An annotated collection of more than 5000 links to resources and ideas for the teaching of social psychology and related courses organized by topic

Genes, Gender, & Culture

= new link as of January 1, 2022

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Activities and Exercises

"Sex objects are processed like ... objects" - Beth Morling suggests some ways to introduce and demonstrate objectification to your students.

Picture a leader.  Is she a woman? - a good class question and accompanying article

Exploring dimensions of gender, sex, and attraction - Using the Gender Unicorn!

Personal space and proxemics - an online, interactive exercise for your students

Gender influences our interpretations of the world -  This nice, simple demonstration was just presented in the most recent edition of Teaching of Psychology. The instructor reads six homonyms (nail, bow, club, band, lash, ring) aloud one at a time. Students write down each word as well as the first word they freely associate with each word. Women tend to write associative words that fit a "feminine schematic" (e.g., bow-hair; nail-polish) while men tend to list words that fit a more "masculine schematic" (e.g., bow-arrow; nail-hammer).

Searching Google for parental gender bias - A cool yet simple demo for the classroom or beyond, from David Myers [added 6/3/15]

How evolution shapes social behavior - Joy Drinnon offers this interesting activity: "This activity is designed to help students see the role that evolution likely played in shaping many social behaviors. I distribute equally 1 of the 4 different pages in the attached handout to each student in the class. Students are told to read their handout and to be on the lookout for examples while watching Episode 6 from Going Tribal. As a class we watch some or all of the episode. The episode is broken into 6 parts on Youtube so it is easy to show some or all and there are no commercials. You can find it by searching 'Suri People Dangerous Game.' The episode illustrates easily how survival pressures may have shaped social behaviors, such as bonding rituals, mate selection, and responses to conflict. It also provides opportunities for discussing cultural differences in how groups respond to the same pressures for food and survival. There is a documentary called 'Tribal Wives' too which can be used to continue the discussion about gender differences." The link takes you to the four handouts Joy describes above. [added 4/9/14]

Gender, Group, and Language - This blog entry discusses the differences in recent TV shows The men who built America and Makers: Women who make America. It's a fascinating discussion. In the middle of it is the mention of a class activity on gender. There is a link within that description to a fuller explanation of the activity. [added 7/29/13]

Gender bias - The Gender Bias Learning Project provides a few exercises on gender bias that could be done in class or outside of class. [added 1/13/10]

Sexual selection, gender, and fiscal allocation - This teaching module from Bernie Carducci describes an excellent activity "on gender differences in fiscal risk-taking based on the evolutionary principle of sexual selection" he presented at the 2009 APA convention. [added 1/13/10]

Class Activity on Gender Stereotypes: According to Jim

Marianne Miserandino shared this interesting assignment she uses in her personality course: "These days, I find that my students are a little reticent to talk about gender stereotypes, especially since my classes are often very much skewed in one direction. To help the discussion along, I like to show the episode "Jim Almighty" from the ABC television show According to Jim, starring Jim Belushi. In this episode Jim thinks that he can design women better than the creator did. In the course of the show, many gender stereotypes are depicted and reinforced (and some are even abandoned). I instruct my students to keep track and write down all of the stereotypes for men and for women that are mentioned in the show. I put them on the blackboard and classify them into physical, sexual, personality, social, and emotional and discuss if they are accurate, inaccurate, or an exaggeration of a true difference. I may even have the class vote on what they think the distributions look like (e.g. normal curves with a lot of overlap, a little overlap or something in between). This is a good way to set up a discussion of gender similarities and differences in personality using Hyde's work on meta-analysis. Note that the episode, while a family situation comedy which originally aired during prime time, does make scatological and sexual references and features the actor Lee Majors playing The Almighty (stereotyped as a Texan). I offer students who think they may be offended by the set-up an alternative activity, although nobody has taken this option. In discussions with the class, even religious students find the depiction of The Almighty funny and not at all offensive, but you should review this episode before showing your class in case your students are different from mine. [This episode originally aired in January of 2008, season 7 episode 1, S07E01]." [added 6/23/09]

Gender Activities and Exercises - A variety of activities collected by Amy Hackney from subscribers to the Teaching Social Psychology Newsletter. [added 8/12/05]

In the addendum to the last issue I sent out a request from Amy Hackney for activity or demo ideas for her psych of gender class. Quite a few of you answered her request and supplied some good ideas. That was much appreciated. So I asked Amy if I could share those with the rest of you. I hope that is okay with the original contributors. You can find these ideas at the above link.

Genes, Gender and Culture: "How male or female is your brain?"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/news/page/0,12983,937443,00.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/feature/story/0,13026,937913,00.html
Simon Baron-Cohen, an expert in autism, presents a couple interactive questionnaires purportedly testing whether you are more an empathizer or a systemizer. The second link takes you to an article by Baron-Cohen further explaining these differences. [added 4/8/05]

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A Cross-cultural perspective teaching module - Bernie Carducci has graciously allowed me to share his presentation at APA (2003) on an interesting in-class demonstration he developed to help his students better appreciate different cultural perspectives. At the heart of the activity is the cross-cultural comparison of personal ads. Two ads he shares are from the San Francisco Chronicle and two others are from the India Tribune, "a California newspaper with a readership of primarily immigrant families from India." [added 11/9/03]

Gender stereotypes in advertising - adapted from Jones' article "Gender stereotyping in advertisements" (accompanies Psychology: An Introduction, 10/e by Morris and Maisto) [added 9/4/02]

The role of language - A good essay on how politicians and the political media frequently talk about "manning up" or "growing a set" or many other male-oriented euphemisms -- The following movie may be somewhere in our future: "Ovaries, the forgotten gonad" - a retrospective look at that quaint time in human history when virtually half the population went sackless - and everyone knew it! True story! [12/28/10]

Baby name wizard! - Okay, I'm stretching this one to fit it in, but it's fun. Must be some academic use or value: Changing popularity of names over decades? [added 6/17/05]

Men and women in the U.S. - a report from the Census Bureau [added 3/20/05]

Statistics on women - "This section contains facts and figures on women's participation in politics, governance, and decision-making and other relevant statistics on women." From Onlinewomeninpolitics.org. [added 7/1/04]

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GenderNet - From The World Bank Group, this site "seeks to reduce gender disparities and enhance women's participation in economic development through its programs and projects. It summarizes knowledge and experience, provides gender statistics, and facilitates discussion on gender and development." [added 11/20/03]

Gender in the Visual Arts - This detailed lecture, accompanied by many images, was created by Mary Ann Sullivan. [added 2/4/03]

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Multimedia Resources (Audio / Video / Images / Mixed)

Audio

A talk with primatologist Frans de Waal (22:10)

"How a fear of appearing feminine restricts men" (42:00) - a podcast from NPR

"Playing the gender card" (50:00) - another podcast from NPR

The science of gender - (30:00) an episode of the BBC 4 radio show Analysis [added 7/29/13]

Women's speeches from around the world - [added 7/29/13]

Darfuri womens' stories - (16:15) [added 11/23/07]

Video

Advertisements

What girls are made of (2:01) - a Nike ad from Russia

"The doll that chose to drive" (3:09) - an ad with a gender-bending focus

Mom's 1st birthday (3:46) - See what company tugs at your heartstrings.  Interesting take on parenting roles. [added 6/2/15]

Insurance company only covers female drivers - (0:33) See the ad to see why. [added 6/2/15]

Ad addresses factors that discourage girls from science - (1:02) [added 6/2/15]

Gender roles and language - (3:18) This Pantene commercial does a nice job juxtaposing how male and female behavior is labeled. [added 4/9/14]

Portrayal of female engineers in ads - interesting critique of two ads [added 4/4/14] Update: The videos at the link do not work. Here is a link to the first ad mentioned. Here is a link to the second ad.

Interesting Snickers ad - (1:11) Male construction workers comment to female passerbys - From Australia - interesting to read the range of comments below as well - what do your students think? [added 4/4/14]

Are these Microsoft ads sexist? - (0:32) [added 4/4/14]

"Be a mindsticker!" - (1:01) Really eery and interesting Tab commercial from the 1970s [added 7/29/13]

Women removed from Saudi Arabia's IKEA catalog -  [added 12/07/12]

Gender non-conformity - (0:32) interesting contrast between mother and daughter in this ad for Tide detergent [added 1/21/12]

Airbrushed ad banned in UK - (0:48) Apparently Julia Roberts and supermodel Christy Turlington looked too good in the ad. [added 1/20/12]

Extreme photo retouching - (2:29) This video illustrates how many of the images we see are often modified to eliminate blemishes and make more appealing. [added 8/14/11]

"Cougars" hunt young males - (2:23) "A campaign that portrays single middle-aged women as cougars who prowl bars looking for sex with young men has landed Air New Zealand in hot water." [added 2/6/10]

Dairy Queen commercial - (0:30) This Dairy Queen commercial is about a young girl who "manipulates" a young boy into buying her some ice cream. At the end of the ad the young girl comments that getting the boy to buy her a sundae was like "shooting fish in a barrel." [added 6/7/08]

Classic Enjoli perfume commercial - (0:30) Remember the "Bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and never, never, never, never let you forget your a man" commercial? A classic! [added 6/2/08]

Unladylike 2020 - "UNLADYLIKE2020 is a series of 26 short films and a one-hour documentary (which premiered on PBS’s American Masters), profiling diverse and little-known American women from the turn of the 20th century, and contemporary women who follow in their footsteps."

Sexist high school dress code video (1:08)

“Understanding the complexities of gender” (16:28) - Tedx video

Difficult dinner conversations (4:25) - Amusing Saturday Night Live skit about trying to talk about sexual abuse/harassment stories among friends

Humorous video on misogyny (2:11)

Teaching gender-based analysis - This article describes and links to videos that can be used to teach students how "to assess how gender norms and assumptions enter and impact the research process."  The project was funded through the APS Teaching and Public Understanding of Psychological Science grants program, generously founded by David Myers.

Women on Capitol Hil cannot go sleeveless (1:28)

Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric - A new documentary from Katie Couric addresses transgender identities and the controversies surrounding them.  You can watch some clips from the documentary at this link, or the entire program if you have certain TV service providers.

Saudi video from women challenge gender roles and expectations (2:52)

Pinksourcing (2:09)  - Amusing video about how companies can save money -- hire women!

11 Ted Talks by brilliant women in STEM

Helen Mirren's sexist interview in 1975 (7:30 and 7:33) - If you know the actress Helen Mirren I think you will find this interview fascinating.  The first link is to Part 1 and the second link is to Part 2 of the interview.

"Trans men open up about their experiences with male privilege" (3:27)

"If catcalls were compliments" (3:13) - This video provides a nice response to that common rationale for catcalling.

Mean tweets about female sports reporters (4:15)

Men are just too emotional to be president (4:45) - a humorous video from Samantha Bee's TV show Full Frontal

65 years of women on TV in 2 minutes (2:04)

More women (0:45) - good, brief video illustrating how women are still very underrepresented across many fields

Women as reward (33:59) - This video reviews how women are often treated as rewards in video games.

