Sex and Gender

Gender Roles Over the Life Course

In some things, such as table manners, we expect men and women to be alike.
A great many characteristics, however, are gendered-considered more
appropriate for one sex than another. We expect women and men to like
different activities, to have different personalities and skills, and to perform different tasks.
Many of these different personalities are normative- that is, we think
men and women ought to think and act in specific, different ways. People who
violate gender norms will feel guilty and uncomfortable.

Gender differences begin with pink and blue blankets in the hospital
nursery and extend throughout life.

Look at a Graph

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