Revista Colombiana de Psicología

Social Representations of Gender Among Youth

The formation of beliefs and attitudes about gender roles and behavior begins in early childhood, first within the realm of the family (Alan et al., 2018; Endendijk et al., 2013 ; van Hek & Kraaykamp, 2015; Vollebergh et al., 2001). Subsequently, in modern societies, school and other scenarios of formal education constitute an important setting for the transmission of social knowledge in general (Bermúdez, 2012) and gender knowledge in particular (Bruel dos Santos et al., 2013). Schools can help transform this knowledge to promote gender equality, but evidence suggests that this is not always the case.

Schools are not strange to the presence of gender bias imposed by society (Alan et al., 2018; van Hek et al., 2018). In fact, they may promote the reproduction and validation of existing bias—explicitly or implicitly—through learning; debates about equality, love relationships, or gender roles (González et al., 2019); through discourse and social practice (Díaz et al., 2017); or by endorsing gender stereotypes (e.g., math and sports are easier for boys than for girls, whereas girls perform better in languages and social sciences) and prejudice (e.g., ignoring girls to call on boys) (Bigler et al., 2013).

Cross-culturally, young populations seem to be subjected to the same social expectations regarding gender roles that apply for adults (Fiske, 2017; Koenig, 2018). Consistently, biological distinctions between sexes have been found to be associated with the perception of gender-specific behavioral patterns and status among the young population reflecting those of adults, such that gender (a perceivable difference among children) may act as a source of asymmetry in terms of power and argumentative force (a hint of social status) (Zapiti & Psaltis, 2012). Also, there is evidence that representations of gender among teenagers organize around two semantic fields—masculinity/femininity and asymmetries and violence (Bruel dos Santos et al., 2013)—that closely map onto similar underlying dimensions of gender constructions found among adults (Connell & Pearse, 2015). To illustrate, views about women describe them as beautiful, flirtatious, conceited, sensitive, and caring (motivated and responsive to other’s desires). In contrast, male stereotypes are associated with work, independence, power, and strength (active, daring, and brave) (Bruel dos Santos et al., 2013).

There is ample evidence that traditional masculinity being taught in socialization contexts —like school—is most of the times built from traditional SR of gender (Bigler et al., 2013), characterized by a pro-male bias (Connell & Pearse, 2015; Islam & Asadullah, 2018), where masculinity requires the domination and sometimes repudiation of (allegedly) feminine characteristics. This also includes emotional withdrawal and exacerbated virility, which produces a rigid man, intolerant of other forms of masculinity (Monteiro Silva & Lincoln Barreira, 2021). These SR of gender may inform young people’s gender representations, offering a stand from which to interpret social beliefs, values, and behavior in the light of social roles (Arias & Molano, 2010 ; Bruel dos Santos et al., 2013) (Ramírez et al. 2022).

Similarly, empirical evidence of the SR of gender collected from students’ stories and teachers from rural areas in Colombia suggests that relationships between men and women are construed as strongly hierarchical (Arias & Molano, 2010). Accordingly, men are associated with dominance, control, and power, whereas women are expected to act submissively, putting men’s needs first and taking on family care responsibilities. Student stories collected by Arias and Molano (2010) suggest a traditional conception of a nuclear family, where each member has a socially assigned role and function. Men are expected to assume leadership, take on the heavy work, and be responsible for the security of their family. Instead, women are considered to be more capable of providing support and thus are expected to be more understanding and sensitive (Arias & Molano, 2010).

The above-mentioned SR of gender contribute to legitimize a belief system where men hold a dominant position over women throughout socialization, which is problematic for both. However, it is possible that intergenerational transmission of gender SR is not homogeneous across all contexts and identities. To illustrate, some empirical evidence suggests that male and female adolescents experience society’s pressure to conform to gender roles differently: girls tend to be more concerned with what people think about them than boys (Azaola, 2009). Other evidence suggests that adolescents may get in trouble when pressure to conform to gender stereotypes is high (Heyner et al., 2021). Thus, while gender conformity pressure is high for young men and women, male students exhibit more school misconduct than their female peers, suggesting that some misconduct is bound with male identity formation and enactment of masculinity in adolescence. Consistent evidence collected among young inmates and manager population from an educational center in Colombia suggests the presence of beliefs that reinforce stereotyped ideals of masculinity and femininity, prejudices in relation to sex, prioritizing sexist and homophobic notions of gender roles and beliefs among this population (Orozco et al., 2021). Unfortunately, we found no further evidence of empirical studies on gender representations among the teenage population in Colombia.