Transgender terms (2:34) -a nice review of terms related to gender and sexuality

"SNL mocks superhero sexism" - (3:00) - Amusing take on how female superheroes are treated differently than male ones [added 6/5/15]

"Last F**kable Day" - (4:57) Warning; Graphic language.  An amusing clip from Amy Schumer's show about how women are no longer "f**kable" after a certain age, while men remain so until they die [added 6/5/15]

A realistic military video game - (3:09) Another amusing clip from the show Inside Amy Schumer in which the female character is raped and then... well, it's the military.  I know, "amusing" may not be the right word, but another clip that could prompt some good discussion in your class. [added 6/3/15]

1973 Batgirl PSA: Equal pay for women - (1:00) [added 6/3/15]

Are you a feminist? - (1:49) A brief video of men spouting feminist views but claiming they aren't feminists, at least initially [added 6/3/15]

 

Gender roles and the Super Bowl - (2:21) amusing Saturday Night Live "ad" [added 6/3/15]

 

"Women's ideal body types throughout history" (3:09) - [added 6/3/15]

 

"Women review ridiculously sexist Super Bowl ads" - [added 6/3/15]

Catcallers get surprised my their moms in disguise - (3:17) It's fun.  What might be other possible variations of this? [added 6/3/15]

Women pay more for same products - (8:07) The first link is to a video illustrating and discussing the price gap.  Here is a related article describing how plus-size women pay more than plus-size men at the clothing store chain Old Navy. [added 6/3/15]

Miss America pageants (15:24) - John Oliver takes them on in this segment from his show, Last Week Tonight. [added 6/2/15]

Music videos about body image - (3:10) [added 6/2/15]

10-year-old girl denied passport because her name is Harriet - (0:55) Remember the story I sent you recently (sure you do) about how different countries restrict the naming of children to gender-stereotypical names?  Here's a case in Iceland. [added 6/2/15]

"Parents conclude their 5-y.o. girl is actually a boy" - (7:06) Really interesting story [added 6/2/15]

Videos of trailblazing women - "MAKERS.com is a dynamic digital platform showcasing thousands of compelling stories - both known and unknown - from trailblazing women of today and tomorrow." [added 6/2/15]

Can Hillary be President AND a grandmother? - (5:21) The Daily Show humorously addresses the double standards raised with the news that Hillary Clinton's daughter Chelsea announced her pregnancy. [added 5/15/15]

This is your brain on princess - (1:31) [added 5/15/15]

8-year-old girl gets sexist books pulled off shelf - (1:05) [added 4/9/14]

Medicare funds penis pumps - (5:21) Weren't expecting that headline, were you? An amusing Daily Show clip looking at the double standard of funding male products but not female ones like contraceptives [added 4/4/14]

Girl kicked off middle school football team - (2:40) Apparently, the boys would lust after her too much. [added 7/29/13]

 Ellen addresses Abercrombie and Fitch's sizing of clothes - (3:50) [added 7/29/13]

Sexual identity, sexual orientation, and sexual behavior - (3:50) a good little primer on the differences between the three [added 12/07/12]

What if a male stranger tries to hold your hand? - (2:02) Interesting responses from males and females - an example your students could use, carefully, to violate a social norm [added 9/10/12]

Women in the military - (2:47) Here is an hilarious Daily Show clip responding to these two claims: "Santorum thinks women shouldn't be on the front lines because men will be irrational in protecting them. Liz Trotta thinks military rape is inevitable if military men and women are in close quarters." [added 6/25/12]

Mom gives 7-year-old daughter voucher for liposuction for Christmas - (2:57) [added 6/25/12]

1949 Teen dating educational film - (12:26) Yikes. [added 8/14/11]

What would a life-size Barbie doll look like? - (1:30) Story of a college student who created a life-size Barbie doll to illustrate the ridiculous dimensions/proportions of the doll [added 8/14/11]

FGM: Young girls fight against it in Kenya - (1:49) FGM = Female Genital Mutilation -- Two young girls take the risky step of challenging their parents' beliefs and wishes. [added 8/14/11]

"Lewd" video gets Navy captain relieved of duty - (2:40) [added 4/24/11]

"'Women for sale' store highlights sex trafficking in Israel" - (2:53) [added 12/16/10]

 "Teenage girls undergo 'breast ironing' in Cameroon" - (7:51) [added 10/3/10]  

Sex slave girls in Iraq - (0:30) [added 7/27/10]

Rescuing girls from sex slavery - (1:35) [added 7/27/10]

Cure for women being objectified? Forehead tittaes! - (1:17) See amusing video. [added 7/25/10]

Hikikomori in Japan - (9:35) This form of social isolation, Hikikomori, in which, typically, young boys and men lock themselves in their rooms for years in some cases, appears to be fairly unique to Japan. This link takes you to Part 1 of the video. You can find Part 2 on the video page. [added 1/15/10]

Supermodels! - This video from the CBS Morning News provides a good illustration of how we treat and define beauty in society. [added 1/15/10]

Violence against Iraqi women - (2:36) News report from NBC News [added 12/12/07]

"Saudi rape victim tells her story" - story and video of case in Saudi Arabia of rape victim who was punished [added 12/12/07]

The story of David Reimer - (9:52) This video describes the famous story of a boy who lost his penis during circumcision and then was raised as a girl. Here is an article about it. [added 12/12/07]

"Trouble with women" - (6:10) A film from 1959: "With such a provocative title, this film illustrates some of the perceived problems a supervisor might face working with women, but ultimately demonstrates where the real problem lies." [added 7/8/07]

Pink's Stupid Girls video - (3:32) very interesting music video from Pink attacking the media and popular culture's influence on female's self-image [added 7/5/06]
 
Rock a Bye Baby - (30:00) "The Time Life documentary "Rock A Bye Baby" describes the influence of different practices in infant treatment and child rearing on emotional development, both in humans and in monkeys." [added 1/16/06]

Killing us softly 4 - preview - (4:56) a fairly long preview video of the Killing us softly 4 video about the media's protrayal of female body image [added 6/9/04]

Images

"Suffrage at 100: A visual history" - From the New York Times

The Gender Spectrum Collection - "The Gender Spectrum Collection is a stock photo library featuring images of trans and non-binary models that go beyond the clichés. This collection aims to help media better represent members of these communities as people not necessarily defined by their gender identities—people with careers, relationships, talents, passions, and home lives."

Women of Protest - over 2000 photos from the suffrage movement, from the Library of Congress [added 1/8/06]

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Class Assignments

Projects

Changing the world, $5 at a time, through a grant assignment - This assignment, by Jennifer Hunt, won the 2012 Social Psychology Network Action Teaching Award. "When the grant assignment is introduced, students are asked to select a problem related to women, sexuality, or gender that they believe is particularly important. Students are also asked to contribute $5 to create a 'grant fund' that will be used to help address one of the problems selected by a class member. This donation is framed as a small, manageable donation that could be accomplished by, for example, giving up a minor luxury (e.g., a latte coffee). The instructor donates money to the grant fund as well... After the papers are submitted, students summarize their proposal in a brief oral presentation to the class (approximately 4 minutes long). After hearing all of the presentations, the class votes on which proposal should receive the pooled grant money. The money is then donated to an organization that carries out the intervention identified by the student." [added 6/16/12]

A public education project on intersecting identities - Kim Case won an honorable mention in the 2012 Social Psychology Network Action Teaching Award competition with this entry: "Intersectionality is a feminist sociological theory that describes how biological, social, and cultural categories such as gender, race, class, ability, and other dimensions of identity interact to create social inequality. In this action teaching assignment, known as the "Intersections of Identity Education Project," students learn about intersectionality and carry out a public education project that teaches others about the ways that intersectionality can lead to social injustice. These projects, which are developed with feedback from community members whose identity they concern, include videos, documentaries, games, workshops, handouts, and other educational materials. Once students have developed these materials and activities, they use them in a public education project and then write a paper connecting their project to course readings, theory, and concepts. The paper also includes feedback from the community and a discussion of what the student learned." [added 6/16/12]

Shadow/Role-play Exercise - An honorable mention for the 2007 Action Teaching Awards mentioned above was this exercise from Bonnie Moradi's Psychology of Women course. "In this exercise, students spend a day shadowing or role-playing a woman who is different from them in age, ability status, religion, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, or motherhood. Students who conduct a shadow spend a full day with the woman they select, and students who conduct a role-play transform themselves into the woman they select (e.g., wear padded clothing to role-play a pregnant woman)." [added 7/7/07]

Group Project: Coding Personal Ads - In Ben Le's Laboratory in Social Psychology course, students in groups code personal ads examining gender differences. [added 2/1/03]

Debates

"Using in-class debates to teach gender issues in psychology" - Jeanne O'Kon and Rachel Sutz have given me permission to share with you an excellent article they wrote describing "two formats for using the in-class debate as a strategy to foster critical thinking in courses on gender." The formats certainly could be adapted to student debates of other topics/issues. [added 11/18/04]

Examples

Violence against women - the horrible story of a 14-year-old Bangladeshi girl who died from lashes after being charged with adultery [4/9/11]

Objectification of women - Abercrombie and Fitch has been criticized for selling padded bikinis to 8-year-olds. [4/9/11]

Gender Roles

 

Institutional discrimination - Actress Carrie Preston says she tried and failed to get equal pay.

Institutional discrimination - "After 260 years, golf club admits women members." [added 6/3/15]

Institutional discrimination/double standard - "Florida school edits girls' yearbook photos to hide their chests."  Boys in speedos?  No problem.

Double standards - "A teacher wore a dress and now the internet is freaking out."

