GENDER ROLES

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Gender roles are social roles ascribed to individuals on the basis of their sex.

The term gender differs from sex because it refers specifically to the cultural definition of the roles and behavior appropriate to members of each sex rather than to those aspects of human behavior that are determined by biology.

Thus giving birth is a female sex role, while the role of infant nurturer and care giver (which could be performed by a male) is a gender role usually ascribed to females.

Linkages between Attitudes toward Gender Roles, Body Satisfaction, Self-Esteem, and Appearance Management Behaviors in Women - Sharron J. Lennon, Ohio State University 
Nancy A. Rudd, Ohio State University 
The purpose of this research was to examine possible linkages between attitudes toward gender roles, body satisfaction, self-esteem, and appearance management behaviors. Results of a survey of 194 undergraduate women indicated that women holding nontraditional attitudes toward gender roles had higher self-esteem (p < .01), but not body satisfaction, than women holding traditional attitudes toward gender roles. A post hoc analysis indicated that body satisfaction and a nontraditional attitude toward gender roles predicted high levels of self-esteem (p < .0001 and p < .01, respectively), whereas the likelihood of using painful appearance management procedures predicted low levels of self-esteem (p < .05). Suggestions are offered for adult education andfor socially responsible marketing practices for appearance-related products. - fcs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/23/2/94

Dress and the Female Gender Role in Magazine Advertisements of 1950-1994: A Content Analysis - Jennifer L. Paff, Iowa State University-Ames Hilda Buckley Lakner, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign 
This content analysis of magazine advertisements was conducted to examine changesfrom 1950 to 1994 in gender orientation of roles and dress of women in advertisements and to investigate ways in which women's dress has been used in advertisements to socially construct the female role. Findings indicate that women were most often depicted in feminine roles and dress. As time progressed dress became somewhat more masculine, but roles remained consistently feminine. Findings suggest that advertisers in Good Housekeeping and Vogue have not depicted women realistically. No direct relationship between the gender orientation of the women's roles and dress was observed; gendered roles of activity did not vary with traditional gender stereotypes of appearance within magazine advertisements across time. This finding is interpreted as a possible reflection of social changes related to the postmodern era. The need to reconsider the relationship between appearance and gender roles in a postmodern context is addressed. - fcs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/26/1/29

FEMALE EMPLOYMENT AND THE CHANGE OF GENDER ROLES: THE CONFLICTUAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PARTICIPATION AND ATTITUDES IN INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON 
Max Haller, Franz Hoellinger 
This article examines female labour force participation and gender role attitudes from a comparative perspective, using recent survey data from eight countries. It starts with two general hypotheses. The technological-functional hypothesis states that the increase in women's labour force participation is a necessary concomitant of industrialisation, followed sooner or later by a corresponding adaptation of gender role attitudes toward individualistic-egalitarian values. The cultural-institutional hypothesis states that extra-familial work of women and gender role attitudes are both related to historically persistent, general societal values regarding personal individuality and freedom, family and social stratification. Empirical results did not confirm the hypothesis that the higher the employment rate of women in a particular country, the more the population will have egalitarian gender role attitudes. This is exemplified by the two polar cases of Hungary with the highest levels of employment, but most traditional attitudes, and Netherlands with relatively low levels of employment but very modern attitudes. It seems that the actual employment rates of women (as well as an economic motivation of female employment as a contribution to household income) are primarily determined by changing economic circumstances and policies as well as the actual economic situation of women and their family. Gender role attitudes, however, are shaped not only by structural changes due to industrialisation but also by socio-cultural factors, such as the religious heritages of different countries. In this regard, our second hypothesis also obtains empirical support. - iss.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/9/1/87