Evidence also suggests that SR of gender can be malleable and that socialization agents may play a role in modifying traditional views (Masullo & Iovine, 2016; Idoiaga & Belasko, 2019). A qualitative study conducted by Idoiaga and Belasko (2019) using a free association technique among Spanish youth suggests that traditional SRs of menstruation are characterized by a stigmatizing, negative, and persistent discourse that portrays it as a dirty and disgusting event. On the other hand, more progressive SRs associate menstruation with the affirmation of femininity and womanhood. Negative SRs were associated with more negative emotions while progressive representations provided a more empowered and emotionally positive representation. Idoiaga and Belasko (2019) thus concluded that the SRs of menstruation are to be situated within a social, ideological, and emotional context.

To synthesize, the above reviewed evidence suggests the importance of studying the role of societal mechanisms designed for the intergenerational transmission of information in understanding the prevalence or the transformation of traditional (and problematic) SR of gender from a critical stance. In addition to this, evidence suggests the importance of identification dimensions like sex and sociocultural context on pressure to conform experienced by younger generations. SR theorizing on objectification and anchoring may help understand the pressure experienced by younger generations to adopt, conform, and endorse gender SR depending on identifying and contextual aspects. Nowadays, social knowledge regarding gender roles is at the core of social debate and young people are playing an important role in that debate, suggesting the importance of their own agency in negotiating and constructing gender representations (Connell & Pearse, 2015). Consequently, it is important to analyze how gender roles and their social implications are culturally transmitted from one generation to the next and how the youth from different sociocultural contexts experience this pressure. While there are some studies in Colombia that suggest the endorsement of highly traditional SR of gender among rural and institutionalized young men, there are not enough studies on the SR of gender among typical young population from different sociocultural contexts.

Like other Latin American countries, Colombia has important regional gaps in terms of modernization and development (Acosta, 2013). Accordingly, while we foresee an important degree of consensus between SR of teachers and students from both cities, we also expect some dissensus (Wachelke, 2012). For instance, that SR of gender from Ibagué (provincial capital) will be more traditional, while those of Bogotá (a city with greater exposure to global social debates and cultural diversity) will reflect its longer trajectory in the modernization process.

This study builds on previous evidence by focusing on the formation of SR of gender among Colombian younger generations within educational contexts, comparing urban and provincial capital-cities, and identifying both consensus and dissensus in SR by virtue of their sociocultural context.

Participants

Participants were included according to a convenience criterion. This study benefited from the voluntary participation of 37 teachers, 25 from Ibagué (8 men and 17 women) and 12 from Bogotá (3 men and 9 women); and 275 Students, 126 from Ibagué and 149 from Bogotá,

(Table 1). Data from 9 participants was excluded from the analysis because they didn’t follow instructions.

Instruments

This study was conducted within the frame of a wider research project. Consistently, we will analyze and discuss findings concerning the application of two instruments: first, a word-association task performed by teachers from both schools. Specifically, we asked participants to generate 3 positive and 3 negative words that they associated with two stimulus-words: “men” and “women”; second, a cartoon story created by students that reflected situations relevant to gender relations. Students were asked to draw and write a brief story describing what happened in the drawing.

Procedure

Before any data collection, the research team met with each school team and introduced the research project. At this point, teachers were invited to participate and were offered an informed consent form. Before the development of the activity, teachers were also offered a specific form to confirm their willingness to participate. Regarding student participation, parental consent was obtained by school mail or Parent School meetings. All participant students assented to their participation as well.