Double standards - Female U.S. senator is subjected to comments about her weight and size by male senators. [added 6/2/15]

Stereotyping - Women can be too emotional.  "Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has chaired the Senate’s Intelligence Committee for five years. So when she suggested last month that investigators should make public a report on the U.S.’s interrogation techniques because it would “ensure that an un-American, brutal program of detention and interrogation will never again be considered or permitted,” one might have seen it as the strong words and fair assessment of a person who has deep experience on the issue.  But on Fox News Sunday this week, Bush-era National Security Agency and Central Intelligence Agency Director Michael Hayden suggested that Feinstein actually encouraged the public release of the interrogation techniques report because of her emotions." [added 5/1/15]

Double standards - "Female tennis player reaches Australian Open semis, is asked what man she wants to date." [added 4/4/14]

Acting like ladies - "State senator will teach Brooklyn women to act like ladies." [added 12/16/12]

Gender-based products - Bic pens for her! What's next? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: Men's edition? Let's have some fun: Send me your guesses of how a "men's edition" of a psych journal would be different from a "women's edition." [added 12/16/12]

"Husbands being jerks in coffee commercials" - [added 1/15/12]

Gender roles - This article describes the formation of the "obedient wives" club, a group of 800 or so women in Malaysia who believe marriage can be saved and fruitful if the wives obey their husbands and keep them sexually satisfied. Response to the group in Malaysia is described. [added 8/17/11]

Gender roles - an interesting and brief history of the role of the office secretary [added 8/17/11]

Institutionalizing gender roles - "Badminton is soon to be the new women’s tennis -- at least according the Badminton World Federation, which took the first step toward raising its sport’s profile by requiring female players to wear skirts on the court. The official outfit policy, which will take effect June 1 in time for this summer’s world championships, is "to ensure attractive presentation of badminton," according to a statement by the Badminton World Federation, the sport's international governing body." [added 8/17/11]

Sexualizing females: Children's lingerie line - [added 6/19/10]

Pink (and less powerful) science equipment - "This is a page from a Toys 'R Us catalog, illustrating some science toys, and note the odd distinctions being made. Both the telescope and the microscope come in special pink versions ... and note also ... that in every case the pink model is less powerful than the black and gray model." [added 3/6/10]

Social inequalities - "Eight months after being raped, a 16-year-old at Khargor of Kasba upazila in Brahmanbaria had to receive 101 lashes as 'punishment.'" [added 2/6/10]

Gender-themed games - What would a girls version of Monopoly look like? [added 7/5/09]

Gender inequity? - interesting take on the new Dr. Seuss movie Horton Hears a Who [added 5/3/08]

"Declared a woman, Bahraini man battles Arab norms" [added 12/12/07]

Gender bias in the workplace - A fascinating letter apparently from Walt Disney Productions in 1938 rejecting a female applicant for a "young man's" job [added 7/19/07]

Anonymity and the Internet - article about threats and harassment towards women in chat rooms, blogs, etc. [added 7/15/07]

I recall the requirements for fulfilling the male role when I left high school years ago. Through informational influence I discovered that a successful male had to be employed, own a car, have his own apartment and show some evidence of potential upward mobility, for example, by attending college. He was expected to be "cool" but not a "fool." In order to fulfill that requirement he needed certain skills such as dancing, the ability to handle his liquor, to walk with "limp" which was then and still is called, "pimping." He had to be able to use the "language of the ghetto" effectively in order to communicate with his ingroup. He absolutely had to have a vast and up-to-date wardrobe to intentionally induce a physical-attraction stereotype. His female "rap" (sweet talk) had to be together enough so that the matching phenomenon occurred frequently. He was expected to have an equitable relationship with a main lady who was "fine" and together. But he had the privilege of having more than one woman whereas she was required to stay faithful to him. In playing out her complimentary role, a female was expected to be totally devoted to one man. She was expected to live and die for her man and her children. She looked good, smelled good and felt good at all times. She demonstrated absolute dedication to him in public and never opposed him openly. She was expected to be intelligent, but not aggressive. However in public, and with the public, her behavior was expected to be appropriate for any situation that may arise. She was expected to honor her man at all times.

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Topic Resources

Gender Roles and ... Gender and work Gender and the military Gender roles in home/marriage/sex Gender in children, education, and athletics Gender roles and the media Gender roles and ...	Gender Differences
	Women and History
	Oppression of Women
	Gender/Sexual Orientation
	Body Image
	Gender and Biology
	Cultural Variation
	Other Species

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Gender Roles

Gender and Work

Sexual Harassment

A very detailed case of sexual harassment

“Nearly 1 in 4 men worldwide think it’s fine for bosses to expect sex from an employee” - Wow.

"Men who stick up for women's rights are subjected to more sexual harassment at work"

Sexual harassment a regular occurrence in the restaurant industry - a report from Restaurant Opportunities Centers United [added 6/3/15]

How employers turn women into sex objects - five different ways [added 12/13/13]

Or, is sexual harassment a myth? - amusing cartoon of attempts to minimize sexual harassment [added 1/29/12]

Gender Gap

“Why girls’ superior reading skills may be lowering their future salaries” - fascinating research

Do differences in achievement motivation help explain the gender pay gap?

The Global Gender Gap Report - an annual report from the World Economic Forum -- scroll down the page for some very interesting graphics

"Google accused of 'extreme' gender pay discrimination"

Women make less than male coworkers with same title - The first link is to the title story.  Here is a report on last year's wage gap in the U.S., which has widened even further.

California passes strong equal pay bill

A CEO's plan to rid his company of a gender wage gap - [added 6/3/15]

The Global Gender Gap Report (2014) - From the Pew Research Center  -- here is one of the interesting charts from the Report. [added 6/3/15]

Gender equality data and statistics - A very large source of data from The World Bank [added 6/3/15]

Gender wage gap remains at 77% - [added 4/4/14]

Silicon Valley wage gap - "Men in Silicon Valley with graduate degrees make 73% more than female peers." [added 4/4/14]

"Nearly 100% of women in jobs that typically pay men more" - [added 7/29/13]

Women on boards (in the UK) - "In 2010 women made up only 12.5% of the members of the corporate boards of FTSE 100 companies. This was up from 9.4% in 2004. But the rate of increase is too slow." This report look at why this is and how the number might be increased. [added 5/30/11]

Women in U.S. still poorer despite massive strides - "Despite massive strides, women still lag behind in America. Women have caught up in education and employment but still earn significantly less than men, and are more likely to live in poverty, according to a White House report released on Tuesday. [added 5/30/11]

Gender wage gaps - "The gender wage gaps, 'sticky floors' and 'glass ceilings' of the European Union" is a report from researchers at the University of Cyprus. [added 10/17/10]

Pay inequality in the workplace - research in the UK on disparities between men and women in terms of pay [added 1/18/10]

"Visible invisibility: Women of color in law firms" - report from the American Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession [added 12/26/06]

What is mom's job worth? - Study looked at what a stay-at-home mom's and a working mom's earnings might look like if you compared their work as a mom to comparable jobs like "laundry machine operator," "psychologist," and "CEO." [added 7/6/06]

"Inequities persist for women and non-tenure-track faculty" - report from the American Association of University Professors [added 8/30/05]

College degree contribution to gender wage gap - The study "Contribution of degree subject to the gender wage gap among graduates: A comparison of Britain, France and Germany" from the Anglo-German Foundation for the Study of Industrial Society examines one of the possible factors as to why women earn less than men. [added 3/1/05]

“Women less likely to ask for deadline extensions”

"Why do men have the most dangerous jobs?" - interesting discussion of the research and theory on the topic

During the pandemic, moms were more likely to quit work than dads - "However sound the logic, what message were our kids gleaning from this sudden shift? Might they be learning that when push comes to shove, women’s paid work matters less than men’s?"

"Who won't shut up in meetings? Men say it's women.  It's not."

"For women in economics, the hostility is out in the open" - "Studies have found that the field is plagued by a singular problem of gender bias. The latest evidence comes from the types of questions posed at seminars."

Review of gender parity in psychological science

Women are judged on more criteria in interviews - “‘Overall, competence played a key role in evaluation and employment decisions. However, the findings revealed that women are evaluated against more criteria than men are and that women’s weaknesses along a single dimension are likely to affect employment decisions,’ concluded the research team.”

It’s a man’s world, Part 2 - Half of U.S. men are uncomfortable with a female head of government.  And 41% of women.  It could be worse – In Russia only 7% of men and 9% of women are comfortable with a female head of government, according to a recent survey.

It's a man's wor... Okay, it depends - CEO failure is interpreted differently depending on the gender of the CEO.  Sometimes it favors the male, and sometimes it favors the female CEO.

Which gender comes up in Google image job searches? - Search Google images for “professor.”  Go on.  I’ll wait….  A man, wasn’t it?  In fact, when I conducted that search the first four were men.  Then Mary Poppins(!) came in at number five.  Pew Research examined how often certain genders popped up for 105 different jobs, and how long before a woman (or a man) popped up on the list.

Sexism in the race for U.S. President - “A full 20 percent of Democratic and independent men who responded to the survey said they agreed with the sentiment that women are ‘less effective in politics than men.’”

Women are punished far more than men at work

“Not a single woman made Forbes’ Top 100 highest-paid athletes of 2018”

“The more gender equality, the fewer women in STEM” - interesting cross-cultural research on this surprising finding

"The Google memo: What does the research says about gender differences?" - A good, recent review of the literature of "sex differences in interests, traits, and abilities that might be related to coding/engineering/STEM," with an analysis of its relationship to the claims in the Google memo

Female Supreme Court Justices interrupted more by their male colleagues - I know, hard to believe

Should men have one-on-one meetings with women? - interesting blog entry on the topic based on current events

"The shutdown of Elizabeth Warren in the Senate follows a sexist playbook" - policing of women's speech

 The story of Black, female scientists in the movie Hidden Figures 

Negative response to men crying at work - According to this study, seeing a man cry at work in response to negative feedback elicits lower ratings of competence and leadership compared to a non-crying male.  No such difference for females.

"Men are twice as likely to get outstanding letters of recommendation" - in the geosciences, according to a new study

Language and gender - The link is to an article describing how the word "abrasive" only shows up in women's performance reviews.  Here is an article about research on the ratemyprofessor.com site.  Follow the link in that article to the interactive chart to see which words students use for male professors and which words they more commonly use for female professors.  More than 6000 course evaluations received, and I'm still waiting for a "genius."

 "Fear of a female president" - Interesting essay on the topic -- Do your students think there are more people who fear a female leader than a Black one?

"In 1995, Walmart thought the phrase 'Someday a woman will be president' was offensive"

"Gendered language in teacher reviews" - Here is more about mining the data from Ratemyprofessor.com.

The forgotten women of NASA

Stereotypes of men and women in science - This research finds that people's stereotypes of men align with their stereotypes of scientists, but their stereotypes of women do not.

