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Unit 9
Gender Differences
In-Class Reading
Gender Roles from a Cultural
Perspective
I. Word List
Directions: Memorize the following words and phrases before class. You will benefit from your effort when you get the passage from your teacher and read it in class.
Proper Names
David and Myra Sadker
（人名） 戴维.赛德克和迈拉.赛德克夫妇
New Words
appropriately *
adv. correctly, suitably for a particular time, situation, or purpose 合适地，恰当地
e.g. Those children aren't appropriately dressed for this cold weather.
approve *
v. have a positive opinion of 认可，赞许
e.g. I don't approve of smoking in public places.
aspiration *
n. a strong desire or hope to do or have something 志向，抱负
e. g. Her aspirations to help others come from her own misfortune as a child.
assumption *
n. something supposed but not proved 假定，设想
e.g. On the assumption that the increased production targets can be reached, I've ordered extra raw materials.
bias *
n. a prejudice or preference that interferes with a fair judgment 偏见，成见
biased
adj. 有偏见的
gender-biased
adj. showing an unreasonable preference for men or women 有性别偏见的
constitute *
v. form or make (something) 构成
e.g. I ) The under-18s constitute nearly 25% of the population of the town.
II ) Nuclear weapons (核武器) constitute a very real threat to world peace.
gender
n. the physical or social condition of being male or female 性别
genetic *
adj. 遗传学的
e.g. genetic code/engineering/factor 遗传密码/遗传工程(学)/遗传因子
goodness
n. the quality of being good 好的品质
incorporated
adj. 结合的，并为一体的
indirectly *
adv. 间接地
e.g. She still controls the company indirectly through her son, who is the managing director.
innumerable *
adj. very many, or too many to be counted 无数的，不计其数的
e.g. He has invented innumerable excuses, told endless lies.
masculine *
adj. relating to or being considered typical of men, in contrast to women 适合于男子的，有男子特点的
e.g. People would be much better balanced if we could bring out the masculine side of women and the feminine side of men.
neatness *
n. the quality of being tidy and carefully arranged 整洁
e.g. When writing your homework, remember that neatness counts.
nonsexist
adj. disapproving the idea that the members of one sex are less intelligent, able, skillful, etc. than the members of the other sex 非性别歧视的
northeastern *
adj. 东北的
e.g. northeastern China/the northeastern region
noticeably *
adv. easily noticed or recognized 显著地，明显地
e.g. After her illness, she had become noticeably thinner.
nursery *
n. a place where young children and babies are taken care of 托儿所
e.g. We are turning one bedroom into a nursery and painting it in bright colors.
obedience
n. 服从，顺从
participant *
n. a person who takes part in a particular activity 参与者
e.g. All participants finishing the race will receive a medal.
preschooler
n. (AmE) a child who does not yet go to school 学龄前儿童
subordination *
n. 从属，次要地位
e.g. They complained that there was constant subordination of high standards to quick results.
unintentional *
adj. not said or done deliberately 非故意的，无心的
e.g. I know she upset you, but I'm sure it was unintentional.
unknowingly
adv. not knowing what is happening 不知不觉地
e.g. A great number of people unknowingly carry the AIDS virus (艾滋病病毒).
Gender Roles from a Cultural Perspective
1 Over the past few decades, it has been proven innumerable times that the various types of behavior, emotions, and interests that constitute being masculine and feminine are patterned by both heredity and culture. In the process of growing up, each child learns hundreds of culturally patterned details of behavior that become incorporated into its gender identity. Some of this learning takes place directly. In other words, the child is told by others how to act in an appropriately feminine or masculine way. Other details of gender behavior are taught unconsciously, or indirectly, as the culture provides different images, aspirations, and adult models for girls and boys.
2 Recently, for example, a study of American public schools showed that there is a cultural bias in education that favors boys over girls. According to the researchers, the bias is unintentional and unconscious, but it is there and it is influencing the lives of millions of schoolchildren every year. Doctors David and Myra Sadker videotaped classroom teachers in order to study gender-related bias in education. Their research showed that many teachers who thought they were nonsexist were amazed to see how biased they appeared on videotape. From nursery school to postgraduate courses, teachers were shown to call on males in class far more than on female students. This has a tremendous impact on the learning process for, in general, those students who become active classroom participants develop more positive attitudes and go on to higher achievement. As a matter of fact, in the late 1960s, when many of the best all-women's colleges in the northeastern United States opened their doors to male students, it was observed by professors and women students alike that the boys were "taking over" the classroom discussions and that active participation by women students had diminished noticeably. A similar subordination of female to male students has also been observed in law and medical school classrooms in recent years.
3 Research done by the Sadkers showed that sometimes teachers unknowingly prevented girls from participating as actively as boys in class by assigning them different tasks in accordance with stereotyped gender roles. For instance, one teacher conducting a science class with nursery school youngsters, continually had the little boys perform the scientific "experiment" while the girls were given the task of putting the materials away. Since hands-on work with classroom materials is a very important aspect of early education, the girls were thus being deprived of a vital learning experience that would affect their entire lives.
4 Another dimension of gender-biased education is the typical American teacher's assumption that boys will do better in the "hard", "masculine" subjects of math and science while girls are expected to have better verbal and reading skills. As an example of a self-fulfilling prophecy, American boys do, indeed, develop reading problems, while girls, who are superior to boys in math up to the age of nine, fall behind from then on. But these are cultural, not genetic patterns. In Germany, for example, all studies are considered "masculine", and it is girls who develop reading problems. And in Japan, where early education appears to be nonsexist, both girls and boys do equally well in reading.
5 The different attitudes associated with the educational process for girls and boys begin at home. One study, for example, showed that when preschoolers were asked to look at a picture of a house and tell how far away from the house they were permitted to go, the boys indicated a much wider area than the girls, who generally pointed out a very limited area close to the home. Instead of being encouraged to develop intellectual curiosity and physical skills that are useful in dealing with the outside world, as boys are, girls are filled with fears of the world outside the home and with the desire to be approved of for their "goodness" and obedience to rules. These lessons carry over from the home to the classroom, where girls are generally observed to be more dependent on the teacher, more concerned with the form and neatness of their work than with its content, and more anxious about being "right" in their answers than in being intellectually independent, analytical, or original. Thus, through the educational process that occupies most of the child's waking hours, society reinforces its established values and turns out each gender in its traditional and expected mold. (722 words)
Time taken: ____________ minutes
Phrases and Expressions
as a matter of fact
事实上，其实
e.g. "I guess you haven't eaten yet." "As a matter of fact, I have," said Hunter.
call on
ask (students) to answer questions
e.g. The teacher always called on her first.
fall behind
become less successful than someone else 落后
e.g. In secondary school she started falling behind in her schoolwork.
put...away
move something into the place in which it is usually kept 放好，收好
e.g. Come on, it's time to put these toys away.
take over
do (something) instead of or let someone else do it 接管，接任
e.g. Do you want me to take over the digging if you're tired?
turn out
produce
e.g. The school has turned out some good scholars.
up to
less than or equal to a certain amount or level 直到......,至多......
e.g. Research suggests that up to half of those who were prescribed the drug have suffered side effects.
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