Gender Roles and/or Styles in Crisis: An Integrative Analysis of the Experiences of Fathers of Children with Cancer 
Mark A. Chesler, University of Michigan 
Carla Parry, National Institute on Aging, University of Michigan 
Despite a proliferation of research with families of children with cancer and gender differences in parental coping, few studies have explicitly explored the experiences of fathers of children with cancer. Using several different data collection efforts, including semistructured in-depth interviews and open workshops, this integrative analysis views fathers’ experiences through the lens of gender. Findings suggest that fathers’ experiences can be understood as influenced by gender identities, gender roles, and the gendered organization of support systems, employment, and health care institutions. The results suggest the need for interventions that provide fathers and entire families with the opportunity to develop new skills and coping strategies for dealing with the stresses and challenges of childhood cancer. - qhr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/11/3/363

The Relationship between Background Variables and Sex-Typing of Gender Roles and Children’s Chores: The Israeli Case 
Liat Kulik, Bar Ilan University, Israel, kulikl@mail.biu.ac.il 
The article examines the relationship between sex-typing of adult gender roles and children’s chores in Israeli society. Adult gender roles were examined from a general perspective, while children’s chores were examined in five distinctive areas - domestic chores, help with siblings, self-care, outside, and technical chores. The research sample consisted of 238 married and unmarried participants (81 men and 157 women). Specifically, sex-typing of adult gender roles and children’s chores was examined in relation to three sets of background variables: (1) personal background variables (age, religiosity, and ethnicity); (2) education and employment variables (level of education, extent of job position, and earning patterns); and (3) family variables (marital status, length of marriage, number of children, and age of children). The women tended to have less sex-typed attitudes than the men did with regard to children’s chores. However, no differences were found between the genders with regard to sex-typing of adult gender roles. In addition, the married women expressed more sex-typed attitudes toward adult gender roles than did unmarried women, whereas the differences between married and unmarried men were less significant. Among both genders, a correlation was found between sex-typing of adult gender roles and domestic children’s chores. - cos.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/45/5/365

Narratives of Embu Rural Women: Gender Roles and Indigenous Knowledges 
Njoki Wane, Sociology and Equity Studies, OISE University of Toronto, 252 Bloor Street, W M5S IV6 Canada 
This research was an entry point for unpacking the complex nature of the often invisible and unacknowledged participation of African women in sustaining their communities through their accumulated indigenous knowledges. Embu rural women in Kenya use vari ous herbs for preserving food and curing stomach ailments, headaches, or fever. This knowledge had been passed from generation to generation. The article provides a space for women's narratives that highlight their daily routines. It also interrogates gender roles in relation to food processing practices and women's knowledges. The article concludes with a discussion on the centrality of rural women's roles, indigenous technologies, and know ledge in sustaining their communities. - gtd.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/5/3/383

Achieving Sustainable Agriculture through Recognizing Gender Roles: Some Salient Points 
Punya P. Regmi, Human Settlements Development, School of Environment, Resources and Development, Asian Institute of Technology, P.O. Box 4, Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand. 
Karl E. Weber, Asian Institute of Technology, P.O. Box 4, Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand 
Existing gender relations in agriculture are critically assessed using cross-cultural, historical and contemporary perspectives. Selected survey findings show that women's work input was higher than men's. Reflected against prevailing rural poverty, gender planning is recognized as an indispensable component of any strategy for sustainable agricultural development. More research on gender roles in rural communities with agriculture as the economic mainstay is needed. Examples outlined include the historical evolution of gender relations and factor time essential to all analyses of gender relations. A discourse on research-cum-survey design highlights the fundamental scientific requirement. - gtd.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/1/2/225

The Effects of Attitudes Toward Family Life and Gender Roles on Marital Satisfaction 
DIANE N. LYE, University of Washington 
TIMOTHY J. BIBLARZ, University of Southern California 
This study examines the relationship between the gender role and family attitudes of husbands and wives and five indicators of marital satisfaction. The authors argue that men and women who espouse nontraditional attitudes are likely to be less satisfied than their more traditional counterparts. An empirical analysis is presented using data from husbands and wives interviewed in the 1987-88 National Survey of Families and Households. Husbands and wives who hold nontraditional attitudes toward family life are less satisfied with their marriages, as are men and women whose attitudes diverge from their spouse's attitudes. The effects of attitudes did not vary according to the actual gender roles observed by the couple. - jfi.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/14/2/157