Men don't believe gender bias in STEM fields is real

Women at NASA - A collection of stories of ... women at NASA [added 6/3/15]

"Acclaimed novelist ... is remembered for her physical appearance in obituary" - [added 6/3/15]

"No girls allowed" - Male U.S. senators fought to keep their female counterparts out of "their" pool. [added 6/3/15]

"Is sexism in science really over?" - According to this extensive review, it is getting closer. [added 6/3/15]

Effects of parenthood on mothers' productivity - A research study looking at the "the effect of pregnancy and parenthood on the research productivity of academic economists" reports "we do not find that motherhood is associated with low research productivity. Nor do we find a statistically significant unconditional effect of a first child on research productivity. Conditional difference-in-differences estimates, however, suggest that the effect of parenthood on research productivity is negative for unmarried women and positive for untenured men. Moreover, becoming a mother before 30 years of age appears to have a detrimental effect on research productivity."  [added 6/3/15]

Breaking through multiple glass ceilings - Martine Rothblatt is a transgender CEO of a Fortune 500 company. [added 6/2/15]

To be a female construction worker - added 5/19/15]

Do thin, feminine women win more elections? - [added 5/19/15]

Women cook at home, so why are so few chefs female? - This blog entry addresses the question. [added 5/19/15]

"How one state plans to wipe out sexism at work in a single bill" - Can you guess which one? They are proposing a bundle of initiatives including increasing the minimum wage, paid sick leave, and better access to childcare. [added 4/4/14]

"Investors prefer to give money to men over women" - [added 4/3/14]

"Swiffer agrees to remove feminist icon from mop ads" - Should Rosie the Riveter be selling cleaning products? [added 7/29/13]

Male TV anchors/panelists discuss the problems of women working - [added 7/29/13]

"Female political roles models have an empowering effect on women" - "Ioana Latu and her colleagues recruited 149 Swiss student participants (81 women) to make a persuasive public speech against the rise in student fees. The speeches were made in a virtual reality room in front of a virtual audience of 12 men and women. Crucially, some of the participants performed their speech in a room with a poster of Hillary Clinton on the back wall; others with (Angela) Merkel on the wall; a third group with Bill Clinton's poster on the back wall; and for a final group, there was no poster. The key result is that the female students spoke for significantly longer - a sign of dominance - when Merkel or Hillary Clinton was on the back wall (as opposed to Bill or no poster) - an increase of 49 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively, making their speeches just as long as the men's. These female students' speeches were also rated as better quality by two coders blind to the experimental condition, and they also evaluated their own performance more positively. The presence of the different posters made no difference to the performance of the male students." [added 7/29/13]

Women in science - "This project seeks to provide full and partial text access to the written works of several female scientists accompanied by biographies written by leading historians of science and talented Michigan State University undergraduates." [added 7/29/13]

Status of women in the workplace - Several reports on women's wages, representation, and roles in the workplace from the Institute for Women's Policy Research [added 1/29/12]

How male oil riggers learned to lose their machismo [12/28/10]

The glass cliff - "When women are appointed to leadership positions, it tends to be when an organisation is in crisis - a phenomenon known as the glass cliff." This blog entry describes some fascinating research: "Real life examples are supported by lab studies in which male and female participants show a bias for selecting female candidates to take charge of fictitious organisations in crisis. Further investigation has ruled out possible explanations for the glass cliff - it's not due to malicious sexism nor to women favouring such roles. Now a brand new study suggests the phenomenon occurs firstly, because a crisis shifts people's stereotyped view of what makes for an ideal leader, and secondly, because men generally don't fit that stereotype." [added 10/17/10]

Hong Kong police recruit "pretty" women - [added 7/15/10]

"Blondes paid more than other women" - It's about tim...oh, they're just talking about women. [added 7/15/10]

"1943 guide to hiring women" - A blast from the past -- for example, "Give the female employee a definite day-long schedule of duties so that they’ll keep busy without bothering the management for instructions every few minutes. Numerous properties say that women make excellent workers when they have their jobs cut out for them, but that they lack initiative in finding work themselves." [added 4/20/08]

Women and workplace stereotypes - interesting essay describing some research on the "damned if you do, doomed if you don't" situations women face in the workplace [added 1/8/08]

"Traditional gender roles hold back female scientists" - [added 12/15/07]

"Are women asking for low wages?" - Research report entitled, "Are women asking for low wages? Gender differences in wage bargaining strategies and ensuing bargaining success" [added 8/05/07]

Moms and jobs - "Moms and jobs: Trends in mothers' employment and which mothers stay home" is a fact sheet from the Council on Contemporary Families. [added 7/19/07]

In which job sectors are men and women concentrated? - an interesting survey of the European Union, finding that women are concentrated in fewer job sectors than men -- see the graph on the first page that captures it well [added 7/14/07]

"Does science promote women?" - "Many studies have shown that women are under-represented in tenured ranks in the sciences. We evaluate whether gender differences in the likelihood of obtaining a tenure track job, promotion to tenure, and promotion to full professor explain these facts using the 1973-2001 Survey of Doctorate Recipients. We find that women are less likely to take tenure track positions in science, but the gender gap is entirely explained by fertility decisions. We find that in science overall, there is no gender difference in promotion to tenure or full professor after controlling for demographic, family, employer and productivity covariates and that in many cases, there is no gender difference in promotion to tenure or full professor even without controlling for covariates. However, family characteristics have different impacts on women's and men's promotion probabilities. Single women do better at each stage than single men, although this might be due to selection. Children make it less likely that women in science will advance up the academic job ladder beyond their early post-doctorate years, while both marriage and children increase men's likelihood of advancing." [added 7/7/07]

Working Women Survey - 26,000 women respond to a 2006 online survey from the AFL-CIO [added 12/30/06]

Bias keeping women out of science - "Women are being filtered out of high-level science, math, and engineering jobs in the United States, and there is no good reason for it, according to a National Academies report released yesterday." [added 12/30/06]

"Stewardess Uniforms" - I know, this is bit of a weird site. Some guy wants to share his fascination with the changing stewardess uniforms. Some date back to the 1950s. [added 7/6/06]

Perceptions of men and women as business leaders - "Women 'take care,' men 'take charge': Stereotyping of U.S. business leaders exposed" is a research report from Catalyst. "In this exploratory study, Catalyst takes a detailed view of corporate leadership.We consider ten essential behaviors required of corporate leaders. By looking at leadership as a set of separate but related behaviors, we pinpoint just where women leaders are vulnerable to stereotyping, and show how the negative effects of stereotyping on any particular leader behavior can spill over to other leader behaviors. This specificity gives us a better foundation for recommending solutions." [added 1/10/06]

"Women Working, 1800-1930" - a new collection from Harvard University Library -- included are documents, images and teacher resources. [added 1/9/06]

"Getting a job: Is there a motherhood penalty?" - a press release about some interesting research - here is the research article [added 1/7/06]

"Some occupations becoming more gender-neutral" - brief report published in the Occupational Outlook Quarterly [added 8/30/05]

Do women "opt out" of leadership and power at work? - article entitled "Women pursuing leadership and power: Challenging the myth of the 'opt out revolution'" from the Center for Gender in Organzations [added 6/20/05

Gender and the Military

“An investigation into domestic violence in the military” - a good but disturbing series of articles from HuffPost

Women Air Force service pilots - fascinating history from World War II of the first women to fly for the U.S. military

"Women warriors" as resilient as men - "Women service members who experience combat are apparently as resilient as the men they serve alongside, according to a study published by the American Psychological Association." [added 8/20/11]

Sexual violence in the U.S. Armed Forces - "A considerable sacrifice: The costs of sexual violence in the U.S. Armed Forces" is a paper from The Miles Foundation. [added 1/9/06]

Women in the Military - text and audio from a conversation about women in combat - other relevant links are also included - from National Public Radio [added 7/23/03]

Women in military service for America - links to a variety of resources [added 3/6/02]

Tailhook '91 - PBS Frontline show on the Navy Tailhook Convention where "83 women and 7 men were assaulted during the three-day aviators' convention, according to a report by the Inspector General of the Department of Defense (DOD)."

Gender Roles in Home/Marriage/Sex

"In India, a divorced woman is branded for life" - a first-person account and commentary

“Female – but not male – friends are increasingly derogated … - … as the number of their sexual partners increases.”

Inside the “incel” movement - “’Incel’ stands for ‘involuntarily celibate,’ an online community of mostly men who blame women for their inability to get the attention, and sex, they feel entitled to.”  The man who recently drove the van in Toronto that killed 10 people has been linked to this movement.

"Saudi Arabia lifts ban on women driving"

Saudi Arabian women were given the right to drive, but… The first link is to a story describing how many of the female activists pushing for this and other rights have been disappearing in Saudi Arabia after the change was implemented.  Here is a story about Muslim women becoming victims of road rage in America

"Rules against bare breasts reinforce stereotypes about women, judge says" - According to the judge, by banning women's bare breasts but not men's, it sexualizes women.  It also leads to reactance.

"Pakistan passes legislation against 'honor killings'"

One perspective on the modern single woman through comics

When a Lysol douche was believed to be an effective contraceptive - really disturbing ads for the product

"India's marital rape crisis" - "One-third of men in India, where spousal rape is legal, admit to having forced a sexual act on their wives."

The "SlutWalk" movement - "The original SlutWalk aimed to take back the normally derogatory term and challenge the notion that women are responsible for the violence committed against them.

Feminist cartoons - [added 6/5/15]

"The shocking rise of female genital mutilation in the United States" - [added 6/3/15]

Do women still perform a second shift? - That is, do they work at work and also carry out most of the duties at home as well?  It depends somewhat on the workplace policies of the country they live in.  (Ed. note:  I used to work at work; now I get to do this!) [added 6/3/15]

"The fatherhood bonus and the motherhood penalty" - "For each child a woman has, her wages will decrease by about 4 percent, even when a variety of factors are taken into account, according to a new report from Michelle J. Budig for Third Way. That means an average woman working full time will lose $1,200 in earnings for each of her children. When a man has a child, however, his earnings increase by 6 percent with the same factors taken into account." [added 6/2/15]

"How The Bachelorette resolves double standards for women" - An interesting analysis of that fine, fine show [added 5/19/15]

Feminist phone intervention - A guy in a bar won't take no for an answer? Give him this number. [added 5/19/15]

Men magazine readers less likely to respect sexual boundaries - [added 5/19/15]

"Snubbed by women" killer and the online response - As most of you in the U.S. know, Elliot Rodger, who made a disturbing video claiming he was wrongly snubbed by women, shot and killed seven individuals and wounded many more in a recent shooting spree near the University of California at Santa Barbara campus.  The first link describes the spree.  This link describes Pick-up Artist (PUA) and PUAHate websites which many claim foster misogyny and violence towards women and their potential link to this story.  This link is to a blog entry suggesting that this act is reflective of a culture of violence against women, reporting statistics on violence towards women.  This link and this link describe feminist responses to the spree, the websites, and the culture in general. And, in a related incident, this last link is to a story about a bar which posted the following "joke": "I like my beer like I like my violence: Domestic." [added 5/19/15]

"The tragic lives of child brides" - a good infographic about the subject [added 4/9/14]

"Women take bigger financial risks after touching men's underwear" - Not much I can add to that. [added 4/9/14]

Protests of rape culture in New Zealand - [added 4/9/14]

Avoid forced marriage? Put a spoon in your underwear - [added 12/13/13]

"Swiffer agrees to remove feminist icon from mop ads" - Should Rosie the Riveter be selling cleaning products? [added 7/29/13]

Why the sexual double standard? - interesting discussion of why promiscuous men are studs while promiscuous women are sluts [added 7/29/13]

School protects star player over rape victims - We have seen a number of these stories in the U.S. International readers: Does this happen in other countries? [added 7/29/13]

Media coverage of rape trial - A trial of two high school football players raping a young girl received a lot of media attention in the U.S. This blog entry provides some interesting analysis of the media coverage. More analysis is provided here. [added 7/29/13]

Who does the housework? - Blog entry revisits some research on the topic. [added 7/29/13]

