Gender and Identity: The Intersection of Structure,Content, and Context

The purpose of the present study was twofold: (1) to review empirical studies published between 1966-1995 utilizing J. E. Marcia's [(1966) “Development and Validation of Ego Identity Status,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 3, pp. 551–558] identity status paradigm for the purpose of observing any patterns of gender difference on issues related to identity structure, content, and context; (2) to present results of a single empirical study that examined the question of possible gender differences in how relationships are used in the identity formation process. Results of the review indicated few gender differences in identity structure, content, developmental process, and context; only the domains of sexuality and family roles may hold greater salience for women than men. Results from the single empirical investigation found identity status, rather than gender, to be associated with how relationships were used in the identity formation process. A discussion of possible future research directions on gender and identity status is presented.     

Doing and Undoing Gender in Commuter Marriages

Much recent literature has focused on how women and men “do” (and potentially “undo”) gender when juggling home and work responsibilities. Commuter marriages—in which dual-income professionals live apart due to the demands of their jobs—present a strategic context in which to investigate these gendered processes. Drawing upon theoretical work on doing and undoing gender, prior literature about gender dynamics at the nexus of home and work, and data from in-depth interviews with 97 other-sex commuter spouses, this analysis finds that in some ways these nontraditional arrangements are unique sites for undoing gender; yet, in other respects, standard gender roles are crystallized within these relationships. Specifically, for some women, these arrangements provide a respite from domestic demands, enabling them to function as hyper-productive, “masculinized” workers. However, commuter spouses also perform gender in ways that replicate the conventional gender structure. For example, living apart crystallizes many women’s roles as caregivers. These findings have implications for broader literature on gender, family, and work. They also have implications for counselors, institutional practices, and social policy; for instance, they caution against equating female autonomy with gender parity in making family policy.     

The problem of gender in family therapy theory

The field of family therapy is now a continuous process like a car cruising on automatic control with the driver comfortably in the lotus position. Family therapy theory rests on normative concepts of the traditional family and idealized conceptions of family relationships. Inequalities in the family associated with gender have been regarded as of little importance to the development of macro theory in the field. The two most influential therapeutic models, psychodynamic and systemic approaches, are each marked by gender bias. The alpha prejudice of psychodynamic theories exaggerates gender differences; the beta prejudice of systemic approaches ignores them. The construction of gender role concepts has led to a false dichotomy, whether supported by traditionalists or feminists. On close examination, gender role ideals turn out to be simplifications and caricatures. The uncritical use of gender role concepts supports power differences between men and women and ignores the complexities and commonalities of human experience. The failure of family therapy theory to deal with gender issues needs to be addressed if a theory that is not just "more of the same" is to be developed.     

Understanding the Role of Gender and Ethnic Oppression when Treating Mexican American Women for Eating Disorders

Gender, ethnicity, and weight issues are often the basis for internalized oppression. Mexican American women with eating disorders are subject to such internalization, complicated by cultural and family factors. Mexican American women (n = 136) were assessed. The resulting culturally discrepant gender identity theory describes the complicated set of relationships between weight, cultural weightism, gender identity, assimilation to U.S. culture, family factors, and eating disorder symptoms. Therapists treating eating disorders should consider ethnic and gender identity in addressing the conflicts between family, culture, and gender expectations; and demonstrate sensitivity to the complex inter-generational relationships in Mexican American families.     

Current and past depression as predictors of family functioning: a comparison of men and women in a community sample.

The association between family functioning and parental depression has primarily been studied in samples of women. In particular, very little research exists that examines how parent gender and past diagnoses of depression are related to family functioning. The family relationships of 469 couples from a community sample were examined using self- and partner report measures of the marital relationship and youth report and interviewer-rated measures of the parent-youth relationship. Both currently and formerly depressed men and women were shown to have poorer family functioning than nondepressed and never depressed individuals, respectively. Interactions of gender and depression status indicated that depression and poorer marital functioning were more strongly related for women than for men, but there were few gender differences in the parent-youth relationship. The results highlight the need for further research on men's family functioning and suggest that targeting current depressive symptoms in treatment may not be sufficient to resolve marital and parent-youth difficulties that endure after depressive episodes remit.     

