrilineal rule of descent, are patrilocal, have familialistic value orientations, and endorse traditional gender role preferences. Historically, the traditional, ideal and desired family in India is the joint family. A joint family includes kinsmen, and generally includes three to four living generations, including uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, and grandparents living together in the same household. Frequently, a large joint family divides after the demise of elderly parents, when there is no longer a single authority figure to hold the family together. After division, each new residential unit, in its turn, usually becomes a joint family when sons of the family marry and bring their wives to live in the family home. The lines of hierarchy and authority are clearly drawn, shaping structurally and psychologically complex family relationships. …

Doing gender differently—The interplay of strength of gender identification and content of gender identity in predicting women's endorsement of sexist beliefs

AbstractTo explain differences in women's endorsement of sexist beliefs, we introduce the gender identity model (GIM). Based on social identity theory (SIT) and social role theory (SRT), we combine strength of gender identification and identity content and propose that different types of gender identity can be distinguished, which are predicted to relate to different levels of women's endorsement of sexist beliefs and engagement in collective action. Results of a correlational study and two experiments support the assumptions of the model: women reject Benevolent (BS), Hostile (HS), and Modern Sexisms (MS) and participate in collective action in particular when they are highly identified with the category women and have, at the same time, internalized progressive identity contents. In contrast, gender role preference has weaker or no effects on sexist beliefs and collective action when women are low identified with their gender in‐group. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Gender Role Egalitarian Attitudes Among Chinese College Students

This study was designed to examine the relationships between gender role egalitarian attitudes and gender, age, parents’ education and occupations, anticipated age of marriage and child bearing, desired family size, career choices, and preference for sex of the children among 470 Chinese college students. Statistically significant relationships were observed between gender role egalitarian attitudes and gender, age, and anticipated age of marriage and childbearing. There were no relationships between gender role egalitarian attitudes and preference for sex of the children, desired family size, parents’ education and occupation, and Chinese students’ career choices.

Sex and Sexuality in Men's Personal Advertisements

In this article, the author examines 2,400 men's personal advertisements from the Internet to explore gender role and sex role preferences in mate selection. Using content analysis, the author examines how men define their gender roles and sex roles, and how they express role preferences in their mate. The results show that when compared with gay men, straight men are less concerned about gender roles and sex roles. Gay men's personal advertisements are the real analytic lens here because they are the ones faced with the ambiguities that need to be negotiated, whereas straight men may have taken gender-typical roles for granted. The author also discusses how men knowingly or unknowingly express and reproduce cultural norms of heterosexuality and gender-typical behavior, and how they may perpetuate forms of heterosexism and sexism.

Couples' Gender Role Preferences and Management of Family Food Preferences

Objective To learn how couples stratified by gender role preference (GRP) manage food preferences. Design One-time individual semistructured qualitative interview with each partner in a couple representing 1 of 3 GRP pairings. Settings/Participants Volunteers were recruited using advertising and snowball sampling and met the criteria of both parents living at home, wife no older than 40 years, and at least one child under age 6 years and, if present, all others under age 18 years. Both partners in volunteer couples completed a 31-item GRP scale, and the scores of each partner were categorized as traditional (lowest 25% of possible scores), transitional (middle 50%), or egalitarian (top 25%). No traditional couples volunteered. A purposeful sample of 10 transitional and 10 egalitarian wives representing 20 couples was interviewed. Variables Measured Each partner was asked how food preference patterns were established and how family member food preferences affect foods served at evening meals now. Analysis Thematic content analysis, constant comparison, and consensus produced the final thematic analysis. Results Transitional wives married to transitional husbands established a pattern of deference to the husband's preferences that could make alteration of food choices difficult. Egalitarian wives married to egalitarian husbands established a fairer pattern of balancing partner's food preferences. Conclusions and Implications Nutrition education for transitional and egalitarian couples should use different approaches.

Gender Role Preference and Family Food Chores

Objective To learn how couples stratified by gender role preference (GRP) manage food chores. Design One-time, individual semistructured qualitative interview with each partner in a couple representing 1 of 3 GRP pairings. Subjects/Settings Volunteers were recruited using advertising and snowball sampling and met the criteria of (1) both parents living at home, (2) wife no older than 40, and (3) at least one child under age 6 and, if present, all others under age 18. Both partners in volunteer couples completed a 31-item GRP scale, and the scores of each partner were categorized as traditional (lowest 25% of possible scores), transitional (middle 50%), or egalitarian (top 25%). No traditional couples volunteered. A purposeful sample of 10 transitional and 10 egalitarian wives representing 20 couples were interviewed. Variables Measured Each partner was asked to describe their current food chore responsibility, their opinion of the balance of responsibility, and how this role assignment had changed since first married. Analysis Methods Used Thematic content analysis, constant comparison, and consensus produced the final thematic analysis. Results Couples in which both partners were transitional assigned food chore responsibility primarily to accommodate the breadwinner's role. Couples in which both partners were egalitarian used three different strategies to handle food chores. Implications Educators should consider the differences found when designing interventions for recently married couples and parents of young children.

Gender Role Preferences and Perceptions of University Administrators

This study provides a model for institution-specific assessment of gender role preferences and perceptions, based on the responses of 321 university administrators to the Sex Role Trait Inventory. Women administrators described their ideal woman, ideal man, and themselves as androgynous. For male administrators, the ideal woman was androgynous, but these men defined their ideal man and themselves as masculine. Women and men both perceived most actual women and men as sex-typing by male respondents, gender role attitudes of women and men, and particularly female and male senior administrators, were similar.

Gender Role Preferences and Perceptions of University Administrators

This study provides a model for institution-specific assessment of gender role preferences and perceptions, based on the responses of 321 university administrators to the Sex Role Trait Inventory. Women administrators described their ideal woman, ideal man, and themselves as androgynous. For male administrators, the ideal woman was androgynous, but these men defined their ideal man and themselves as masculine. Women and men both perceived most actual women and men as sex-typing by male respondents, gender role attitudes of women and men, and particularly female and male senior administrators, were similar.

A Comparison of two Cohorts of College Students in Responses to the Male-Female Relations Questionnaire

Two cohorts of male and female introductory psychology students from the same university, tested in 1978 and 1992, were given the male or the female form of the Male-Female Relations Questionnaire (MFRQ; Spence, Helmreich, & Sawin, 1980), which assesses respondents' personal gender-role preferences and behaviors in interpersonal situations. In both genders, the means of the majority of MFRQ items decreased significantly from 1978 to 1992, but item means were still fairly close to the midpoint of the response scale. Women tended to be less willing than men to assign leadership roles to men but in social interactions with the other gender, they admitted to deliberately acting “feminine” as much or more than men admitted to acting “masculine.” Correlations between the MFRQ and the Attitudes Toward Women Scale (AWS; Spence & Helmreich, 1978) were also determined and found to be substantial. Psychometric differences between the instruments suggested, however, that the MFRQ provides unique information and may often be more useful than the AWS in detecting relationships with other variables.