"Women's Worlds in Qajar Iran" - "Explore the lives of women during the Qajar era (1796-1925) through a wide array of materials from private family holdings and participating institutions. Women’s Worlds in Qajar Iran provides bilingual access to thousands of personal papers, manuscripts, photographs, publications, everyday objects, works of art and audio materials, making it a unique online resource for social and cultural histories of the Qajar world." [added 12/22/12]

Sex, power, and extramarital affairs - Sam Sommers reviews some research on a myth about which powerful people have extramarital affairs. [added 1/29/12]

"Saudi women driving ban challenged" - [added 8/20/11]

Americans still prefer having male over female babies - I prefer penguins, but my wife was very much against it. [added 8/20/11]

Rape "beading" in Kenya - "'Josephine' is 12 years old and several months pregnant. She's a member of the Samburu tribe, living in a small village in a remote part of Isiolo in Kenya's Eastern Province. The pre-teen, whose identity is being protected, claims she had sex with a relative -- a rape sanctioned by the Samburu, through a practice called "beading." Intricate beaded necklaces are a symbol of the Kenyan nation. But to young Samburu girls, the necklaces are a symbol not of national pride, but something much darker, that can lead to rape, unwanted pregnancies -- and even the deaths of newborns, according to activist Josephine Kulea and the Samburu tribe itself." [added 8/20/11]

Khasi Indian women in charge; men are unhappy with inequality - "The Khasi people of north-eastern India are a matrilineal society and some men aren't happy." [added 5/30/11]

"Mom caves" or "woman caves"? - Interesting blog entry about the new trend of "mom caves" that follow up on "man caves." The author notes that they are typically not called "woman caves." Why the gendered difference? [added 5/30/11]

"Are the men of the African Aka tribe the best fathers in the world?" - [added 5/30/11]

You must cheer for your rapist - Did you hear about this case? A girl was kicked off her high school cheerleading squad because she refused to cheer for her alleged rapist. [12/28/10]

Men and marriage - A blog entry comments on research: "A recent Pew Research report indicates that there has been a major reversal: according to their analysis, men actually benefit financially more from marriage than women do." [added 3/8/10]

Seven most inappropriate toys for kids - Okay, not something you might use in class, but I had to share this. [added 1/18/10]

Afghanistan: Wives can be denied food if refuse husbands' sexual demands - [added 1/18/10]

Protests in Mali against law giving wives equal rights in marriage - [added 1/18/10]

"It's okay to slap spendthrift wives" - so says a judge in Saudi Arabia [added 7/11/09]

Michelle Obama's appearance and wardrobe - just another example of more attention given to women's appearance than men's [added 7/11/09]

The man who is pregnant - A blog entry about the man in the news who announced he is pregnant. See some video and some good analysis of the story. [added 5/11/08]

"Men's changing contribution to housework and child care" - [added 4/20/08]

The paradox of polygamy - "Contrary to popular belief, most women benefit from polygynous society, and most men benefit from monogamous society. This is because polygynous society allows some women to share a resourceful man of high status." [added 4/13/08]

"Korea's 'best mom' chosen as face of new currency" - Interesting story -- "South Korea's central bank on Monday chose the face of Korean motherhood as the first woman to be featured on its banknotes, but women's rights groups say the selection only reinforces sexist stereotypes." [added 12/15/07]

Saudi gang-rape victim punished - In Saudi Arabia, "the 19-year-old victim was sentenced last year to 90 lashes for meeting with an unrelated male, a former friend from whom she was retrieving photographs." Then "the judges more than doubled the punishment for the victim because of 'her attempt to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media.'" Here is a news video about the story and a response from the rape victim. [added 12/15/07]

"The truth of the mommy wars" - interesting and provocative essay [added 12/9/07]

Widows in India flock to city to die - Sad story of how, "ostracized by society, thousands of India's widows flock to the holy city of Vrindavan waiting to die." [added 10/27/07]

Polygamy follows Africans to New York City - article in The New York Times [added 7/19/07]

Moms and jobs - "Moms and jobs: Trends in mothers' employment and which mothers stay home" is a fact sheet from the Council on Contemporary Families. [added 7/19/07]

The practice of sati - This article describes the practice of sati (self-immolation) in which a Hindu widow throws herself on the funeral pyre of her husband to remain pure and demonstrate "everlasting devotion to her husband." The article describes the evolution of the practice and the use of the term. This page is from the Women in World History project from The Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. You can also visit the homepage of the Women in World History site which contains a lot of good educational resources. [added 12/30/06]

Domestic violence against women - report from the World Health Organization [added 1/13/06]

Home economics resources - Huge (about 400,000 pages) repository of books and journals available online from 1850-1950 on home economics and related disciplines from Cornell University libraries -- provides a fascinating picture of past norms and roles. For example, I did a search for "good wife" and found a 1950 text that described what a good husband and a good wife should be like. [added 8/30/05]

Child marriage
Story 1; Story 2; Story 3

A sad yet utterly fascinating story is told in this Chicago Tribune series (2004) of young girls being forced to marry as early as seven years of age. The first link tells of such practices in Ethiopia. The second link is to the second and more hopeful installment of this story, covering efforts in Egypt to reverse the devastating effects of this practice. The third link is to a story covering early marriage in the U.S. [added 3/1/05]

The Pill - very informative website accompanying the PBS American Experience episode on the history and influence of the contraceptive pill - includes some video clips and tracking of attitudes over time. [added 6/9/04]

Mothers giving up daughters - The following excerpt comes from a fascinating article in the latest issue of Science News entitled, Mother and child disunion: Don't take a mother's love for granted. "Shortly after arriving in Taiwan in 1957, Stanford University anthropologist Arthur Wolf reached the rural village of Hsia-ch'i-chou. There, he met a weathered-looking woman who told an incredible story. Several decades previously, she had given away her five infant daughters and had replaced them with five girls adopted from other families and fated to become wives to her five sons. The friendly, outgoing woman seemed proud of what she'd done, Wolf recalls, adding that she described the dispatching of her babies to new homes as smart household management. "I gave away all five girls and raised instead wives for my five sons," Wolf remembers her saying. "This saved me [money and ultimately the need to pay dowries] as well as the trouble of arranging 10 marriages." For each marriage of an adult son, for example, she would have had to throw large and expensive feasts, as well as pay a fee to the bride's family." [added 4/06/04]

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM):NOCIRC - The first link from Amnesty International provides a lot of background info on FGM as well as why the organization has taken up this issue. The second link is to NOCIRC, an "educational non-profit organization committed to securing the birthright of male, female, and intersex children and babies to keep their sex organs intact." [added 3/30/04]

"Levittown: Documents of an Ideal American Suburb" - a study of the changing and developing American suburb through one of its most famous case studies - told primarily through images as this site is from the Art History Department of the University of Illinois at Chicago [added 12/03/02]

Gender in Children, Education, and Athletics

Toys

“California will require large retailers to provide gender-neutral toy sections"

“Frida Kahlo and other historic women are being made into Barbies” - My daughter got the Frida Kahlo question right on Jeopardy.  Just saying.

LEGO releases three female scientists - That sounds creepy, doesn't it?  [added 6/2/15]

"Toys R US U.K. agrees to end gender marketing" - What does that mean? Toys "R" Us announced Friday that its U.K. stores will stop labeling toys "boys" and "girls." [added 4/4/14]

How LEGOs have changed since 1981 - [added 4/4/14]

"Why it matters that LEGO just created a female scientist" - Yes, more LEGO news! [added 4/4/14]

Barbie on the Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover - [added 4/4/14]

Protesting the Easy-Bake Oven - You may have heard about the 13-year old girl who sent a letter of protest to Hasbro because their product was only marketed to girls. Her younger brother wanted one. Well, now Hasbro has responded by launching a new line of gender-neutral ovens (see here). I think the surprise element on Iron Chef should be that they have to cook everything in an Easy-Bake Oven! [added 12/22/12]

Should the world of toys be gender-free? - Better yet, let a four-year-old explain it. [added 7/5/12]

Gender and sports coverage

The only woman coaching in Division I men’s basketball

“Medical textbooks overwhelmingly use pictures of young white men”

Verbs vs. nouns - “Asking young girls to ‘do science’ leads them to show greater persistence in science activities than does asking them to ‘be scientists,’ researchers at New York University and Princeton University find.”  I sent out some fascinating research a few years ago that found that asking people to help by using a noun (be a helper!) led to more helping than when a verb was used (you can help!).  Apparently, using the noun promoted more self-reflection – am I the kind of person who helps (a helper)?  In this study, using the verb form led to more persistence among girls, while for boys it varied.

“Americans take the pain of girls less seriously than that of boys” - Boys must really be in pain if they are complaining about it.  Girls, well,…

Prohibiting female college athletes from running in sports bras - The football team couldn’t concentrate.

Traditional male names are being given to female babies - Of course, this is nothing new.  I remember reading a study a few years ago that found that even though there are many cases of male names eventually becoming popular female names (e.g., Leslie, Ashley), they did not find a single case of a traditional female name becoming a popular male name.  I can think of one boy named Sue, but that’s about it.

“Not a single woman made Forbes’ Top 100 highest-paid athletes of 2018”

“Kids draw female scientists more often than they did decades ago” - But their pictures of a “stereotypical” scientist still look quite similar.

"A letter from a role model boosts female science students' grades"

"Bullying and 'doing' gender" - blog entry on the topic

Why women don't play best-of-five tennis matches at grand slam events

"Vacation cutting" - During the summer, some girls in the U.S. are "sent abroad to undergo a painful female genital mutilation (FGM) procedure."

Why college women outperform their college entrance test scores

"By preschool boys and girls are already segregated"

"Middle school removes the word 'feminist' from girl's shirt in class photo" - She might has well have "terrorist" written on her shirt. [added 6/5/15]

"Give us a twirl" - Female professional tennis player is asked in a post-match interview to "give us a twirl."  I would love to see Roger Federer receive that request. [added 6/3/15]

Countries with more gender equality produce more male and female Olympic medalists - A good question for your students is to identify the possible alternative explanations to this result. [added 6/3/15]

Pressure to abide by gender roles can be harmful - According to a study by a researcher who immersed herself in an 8th grade class for three months [added 6/2/15]

It's her fault - "Teen girl kicked out of prom so her dress wouldn't lead boys to 'think impure thoughts.'" [added 5/19/15]

Baby names banned around the world - Brief but fascinating list of some of the bans certain countries have on baby names -- I was surprised to see multiple countries, including Germany, ban gender-neutral first names, for example. [added 5/1/15]

 

 

"Iraq poised to legalize marriage for girls as young as 9" - [added 5/1/15]

 

"Saudi Arabia considers ending ban on sports at girls' schools" - [added 5/1/15]

 

Enforcing gender stereotypes at school - [added 5/1/15]

.