Most of the data collection procedures were performed in the field, directly with students and teachers. However, some data from teachers was collected using an online data collection software (Typeform) due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. During the word-association task, teachers were given an envelope that contained separate index cards labeled “man” and “woman”, with another label for “positive words” and “negative words” on each side of the cards. They were then instructed to fill each card with 3 positive and 3 negative words that came to mind when they thought of “men” and “women”. Teachers chose freely which to fill first. The rest of the teachers did the same online. In both cases, we protected the anonymity and confidentiality of the information. The data were collected in individual envelopes marked with a code created by participants (instead of identifying information) that allowed us to keep track of other instruments used during the research process. In the online activity, participants were also asked to create codes to protect their identities.

For the cartoon task, we handed a sheet of paper to the participants, with space to write their names and select either a sad or a happy face depending on their willingness to participate in the study and allow us to collect and analyze the results from their work. Those students that didn’t have parental consent or didn’t assent to their participation were placed together in the same groups and participated in the activity just like the rest of the class, but the research team was instructed not to collect their cartoons. Next, we asked students to organize in collaborative groups (same-sex) of 4 to 5 people. Each group draw one cartoon and attached its corresponding text-story. Once they were ready, we instructed them about the task. We offered some explanations regarding cartoons and types of cartoons to help reduce their anxiety regarding the task, which consisted of creating a social cartoon on gender relations, a dimension (along with other two) identified by the Colombian’s Law on School Coexistence (Ley 1620 de 2013) as critical for peacebuilding in the country.

For the most part, students agreed on the story and subsequently collaborated to create the illustrations, the story lines, and the brief text-story that explained the cartoon. In most cases they distributed the different tasks: they selected someone to draw the comic, someone else to write the accompanying text, and the rest of the team focused on discussing the script of the story. They were entirely free to organize their contribution to the task as they saw fit. For this purpose, we offered students white sheets of paper for the cartoon and the text-story, pencils, and a small box of color-pencils that they could keep for themselves. Together with these materials, we provided them a separate sheet where they reported sex and age of group participants.

Data Analysis

The collective elaboration of SR gives meaning to the world and allows the communication of that meaning with others (Vergara, 2008). SR of gender allow participants to know, understand, and communicate reality; to guide and justify their behavior through the endorsement of, in this case, gender related beliefs and social practices (Abric, 1994). In addition to this, SRs mark off identity and group specificity function (Abric, 1994 ; Banchs, 2000; Jodelet, 1989).

Objectification and anchoring are two processes at the base of SR (Calvo, 2021) that explain their emergence and transformation (Moscovici, 1984). Objectification involves conceptualizing an abstract phenomenon, whereas anchoring involves classification and linking that concept with an already existing collectively shared concept, with which the new concept acquires meaning for the group and spreads among the collectivity (Calvo, 2021). It is thanks to SR that people relate to the social world and that events and social actions are interpreted. Thus, we used the SR approach to understand the meaning of gender among participants in the study.

To analyze how gender roles and their social implications are culturally transmitted from one generation to the next we explored the SR of gender with a focus on the educational communities of two public schools, their collective practices, and the institutionalization of social knowledge about gender (Bidjari, 2011), and triangulated this information. Specifically, we used a thematic analysis technique as proposed by Braun and Clarke (2006) to analyze and interpret information collected from students and teachers from both educational communities. This meant identifying, organizing, analyzing in detail, and reporting patterns or themes based on the information collected (Mieles et al., 2012).

During the familiarization phase of the analysis, information collected from teachers was examined, organized according to participants’ groups, and transcribed into a database using Excel software. After several trials of data exploration, we identified emerging ideas and subsequently generated initial codes in a continuously reflective process. This was followed by a search for common themes that were analyzed in detail identifying patterns (see Figures 1 to 8). Once we agreed on a final version of higher order themes, we defined the content and the scope of the themes that constituted the base for a meaningful story. For the younger participants, the thematic analysis of the cartoons was performed using N-vivo 12 pro. Cartoons were organized, classified, and inputted into the N-vivo software. Subsequently, we followed the same procedure that we used to analyze the information from teachers. During all stages of the analysis, there were at least three judges. Disagreement between them was resolved by debating until an agreement was reached.

