fandomhigh | Sexual Anthropology, Monday, 7/20, Period 3

"Today," Brennan said, as she passed out posterboard and markers to the students, "we're talking about gender roles, identity and stereotypes. Those are really big subjects; I can't do much more than glance at the stereotypes here in class today. If you're interested and want to keep reading, I can recommend some books after class."

"Gender roles are the set of perceived behavioral norms associated particularly with males or females, in a given social group or system. It can be a form of division of labor by gender, as in classic hunter/gatherer societies in which men go out to hunt and women watch children and gather fruits and grains, or in a modern single-income family in which the woman stays at home and the man acts as a breadwinner. Almost all societies, to a certain effect, have a gender/sex system, although the components and workings of this system vary markedly from society to society." She went on to briefly review current research into the establishment and reinforcement of gender roles in society.

"Gender identity, meanwhile, is how a person defines him or herself in terms of gender. While this usually matches physical gender, some people identify as transgendered -- a male brain in a female body, or the reverse -- or as neither male nor female. Someone who believes their mental gender does not match their physical gender may be said to have gender identity disorder."

"The last thing we want to talk about, and the basis of your exercise today, is gender stereotypes. Stereotypes are simplistic generalizations about the roles of individuals in groups that help to feed into traditional gender roles. A simple gender stereotype is 'boys don't cry' or 'women can't drive.'"

"What I would like for you to do today is, working in pairs, come up with lists of male and female stereotypes and what reinforces them. For example, if your stereotype is that women are bad drivers, you might write down that popular jokes give that message. At the end of class we'll ~~probably handwavily~~ compare the lists and see where they differ and where they overlap. I'm around if you have questions."

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"I think it was very uncomfortable for them having a female in with all the men. And I didn't make things very easy for them," she admitted. "I was a difficult child."

"Well, you've been nothing but helpful during this discussion," Zayne said.

She laughed. "Most people don't find me very helpful. Or rather, they find me helpful, but a bit annoying."

"Well, I don't yet," Zayne joked. "But let's see what I think at the end of class."

"I'll expect an evaluation," Helen said with as deadpan a face as she could manage.

"Should we put that in the male list?" Zayne asked.

"I think, perhaps, yes," Helen said with a laugh.

"Well, you can't be annoying when you're agreeing with me. Let's see, we could put down gardening in the female column in honor of my mother, too," Zayne said. "I guess raising kids would be more of a woman's thing, too. My mom did raise all of my siblings while my dad worked."

Helen nodded. "Yes, I agree with all of that."

She smiled at him. "I'm not always so good at the agreeing thing so enjoy it while it lasts."

"I'll believe that when I see it," Zayne said. "So far you still get high marks."

"Thank you," Helen said with a smile. "You do as well."

Sexual Anthropology, Monday, 7/20, Period 3

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