Transcript Cross-Cultural Studies of Gender Roles

By Joel Murphy
The Different kinds of
Culture

 Traditional: Men and Women have different and
clearly defined gender roles within society.
 Egalitarian: There is some choice and flexibility over
gender roles, and men and women are more equal.
Hofstede

Hofstede proposed 4 other dimensions;
 Masculine (UK, US, Japan): High regard for stereotypical
male qualities, such as achievement and competition.
 Feminine (India, Pakistan): A high value is placed on
stereotypically feminine qualities, such as interpersonal
harmony and co-operation.
 Individualistic: Value identity through somebodies
personal choices and achievements.
 Collectivist: Value on membership of family, work and
community groups.
Gender roles in other
cultures

Margaret Mead studied 3 tribes in New Guinea, and found very different
gender roles from Western society;
 Arapesh: Both genders behaved femininely.
 Mundugumor: Both sexes were Macho.
 Tchambuli: Women were possessive, definite, robust and practical
whereas men were flirtatious. The opposite to Western culture.
However, when Margaret extended her studies
to the indigenous peoples in Samoa, she changed
her original viewpoint. In all societies men were
more aggressive than women, suggesting some
behaviours are innate. Though he degree at which
these behaviours are expressed is relative to that
particular culture.
Further Studies

 Whiting and Edwards (1975) looked at 11 different non-Western cultures and found
that girls were given domestic roles within the house, spending time with adults and
younger children which made them more responsible. Whereas boys were assigned
feeding and herding tasks outside the house, spending time with their peers and
making them more immature (eventually catching up to females in adolescence).
“Effectively children become the company they keep” -Bee 1995.
 Chang, Guo and Hau (2002) Compared 145 Amreican and 173 Chinese students.
 Using an 10-item Egalitarian gender roles attitudes scale, they found that American
males and females emphasised gender equality at home and in the Family. This may
be because gender equality is taken for granted in communist China.