Information and Attitudes

Socially representing involves information (knowledge and beliefs) that is spontaneously produced among students and teachers; supported on tradition and consensus; orally transmitted in conversation and rumor; within a specific sociocultural context. Social networks, massive means of communication, and daily activity and communication are a source of information about gender for teachers and students regardless of their location.

Beliefs add to and strengthen the existing structured system of beliefs that will result in SR (Fraser, 1994) of gender. Altogether, the interpretative analysis of information revealed a set of underlying beliefs for the SR of gender of participants from both cities (see Table 2).

Attitudes of favorability or disfavorability are fundamental and primary elements in the formation of SR (Parales & Vizcaíno, 2007). They are simultaneously based on shared knowledge systems (Fraser, 1994) and modeled within the framework of a classified system (Rateau, 1995). Participants’ attitudes regarding social roles of men and women in Colombian society appear to be old fashioned, conservative, and traditional, consistent with a Christian religious interpretative system and a male dominated society. The transcendentalization of concrete events turns the beginning of sexual life and female sexual behavior into damnable acts disqualifying and devaluing women. Similarly, the notion prevails that men are naturally —instinctively—abusive, aggressive, and even violent. There were positive attitudes toward beautiful, affectionate, and politically correct men and women, and even more so toward caretakers and paternal/maternal roles. Meanwhile, negative attitudes were reported against characteristics and behaviors that contradict the standards of beauty and self-control, like aggression and violence. Overall, men and women’s SRs of their roles seem widely stigmatized, anchored in traditional gender stereotypes, and objectified by metaphors and meanings of wicked macho men and gullible, afflicted, and martyred women.

Figurative Core

The figurative core is the interpretive dimension of SR (Moscovici, 1979). It is about the materialization of the meaning of gender for students and teachers. Accordingly, it articulates the information and attitude-dimensions with categories and themes that emerged during the thematic analysis (Perera, 2003) presented in Figures 1 to 8.

SR of “women” among students from Bogotá and Ibagué

Students from Bogotá represented women as feminine and highlighted their physical beauty, empathy, and caretaking role as essential attributes of their femininity. Nevertheless, there were negative representations of women, objectified as sexual objects whose value lies on idealized bodies that meet socially imposed beauty standards: “if a woman doesn’t have a good body, she is not considered a woman” and rejected when judged to be bad looking by the consumer. There is ambivalence whereby women who find joy in beauty are interpreted to be vain, arrogant and unpleasant.

To these young students, women suffer, they are martyrs, thought to accept mistreatment and abandonment as inherent to the female gender. There were numerous references to the exclusion, submission, and victimization of women that end up feeling prisoners in a deceiving world that ignores them and blames them for their “mistakes”, leaving them to deal with pregnancy, abortion, mistreatment, violence, and extortion by themselves as if these situations were their sole responsibility to deal with; this, in contradiction with an attribute that appeared in several comics where women’s naivety seemed to be praised. Naivety makes them vulnerable, easily subjectable, and socially immaculate, virginal, which in contexts of machismo makes them particularly attractive: women that don’t understand, don’t know, don’t demand, and accommodate. When victimized, women endure, are resilient, and successfully deal with adversity. Successful women play the naive girl role but don’t get entrapped.

Figure 1 : Emergent Categories and Themes Regarding “Woman” among Students from Bogotá

Note. Emergent categories (italic) and themes are represented in rectangles.

Figure 2 : Emergent Categories and Themes Regarding “Woman” among Students from Ibagué

Note. Emergent categories (italic) and themes are represented in rectangles.

Students from Ibagué, on the other hand, represented women as sexual, enamored, and gifted with body characteristics that are of special attractiveness to men. While in both cities female bodies were an issue of concern, SR among students from Ibagué represented women as free, holders of rights, owners of their own bodies. However, sexually empowered and sexually active girls who openly expressed their interests or decisions on sexuality appeared to be associated with negative outcomes: STDs, mistaken pregnancies, and the perception that having a child when young ruins a woman’s life.

