Social and Community Studies - Gender and Identity - Gender Roles and where they come from

Part of a set of resources created for a senior Social & Community studies class in Australia (QCAA syllabus). The other resources are also available in my store - Aussie_Resources. Designed for use in 70 minute lessons (with some back up content in case students finish early). The end of term assessment for this unit was a 90 minute short response examination.

A PowerPoint designed to teach students about gender roles (particularly those from past decades) with lots of visual stimulus to aid visual learners. It begins with revision of what the term ‘gender’ means. Afterwards students can copy additional terms into their glossary (gender identity & gender expression). There are visuals on the slide to prompt a discussion about about body language / posture e.g. typically male ways of sitting vs female ways. There are two clips from the 1959 film ‘Some Like it Hot’ (a comedy which features two males hiding from the mafia by dressing as females). These clips show the expectations of women at the time in a humorous way. This is used to segue into learning the terms ‘femininity’ and ‘masculinity’ & the fact that there is no necessary association between being biologically female and being ‘feminine’, or between being biologically male and being ‘masculine’. Revisit the concept of gender roles and that there has been a shift away from the traditional gender roles of previous decades. Students are to brainstorm traditional roles for men and women. This is followed by information about how gender roles are learned. Students are to copy notes about gender socialisation. This is followed by an image of the Disney princesses and other TV programs (e.g. I Love Lucy) which shows how popular culture can impact and reinforce gender roles. Students view some vintage Woman’s Weekly & Housekeeping Monthlymagazine covers from the 1940s and must answer questions about them in their book. There is a viewing activity (the trailer for Mona Lisa smile) and a teacher’s contract from 1923 outlining the expectations of American teachers.There is also a guide for women published in a magazine in 1955 followed by questions to check for understanding.