The Consequences of Divorce for Attitudes Toward Divorce and Gender Roles 
PAUL R. AMATO, University of Nebraska—Lincoln 
ALAN BOOTH, University of Nebraska—Lincoln 
A national sample of adults was used to examine the consequences of divorce (both in one's family of origin and in one's own marriage) for attitudes toward divorce and gender roles. Individuals from divorced families of origin revealed more positive attitudes toward divorce than did those who grew up in happy intact families. Similarly, those who recalled their parents' marriage as being unhappy had relatively liberal views on divorce. Experience with divorce in adulthood was also related to attitudes; longitudinal data revealed that individuals who divorced between 1980 and 1988 subsequently adopted more favorable views toward divorce. Egalitarian views of gender roles were not related to parental divorce or parental marital unhappiness. Individuals divorced prior to 1980 were relatively liberal in their gender role beliefs, but divorce between 1980 and 1988 was not associated with changes in attitudes. - jfi.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/12/3/306

Madrid Adolescents Express an Interest in Gender Roles and Work Possibilities 
Judith L. Gibbons, Saint Louis University 
Rachel Bradford, Saint Louis University 
Deborah A. Stiles, Webster University 
Three hundred fourteen adolescents (11-16 years of age) attending a lower middle class private school in Madrid, Spain, rated 10 qualities of the ideal man or ideal woman and drew a picture of the ideal person doing something. Being kind and honest was rated as the most important quality of the ideal person. The ideal woman, more often than the ideal man, was portrayed as physically mature, sexy, liking children, and working at a job or at home. The ideal man was shown engaged in a variety of activities, including sports, working in an office, or performing acts of heroism. A common image of the ideal person was an attractive and sexy singer. Comments on the drawings reflected many of the concerns of early adolescents, including an interest in gender roles, a commitment to work and the use of the imagination to conceive of a variety of possible future roles. - jea.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/9/1-2/125

Add Men, Don’t Stir 
Reproducing Traditional Gender Roles in Modern Wedding Showers 
Beth Montemurro, Pennsylvania State University 
The bridal shower is a ritual that dates back to sixteenth-century Western Europe. Traditionally, the bridal shower was a gendered ritual, organized by women, for women. Evidence suggests that the gender barrier for showers may be disintegrating as "couples" or "coed" showers make their way into the prewedding routine. However, it is unclear whether the presence of men at wedding showers is indicative of gender convergence or if couples showers replicate traditional gender roles. It is necessary to look at men’s presence in showers empirically to understand the ways in which gender and traditional gender roles are either deconstructed or reconstructed in this ritual. I find that rather than indicating gender convergence, coed showers are markedly different from traditional bridal showers. In essence, the traditional bridal shower is transformed and masculinized so that it is an event men can participate in without stigmatization or threat to their "manliness." - jce.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/34/1/6

College Women and Sororities 
The Social Construction and Reaffirmation of Gender Roles 
Barbara J. Risman 
Gender socialization in urban societies is acknowledged to occur primarily in preadolescence Risman's analysis of one college sorority displays additional ways in which women adopt role-specific behaviors that are formally encouraged by both official regulations and informally shaped by cultural norms. Her data suggest that the socialization processes and the consequent roles may in fact be inappropriate for facilitating women's adaptation to a changing social environment. - jce.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/11/2/231

Leader Emergence And Gender Roles in All-Female Groups - A Contextual Examination 
Amy B. Gershenoff, Roseanne J. Foti, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 
Research suggests that gender role, rather than sex, is associated with the perception of individuals as leaders. This study tests the effect of gender role and intelligence on leadership emergence by using a pattern approach and manipulating task type. Two hundred female undergraduate participants, categorized by their pattern of masculinity, femininity, and intelligence, were placed in groups of 4 members. Groups were randomly assigned to an initiating-structure or consensus-building task condition. In the initiating-structure task condition, both masculine-intelligent and androgynous-intelligent individuals emerged more than feminine-intelligent or mixed-pattern individuals. In the consensus-building task condition, feminine-intelligent individuals did not emerge as leaders more than masculine-intelligent or mixed-pattern individuals. However, partial support was found for the emergence of androgynous-intelligent individuals. - sgr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/34/2/170

