Here is a nice definition from  (my old buddies) in psychology that
should help clarify and spell out some of the relevant distinctions

http://www.minddisorders.com/Flu-Inv/Gender-issues-in-mental-health.html

Defining gender
The term gender is often used to classify the anatomy of a person's
reproductive system as either male or female. In the social sciences,
however, the concept of gender means much more than biological sex. It
refers to socially constructed expectations regarding the ways in which
one should think and behave, depending on sexual classification. These
stereotypical expectations are commonly referred to as gender roles.
Attitudes toward gender roles are thought to result from complex
interactions among societal, cultural, familial, religious, ethnic, and
political influences.

Gender affects many aspects of life, including access to resources,
methods of coping with stress, styles of interacting with others,
self-evaluation, spirituality, and expectations of others. These are all
factors that can influence mental health either positively or
negatively. Psychological gender studies seek to better understand the
relationship between gender and mental health in order to reduce risk
factors and improve treatment methods.

Traditional gender roles define masculinity as having power and being in
control in emotional situations, in the workplace, and in sexual
relationships. Acceptable male behaviors include competitiveness,
independence, assertiveness, ambition, confidence, toughness, anger, and
even violence (to varying degrees). Males are expected to avoid such
characteristics associated with femininity as emotional expressiveness,
vulnerability (weakness, helplessness, insecurity, worry), and intimacy
(especially showing affection to other males).

Traditional femininity is defined as being nurturing, supportive, and
assigning high priority to one's relationships. Women are expected to be
emotionally expressive, dependent, passive, cooperative, warm, and
accepting of subordinate status in marriage and employment.
Competitiveness, assertiveness, anger, and violence are viewed as
unfeminine and are not generally tolerated as acceptable female
behavior.

Gender theories
Differences in gender roles have existed throughout history.
Evolutionary theorists attribute these differences to the physiological
characteristics of men and women that prescribed their best function for
survival of the species. In primitive societies, men adopted the roles
of hunting and protecting their families because of their physical
strength. Women's ability to bear and nurse children led them to adopt
the roles of nurturing young, as well as the less physically dependent
roles of gathering and preparing food. These gender-dependent labor
roles continued into the period of written human history, when people
began to live in cities and form the earliest civilized societies.

In the 1800s, the industrial movement marked a prominent division of
labor into public and private domains. Men began leaving home to work,
whereas women worked within the home. Previously, both men and women
frequently engaged in comparably respected, productive activities on
their homestead. When men began working in the public domain, they
acquired money, which was transferable for goods or services. Women's
work, on the other hand, was not transferable. Men's relative economic
independence contributed to their power and influence, while women were
reduced to an image of frailty and emotionality deemed appropriate only
for domestic tasks and child-rearing.

Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory of human development, which
emerged from Freud's late-nineteenth-century European setting and
medical training, reflected an attitude of male superiority. Freud
asserted that as children, boys recognize they are superior to girls
when they discover the difference in their genitals. Girls, on the other
hand, equate their lack of a penis with inferiority. This feeling of
inferiority causes girls to idin passivity, masochistic tendencies, jealousy and vanity—all seen by
Freud as feminine characteristics.

Other developmental theorists rejected Freud's notions. Eric Erikson (in
1950) and Lawrence Kohlberg (in 1969) theorized that all humans begin as
dependent on caregivers and gradually mature into independent and
autonomous beings. Such theories, however, still favored males because
independence has historically been considered a masculine trait. By such
a standard, males would consistently achieve greater levels of maturity
than females.

Nancy Chodorow's object-relations theory (in 1978) favored neither sex.
She proposed that children develop according to interactions with their
primary caregivers, who tend to be mothers. Mothers identify with girls
to a greater extent, fostering an ability to form rich interpersonal
relationships, as well as dependency traits. Mothers push boys toward
independence, helping them to adjust to the male-dominated work
environment, but rendering them unaccustomed to emotional connection.
Chodorow's theory suggests both strengths and weaknesses inherent in
male and female development, with neither deemed superior. Around that
same time (1974), Sandra Bem advocated for androgyny, or high levels of
both masculinity and femininity, as the key to mental health.

In the 1980s, such psychologists as Carol Gilligan sought to build
respect for stereotypically feminine traits. They introduced the notion
that women function according to an ethic of care and relatedness that
is not inferior to men—just different. In 1985, Daniel Stern's
developmental theory favored traditional femininity, suggesting that
humans start out as unconnected to others and gradually form more
complex interpersonal connections as they mature.

Current gender studies appear less concerned with establishing male or
female superiority. The general consensus seems to be that gender is
socially constructed rather than biologically determined. The process of
learning gender roles is known as socialization. Children learn which
behaviors are acceptable or not acceptable for their sex by observing
other people. They may also be shamed by caregivers or peers when they
violate gender role expectations. As a result, gender roles usually
become an internal guide for behavior early in childhood. Current
studies focus on the ways in which extreme notions of masculinity or
femininity affect mental health, and the social processes that shape
one's concept of maleness or femaleness.

Gender role conflict
In current research, gender is viewed as an artificial (humanly
constructed) concept that may not be related to biological sex at all.
For example, masculinity and femininity may simply be sets of
personality traits that can be exhibited by either sex. Individuals vary
in degree of adherence to gender roles, resulting in large amounts of
behavioral variation within the sexes.

Although attitudes toward gender roles are now much more flexible,
different cultures retain varying degrees of expectations regarding male
and female behavior. An individual may personally disregard gender
expectations, but society may disapprove of his or her behavior and
impose external social consequences. On the other hand, an individual
may feel internal shame if he or she experiences emotions or desires
characteristic of the opposite sex. Gender role conflict, or gender role
stress, results when there is a discrepancy between how one believes he
or she should act—based on gender role expectations learned in
childhood—and how one actually thinks, feels, or behaves. If these
discrepancies are unresolved, gender role conflict contributes to poor
mental health.



Dr Gavin Melles
Lecturer, Research Degree Skills
Faculty of Design
Swinburne University of Technology
Mob (03) 0402927278
>>> Terence Love <[log in to unmask]> 01/21/08 20:43 PM >>>
Hi Teena,

I'm interested in your feelings about how much of the differences that
yourself, Fiona and others see is what you bring in your land feeling and how much is in what people are doing in the situation?

Best wishes,
Terry

-----Original Message-----
From: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and
related
research in Design [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of teena
clerke
Sent: Sunday, 20 January 2008 11:17 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: abduct all the male design researchers from this world

Hi all,

Fiona talks about her embodied experiences in design research, 
sitting through meetings and listening to the various ways in design 
is perceived in a large faculty. I am curious to hear of others' 
personal experiences, and particularly welcome those not based on 
'proof'. In this call, I do not wish to debate 'validity' because 
from my epistemological position, all writing is fiction.

Teena