Whether Females are Facing Harsher Judgements than Males in The Society

李陽

Abstract

Are Chinese female more easily blamed than male because of transgressions？ To find the answer of this question， we designed an experiment. The hypothesis was：women are more constrained by social norms than men in China. Chinese have clear expectations to how people should act， and norms apply to women. However， perhaps these expectations might be mitigated when Chinese go abroad and exposed to more culturally looser countries. Moreover， these effects might increase with the longer exposure. In this experiment， we compare peoples attitudes to identical men and women behavior. We mainly hypothesis that （1） There is Greater exception of conformity for women and strevter judgement against women in China. （a） Students study in a culturally looser country have less gender bias toward women. （b） Longer time abroad （in a culturally looser country） mitigate gender bias toward women. （2） Chinese language promotes the formation of expectations to womens behaviors.

Introduction

Nowadays feminism becomes increasingly popular. Although the public always emphasis the importance of equal rights through taking the advantage of feminism， in countries all around the world， the opinion that women are inferior to men still roots peoples mind， this gender bias is a serious problem in these countries， especially in China， a culturally tight country. Some Chinese impose much stricter constraint on women than men. In some foreign countres， for example， America females are freer than Chinese females. Does the culture differences cause the distinction of attitudes toward female？ Do women have gender discrimination to themselves？ Can gender bias be mitigated though exposed to a looser culture？ This survey is going to figure out these questions.

Literature Review

“Does Language Shape Thought？ Mandarin and English Speakers Conceptions of Time” by Lera Boroditsky talks about various languages may decide peoples thoughts. Language is also very significant in this study. Language is the system of communication in speaking and writing that is used by people of a particular country or area. Borodisky concludes that（1） Language is a powerful tool in shaping thought about abstract domains and （2） ones native language plays an important role in shaping habitual thought but does not entirely determine ones thinking in the strong Whorfian sense. The first conclusion promote one of the hypothesis that Chinese language make people expecting womens behaviors. In Boroditskys study， Chinese are more likely to think time in a vertical way instead of a horizontal way， because Mandarin tends to describe time in a vertical way. Likely， in Chinese language， there are tons of phrases that instruct womens behavior， for instance， san cong si de， xian qi liang mu and jia ji Sui ji. So Chinese language may be a factor that leads expectation of womens behaviors. This study is going to confirm and develop Boroditskys conclusion further. In this study， we are going to see whether different language can affect peoples expectation toward women.

“Differences Between Tight and Loose Cultures： A 33-Nation Study.” By Michele J. Gelfand. This paper talks about the level of tightness in 33 countries. Tightness is related to social norm. If people in a country are expected to do something proper， the country is culturally tight. Norm is a situation or a pattern of behavior that is usual or expected. Chinas tightness score is 7.9 which is relatively high compare to other countries like the United States with a tightness score of 5.1. This shows that in China， People are more likely to be imposed on expectation and constrains. “Nations that have encountered ecological and historical threatening have much stronger norms and lower tolerance of deviant behavior. Tight nations have higher populations density in the year 1500 in the year 2000 in the nation. （Michele Gelfand， 2011）” These two conditions really fit in Chinas situation. Anti Japanese War broke out in China， and this war hurt China society and Chinese a lot.

Hypothesis

（1） Females and males may have different judgement on transgressions.

（2） There is Greater exception of conformity for women and hasher judgement against women in China.

（a） Students study in a culturally looser country has less gender bias toward women.

（b） Longer time abroad （in a culturally looser country） mitigate gender bias toward women.

（3） Chinese and English language affects peoples thoughts about transgression.

（4） Childrens parents occupation affect Childrens attitude toward different transgression.

（5） Chinese and American hold different strong behavior constraints in certain situations.

Method

Design：

Students are asked about their parents occupation. Through this， we are able to judge whether family background will influence a childs attitudes toward female transgressors. Students are asked about gender and education background. So， we can get to know whether gender and foreign culture have influence on students gender bias toward women.

Conclusion

Result：

In this study， we found that：

（1） Gender difference has a little influence on peoples judgment on transgression. Its true that female may face more judgment when they transgress， but the distinction is not so significant， but there are still some interesting findings： females tend to have more judgment on a person who cheat on an exam more than males do. （p < 0.015）.

（2） Language shapes peoples thoughts. When people answer Chinese version survey， they are harsher to people who are aggressive and argumentative. However， people who answer English version survey tend to be loose to argumentative people （p < 0.019）.

（3） A child whose father has full-time job prone to have more judgment on “loudspeakers” in public places （P < 0.05）. However， a child whose mother has full-time job is looser to people who speak loudly in the public （P < 0.038）. This is probably because to be successful in workplaces， males and females choose different ways to improve their power， and try to make themselves potent. Men opt to make use of their physical advantageous， such as strong body and height. However， shorter and weaker females lack physical advantageous， so they have no choice but to increase the volume and make they look powerful and strong.

Implication：

1. Reflect the problem of gender bias exists in Chinas Society， although it is not very obvious. Also， gender bias is a cross culture problem.

2. It will help women in China identify their status clearly， and encourage them to fight for a more equal society.

3. This study implies Chinese that the behavior constraints exist in all cultures. Some constraints are especially strong in certain situation in some culture.

Follow up Study：

For future research， people can focus on the characteristics of culture that are especially tight to women. Also， through studying those characteristics， solutions and methods can be found to solve gender discrimination. Moreover， maybe young generations have opener and more tolerant thoughts. On the contrary， elders may be harsher to female transgressors because the opinion that women are inferior to men roots in their mind deeply. This topic is also worthy to study.

錢佳源

年齡：17

城市：南京

年級：12

目標專業：待定（理科方向）

這是我第二次參與課題論文的研究，也是第一次作為獨立研究人發表論文。這個主題在我看來還是蠻有意思的。作為一個女生，我持續關注女性在社會中的的地位。令人高興的是，我假設女性受到更多的行為限制和批判的眼光，但事實并不是如此。即使我一開始的假設不成立，我依然發現了一些很有意思的東西。比如女性對于作弊比男性更無法容忍，母親是全職工作者的孩子對于在公共場合大聲打電話的人有著更高的容忍度。這些發現都令我十分驚喜。