The Psychodynamics of Female/Male Role Differentiation within Small Groups 
Gary Gemmill, Lynn Zoch Schaible, Syracuse University 
The article presents a rudimentary explanatory theory of gender role differentiation within small groups in terms of the psychodynamic concepts of psychological splitting, collective projective identification, and the anima and animus. Research on gender differences and gender issues in small groups is reviewed, and the emotional patterns enacted within the gender roles of female and male are discussed. Research areas for further exploration into the psychodynamics offemalelmale role differentiation within small groups are suggested. - sgr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/22/2/220

Gender Roles, Family, and Drinking: Women at the Crossroad of Drinking Cultures 
Karin Helmersson Bergmark, Department of Sociology at Stockholm University in Sweden 
During the postwar era, extensive changes in family structure and gender roles have occurred in Western countries. The aim for this study was to see if processes of change and convergence in gender roles have led to new drinking patterns among Swedish women. Data were collected from a survey conducted in 1979 and replicated in 2003. For this study, data on aspects of drinking patterns and problems were combined with demographics and indicators of social situation. For one of the drinking pattern indicators, the assumption of convergence between the sexes was confirmed. Generally, though, differences in drinking patterns are at hand among both women and men in the same direction. Also, social background factors and demographics have weaker explanatory power today compared to the late 1970s. - jfh.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/29/3/293

The Bourgeois Family in Nineteenth-Century Spain: Private Lives, Gender Roles, and a New Socioeconomic Model 
Gracia Gómez Urdáñez, University of Zaragoza, Spain 
The aim of this article is to study the bourgeois family in liberal Spain. It contains an analysis of aspects such as the concept of family transmitted by liberalism; the relation between public and private life; and the different roles attributed to men and women in the family, in society, and in the economy. A unique insight into these phenomena can be gained from the author’s main research source, the private archives of the Olózagas, an important bourgeois family in the historical context of the establishment of liberalism in Spain. Revealing conclusions can be drawn from an analysis of these private records about the liberal conception of the family, the significance it acquired, the new moral values extolled by the bourgeoisie, and the objectives sought with the implantation in society of this model of the family. - jfh.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/30/1/66

Culture, Gender Roles, and Sport 
The Case of Korean Players on the LPGA Tour 
Eui Hang Shin, Department of sociology at the University of South Carolina and department of sociology at Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea, shin@sc.edu 
Edward Adam Nam, Duke University 
The success of multiple Korean women on the LPGA tour a decade ago was unheard of; today it is the norm. In the past 5 years, Koreans have joined the tour as rookies of the year, won major championships, and topped money lists. The timing of the success of Korean female golfers has been dependent on golf’s emerging popularity and prestige in Korea and a divergence in traditional gender roles after the Korean War. At the core of their success are several traits that are consequences of their cultural upbringing: a work ethic that is the envy of the tour, a devotion to the game that is unparalleled, and indomitable mental toughness. These traits and certain aspects of the Korean psyche, culture, and family help explain why female Korean golfers on the LPGA are thriving. Recent showings by Korean American golfers foretell an even stronger generation of golfers. - jss.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/28/3/223

