Gary Wood - The Psychology of Gender

THE PSYCHOLOGYOF GENDER What is the difference between sex and gender? What is the impact of gender-role stereotypes on our lives, our relationships and the world? What does gender mean to you? The Psychology of Gender looks at our biology, history and culture to consider the impact of gender roles and stereotypes, and addresses the dilemmas we have regarding gender in a post-modern world. It offers a unique perspective on gender through storytelling and explores ideas around transgender and cisgender identities and androgyny, tackling hidden assumptions and helping us make sense of the world of gender. By examining the future of gender, The Psychology of Gender offers a platform for further exploration, and arrives at a new psychology of gender that emphasises relationships and helps us to understand our own gender identity and that of those around us. Dr Gary W. Wood is a Chartered Psychologist, Solution-Focused Coach, advice columnist and teacher. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF EVERYTHINGThe Psychology of Everything is a series of books which debunk the myths and pseudo-science surrounding some of lifes biggest questions. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF EVERYTHINGThe Psychology of Everything is a series of books which debunk the myths and pseudo-science surrounding some of lifes biggest questions.

The series explores the hidden psychological factors that drive us, from our sub-conscious desires and aversions, to the innate social instincts handed to us across the generations. Accessible, informative, and always intriguing, each book is written by an expert in the field, examining how research-based knowledge compares with popular wisdom, and illustrating the potential of psychology to enrich our understanding of humanity and modern life. Applying a psychological lens to an array of topics and contem porary concerns from sex to addiction to conspiracy theories ThePsychology of Everything will make you look at everything in a new way. Titles in the series: The Psychology of GriefThe Psychology ofRichard GrossConspiracy TheoriesJan-Willem van ProoijenThe Psychology of SexMeg-John BarkerThe Psychology ofAddictionThe Psychology of DietingJenny SvanbergJane OgdenThe Psychology of FashionThe Psychology of PerformanceCarolyn MairStewart T. CotterillThe Psychology ofThe Psychology of TrustGardeningKen J. RotenbergHarriet GrossThe Psychology of Working LifeThe Psychology of GenderToon TarisGary W.

Wood For further information about this series please visit www.thepsychologyofeverything.co.uk THEPSYCHOLOGYOF GENDERGARY W. WOOD First published 2018 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business 2018 Gary W. Wood The right of Gary W. Wood to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this title has been requested ISBN: 978-1-138-74839-2 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-138-74857-6 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-18022-9 (ebk) Typeset in Joanna by Apex CoVantage, LLC CONTENTS Thanks to everyone who supported the writing process, especially Eleanor Reedy at Routledge for her patience, support and constructive suggestions. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this title has been requested ISBN: 978-1-138-74839-2 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-138-74857-6 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-18022-9 (ebk) Typeset in Joanna by Apex CoVantage, LLC CONTENTS Thanks to everyone who supported the writing process, especially Eleanor Reedy at Routledge for her patience, support and constructive suggestions.

Thanks also to Alex Howard and the rest of the team, and to Christine Cottone and the team at Apex CoVantage. Many thanks to Sarah Baxter and The Society of Authors for support in the comple tion of this book. Special thanks to Petra Boynton for her support over the years, and for always putting my name forward. Very special thanks to Takeshi Fujisawa for his moral and technical support, and patience. Dedicated to Nelly Florence Butcher and Clifford Bertram Butcher. CONVENTIONAL WISDOMABOUT GENDER We hear people say, in times of extreme stress or near-death expe riences, my whole life flashed before me. CONVENTIONAL WISDOMABOUT GENDER We hear people say, in times of extreme stress or near-death expe riences, my whole life flashed before me.

However, what if, in a moment of precognition, our lives did flash before us at our very first breath? What if all the twists and turns, the patterns and choices were pre-determined? What if one flick of the pen mapped out our whole lives, based on a cursory glance of our infant nakedness? What if the lottery of our anatomy was our destiny and biology and physiol ogy determined our psychology? It sounds like a sinister plot from a dystopian science fiction nov And yet, every day, from every tick on a form we make to every bathroom break we take, we confirm and reconfirm our birth identities in pretty much this way: from girls and boys, to males and females, to ladies and gentlemen. The Psychology of Gender is a short volume in The Psychology of Every thing series offering a critical introduction aiming to bridge the gaps 2 I N T RO D U C T I O N between everyday understanding, pop-psychology and academic writing. Everyday understanding harbours many taken-for-granted assumptions, and pop-psychology, with its comedic metaphors, aims to soothe and simplify obscuring more than it illuminates. Although academia aims to shine a light on the unexplored, it sometimes over intellectualizes so that it feels divorced from everyday reality. Sociolo gist Ken Plummer describes gender as the surest of all ideas in the modern world and at the same time one of the most contested con cepts in the social This book aims to tackle the key hidden assumptions surrounding gender, answer some questions, stimulate your own questions and guide further exploration. Gender hides in plain sight.

Psychologist Vivien Burr describes it as the backcloth against which our daily lives are play Gen der is the arena in which we face hard practical issues about justice, identity and even survivwever, it is often treated as little more than an interesting personality trait. From my experience of teaching research methods, students routinely include gender differences in their projects without questioning if it makes sense. Pop-psychology upholds this view, by encouraging us to think of men and women as so different that they are from different planets. Academic psy chology has been slow to challenge this, as social psychologist Mary Crawford contends that the Mars/Venus books and workshops gained legitimacy through advertising in academic journals. Throughout the 1990s LGBTQiters increasingly challenged the taken-for grantedness of gender. In