Cultural Influences on Gender Roles

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Blue: AO2 - Research
Red: AO3 - Evaluative points/IDAs

Across the many global cultures, there are many similarities and differences between gender roles - the attitudes, behaviours and traits adopted by either sex.  Division of labour between genders is a practice found in most cultures - in the majority of societies, food preparation and child raising are primarily done by women, whereas hunting and resource provision are usually done by men. Similarly, socialisation of genders towards certain traits appears to be consistent across cultures - men are usually socialised towards assertiveness and independence; women towards assertiveness and independence. This suggests that biological factors are more important than cultural factors in determining gender roles.

However, significant differences in gender roles exist between cultures as a result of differing cultural influences. Male superiority in spatial perceptual tasks are only found in tight-knit, sedentary, and is absent or inverted in looser, nomadic societies - Berry et al suggested that these sex differences are a result of sociocultural factors rather than human biology, and suggested that conformity differences are similar in origin - a result of social environment rather than nature, being more pronounced in tight-knit, sedentary societies. This suggests that sex differences in both conformity and spatial perception are due to cultural factors rather than human biology.

Perception of "gender" also varies between cultures, with not all cultures having the binary male/female categorisation typical of the western world. The concept of binary gender categorisation not being a global norm is supported by the example of the "berdache" in Native American tribal Crow culture is a biological male who chooses to be the "wife" of a warrior rather than a warrior, but is not scorned or ridiculed for this. 

Similarities in gender roles between cultures would suggest a natural, genetic and biological component to gender roles, differences would suggest that gender roles are mainly due to nurture, environment and different socialisation processes.

Early research by Mead supports the concept of cultural differences leading to different gender roles. Social groups in the tribes of Papua New Guinea were studied; Mead found that Arapesh men and women were gentle, responsive and cooperative, Mundugamor men and women were violent and aggressive, but Tchambuli showed distinct gender roles - men were emotionally dependent, whereas women were dominant and impersonal. The presence of distinct gender roles in one tribe but not the others suggests that gender differences are a product of society and culture, rather than biology - suggesting that cultural influences are more important than biology in determining gender roles.

Mead's interpretations of her results with respect to gender roles were originally ones of cultural determinism, suggesting that differences between males and females such are a result of social rather biological factors. However, she then changed this view to one of cultural relativism, suggesting that in all three societies, men were more aggressive than women, but these differences were just expressed differently depending on cultural socialisation processes.

Williams and Best provided supporting evidence for cultural similarities in gender stereotyping, suggesting that gender roles are biological and innate rather than a result of socialisation. 2800 participants across 30 different countries categorised adjectives as either "male" or "female" in very similar ways - "dominant" and "aggressive" were almost universally categorised as male, whereas "nurturant" and "deferent" were almost universally categorised as female.


However, several methodological flaws limit the validity of Williams and Best's research. First, the adjectival allocation task was a forced, binary choice - there was no option for "neither" or "both" - the division between male and female stereotypes may have been exaggerated. Secondly, the task related to opinion stereotypes and not behaviour - although gender stereotypes may significantly affect behaviour, this is not demonstrated or measured by the study. Finally, the participants, although from a range of cultures, were all university students - this may be reflected in their values systems, being exposed to similar global influences such as books, films, and higher education. This might explain the apparent high level of cultural similarity of gender stereotyping. 

Whiting and Edwards researched the gender attitudes and behaviours of a variety of global cultures, and found that it was fairly universal for girls to be encouraged into domestic and child-rearing roles, while boys were assigned tasks involving responsibility outside the home such as looking after animals. This suggests that the concept of specific male and female gender roles is highly prevalent cross-culturally, and therefore probably biological in origin, suggesting that biological factors are more important than cultural influence in the development of gender roles.

Much of the evidence for cultural similarities and differences in gender roles comes from studies carried out by western researchers investigating both western and non-western cultures. Research methods such as Williams and Best's adjectival allocation questionnaire to measure cultural gender stereotyping were developed in western cultural contexts and may not be applicable to other cultures' behavioural norms and attitudes - it would be imposing an etic to generalise the results of these questionnaires when used in cultures other than the one they were designed in. Berry et al suggested that most cross-cultural studies carried out by western researchers reflect a western interpretation of human mind and behaviour and view participants from other cultures through this lens - they suggest the use of more indigenous researchers to reduce this bias. 

Evidence that indicates clear cultural differences in gender roles, such as that of Mead and the differences in aggression between men and women in Papuan tribes, supports the nurture side of the nature vs nurture debate, suggesting that gender differences arise due to the influence of culture in the socialisation process. Evidence that indicates cultural similarities in gender roles, such as that of Whiting and Edwards and Williams and best supports nature's influence in gender roles, suggesting that gender roles have evolved to become part of our genetic code due to serving an adaptive evolutionary purpose. Evidence supports both sides of the debate - it is ultimately likely that gender roles are a combination of both genetic factors and socialisation, interactionalist mechanisms between nature and nurture as suggested by the biological approach.