Socialization to gender roles and marriage among Egyptian adolescents
Mensch, Barbara S., Barbara L. Ibrahim, Susan M. Lee, and Omaima El-Gibaly. 
Policy Research Division Working Paper no. 140. New York: Population Council. (PDF)
Abstract: Using nationally representative survey data, this paper explores gender role socialization and attitudes toward marriage among unmarried Egyptian adolescents aged 16–19 years. We examine the daily activities of adolescent boys and girls, views about age at marriage and desirable qualities in a spouse, and various indicators of gender role attitudes including opinions about whether wives should defer to husbands, about sharing household decisionmaking, and about responsibility for domestic tasks. Our findings reflect strong gender differentiation: girls have much less free time than boys, are much less mobile, are much less likely to participate in paid work, and have heavier domestic responsibilities regardless of whether or not they are in school. Girls favor a later age at marriage for both sexes, but particularly for boys. Boys are significantly more likely than girls to favor educational inequality between spouses. While neither boys nor girls have particularly progressive gender role attitudes, girls are significantly more likely to express less traditional attitudes. Multivariate analyses indicate that girls' and boys' attitudes do not vary consistently and significantly by socioeconomic background; in particular, increased schooling does not always promote egalitarian attitudes. The implications of these findings for policies and programs are discussed. - popcouncil.org/publications/wp/prd/140.html

Lesbians, bisexual women, and body image: an investigation of gender roles and social group affiliation - Ludwig MR, Brownell KD. 
Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8205, USA.
OBJECTIVE: This study examined the effects of considering oneself to be masculine, feminine, or androgynous in appearance, of having friends who share one's gender and sexual orientation, and of affiliating with three subcommunities within the lesbian society on various aspects of body image. METHOD: Self-report measures were obtained from 188 lesbian and bisexual females. RESULTS: Feminine women reported lower body satisfaction than did androgynous or masculine identified subjects. Those whose friends shared their sexual orientation and gender had more positive body images than those whose friends shared only gender. In contrast, community affiliation was unrelated to body satisfaction. DISCUSSION: Within-group differences among lesbians may be central to understanding body image in this group. - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

THE RISE OF POSTMATERIALIST VALUES AND CHANGING RELIGIOUS ORIENTATIONS, GENDER ROLES AND SEXUAL NORMS 
Ronald Inglehart and David Appel 
Abstract: This article investigates the relationship between Materialist and Postmaterialist values, and attitudes towards religious and social norms as well as behavioral indicators in industrial societies. It focusses on the question whether Postmaterialist values—indicated through a greater emphasis on such goals as self-expression, quality of life and belonging—are related to a decline of traditional orientations. The empirical part is based on the data of a unique cross-national dataset, the World Values Survey 1981–1982, which compares religious and moral beliefs of populations of sixteen countries with various political, cultural and ethnic characteristics. It also takes into account behavioral indicators related to these norms, e.g. birth and divorce rates in these countries. According to the results, Post-materialist values are closely related to a decline of traditional values. There also exist strong linkages between individual-level values and the actual behavior of the peoples in the given societies. But besides their detachment from traditional religion, Postmaterialists are significantly more likely than Materialists to spend time thinking about the meaning of life and, thus, may even have more potential interest in religion. - ijpor.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/1/1/45

Gender Roles and Settlement Activities Among Children and Their Immigrant Families 
ABEL VALENZUELA, JR., University of California, Los Angeles 
This article explores how girls and boys facilitate the establishment of permenent settlement in Mexican immigrant households. Through analysis of 68 interviews, three primary roles are identified: (a) tutors, when children serve as translators and teachers for their parents and younger siblings; (b) advocates, when children intervene or mediate on behalf of their households during difficult transactions or situations; and (c) surrogate parents, when children undertake nanny or parentlike activities. In addition, it was found that girls participate more than boys in tasks that require detailed explanations or greater responsibility. Boys, despite their involvement in household activities, did not have the same responsibility roles as girls did. Finally, the eldest child, regardless of gender, often took the lead role in assisting and caring for younger siblings. These findings advance the understanding of the interaction of immigration, children, and gender in household settlement. - abs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/42/4/720

