Editing Gender role (section)

==Biological factors==
{{main|Sexual division of labour|Sex differences in humans}}
{{Sex differences}}
Historically, gender roles have been largely attributed to biological differences in men and women. Although research indicates that biology plays a role in gendered behavior, the extent of its effects on gender roles is less clear.<ref name="Lindsey"/><ref name="Ryan">{{cite book |vauthors=Ryan MK, Branscombe NR |title=The SAGE Handbook of Gender and Psychology |isbn=978-1-4739-7128-8 |publisher=[[SAGE Publications]] |year=2013 |pages=149–150 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sBWUCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT149}}</ref><ref name="Sperling">{{cite book |vauthors=Sperling MA |title=Pediatric Endocrinology |isbn=978-1-4557-5973-6 |publisher=[[Elsevier Health Sciences]] |year=2014 |pages=141–142 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GgXnAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA141}}</ref>

One hypothesis attributes differences in gender roles to [[evolution]]. The [[sociobiological]] view argues that men's [[fitness (biology)|fitness]] is increased by being aggressive, allowing them to compete with other men for access to females, as well as by being sexually promiscuous and trying to father as many children as possible. Women are benefited by bonding with infants and caring for children.<ref name="Lindsey"/> Sociobiologists argue that these roles are evolutionary and led to the establishment of traditional gender roles, with women in the domestic sphere and men dominant in every other area.<ref name="Lindsey">{{cite book |last=Lindsey |first=L. L. |title=Gender Roles: A Sociological Perspective |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-317-34808-5 |pages=29–34 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qjjbCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA29}}</ref> However, this view pre-assumes a view of nature that is contradicted by the fact that women engage in [[hunting]] in 79% of modern [[hunter-gatherer]] societies.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Lacy |first=Cara Ocobock, Sarah |date=1 November 2023 |title=The Theory That Men Evolved to Hunt and Women Evolved to Gather Is Wrong |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-theory-that-men-evolved-to-hunt-and-women-evolved-to-gather-is-wrong1/ |access-date=26 February 2024 |magazine=[[Scientific American]] |language=en}}</ref> However, an attempted verification of this study found "that multiple methodological failures all bias their results in the same direction...their analysis does not contradict the wide body of empirical evidence for gendered divisions of labor in foraging societies".<ref>{{cite journal |title=Female foragers sometimes hunt, yet gendered divisions of labor are real: a comment on Anderson et al. (2023) The Myth of Man the Hunter |vauthors=Venkataraman et al |date=7 May 2024 |journal=[[Evolution and Human Behavior]] |volume=45 |issue=4 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1090513824000497 |doi=10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2024.04.014 |bibcode=2024EHumB..4506586V}}</ref>

Another hypothesis attributes differences in gender roles to prenatal exposure to [[hormone]]s. Early research examining the effect of biology on gender roles by [[John Money]] and [[Anke Ehrhardt]] primarily focused on girls with [[congenital adrenal hyperplasia]] (CAH), resulting in higher-than-normal prenatal exposure to [[androgen]]s. Their research found that girls with CAH exhibited [[tomboy]]-like behavior, were less interested in dolls, and were less likely to make-believe as parents.<ref name="Ryan"/><ref name="Sperling"/> A number of methodological problems with the studies have been identified.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/s11199-011-9990-8 |title=A Role for Biology in Gender-Related Behavior |year=2011 |last1=Berenbaum |first1=Sheri A. |last2=Blakemore |first2=Judith E. Owen |last3=Beltz |first3=Adriene M. |journal=Sex Roles |volume=64 |issue=11–12 |pages=804–825 |s2cid=145689071}}</ref> A study on 1950s American teenage girls who had been exposed to androgenic steroids by their mothers ''in utero'' exhibited more traditionally masculine behavior, such as being more concerned about their future career than marriage, wearing pants, and not being interested in jewelry.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Money |first1=John |last2=Ehrhardt |first2=Anke |title=Man & Woman, Boy & Girl |date=1974 |url=https://archive.org/details/manwomanboygirl00mone/page/n7/mode/2up |access-date=22 July 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Lewontin |first1=Richard |title=Not In Our Genes |date=1990 |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |page=136}}</ref>

Sociologist Linda L. Lindsey critiqued the notion that gender roles are a result of prenatal hormone exposure, saying that while hormones may explain sex differences like sexual orientation and gender identity, they "cannot account for gender differences in other roles such as nurturing, love, and criminal behavior".<ref name="Lindsey"/> By contrast, some research indicates that both [[neurobiological]] and social risk factors can interact in a way that predisposes one to engaging in criminal behavior (including [[juvenile delinquency]]).<ref name="Bishop">{{cite book |vauthors=Feld BC, Bishop DM |title=The Oxford Handbook of Juvenile Crime and Juvenile Justice |isbn=978-0-19-020883-7 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2011 |page=110 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ks0sAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT110}}</ref><ref name="Vaughn">{{cite book |vauthors=DeLisi M, Vaughn MG |title=The Routledge International Handbook of Biosocial Criminology |isbn=978-1-317-93674-9 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2014 |page=13 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bmy2BQAAQBAJ&pg=PA13}}</ref>

With regard to [[#Gender stereotypes|gender stereotypes]], the societal roles and differences in power between men and women are much more strongly indicated than is a biological component.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1146/annurev-psych-122216-011719 |title=Gender Stereotypes |year=2018 |last1=Ellemers |first1=Naomi |journal=[[Annual Review of Psychology]] |volume=69 |pages=275–298 |pmid=28961059 |doi-access=free}}</ref>