From sex differences to gender role beliefs: Exploring effects on six dimensions of religiosity

Regardless of the particular dimension of religiosity under consideration, women are generally found to be more religious than men. To date, empirical data has not been used to explore the importance of gender role ideology in explaining these differences. Using the 1988 Akron Area Survey, the effects of sex differences and gender role beliefs on six dimensions of religiosity are explored. The major findings include the following: (1) sex differences in religiosity are not supported for most dimensions of religiosity when other demographic variables are considered; (2) gender role ideology, while not sex related, does improve the explanation of variance in most dimensions of religiosity; and (3) sex is a predictor of the closeness of an individual's relationships to God, while gender role ideology is not. We suggest that stereotypes about women being more religious are misleading and that gender role ideology has an important effect on religiosity. However, sex is more indicative of the level of religious intimacy, measured by perceived closeness to God. We discuss the implications of this finding for changes in family structure and relationships between men and women.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Association for the Sociology of Religion annual meeting, Washington, DC, August 1990.     

Gender-role socialization and discipline processes in one- and two-parent families

Parental discipline and gender-role socialization are two interrelated normative processes that may be affected by family structure, parent gender, and child gender. To investigate these family processes and how they may differ depending on family composition, three groups of families (approximately 90% Caucasian) with 5-year-old children were studied: 67 two-parent families, 32 single-mother families, and 13 single-father families. In the two-parent families, mothers were focused on in 33 of the families and fathers were focused on in 34 of the families. Overall, gender-role socialization processes were affected by family structure and parent gender: Single-parent families and mothers had less traditional gender-role socialization than two-parent families and fathers. Family discipline processes were also affected by family structure, as single-parent families reported more positive behavior from their children and reported using more problem-solving strategies. Regardless of family structure, parents used different discipline strategies depending on the gender of parent and child. No evidence was found to suggest that gender-role socialization mediated the discipline process. Research for this article was sponsored by grants HD 19739 from the Center for Research for Mothers and Children, NICHD, U.S. PHS and MH 37911 from the Behavioral Sciences Research Branch, Family Processes Division, NIMH, U.S. PHS to the second author. Reporting of this research was partially supported by grant MH 46690, Prevention Research Branch, NIMH, U.S. PHS to Dr. John B. Reid. The authors would like to express their sincere appreciation to several reviewers for comments on previous drafts of this article. Additionally, the authors are grateful to Margaret McKean for her editorial assistance. Actual items for any of the constructs used are available upon request.     

Gender differences in the age-changing relationship between instrumentality and family contact in emerging adulthood

Data from the Children in the Community Transitions Study were used to examine gender differences in the impact of family contact on the development of finance and romance instrumentality from ages 17 to 27 years. Family contact decreased among both men and women across emerging adulthood, although it decreased more rapidly in men than in women. Both finance and romance instrumentality increased for men and women across emerging adulthood. The growth rate did not differ between men and women in either domain, although men tended to be characterized by higher levels of instrumentality than women. There were noteworthy gender differences in the impact of family contact on the development of instrumentality. At age 17, family contact was negatively associated with instrumentality for both men and women; at age 27, the impact of family contact on instrumentality was less negative for women and was positive for men.     

The influence of personal and family factors on achievement needs and concerns of African-American and Euro-American college women

The relation of personal and family factors to three types of achievement was examined. A sample of 172 African-American and 105 Euro-American women completed four instruments assessing gender role attitudes, daydream achievement, daydream affiliation, n Ach and n Aff, and a demographic profile. Multivariate and univariate analyses of variance showed that African-American more than Euro-American women described themselves as masculine and androgynous and reported more traditional achievement-related daydream activity. Racial differences were also observed for family factors' contributions to gender role attitudes. However, personal variables contributed to gender role attitudes for both groups. Gender role attitudes were also differentially associated with n Ach, daydream achievement, and daydream affiliation. The results are interpreted as support for the continued need to consider structural and cultural influences when investigating women and achievement.     