Gender roles, marital intimacy, and nomination of spouse as primary caregiver
SM Allen, F Goldscheider and DA Ciambrone, Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA. susan_allen@brown.edu 
Using data from a sample of married men and women undergoing treatment for cancer, we tested two potential hypotheses for the unequal representation of husbands and wives as spousal caregivers, including societal gender role norms and emotional closeness in the marital relationship. Multivariate analyses support both hypotheses; wives are only one third as likely as husbands to select their spouses as caregivers, and spouses who name their mates as confidants are three times more likely than those who do not to also name them as caregivers. We conclude that although gender role norms are key to caregiver selection, the intimacy inherent in the caregiving role renders an emotionally close marriage an important criterion to the selection of spouse as caregiver. - gerontologist.gerontologyjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/39/2/150

Gender Roles and Labor Use Strategies: Women's Part-Time Work in the European Union 
Tijdens K. G.
Abstract: What is the nature of female part-time employment in the European Union? Using data from the Second European Survey on Working Conditions, the author seeks to address this question. The paper examines four regimes of part-time employment. The gender-roles model, which assumes that women work parttime because they are secondary earners or have children at home, ranks first as a predictor of the likelihood that a woman will work part-time. In the responsive firms model, which ranks second in explanatory power, part-time work is primarily seen as the firms' response to workers' demands for fewer working hours. The optimal staffing model assumes that employers will create part-time jobs as a response to the demand for time-related services; it ranks third in explanatory power. Finally, the secondary-labor market model, which assumes job insecurity, poor wages, and poor working conditions, ranks fourth in predicting whether a woman will work part- or full-time. - ingentaconnect.com

Gender roles and economics of exploitation, processing and marketing of bivalves and impacts on forest resources in the Sanaga Delta region of Douala-Edea Wildlife Reserve, Cameroon 
Authors: Ajonina, Patience U.; Ajonina, Gordon N.; Jin, Emmanuel; Mekongo, Fidèle; Ayissi, Isidore; Usongo, Leonard
Abstract: Socio-economic surveys were carried out in the Malimba and Mouanko communities in the Sanaga delta region of the Douala-Edea Wildlife Reserve, Cameroon, on the exploitation, processing and marketing of bivalves, with emphasis on gender aspects and impacts on the surrounding forest resources. Sixty people from 16 villages were sampled using a structured questionnaire with field observations documented during the peak fishing period (November 2000–June 2001). Results indicated a strong gender differentiation in the activity, with males dominating bivalve harvesting and shell processing and women dominating the processing for meat. Monthly bivalve meat production of 32.9 tons (197.4 tons per year) generated revenues of 65.4 million FCFA (74.9 million per year). Monthly shell production was put at 1380 tons (8040 tons per year) generating a monthly revenue of 74 million FCFA (444 million per year). Problems faced during exploitation, processing and marketing stages include physical, health and socio-economic: use of very depreciable rudimentary tools, shell injuries, fire and hot water burns, insect pests; blindness, deafness; inadequate storage facilities, transport and remoteness of the area. Bivalve processing activities using wood contributed to a total annual harvest of 50 986 m3 from the surrounding forest. Sustainable conservation measures geared towards poverty alleviation are proposed. - ingentaconnect.com

GENDER ROLES AND GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION AS PREDICTORS OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS IN AUSTRALIAN WOMEN 
Paul Bramston,1 Cathy Rogers-Clark,1 Desley Hegney1 and Janet Bishop2 
ABSTRACT: This paper examines the emotional distress of women in urban, rural and remote areas of Queensland. A randomised telephone survey of 394 women found that geographical location was not significantly related to perceptions of life quality or distress. Contrary to expectation, urbanisation and isolation were not significant predictors of mental health and factors other than geographical location appear more influential in determining people's emotional wellbeing. One such factor, the gender role that women perceive themselves as fulfilling, was examined in this study and found to be significantly related to emotional distress. Women who saw their role as being submissive, dependent, gentle and timid reported significantly higher rates of distress and women perceiving themselves as bossy, rude and superior reported higher stress, irrespective of where they lived. Scores for the positive gender role of being sensitive, emotional and responsible grew significantly higher as the respondents became more rural/remote. Conversely, scores in the bossy, rude and superior domain were significantly higher in urban areas. This paper discusses the limitations of health research using global urban/rural classification schemes based on size of town or distance from major centres. There is mounting evidence that geographically based classification schemes are essentially minimalist and that more complex grouping variables such as gender role need to be identified. - blackwell-synergy.com