Students also highlighted their resilience, tied to their entrepreneurship ability. Maternal qualities and friendship emerged as topics with positive affective and relational content. Women were represented as mothers, supportive of their children, natural caretakers, unconditional friends, and affective beyond their role as mothers.

Finally, women were also represented as lacking self-control, irresponsible, daring, and aggressive. They were thought of as living in a world of gender inequity subjected to the imposition of their role and the expectation that they will care for others, be submissive, be impeccable in terms of sexual behavior, projecting themselves as immaculate, docile, naive and self-sacrificed.

SR of “men” among students from Bogotá and Ibagué

Figure 3 : Emergent Categories and Themes Regarding “Man” among Students from Bogotá

Note. Emergent categories (italic) and themes are represented in rectangles.

Students from Bogotá represented men as machos in relation to their physical attributes, a notion that approximates the evolutionary vision of males displaying their beauty to attract potential mates. Men were portrayed as gallant, seductive, and attractive, not only by virtue of their physical appearance but for their charm, which no one (especially women) can reject.

To these students, gallantry seems to open the door to machismo when it connects with violence through the belief in male’s apparent inability to control impulses, which excuses maltreatment, unfaithfulness, homophobia, and gender discrimination. This in turn reaffirms a man’s manhood, of which he feels proud, ignoring the abuse exerted on others, choosing what he wants, and how or when he wants to take responsibility for his actions. The social representation of an “evil”, opportunist, and capable of harm man also predominates in these students.

Figure 4 : Emergent Categories and Themes Regarding “Man” among Students from Ibagué

Note. Emergent categories (italic) and themes are represented in rectangles.

Among students from Ibagué, men are thought to be respectable. This is evident in their allusions to the father figure, venerable and cultured, and to men as conquerors, seducers and seducible, who fall in love but do not suffer like women because “love is never impossible for a man”. Men seem to have social permission to choose their partners based on beauty standards. They also take risks and strive to conquer their goal (the woman) by taking the initiative, persisting, and making a frank emotional investment, since the final decision rests with her. It is she who accepts or rejects a man’s proposal.

Students from Ibagué reject male vulnerability. Shy, submissive, and unpopular men are seen as losers, and older men are thought of as unproductive and useless. Men are expected to be virile, courageous, energetic, sexually capable, and have very masculine physical attributes. However, they also identified men as egocentric machos, entitled to violence, irresponsible behavior (abandonment, absence, avoidance), harassment in multiple scenarios (sexual, parental, etc.) and manipulative behavior (lying, cheating); a wolf in a sheep’s skin.

SR of women among teachers from Bogotá and Ibagué

Among high school teachers from Bogotá, SR of gender appear to be construed in a context of social and gender inequity. This is represented in several forms of discrimination (stigmatization, machismo) that validate and reproduce viewing women as servants, weak, and submissive.

Here women are seen as emotional, and their sensibility, endearment, and loving disposition are legitimized as maternal attributes. However, they are attributed a tendency to lose control both emotionally and behaviorally. Trapped in an unequal world, they are stripped from their ability to act assertively and, when angry or in pain, they are seen as resented, melancholic, negative, and conflicting. In a few words, their desperate and forever unresolved claims are dismissed as cantaletas (constant unconformity and complaining).

An idealized social representation of women symbolized them as “the” beautiful sex, highlighting beauty and sexual attractiveness as mainly feminine attributes. Submission is expected from women, particularly in the context of sexuality, where they are thought of as subordinated, and either unable or hardly capable of making decisions for themselves concerning their own bodies.

Given their status as objects, there is no social commitment to them. Offensive behavior and transgressions against them are accepted and thus women are subjected to disrespect, mistreatment, abuse, and even lethal violence as in femicide. Nevertheless, within the frame of abuse, women are thought to vindicate themselves on their strength, their struggle, and ability to pull themselves up from hardship. Women rebel and free themselves by being verracas, taking responsibility and finding their own creative solutions to their plight.

Figure 5 : Emergent Categories and Themes Regarding “Woman” among High School Teachers from Bogotá

Note. Emergent categories (italic) and themes are represented in rectangles.