Stereotype threat in math and science - Interesting essay discussing some research on women pursuing math and science -- h/t to Marianne Miserandino [added 4/9/14]

"Not a single female student took the AP computer science test in two states" - Can you guess them? [added 4/4/14]

"Girls underperform when they play chess against boys" - First evidence of stereotype threat in children? Interesting study. [added 4/4/14]

"Girls protest sexist dress code" - another case of restricting girls' clothing because it might provoke inappropriate behavior in boys [added 4/3/14]

"Boys with sisters are more likely to be Republicans" - [added 12/13/13]

"Slut shaming" in school dress codes - [added 7/29/13]

Testosterone, fingers, and jawlines in young boys - "The researchers studied a group of 17 boys ages 4 to 11 and measured their finger lengths, and took images of their faces. They digitized these images by marking 70 measurement points to compare the face shapes. Analyzing the data on the computer, the researchers were able to see what parts of the face could be linked to digit ratio, and how strongly they were correlated. They saw that prenatal testosterone levels account for about 15 percent of the variety in a boy's face shapes. The researchers found that low digit ratio corresponded to this 'robust' masculine face with a more prominent jawline and smaller eyes, even before puberty hits. For comparison, boys with higher digit ratios have smaller chins and larger foreheads and eyes, what the researchers refer to as a 'more childlike/female appearance.'" [added 7/5/12]

Girl Scouts of America (GSA) - Good blog entry about how the GSA and other similar organizations may reflect the gender norms of a society [added 1/29/12]

Sexual harassment at school - a report from the AAUW [added 1/29/12]

Teaching to gender-variant children - interesting discussion of what it means to teach to children who cross gender lines in dress, behavior, and preferences [added 1/29/12]

"At what age do girls prefer pink?" - Clearly, those arguing for some inborn gender preference for pink and blue did not see the article I sent you to in an issue (see this link) finding that the girls-pink/boys-blue preference is a rather recent one. In fact, not long ago blue was the color of choice for girls, and pink for boys. [added 1/29/12]

Dads, daughters, and sports - a very nice essay from blogger, author, and father Sam Sommers [added 1/29/12]

"When did girls start wearing pink?" - [added 8/20/11]

The "commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood" - a report from the UK Department of Education [added 8/20/11]

Can we eliminate gender roles? - Okay, perhaps this school isn't trying to eliminate gender roles, but it is trying to reduce the presence of specific gender roles for boys and girls in the school by avoiding "using words like 'him' or 'her' and address the 33 kids as 'friends' rather than girls and boys. From the color and placement of toys to the choice of books, every detail has been carefully planned to make sure the children don't fall into gender stereotypes." But they can act like penguins as much as they like! My kind of school. [added 8/20/11]

Boys and girls compete equally (in Sweden) - Interesting study finds that girls and boys showed no difference in competitiveness in a more gender equal country, whether on "male" or "female" sports such as skipping rope and dancing. [added 1/18/10]

Why are there so few female chess champions? - This is a clever study and an excellent example of stereotype threat. "Forty-two male-female pairs, matched for ability, played two chess games via the Internet. When players were unaware of the sex of opponent (control condition), females played approximately as well as males. When the gender stereotype was activated (experimental condition), women showed a drastic performance drop, but only when they were aware that they were playing against a male opponent. When they (falsely) believed to be playing against a woman, they performed as well as their male opponents. In addition, our findings suggest that women show lower chess-specific self-esteem and a weaker promotion focus, which are predictive of poorer chess performance." [added 1/18/10]

Implicit association between science and males - What is particularly interesting to me about this study is that it looked across 34 countries and more than 500,000 participants. [added 7/11/09]

Women at Harvard Business School - an exhibit entitled "A daring experiment: Harvard and business education for women 1937-1970" from the Baker Library at Harvard -- includes oral histories of women who went through the school [added 12/14/08]

Title IX report (2003) - "'Open to All': Title IX at Thirty" is a report from the Secretary of Education’s Commission on Opportunity in Athletics. [added 7/23/03]

"Title IX at 30: Report Card on Gender Equity" - (June, 2002) - "Title IX at 30: Report Card on Gender Equity is a follow-up to the 1997 NCWGE publication, Title IX at 25: Report Card on Gender Equity. This new report reasseses the law five years later and examines the state of gender equity in education in ten key areas: access to higher education, athletics, career education, employment, learning environment, math and science, sexual harassment, standardized testing, technology, and treatment of pregnant and parenting students." [added 8/14/02]

Gender Roles and the Media

Female Twitch streamers frequently victims of sexual harassment - The stories are horrific.

"New Deepfake tool has digitally undressed thousands of women" - Here is ANOTHER horrific example of the internet used to harass women.  The internet provides anonymity which we know can unleash antisocial and deviant behavior.

Slut-shaming in China - “She accused a tech billionaire of rape.  The Chinese internet turned against her.”

It’s a man’s world - “Women are pretending to be men on Instagram to avoid sexist censorship.”

“Gender stereotypes banned in British advertising” - Seriously, is that actually feasible?  I was surprised to learn that it has been done for a while in other European and Asian countries.  Hey, European and Asian readers, what does that look like, and is it working?

Feminist graffiti - An awesome old picture!

Women’s hate speech online judged more harshly than men’s hate speech - by both men and women

A popular sports website and misogyny - Misogyny has always been present in sports, sports reporting, and sports analysis, but once again social media can help magnify its presence and influence.

"Representation of gender and sexuality in Disney's Beauty and the Beast" - a brief essay on the new film

 The story of Black, female scientists in the movie Hidden Figures 

Gender bias and battles at Wikipedia

"Leading women are becoming less sexualized in video games, study finds"

Women as reward (33:59) - This video reviews how women are often treated as rewards in video games.

First female baseball analyst - for a Major League baseball game

70 awful displays of sexism on Fox News

Inequality in film - "Inequality in 700 popular films: Examining portrayals of gender, race, and LGBT status from 2007 to 2014" is a report from USC's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

The status of women in U.S. media - a report from the Women's Media Center

"Do (hypersexualized) movie super-heroines empower women?" - Somewhat, yes. [added 6/3/15]

"12 female characters who keep shaving despite constant peril" - [added 6/3/15]

Sexist ads from the past - [added 4/3/14]

Women Who Rock - An archive of resources from the University of Washington libraries: "Women Who Rock brings together scholars, musicians, media-makers, performers, artists, and activists to explore the role of women and popular music in the creation of cultural scenes and social justice movements in the Americas and beyond." [added 7/29/13]

17 classic sexist ads - [added 12/22/12]

Gender portrayals in Girls - I haven't watch the HBO series Girls, but it has gotten a lot of press and commentary, and this seems to be an interesting discussion of the non-standard portrayal of women on TV. [added 7/5/12]

The Lingerie Football League - Heard about or watched any of the Lingerie Football League yet? Here's a good essay to clue you in. Yes, it's as bad as it sounds. [added 7/5/12]

Director diversity in episodic TV - "The Directors Guild of America today released a report analyzing the ethnicity and gender of directors hired to direct primetime episodic television across broadcast, basic cable and premium cable." [added 1/29/12]

The "commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood" - a report from the UK Department of Education [added 8/20/11]

Is Thomas the Tank Engine sexist? - according to this study [added 1/18/10]

"Self-esteem in overweight and underweight women affected by media exposure" - I like the recommendation given by the researchers in this article: "'We recommend that overweight consumers attempt to avoid looking at ads with any models, thin or heavy (perhaps by avoiding women's magazines),' the authors conclude." Magazines..out. TV..out. Billboards..out. Internet..out. But you can....umm... [added 1/18/10]

Dairy Queen commercial - Blog entry describes and comments on a Dairy Queen commercial in which a young girl "manipulates" a young boy into buying her some ice cream. At the end of the ad the young girl comments that getting the boy to buy her a sundae was like "shooting fish in a barrel." [added 6/7/08]

India's first transgender TV host - "Her forthcoming show, called 'Yours, Rose,' will be a venue to debate all kinds of socially taboo topics." [added 1/8/08]

Do girls prefer pink? - a good description of how the media often overblows research findings [added 11/18/07]

"The Merchants of Cool" - PBS website accompanying its Frontline program first aired in 2001. It is a "report on the creators and marketers of popular culture for teenagers." Now view the entire program online! [added 8/30/02]

About-Face.org - "a San Francisco-based group, About-Face combats negative and distorted images of women" - site contains hundreds of images of women, negatively and positively portrayed, with commentary. Also a few research articles and "lots o' links" to body image and other topics [added 3/21/02]

Gender Roles and ...

It’s a man’s world - This article addresses “How to wear menswear, no matter who you are.”  Okay, I’m not really into fashion, but I don’t ever remember seeing an article addressing how to wear womenswear, no matter who you are.

What is wrong with the Trump administration statement on sex and gender - according to a few experts

“A woman can never be likable enough” - A very thoughtful essay – “From an early age, we’re taught to please men.  What if we got angry instead?”  I imagine this brief essay could provoke some interesting discussion in your classes.

“The future of gender?” - interesting exploration of where our construction of gender might be headed

 Sexism and gender inequality - several good articles from APS on the topic

"Vocal fry" - I had not heard of this vocalization concept until recently.  Apparently women have been criticized for adopting this vocal style.  Although men do it, too.  Watch the video in the first link to learn more about it.  This link takes you to a blog entry about "the brumble," a male speech pattern this author identifies.  He also discusses the vocal fry.

Lightbulb genius? Men.  Nurturing the seed genius? Women. - Our language to describe genius reveals our gendered perceptions of it.

Gender equality in the European Union - From the European Commission, this site reviews efforts to increase gender equality in the European Union.

The Girl Zone - Egyptian women find a safe place -- the Girl Zone -- "where they can gather and express themselves without judgement or threat from society at large."

Are women better than men at putting furniture together? - An IKEA executive claimed women were better because they are more likely to read the instructions.  Researchers smelled a good empirical question and tested it. And they found...

How did Iceland become the most gender equal country in the world? - Six years running.  This blog entry provides some analysis.