Subjective Well-Being in Mexican and Mexican American Women: The Role of Acculturation,Ethnic Identity,Gender Roles,and Perceived Social Support

Latinas experience multiple oppressions and poorer mental health due to their often triple minority status as poor, female, women of color. The present study examined whether identifying with both Mexican culture and the dominant culture (bicultural), having high ethnic identity, identifying with both feminine and masculine behavior (androgynous gender role), and perceiving greater family social support predicted life satisfaction and positive affect in low socioeconomic status, Mexican and Mexican American women (n = 194). Results indicated that greater ethnic identity and greater perceived family social support significantly predicted Mexican and Mexican American women’s life satisfaction. Greater ethnic identity, greater feminine gender identity, greater androgynous gender identity, and greater perceived family social support were significant predictors of positive affect. Furthermore, as expected, social support from family was the most significant predictor for both life satisfaction and positive affect. Implications of the results and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

RECONSIDERING RESEARCH ON DIVORCE, FAMILY LIFE CYCLE, AND THE MEANING OF FAMILY

This article analyzes functionalist and normative assumptions about marriage, divorce, family, and gender in developmental models of family life cycle. An interdisciplinary review of the literature in family development, family sociology, and family therapy reveals how a deficit comparison model implicitly informs the discourse in the study of single-parent families, women who are alone, and the adjustment of women and children to divorce. A feminist critique of family life cycle as the prevailing conceptual model in family development and therapy is presented, and postmodern definitions that deconstruct the concept of family are discussed. Future perspectives for research on family life and form are considered in terms of new action theory that considers divorce as a mode of resistance and change for women and families.     

Self-confidence of managers in work and social situations: A look at gender differences

This study examined gender differences in self-confidence among working managers in two situations (work and social/family) as well as relationships between self-confidence, personal adjustment, and gender identity. Respondents were 437 women and men managers (208 men and 229 women) in southeast Florida. Although the sample was predominantly non-Hispanic white, an effort was made to include as many as possible Hispanic and black managers of both genders. Meaningful subgroup analysis was not possible, however, due to the small number of minority managers. Results showed that contrary to commonly held beliefs, the women and men managers were not significantly different in self-confidence in either situation, but both were higher in self-confidence at work than the same gender was in the social/family environment. Strong gender identity—either masculine or feminine—was associated with self-confidence at work for both genders, as was high personal adjustment. Implications are discussed.     

Young Adults' Anticipated Identity Importance of Career, Marital, and Parental Roles: Comparisons of Men and Women with Different Role Balance Orientations

This article discusses two studies that exploredcollege students' role balance expectations for theirfuture career, marital, and parental identities.Participants were primarily Caucasian. In the first study, men and women who were family, balanced,career, or career/marriage oriented were compared.Variation within gender, especially for women, in theareas of gender attitudes, gender attributes, role identity salience, and anticipated roleacquisition were found. Similarities between gender alsoemerged. The second study examined young adults'perceptions of their parents' identity importance androle balance orientations. Although some genderdifferences emerged, young men and women holding thesame role balance orientation were often similar intheir perceptions of their parents. Taken together,these studies provide evidence that contradictsprevious assumptions about gender differences inexpectations for work and family roles.     

The Perception of Honour-Related Violence in Female and Male University Students from Morocco,Cameroon and Italy

The study investigates the perception of honour-related violence against women in female and male university students from three countries - Morocco, Cameroon, Italy – all considered honour cultures but different in terms of various other sociocultural factors, such as family structure and gender roles. One hundred fourteen Moroccan (47 females, 67 males), 106 Cameroonian (41 females, 65 males) and 103 Italian (51 females, 52 males) students attending Turin University and currently living in Turin, answered a questionnaire to evaluate an act of honour-related violence by a father against his daughter. The results showed that the perception of this act was influenced by the participants’ nationality: Italians evaluated the incident as more serious and more as a crime than Moroccans, and the latter more than Cameroonians. Furthermore, Italians attributed less responsibility to the victim and more responsibility to the assailant than Moroccans and Cameroonians did; accordingly, they also proposed more severe punishment for the assailant than Moroccans and Cameroonians. The results also showed an interaction between nationality and gender: Cameroonian women attributed more responsibility to the victim and less to the assailant than Cameroonian men, and Italian men attributed less responsibility to the assailant than Italian women. These results are interpreted in terms of the importance attributed to family honour in the three countries and their differences in social organisation and gender roles.     

