A study into differential reactions to men and women’s gender role transgressions

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A study into differential reactions to men and women’s gender role transgressions

Introduction

In many societieswhenan individual violates social norms such as transgressing gender roles,they are likely to be punished. The male gender transgressor is considered to be of a lower social status as compared to the female gender transgressor. It has been established that the normsrelation to gender roles are among the most powerful social norms which individuals can violate,and these are internalized when people practice socialization through gender roles. Usually, the social norms are what determinethe various roles and habits that individual of either sex adopt and then enact; if anyonefails to act according to the gender roles, which they are perceived to, they will be considered to be acting negatively. This paper critically evaluates if the male gender transgressor will be punished more than the female transgressor.

Purpose of the study

This study was seeking to explain if an adult male individual,who is described to bear female traits will be considered to have a lower social status, has higher chances of being homosexual, and have values that are dissimilar to a female individual who is said to have traits that are considered masculine.  It was also meant to explain  if the male individual who has been observed to have feminine characteristics will be considered to have a lower social class, has a higher probability of being homosexual, and be of less value than a female individual who is described to have more masculine behavior. This simply means thata female with male traits will be consideredhomosexual just like the malecounterpart with female traits is, but to a much less extent.

Hypothesis testing

The main hypothesis tested here is if an adult male individual to be used in the study and whose traits will be feminine will be considered to have lower social status, be more likely to be homosexual, and be considered to have a value higher or lower than that of a female individual who has masculine traits.The study will also test the hypothesis that the male who is described to have feminine traits will be considered to be of lower social status, have more chances of being homosexual, and be having more or less value to a female individual who has behavior considered masculine.

Structure of the study

The independent variables are gender and traits; dependant variables are homosexuality and social status.Qualitative research method is used because the parameters involved cannot be measured.

This study included 59 students as participantsfrom a North American college. The students involved were taking a developmental psychology course and included 29 men and 30 women. Most of them are white and participated by completing research material in small groups.

Personal perception paradigm is employed in this study. Each of the participants was to rate two hypothetical target persons (TPs). Of the TPs one is described through personalities described by gender and is labeled (TP1), while the other was described through behaviors attached to the sex of an individual, and this individual was labeled (TP2). TP1 are masculine typed and are obtained from the agency and the female typed subscales of the PAQ. PAQ were chosen because they are qualities for either sex but are considered more masculine or more feminine.

TP1 had completely masculine descriptions while TP2 had purely masculine traits descriptions on it. The descriptions on the behavior labeled in TP2 were a combination of various dominant and submissive traits that are borrowed from earlier on research that was carried out on gender based nature of these traits. Just like in the PAQ, the behavioris either submissive or dominant for both males and females, just as shown in the corresponding scores on social desirability scores; however, they are closely associated with dominant behaviors common in men or to submissive behaviors which are attached to women.

The masculine typed TP, which was dominant,is typed with men traits including contributing positively to group discussions, settling disputes successfully, encouraging other people to expresstheir feelings and air their opinions, being strong willed, refusing to take in other people’s ideas, embarrassing other people publicly, arguing with security guards in an attempt to get through, making sexual advances to the spouse, not refusing when needed. The other one is typed with female traits including avoidingconversations unless invited, avoiding conversations at parties, protecting self form verbal abuse, avoiding statements and things that anger others, taking opinions from parents and friends,  going out with others, and letting the partner choose where to hang out.

The study has been based on the argument that men who are described in gender-based ways are said to be higher in socialstatus than women who are gender-typed, and that individuals of either sex who are gender typed are likely to be heterosexual. This implies that the major aim of this study is to compare the perceptions that people have on individuals who transgress gender and not to make comparisons of the perceptions on gender transgressors.

The participants are male and females who are assigned to make a reading on the way that two either male or female participants were described. The descriptions based on traits are always pre.............