5.1: Introduction

Wilchins's observation highlights how deeply gender division and norm adherence are embedded in our language. Since 2004, some communities have reclaimed terms like "queen," "butch," and "queer" as positive identifiers. But having to reclaim demonstrates that nothing affirming existed in the default language of gender.

In Chapter 4 we examined how children come to understand themselves as gendered. That gendered development happens within a much wider social context of cultural expectations. Some of our theories do address that but are still focused on individual understanding of the gendered (or not) self. In this chapter we turn to that cultural context of what gender categories mean, what traits belong to whom, and what happens when someone does not fit.

This chapter examines the stereotypes, biases, and power structures that shape what it means to live in a gendered society. We begin with the content and structure of gender stereotypes, including how they intersect with other social categories. We then examine the cognitive processes that create and maintain stereotypes, the consequences they carry, and the broader systems of power they serve. As with much of psychology, most of the research covered here was conducted using binary gender categories and predominantly cisgender, heterosexual, white samples.

One theme that connects this entire chapter is the power social constructs have over our lives. The way that gender, and the gender binary in particular, is constructed is among the most powerful forces shaping human experience because, much like race, the construction is baked into the institutions and belief systems that organize social life.

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