Figure 6 : Emergent Categories and Themes Regarding “Woman” among High School Teachers from Ibagué

Note. Emergent categories (italic) and themes are represented in rectangles.

Teachers from Ibagué represent women as synonyms of life, beautiful sex, gifted with desirable physical attributes. They are also portrayed as holistic beings, harmonic, example of reflection, impetuous, and attentive. Their thoughtful attitude translates into wisdom, intuition, intelligence, tolerance, and virtuous patience. Teachers from Ibagué see women as peacebuilders and mediators, while those from Bogotá think of them as haughty and vindicators of their rights that mobilize to conquer their collective goals. This goes along the lines of the representation of women as verracas: strong, warriors, entrepreneurs, and hard workers. A determined woman does not give up, yet her struggle doesn’t drive her apart from affection, which turns them into a template of sensibility, devotion, endearment, and kindliness.

Teachers from Ibagué hold representations where feminine emotional attributes complement caring and protection. It is within this frame that women become natural caretakers and come to symbolize home. This group of teachers’ ideal woman is described as extraordinary, virginal yet sensual and romantic, loyal, devoted partner, capable of bringing harmony, supportive, understanding, and a good friend.

SRs identified in this study among teachers from Ibagué also suggest that women are seen as unbearable, meddlers (gossipy), dictators, possessive, restless, jealous, controlling, manipulative, dominant, intransigent, stubborn, and able to impose their will upon others.

Figure 7 : Emergent Categories and Themes Regarding “Man” among High-School Teachers from Bogotá

Note. Emergent categories (italic) and themes are represented in rectangles.

Teachers from Bogotá represented men as providers of emotional, economic, and physical security. As heads of the family, their role involves protecting their relatives and being responsible and hard working fathers. They are seen as the “stronger” sex: courageous, fighters, with capacity to work. Men are also thought to provide economic security, the family’s livelihood, and emotional security as purveyors of love and endearment. The mix of instrumentality and affection contributes to their representation as solidary, empathic, collaborative, companionable, and complementary. To this group of teachers, men enjoy social status and recognition. Men enjoy physical attractiveness, linked to their masculinity and strength, which translates into their recognition as “machos”, an expression that conveys negative and positive meanings of the male gender. Unlike women, that tend to lose control of their emotions, men are characterized as rational, smart, master minders, audacious, risk takers, creative, enthusiastic, and brave.

Machismo and inequity are prevalent in Latin America. Within this frame, men are also represented as capable of intimidating and subduing others using their strength, rudeness, and power. This also includes behaviors such as disrespect, authoritarianism, aggression, abuse, bad treatment, and even crime. Men are seen as disobliging, entitled to be unfaithful, advantageous, irresponsible, unconcerned, rough, and rude. Like women, men may be stigmatized and discriminated against for being violent.

Figure 8 : Emergent Categories and Themes Regarding “Man” among High-School Teachers from Ibagué

Note. Emergent categories (italic) and themes are represented in rectangles.

Teachers from Ibagué also represented men as capable of doing harm through the means of lies, hate, and disrespect. Dominance stands out as a strong image. It represents macho men that transgress and abuse others. Being dominant sanctions being impostors, authoritarian, stubborn, intolerant, angry, controlling, smashing, and powerful. Dominance justifies machismo, selfishness, and brutality. Men are allowed to be impatient, impulsive, destructive, violent, harsh, an uncontrolled force, and frankly elemental, instinctive, unreflective, and unaware. Like SR of students from Ibagué, men are forbidden to be submissive, weak, cowardly, fearful, insecure, shy, or whining.

Nevertheless, men are audacious, rational, natural leaders, crafty, strong, skillful, and visionary. They take risks to fulfill their dreams. They undertake, create, and choose. Their duties, by virtue of their gender roles, include protecting others by means of work, responsibility, and by being gallant, gentlemanly, honorable, noble, cultivated,. Also, formal, elegant, sober, and dignified. Affectively, men are partners, collaborators, offer support, help, and are capable of positive emotional lives whereby they come up as fun, affectionate, and loving.