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Gender Role

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine

  • 52 Accesses

Synonyms

Feminine role; Gender; Gender expression; Gender norms; Masculine role

Definition

Gender roles are the socially constructed patterns of behavior ascribed to individuals based on their perceived gender identity. Gender roles encompass concepts about masculinity and femininity and determine what behavior is typically expected or deemed appropriate in a given situation and society or culture. Whereas one’s sex is assigned at birth (i.e., depending on whether a baby at birth appears to have a penis or vulva or the presence or absence of a Y chromosome), gender roles may differ by society, culture, socioeconomic class, age, and period in history.

Description

Gender roles are created and reinforced through social institutions such as family and intimate relationships, communities, schools, religious institutions, industry and private enterprise, legal and medical systems, and the media. These aspects of culture and context are constantly changing. Because gender roles are...

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References and Further Reading

  • Bowleg, L. (2012). The problem with the phrase women and minorities: Intersectionality – An important theoretical framework for public health. American Journal of Public Health, 102(7), 1267–1273. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2012.300750.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Christensen, A. D., & Jensen, S. Q. (2014). Combining hegemonic masculinity and intersectionality. NORMA: International Journal for Masculinity Studies, 9(1), 60–75.

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  • Connell, R. W. (1987). Gender and power: Society, the person and sexual politics. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

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  • Courtenay, W. H. (2000). Constructions of masculinity and their influence on men’s well-being: A theory of gender and health. Social Science & Medicine, 50(10), 1385–1401.

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  • Daniel-Ulloa, J., Sun, C., & Rhodes, S. D. (2017). The intersection between masculinity and health among rural immigrant Latino men. International Journal of Men’s Health, 16(1), 84.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Diamond, M. (2002). Sex and gender are different: Sexual identity and gender identity are different. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 7(3), 320–334.

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  • Matsuno, E., & Budge, S. L. (2017). Non-binary/genderqueer identities: A critical review of the literature. Current Sexual Health Reports, 9(3), 116–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schippers, M. (2007). Recovering the feminine other: Masculinity, femininity, and gender hegemony. Theory and Society, 36(1), 85–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sen, G., George, A., & Ostlin, P. (2002). Engendering international health: The challenge of equity. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health Education, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA

    Jennifer Toller Erausquin & Rachel Faller

Authors
  1. Jennifer Toller Erausquin
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  2. Rachel Faller
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jennifer Toller Erausquin .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA

    Marc Gellman

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA

    Steven A. Safren

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Erausquin, J.T., Faller, R. (2020). Gender Role. In: Gellman, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_645-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_645-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

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