GABRIELLE POESCHL (**)

CLÁUDIA MÚRIAS (**)

RAQUEL RIBEIRO (**)

RESUMO

Este trabalho procura retratar os desenvolvimentos sucessivos da produção científica sobre a questão da existência de diferenças entre os sexos e das suas origens, que tem uma história longa e fértil. Começamos por evocar as ideologias produzidas no Séc. XIX para explicar as posições desiguais dos dois grupos sexuais por disposições naturais, e os primeiros trabalhos académicos consagrados a identificar os traços, competências e comportamentos que, supostamente, deveriam diferenciar homens e mulheres. Propomos alguns apanhados dos trabalhos actuais sobre as diferenças entre os sexos e sobre a controvérsia, aparentemente suscitada pelas diferentes posições políticas dos autores, a propósito da verdadeira existência dessas diferenças. Apresentamos, por último, algumas teorias que são, actualmente, desenvolvidas pelos autores que defendem a existência de diferenças entre homens e mulheres, na procura de dar sentido a essas diferenças.

Palavras-chave: Diferenças entre os sexos, estereótipos de género, papéis de género.

ABSTRACT

This paper aims at retracing the successive developments of the scientific production on the question of the existence of sex differences and on their origins, which have a fertile and a long story. We begin by evoking the ideologies developed in the XIXth century in order to explain the unequal social positions of the sexes by natural dispositions, and the first academic works aimed at identifying the traits, aptitudes and behaviors that, supposedly, should differentiate men and women. We propose some insights at the present work on sex differences and at the controversies, apparently generated by the different political positions of the authors, on the real existence of such differences. We finally present some of the theories that are presently developed by the authors who defend the existence of differences between men and women in order to give sense to these differences.

Key words: Sex differences, gender stereotypes, gender roles.

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(*)Este trabalho foi realizado com o apoio da Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Projecto POCTI 36451/PSI/00/2000).

A correspondência relativa a este trabalho pode ser endereçada a Gabrielle Poeschl, Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, 1055, 4169-004 Porto (e-mail: gpoeschl@psi.up.pt).

(**)Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade do Porto.