Beyond Gender Roles? Conceptualizing the Social and Economic Lives of Rural Peoples in Sub-Saharan Africa 
M. W. Warner, R. M. Al-Hassan & J. G. Kydd 
The repeated failure to design and appropriately target policies and interventions which address the needs of rural peoples in Africa suggests that something may be wrong with our understanding of the way that these peoples live their lives. Perspectives which focus on intra-household processes, and on gender issues in particular, represent useful advances in the way that the social and economic lives of Africa's rural peoples are conceptualized. However, this article questions the value of adopting development planning, policy and project approaches based on the rigid identification of `gender roles'. By reference to field research undertaken in northern Ghana, the paper aims to demonstrate that other social constructs, such as marital status and seniority, may be as important as gender in determining the roles and status of individuals in African rural societies. The article concludes by highlighting a number of practical implications of this finding in terms of the structuring of development-oriented research and the targeting of policy and interventions. - blackwell-synergy.com

Gender Roles, Relationship Satisfaction, and Self-Reported Health: A Window into the Personal Lives of Mexicans in the United States and Mexico
Jennifer J. Tovar, University of Texas at Austin
Jorge Caraveo Anduaga, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente
Ronald Angel, University of Texas at Austin
Maren Andrea Jimenez, University of Texas at Austin
Abstract: Introduction It is little secret in the demographic world that longer duration stays in the United States are associated with poorer health outcomes for Mexican immigrants. In fact with longer durations of stays, Mexican Americans have been found to have as poor health statuses similar to their US born counterparts, thus diminishing the benefits Mexican immigrants have demonstrated as new arrivals (Finch, Hummer, Kolody, and Vega 2001, Vega, Alderete, Kolody, and Aguilar-Gaxiola 1998, Alderete, Vega, Kolody, and Aguilar-Gaxiola 1999, Padilla, Boardman, Hummer, and Espitia 2002). A general hypothesis towards explanation of this effect, suggests that Mexicans possess a “cultural protection” that reduces with time therefore leading to health statuses comparable to US born Mexicans. 
Little is known as to what these protective factors are however. One speculation is that Mexicans value certain traditions that have become embedded into their lifestyles and culture. One often noted tradition is the conception of gender roles, which have contributed to such stereotypical terms as “marianismo” or “machismo.” Little is known, nonetheless, how these traditions play out as actually influencing health. This paper will examine how acceptance of certain gender roles may serve as a benefit or detriment to self-reported health in Mexicans.
Previous literature also suggests that gender differences do exist with respect to health outcomes for this population. For example, Mexican men and women differ vastly in their propensities to use or abuse alcohol and drugs (Vega, Alderete, Kolody, and Aguilar-Gaxiola 1998). We also know that gender variations of cardiac risk exist among Mexicans in the United States (Satis, Markides, Zhang, and Goodwin 1997; Patel, Black, and Markides 2003; Meshack, Goff, Chan, Ramsey, Linares, Reyna, and Pandey 1998), yet little is know as to how this dissimilarity may continue into the realms of general physical health. Furthermore we have yet to come to terms with cultural influences of gender roles that may be a force behind such incongruencies.
Depending on who is asked, being in a romantic or marital relationship is said to have anecdotal rewards. In fact, men are more likely to benefit from being a relationship than women overall (Williams). No consideration has been made however, as to how relationship quality may differ for Mexican men and women and how this may play an important role in health status in this population.
Based on the gaps in previous literature on the relationship between acceptance of cultural roles, marital satisfaction, and self-reported health in Mexican Americans, the current paper will address the following objectives. 
1. To determine the level of effect ascription to “traditional” gender roles influences self-reported health in Mexicans in the United States.
2. To determine the effects of perceive relationship quality on self-reported health.
3. To establish a pattern of gender differences that may exist among Mexicans of self-reported health.
Methods This study uses the MAPSS (Mexican American Prevalence and Services Survey) dataset to examine the relationship of self-reported health to acceptance of traditional gender roles, relationship satisfaction and gender. Of the total sample of 3012, 2230 subjects were selected for this analysis that were in a romantic relationship at the time of the survey. Using similar coding methods for gender role acceptance and relationship satisfaction used by Amato and Brooks (1995) the major explanatory variables were coded as follows. First, a series of questions were asked with respect to traditional gender roles (i.e.”the husband should be the primary bread winner in the home”). These questions were then combined to create an overall score. Second, marital satisfaction was measured with the use of a marital satisfaction inventory that was included in the questionnaire. Self reported health was used as the dependent variable with a range of excellent to poor. A series of bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to test the major hypotheses of this paper. Logistic regressions were conducted to determine the odds ratios of self-reported health on the explanatory variables of interest.
Results It was expected that since previous literature has speculated that newer Mexican immigrants to the United States are benefited by “cultural protection” that acceptance of traditional gender roles would serve as a buffer to poorer health.
The findings from this analysis do not support this assumption. Acceptance of traditional gender roles for all Mexicans in this sample is not statistically significant in health protection.
It was next believed that consistent with previous literature on the general population, marital satisfaction would have a beneficial effect on self-reported health. The results from this analysis do support this hypothesis significantly for poor health. Marital satisfaction is a significant safeguard against poorer health outcomes.
Finally, gender differences do not exist with respect to self-reported health. Gender does conversely, become important only when taking into consideration the effect of marital satisfaction on health, having significance primarily for women.
Conclusions Acceptance of gender roles and marital satisfaction were used as the primary variables of explanation, in an attempt to isolate the effects of cultural protect on self-reported health in Mexicans in the United States. Speculation has been made that part of the health benefits that new arrivals from Mexico to the United States possess are “cultural values or traditions” that serve as protection from the harmful effects of society that reduce one’s quality of health. In this study however, acceptance of gender roles does not serve as a buffer from poorer quality of health. What does appear to be of importance is marital satisfaction, particularly for women. Over the years that we have studied the Mexican population in the United States we have operated with the assertion that this group is fundamentally different than the general population due to the cultural values that are deeply preserved in their lifestyles. This study nevertheless, suggests that perhaps these differences are not as extensive as we would like to believe. - paa2004.princeton.edu/download.asp?submissionId=40644.

