Variation in Gender Roles – Flashcards
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Margaret Mead
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A United States anthropologist noted for her claims about adolescence and gender role behavior in Polynesian cultures (1901-1978).
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What is considered gender-appropriate behavior in one culture, may be viewed very differently in another culture.
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True
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Describe how gender roles can vary from culture to culture.
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Men and women of different cultures could be expected to be aggressive or passive. Cultures may also have different ideas about who should be primarily responsible for raising children.
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The former expectation for men in Western society was that of protectors and providers of the family.
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True
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Past women roles vs. present women roles: Which role below is NOT indicative of the role women play in the present?
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always at home
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Anthropologist ____________________ showed that gender roles vary from culture to culture.
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Margaret Mead
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Describe how gender roles have changed over time. Explain Margaret Mead's research on how gender roles vary from culture to culture.
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Changes in gender roles across time and across cultures suggest that gender roles are not inborn or fixed at birth. In earlier periods in the history of the United States, the roles of men and women were more distinct and rigid. Men were expected to be providers for and protectors of women and children. Women were expected to be homemakers and child-rearers. Over the past several decades, gender roles have become more flexible. Increasing numbers of women have entered the workforce. Many men and women share household chores, child rearing, and wage earning equally. However, old ideas about gender roles remain. Women are still expected to maintain their traditional caretaking roles in the family. Other cultures have quite different ideas about what are considered traditional gender roles. According to a study done by anthropologist Margaret Mead, three groups in New Guinea had very different ideas about the roles of men and women. In one group, men and women were both equally aggressive. Women in this group looked down on bearing and rearing children. In another group, both men and women played an equal role in raising children. In a third group studied by Mead, the men spent most of their time caring for children and the women provided food for their families and were more aggressive than men.
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Gender roles have flipped in Western society, where men are responsible for the child rearing and women are the financial providers.
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False
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The roles of men and women in society are
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True
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According to Gerda Lerner in The Creation of Patriarchy, gender is the "costume, a mask, a straitjacket in which men and women dance their unequal dance". Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why or why not? Use evidence from what you have learned in this section (vocabulary, lecture and online content) to discuss your thoughts.
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Answers will vary.
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In contemporary American society, many women are able to balance their careers and motherhood.
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True
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In Western culture, there was an expectation for women to be
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homemakers
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Over the past several decades, women in Western culture have entered the workforce in ___ numbers.
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increasing
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What is considered to be appropriate behavior for a man and woman can differ from one ___ to another.
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culture
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Both men and women of the Arapesh tribe are taught that aggressive behavior is acceptable.
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False
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In the past, gender roles, in popular culture, were more ___ than they are today.
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rigid
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Anthropologist Margaret Mead conducted a study comparing culture and
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gender roles.
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According to the lecture, which of the following conditions was not a reason women entered the workforce?
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abandon family responsibilities
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Because gender roles can differ from culture to culture, it is likely that they are not due to inborn traits.
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True
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Past women roles vs. present women roles: Which role below is NOT indicative of the role women played in the past?
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sole providers
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According to Margaret Mead and her study on gender roles which tribe matches the description below concerning gender roles? Women looked down on bearing and rearing children because this interfered with their ability to go to battle.
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Mundugumor Tribe
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According to Margaret Mead and her study on gender roles which tribe matches the description below concerning gender roles? Men spent most of their time caring for children, gossiping and primping, while the women of the tribe spent much of their time catching the fish that made up the tribe's diet.
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Tchambuli Tribe
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According to Margaret Mead and her study on gender roles which tribe matches the description below concerning gender roles? Both women and men played an equal role in caring for the children and maintaining the land.
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Arapesh Tribe
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Gender roles have not changed significantly over time.
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False