She's crazy! - A good essay on how "'crazy' is a one-word method of policing a woman’s behavior: act a certain way and be liked, act another way and be dismissed." [added 6/3/15]

Use of language - The C Word:  Calling women "crazy" and what it does [added 6/3/15]

"Everyday sexism in just 9 illustrations" - [added 6/2/15]

Ask women more for help; appreciate their help less - study finds [added 4/9/14]

Double standards women often face - in a cartoon [added 4/9/14]

Opening a door for a man lowers his self-esteem and self-efficacy - Very cool study. No such effect for women. Easy study for your students to replicate, and lots of cool variations possible. [added 4/4/14]

"Facebook now offers over 50 genders to choose from in your profile" - [added 4/4/14]

Suppressing of women's voices - interesting blog entry on the topic [added 4/3/14]

"Why men shouldn't be allowed to vote" - From 1915 -- oh, and also see "Why we oppose women travelling in railway trains" and "Why we oppose pockets for women." Here's another challenge for you: After you have read these lists, look at the article above entitled "Girls protest sexist dress code" and write me five reasons "Why women should not be allowed to wear yoga pants" and send them to me! [added 4/3/14]

Gender stereotyping of robots - Interesting study: "As predicted, the short-haired male robot was perceived as more agentic than was the long-haired female robot, whereas the female robot was perceived as more communal than was the male counterpart. Analogously, stereotypically male tasks were perceived more suitable for the male robot, relative to the female robot, and vice versa." [added 12/22/12]

"Iceland: The world's most feminist country" - I think it would be interesting to ask students or anyone what they think would make a country "female-friendly." Or male-friendly. [added 7/15/10]

"Iceland leads on gender equality" - [added 1/18/10]

"Causes and correlates of girls' delinquency" - [added 7/15/10]

"Europe: Report on equality between women and men 2010" - [added 7/15/10]

"Asia-Pacific has one of the world's worst gender gaps" - see story and slideshow about it [added 7/15/10]

"Is there anything good about men?" - interesting APA address (2007) from Roy Baumeister on how culture tends to exploit men in certain ways [added 11/18/07]

"The double dividend of gender equality" - From UNICEF, "The State of the World's Children 2007 examines the discrimination and disempowerment women face throughout their lives - and outlines what must be done to eliminate gender discrimination and empower women and girls. It looks at the status of women today, discusses how gender equality will move all the Millennium Development Goals forward, and shows how investment in women's rights will ultimately produce a double dividend: advancing the rights of both women and children." [added 12/30/06]

The Gender Genie! - Interesting site in which you paste some text you (or anyone) have (has) written. The Genie will tell you whether you are male or female! It uses a simple algorithm to reach its conclusion. Try it out. [added 12/30/06]

"'Women's town' puts men in their place" - Fascinating story of an area of China: "Traditional women dominate and men have to be obedient in the areas of Sichuan province and Chongqing, and now we are using it as an idea to attract tourists and boost tourism," the official, surname Li, said by telephone." Now they are building a tourist site -- Women's Town -- to allow tourists to experience this turning of gender roles on its head. Sounds like an article from The Onion to me. [added 7/14/07]

"Women lose ground in the new Iraq" - [added 12/30/06]

Wendy Macpherson "outbowled everybody in the country" - This may be the first case of a woman winning a major sporting event in the U.S. (in the world?) over all participants, including men. Know of other such cases? [added 12/26/06]

"Spread of Islamic law in Indonesia takes toll on women" - article from the New York Times [added 7/6/06]

Girls names - Here is an interesting column about the popularity of girls names in the U.S., with particular attention to the name "Madison." It is apparently one of several boys names that became popular as a girl's name over time. "The list of former boys names since appropriated by girls now includes Vivian, Joyce, Beverley, Leslie, Lindsey and Ashley." An expert in names noted in the column that one reason parents have chosen "male" names for their girls is to "give the daughter a strong image." Interestingly, the expert "could think of no examples in the U.S. of traditional girls names that common usage transformed into boys names. It's a sign, he said, of the deep-rooted sexism in our society that 'parents think a girls' name would contaminate a boy and make him weak.'" [added 7/6/06]

"Jewish women and the feminist revolution" - resources from the Jewish Women's Archive [added 1/10/06]

"Japan debates female succession" - article from BBC News (2005) [added 6/17/05]

Masculinity - links to various related resources - from the Gender and Diversities Institute [added 8/14/02]

Gender Differences

Are women more emotionally turbulent than men? - “Their study in Scientific Reports finds no difference in emotional variance between cisgender men and women, or between women who do and do not use oral contraception.”

Do men have better spatial cognition than women? - Not according to this recent study comparing them on a mental rotation task.

Janet Shibley Hyde takes on gender difference stereotypes

Male/female brain differences already appear at one month

What if women talked about men... - the way men have historically talked about women?  This hilarious twitter feed suggests what that might look like.

"Women know better than men what other women are thinking and feeling"

Are male brains different than female brains? - Experts discuss the similarities and differences. [added 1/29/12]

Gender differences in the brain - Your students may have seen this research on apparent brain differences between males and females in the news. The first link describes that research and claims made from it. Here is an article that is a rather strong critique of the research, the claims, and the media portrayal of it all. H/T to Marianne Miserandino [added 4/4/14]

Maybe they are on to something - In the UK, "girls believe they are better than boys by the age of four...Moreover, by the age of eight, boys appear to agree with their classmates, believing that girls are more likely to have what might be deemed the right qualities to do well at school. Children of both sexes also think that, in general, adults believe girls do better at school than boys." [added 10/17/10]

How do men and women respond to luck? - "We present experimental evidence which sheds new light on why women may be less competitive than men. Specifically, we observe striking differences in how men and women respond to good and bad luck in a competitive environment. Following a loss, women tend to reduce effort, and the effect is independent of the monetary value of the prize that the women failed to win. Men, on the other hand, reduce effort only after failing to win large prizes." [added 10/17/10]

Innate gender differences and video games - Sam Sommers does a nice job of using some research on spatial training through video game play on the overemphasis of genetic explanations for gender and other differences. [added 7/15/10]

Where do sex differences come from? - Interesting article in Scientific American Mind: "Experience itself changes brain structure and function. Most sex differences start out small—as mere biases in temperament and play style—but are amplified as children’s pink- or blue-tinted brains meet our gender-infused culture." [added 7/15/10]

Do girls develop math anxiety from female teachers? - Not a causal study, but it raises some interesting questions. If 90% of elementary teachers are female, and many of them are anxious or uncomfortable with math, how might that affect young girls? [added 2/8/10]

"Interacting with women can impair men's cognitive functioning" - [added 1/18/10]

Gender differences in toy preferences at 6 months - [added 7/11/09]

Gender differences in math and science careers - Interesting research finds that women in more affluent countries are less likely to choose math and science related careers. [added 6/7/08]

Neurosexism - "A number of recent popular books about gender differences have drawn on the neuroscientific literature to support the claim that certain psychological differences between the sexes are ‘hard-wired’. This article highlights some of the ethical implications that arise from both factual and conceptual errors propagated by such books." [added 4/20/08]

Sex differences in math and science - excellent article in Science News reviewing the different positions for "why females lag behind males in math and science achievement" [added 1/8/08]

The White male effect in risk perception - a study/discussion of why white males seem to be less risk averse than women and minorities [added 12/9/07]

Differences in performance on computer-based exams? - "No," according to this report -- "Overall performance scores for students among the various Academic Years revealed no differences between exams given in the traditional pen-and-paper and computer formats. Further, when we looked specifically for gender differences in performance between these two testing formats, we found none." [added 7/06/07]

Sex differences in negotiation tactics - "Two experiments show that sex differences in the propensity to initiate negotiations may be explained by differential treatment of men and women when they attempt to negotiate." - From the Faculty Research Working Paper Series at Harvard [added 1/8/06]

Gender differences in undergraduate education over time - "Gender differences in participation and completion of undergraduate education and how they have changed over time" - for example, this report from the National Center for Education Statistics finds that "women went from being the minority to the majority of the U.S. undergraduate population, increasing their representation from 42 percent to 56 percent of undergraduates." [added 6/20/05]

Male/female brain differences - The excellent website Neuroscience for Kids briefly reviews some research on possible differences in the brain of males and females. [added 6/17/05]

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Women and History

Historical use of the term “hysteria”

Women at NASA - A collection of stories of ... women at NASA [added 6/3/15]

"Why men shouldn't be allowed to vote" - From 1915 -- oh, and also see "Why we oppose women travelling in railway trains" and "Why we oppose pockets for women." Here's another challenge for you: After you have read these lists, look at the article above entitled "Girls protest sexist dress code" and write me five reasons "Why women should not be allowed to wear yoga pants" and send them to me! [added 4/3/14]

First all-female U.S. congressional delegation - from New Hampshire [added 7/29/13]

Women's history teaching resources - [added 7/29/13]

"Women in the United States Congress: 1917-2011" - a report from the Congressional Research Service [added 1/29/12]

"Voices of feminism oral history project" - You can read the transcripts of many of these oral histories. [added 1/29/12]

National Women's Hall of Fame - From the U.S. -- do you know of any other nation that has such a site? [added 7/6/06]

Timeline of women's history in U.S. - from the Walker Library at Middle Tennessee State University [added 1/14/06]

Timeline of women's rights movement - March is Women's History Month, and here is a "timeline of key events in the American women's rights movement." [added 6/20/05]

International Women's Day - This site provides a history of International Women's Day. [added 4/06/04]

Documents from the Women's Liberation Movement - "The materials in this on-line archival collection document various aspects of the Women's Liberation Movement in the United States, and focus specifically on the radical origins of this movement during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Items range from radical theoretical writings to humourous plays to the minutes of an actual grassroots group." From Duke University. [added 7/16/03]

Oppression of Women

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"Saudi Arabia lifts ban on women driving"

"Rules against bare breasts reinforce stereotypes about women, judge says" - According to the judge, by banning women's bare breasts but not men's, it sexualizes women.  It also leads to reactance.

Do you pay a "tampon tax" or the "pink tax"? - Women pay more at checkout because they are charged more and taxed more for certain items.

"The shocking rise of female genital mutilation in the United States" - [added 6/3/15]

Rape "beading" in Kenya - "'Josephine' is 12 years old and several months pregnant. She's a member of the Samburu tribe, living in a small village in a remote part of Isiolo in Kenya's Eastern Province. The pre-teen, whose identity is being protected, claims she had sex with a relative -- a rape sanctioned by the Samburu, through a practice called "beading." Intricate beaded necklaces are a symbol of the Kenyan nation. But to young Samburu girls, the necklaces are a symbol not of national pride, but something much darker, that can lead to rape, unwanted pregnancies -- and even the deaths of newborns, according to activist Josephine Kulea and the Samburu tribe itself." [added 8/20/11]

Anti-smoking ad in France - "A new French antismoking advertisement aimed at the young that plays off a pornographic stereotype has gotten more attention than even its creators intended, and critics suggest that it offends common decency and creates a false analogy between oral sex and smoking." [added 3/8/10]

"Norway tops gender equality list" - [added 4/25/09]

Women in Afghanistan - website accompanying the story of Afghan women trained as video journalists to tell the story of women under the Taliban rule and now [added 3/1/05]

Repression of Women in Afghanistan - "'We want to live as humans:' Repression of women and girls in Western Afghanistan" is a report from the Human Rights Watch. [added 2/4/03]

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Gender/Sexual Orientation

The truth and science of transgender - The article also includes a podcast on the topic.

Lynn Conway's (transgender) story

The story of Olympian Castor Semenya - The fluidity of gender orientation is illustrated well in the obstacles and responses Semenya has had to deal with as a reportedly intersex individual.