Sex and Sexuality in Men's Personal Advertisements 
VOON CHIN PHUA, Center for Urban Research and John Jay College, CUNY 
In this article, the author examines 2,400 men's personal advertisements from the Internet to explore gender role and sex role preferences in mate selection. Using content analysis, the author examines how men define their gender roles and sex roles, and how they express role preferences in their mate. The results show that when compared with gay men, straight men are less concerned about gender roles and sex roles. Gay men's personal advertisements are the real analytic lens here because they are the ones faced with the ambiguities that need to be negotiated, whereas straight men may have taken gender-typical roles for granted. The author also discusses how men knowingly or unknowingly express and reproduce cultural norms of heterosexuality and gender-typical behavior, and how they may perpetuate forms of heterosexism and sexism. - jmm.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/5/2/178

Differential Fecundity, Markets and Gender Roles
Aloysius Siow
Abstract: Women are fecund for a shorter period of their lives than men. This paper investigates how differential fecundity interacts with marriage, labor and financial markets to affect gender roles. The main findings of the paper are: (i) Differential fecundity does not have any market invariant gender effect. (ii) Gender roles depend on competition for mates in the marriage market and the way in which ex-post differences in earnings affect that competition. (iii) Gender differences in the labor market can occur without corresponding differences in labor market opportunities, productivities in child rearing, or social norms. (iv) With uncertainty in human capital accumulation and no insurance against this uncertainty, the model generates behavior which is consistent with observed gender roles.
ideas.repec.org/p/tor/tecipa/siow-96-01.html

Gender Roles and Body Satisfaction

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