Saying no to being uprooted: The impact of family and gender on willingness to relocate

Although career research contends that women managers and professionals are less willing than men to relocate, much of the previous research has been either limited by comparative sampling issues, or has not fully accounted for the role of family. To address these issues we gathered survey data from managers and professionals in 102 large companies by identifying pairs of individuals from each firm who worked in the same division, location, and functional area, who were similar in age (± 5 years), yet differed in gender ‐ resulting in a comparatively matched sample of 333 male and 333 female respondents. To account for the role of family, we tested a model that first controlled for the impact of previous determinants of willingness to relocate, and then examined the impact of four family attributes including spouse's contribution to family income, presence of preschool‐aged children at home, and the perceived strength of spouse's and children's community ties. We also examined the moderating role of gender in explaining the impact of these attributes. Results indicate that the inclusion of family attributes increased the amount of variance explained in our regression model. Moreover, beyond substantiating a significant main effect for gender ‐ that is, women managers are less willing to relocate ‐ we also found that gender interacts with family attributes to further dampen a woman's willingness to relocate.     

Gender differences in applying social cognitive career theory in engineering students

This study tested Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) in predicting engineering interest and major choice goals among male and female college students. Participants were 579 sophomore engineering students who completed measures of self-efficacy beliefs, outcome expectations, interests, goals and social supports and barriers. Findings confirmed that the SCCT model produced a good fit to the data across gender. The findings also corroborated that women have less self-efficacy beliefs and interest than men. However, there are no statistically significant differences in measures relating to outcome expectations and goals. Moreover, women are more likely to perceive support, especially from peers and family, while men are more likely to perceive family barriers than women. For other supports and barriers there are no gender differences. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.     

Gender differences in applying social cognitive career theory in engineering students

This study tested Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) in predicting engineering interest and major choice goals among male and female college students. Participants were 579 sophomore engineering students who completed measures of self-efficacy beliefs, outcome expectations, interests, goals and social supports and barriers. Findings confirmed that the SCCT model produced a good fit to the data across gender. The findings also corroborated that women have less self-efficacy beliefs and interest than men. However, there are no statistically significant differences in measures relating to outcome expectations and goals. Moreover, women are more likely to perceive support, especially from peers and family, while men are more likely to perceive family barriers than women. For other supports and barriers there are no gender differences. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.     

基于性别平等的和谐家庭论

性别平等是实现和谐家庭与和谐社会的重要条件和特征.和谐家庭应是保障男女人格尊严、人生价值、权利地位、家庭责任及生存和发展机会的平等基础上的新型有序状态.男女平等基本国策在我国家庭领域基本得到贯彻,但是当今家庭仍然存在一些性别不平等现象.实现基于性别平等的家庭和谐的社会途径是提高女性家庭经济地位、建设先进性别文化和进一步推进社会性别主流化.     

The reentry female student in marriage and family training

The challenges of feminist family therapists of gender bias in family therapy training and practice models need to be considered in relation to the predominance of reentry women in masters degree programs in marriage and family therapy. This article describes a developmental training model that incorporates feminist-informed values into curriculum, program policies, instructional strategies, and program structure. The model builds on the assumption that gender-associated behaviors of both sexes have contextually determined value. Training for the appropriate application of gender-associated behaviors rather than for their inclusion or exclusion can increase female reentry student flexibility and self-confidence.     

Depictions of Gender Across Eight Decades of Disney Animated Film: The Role of Film Producer,Director, and Writer Gender

Depictions of gender in media are often scrutinized for stereotypical patterns. Disney films are of particular interest, as they are often watched by children and may play a role in children’s gender socialization. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to assess gender depictions of characters in animated Disney films (released between 1937 and 2019; 61 films with 323 characters total), and second, to explore depictions of gender in Disney animated films coupled with an analysis of the gender of those involved in the production of these films (producers, directors, and writers). We found a significant difference in the number of male and female characters (roughly 60% male, 40% female), which did not significantly differ by decade. Female characters were more consistently depicted as attractive compared to male characters, although character’s intelligence, ability, popularity, activity level, family role, story role, and romantic engagement did not differ by gender. Male characters were more often represented as parents or children in films written by women, and female characters were more often represented as the antagonist in films written by men. Male characters were over-represented as overly active in films produced by women, and female characters were over-represented as grandparents in films produced by women. These findings revealed few stereotypical gendered depictions of characters in Disney films over nine decades and that the inclusion of women in the production process resulted in more nuanced depictions of both male and female characters.