"Same-sex behavior seen in nearly all animals" - [added 7/11/09]

"Males more tolerant of same-sex peers" - I suspect a lot of students would be surprised by the results of these studies -- "The males in this study rated their roommates as being more satisfactory and less bothersome than females did. In addition, the researchers found at three different collegiate institutions that females were more likely to switch to a new roommate than males were. The results of the final experiment, in which participants judged one negative behavior of a formerly reliable hypothetical friend, showed that women downgraded the best friend's reliability significantly more than men did." [added 4/25/09]

"Three are gay, three are straight" - article about the opportunity to study a family in which three brothers are gay and three are straight [added 10/27/07]

"The science of gaydar" - Here's a very interesting article in The New Yorker describing some research identifying physical characteristics, such as the counterclockwise hair whorl and denser fingerprint ridges, that are more common in gay men than straight men. Here is an article looking at the genetic bases of homosexuality. [added 8/05/07]

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Body Image

“Celebrity fat shaming has ripple effects on women’s implicit anti-fat attitudes”

Cheerleader "Do's and Don'ts" - "A flyer advising women on how to audition for the University of Washington's cheerleading squad ignited a controversy Wednesday over female body image and how far educational institutions should go in sexualizing their students."

Are the negative effects of viewing ultra-thin models the result of an automatic (unconscious) process? - Apparently not, according to this research -- depressing and angry feelings appears to require conscious focus.

"Are you beach body ready?" - I was born that way!  Unfortunately, it was all downhill after that.  Here is an interesting story about public response to an ad campaign in London. [added 6/5/15]

"By age 3, girls already show a preference for thin people" - [added 6/3/15]

Females get extra credit for not shaving their armpits - [added 6/2/15]

"The body shaming of the 'Biggest Loser's' newest winner" - [added 4/4/14]

Barbie on the Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover - [added 4/4/14]

8th grader gets Seventeen to stop photoshopping girls in magazine - [added 12/22/12]

"What happens when men get treated like women" - Here's an interesting essay about the artist D'Angelo and how his sexualization may have helped undermine his career. It reminds me of an essay by Gloria Steinem entitled "If men could menstruate." You can read it here. [added 7/5/12]

Inverted objectification of women - Sam Sommers describes this interesting study asking participants to recognize right-side-up and inverted images of semi-nude males and females. [added 7/5/12]

More objectification - [added 7/5/12]

"First sex linked to better body image in men, not women" - "On average, college-age males become more satisfied with their appearance after first intercourse, whereas college-age females become slightly less satisfied." [added 8/20/11]

The medicalization of beauty - Using the new TV show, Bridalplasty, in which brides-to-be compete for cosmetic surgery, this blog entry explores how beauty, along with other phenomena, has become "medicalized." [added 5/30/11]

Hourglass and stick figures - interesting blog entry on women and body image [added 10/17/10]

"How objectification silences women" - "Leading a team of Israeli and US psychologists, she has shown that women become more silent if they think that men are focusing on their bodies. They showed that women who were asked to introduce themselves to an anonymous male partner spent far less time talking about themselves if they believed that their bodies were being checked out. Men had no such problem. Nor, for that matter, did women if they thought they were being inspected by another woman." [added 2/8/10]

Dying to be thin ... in ancient Rome - [added 1/18/10]

"Self-esteem in overweight and underweight women affected by media exposure" - I like the recommendation given by the researchers in this article: "'We recommend that overweight consumers attempt to avoid looking at ads with any models, thin or heavy (perhaps by avoiding women's magazines),' the authors conclude." Magazines..out. TV..out. Billboards..out. Internet..out. But you can....umm... [added 1/18/10]

Men who view objectified women also become more body conscious - [added 4/25/09]

Media's influence on body image - Article describes meta-analysis finding "that exposure to media depicting ultra-thin actresses and models significantly increased women's concerns about their bodies, including how dissatisfied they felt and their likelihood of engaging in unhealthy eating behaviors, such as excessive dieting." [added 6/7/08]

"Eating disorders may be contagious" - [added 5/11/08]

"In Japan, it's the men who want to be skinny and cute" [added 12/15/07]

The sexualization of girls - This new report from the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls finds that "the proliferation of sexualized images of girls and young women in advertising, merchandising, and media is harming girls' self-image and healthy development. This report explores the cognitive and emotional consequences, consequences for mental and physical health, and impact on development of a healthy sexual self-image." [added 7/7/07]

Sexualization of children in Australia - The article argues that through advertising and children's magazines young children (particularly girls) are becoming prematurely sexualized. [added 12/30/06]

Pink's "Stupid Girls" video - very interesting music video from Pink attacking the media and popular culture's influence on female's self-image [added 7/6/06]

Body image resources - a list of fiction and non-fiction books as well as videos on body image and eating disorders, from the School Library Journal [added 2/22/06]

"Dying to be Thin" - PBS often has excellent companion websites for its programs, and this one for a Nova episode is no exception. Along with hearing from experts, reading personal stories and finding links to other resources, you and your students can watch the entire television program online! (with QuickTime or RealPlayer plug-in)

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Gender and Biology

Male/female brain differences already appear at one month

Testosterone, fingers, and jawlines in young boys - "The researchers studied a group of 17 boys ages 4 to 11 and measured their finger lengths, and took images of their faces. They digitized these images by marking 70 measurement points to compare the face shapes. Analyzing the data on the computer, the researchers were able to see what parts of the face could be linked to digit ratio, and how strongly they were correlated. They saw that prenatal testosterone levels account for about 15 percent of the variety in a boy's face shapes. The researchers found that low digit ratio corresponded to this 'robust' masculine face with a more prominent jawline and smaller eyes, even before puberty hits. For comparison, boys with higher digit ratios have smaller chins and larger foreheads and eyes, what the researchers refer to as a 'more childlike/female appearance.'" [added 7/5/12]

Are male brains different than female brains? - Experts discuss the similarities and differences. [added 1/29/12]

"Same-sex behavior seen in nearly all animals" - [added 7/11/09]

Menstrual cycle and brain reward activation - More research on possible relationships between stages of the menstrual cycle and women's choices and behaviors, with a look at changes in the brain [added 8/05/07]

Changing a boy to a girl - fascinating and famous case of John/Joan whose penis was accidentally removed during a circumcision when he was eight years old - an article (1997) from The Rolling Stones [added 7/16/03]

Death of David Reimer - Here's the fascinating and famous case of John/Joan whose penis was accidentally removed during a circumcision when he was eight years old. The boy raised as a girl died May, 2004 at age 38. [added 5/13/04]

Audio: Interview with John Colapinto - Hear NPR's interview of the author of As nature made him: The boy who was raised as a girl, a book about David Reimer. [added 5/13/04]

Cultural Variation

A variety of reflections on how culture shapes thought - good blog entries from subscriber Larry White

Are facial expressions emotional messages or attempts to socially influence? - New theory offers a different view on the function of our facial expressions.

Preferred interpersonal space across countries - Interesting study found that Argentina, Bulgaria, and Peru appeared to prefer the closest distance while Romania, Hungary, and Saudi Arabia preferred greater interpersonal distance.

"Five myths about the role of culture in psychological research" -

"Cultural nuances in emotional expression" - Yes, there is some universality in how faces express emotions, but there is more variation across cultures than we thought. [added 5/1/15]

What's this #hashtag thing... - and what role is it playing in our culture? #Austriancasserole? [added 7/29/13]

Muslim women's art and voices - From the International Museum of Women [added 7/29/13]

African-American women -a collection of images and documents [added 7/29/13]

U.S. Latino attitudes about women and society - [added 10/17/10]

Comparing countries along five cultural dimensions - Geert Hofstede provides an easy way to compare different countries along his five dimensions of culture such as individualism and power distance. H/t to Jess Hartnett. [added 2/8/10]

Implicit association between science and males - What is particularly interesting to me about this study is that it looked across 34 countries and more than 500,000 participants. [added 7/11/09]

Mood affects cultural differences - "She guessed that people in an upbeat mood would be more exploratory and daring in attitude-and therefore more apt to break from cultural stereotype. That is, Asians would act more independent than usual, and Europeans would act more communitarian. Dispirited people of all cultures would be more cautious-and stick closer to cultural expectations." [added 4/25/09]

"Exotic culture that never was" - I cannot vouch for the complete accuracy of these blog posts, but they describe some fascinating tales of scientific mischief and misinterpretation. Second entry; third entry. [added 6/7/08]

"How culture affects the way we think" - A good report from the 2007 APS convention [added 10/27/07]

Reading faces - article on how Americans and Japanese read faces (and emoticons!) differently [added 7/19/07]

"American women through time" - an exhibit created by Ken Middleton at Middle Tennessee State University [added 7/8/07]

How culture influences emotions - An article describing some research of Jeanne Tsai: "Tsai's work explores how ethnic culture shapes our emotional lives, particularly our concept of happiness." [added 12/30/06]

"Insight into how children learn cultural values" - interesting article reviewing some very interesting research about how cultural values are passed on in different societies [added 12/30/06]

Feet binding in China - Two elderly women share their very interesting stories of feet binding and other aspects of life years ago in China. [added 12/30/06]

"Canadian Cultures" - essay in the APS Observer about Canadian culture and U.S.-Canada relations [added 7/6/06]

The Japanese social concept of amae - Interesting article about this Japanese social behavior roughly defined as "a person's expectation that another person will indulge him or her and the obligation of the second person to do so, whether or not he or she wants to." [added 12/1/04]

Mothers giving up daughters - The following excerpt comes from a fascinating article in the latest issue of Science News entitled, Mother and child disunion: Don't take a mother's love for granted. "Shortly after arriving in Taiwan in 1957, Stanford University anthropologist Arthur Wolf reached the rural village of Hsia-ch'i-chou. There, he met a weathered-looking woman who told an incredible story. Several decades previously, she had given away her five infant daughters and had replaced them with five girls adopted from other families and fated to become wives to her five sons. The friendly, outgoing woman seemed proud of what she'd done, Wolf recalls, adding that she described the dispatching of her babies to new homes as smart household management. "I gave away all five girls and raised instead wives for my five sons," Wolf remembers her saying. "This saved me [money and ultimately the need to pay dowries] as well as the trouble of arranging 10 marriages." For each marriage of an adult son, for example, she would have had to throw large and expensive feasts, as well as pay a fee to the bride's family."

Articles - a number of interesting articles (in RTF) from Steven Heine on cultural differences in social behaviors, particularly between East Asian and North American [added 9/10/02]

The Literature & Culture of the American 1950s - extensive set of links from an online English course, The American 1950s

Other Species

"Same-sex behavior seen in nearly all animals" - [added 7/11/09]

"Monkey police provide social stability" - article from Scientific American [added 2/22/06]

Gene for monogamy? - Public press article about interesting research published in Nature. "By transferring a single gene to the pleasure center of the naturally promiscuous male vole, researchers at Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University in Atlanta were able to make it happily monogamous, they say in a letter in the journal Nature." [added 7/1/04]

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