Gender Schema

Paper Summary:

This paper describes gender schema, talks about the author's own gender schema and her adherence/divergence to a perceived general gender schema (a composite of other social members' schema). The paper explains that a gender schema is formed in response to the perceived importance of differentiating males from females. The paper highlights that it is a key part of stereotype formation and can be restrictive in the expectations it leads people to form of others when they are identified as "male" or "female."

From the Paper:

"A person's gender schema affects how they treat all other people regardless of age, race, or social position, because we assume that everyone fits into one of two categories: male or female. There are other cultures that do not have a binary gender schema, and allow people to occupy a "third position" combining traits that Americans would see as male or female. It is unfortunate that gender schema are so restrictive and create expectations and judgments about people's authentic selves that can damage the psyche (Valian 208)."

More papers on Gender Schema:

• Analytical Essay # 37116 : "An Analysis of Individual Schema"
• Essay # 86734 : "Gender Discrimination in the Canadian Workplace "
• Persuasive Essay # 90423 : "Gender Relations"

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