HomeJournal of Interdisciplinary Perspectivesvol. 2 no. 3 (2024)

Conformity of Female College Students on Feminine Norms

Jenny Grace G Vibal | Karylle Ann R Derit | Kathleen Ryan B Bobadilla | Ronalou A Palco | Ruel B Tucio

Discipline: Education

 

Abstract:

Gender norms persist and continue to draw generalized expectations of the sexes. Consequently, women must fulfill these expectations to be regarded and valued. The current research was designed to examine the links between women and conformity to the present feminine norms and determine the magnitude of their conformity when grouped according to college department, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status. Female college student respondents (356) completed the CFNI-45 scale, which measures their conformity to the nine sub-facets of feminine norms. As hypothesized, women's conformity is influenced by their accorded groups. Z-scores and ANOVA were used to determine the conformity level of female colleges and the difference in conformity between groups. The study revealed that female college students are average in conformity to sub-facets of thinness, investment in appearance, modesty, relational, involvement with children, sweet and nice, and sexual fidelity. In between average and above average to domestic norms and above-average conformity to romantic relationship norms. Religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status are linked to conformity to feminine norms. Results may contribute significant literature to understand women's conformity and the weight of gender norms.



References:

  1. Abbott, D. M., & Anaya, E. J. (2022). “Breaking Free”: A Grounded Theory Study of Atheist Women in the United States. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 46(4), 501-517
  2. Becker, A. (2019). Economic Origins of Restrictions on Women's Sexuality. CESifo Working Paper No. 7770
  3. Bedrov, A., & Gable, S. L. (2023). Thriving together: the benefits of women's social ties for physical, psychological and relationship health. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 378(1868), 20210441.
  4. Beutel, A. M., Burge, S. W., & Borden, B. A. (2018). Femininity and choice of college major. Gender Issues, 35, 113-136.
  5. Budge, S. L., Orovecz, J. J., Owen, J. J., & Sherry, A. R. (2016). The relationship between conformity to gender norms, sexual orientation, and gender identity for sexual minorities. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 31(1), 79–97
  6. Cerrato, J., & Cifre, E. (2018). Gender inequality in household chores and work-family conflict. Frontiers in psychology, 9, 384557.
  7. Chen, C. P., Chen, C. H., & Cañete, A. M. C. (2017). Mirror of beauty: Cultural values reflected in online skincare advertising in the Philippines and Taiwan. Corporate Management Review, 37(2).
  8. Clegg, J. M., Wen, N. J., & Legare, C. H. (2017). Is non-conformity WEIRD? Cultural variation in adults’ beliefs about children’s competency and conformity. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 146(3), 428–441.
  9. Cruz, R. V., & Caringal-Go, J. F. (2020). Filipinos Behind Closed Doors: Nonsexual and Sexual Constructs as Predictors of Sexual and Relationship Satisfaction in Filipino Individuals. Sexuality & Culture.
  10. Dalhag, L., Amorita, A. & Florida, M.A. (2019) Family, Career and Intellectual Pursuits of Full-Time Mothers in Selected Local Villages from one Province in the Philippines. Asia Pacific Journal of Multidisciplinary Research. 7(1). 114-124.
  11. De Castro-Bofill, F. R. A., Barrameda, M. J. M., Dadivas, M. C. S., Panganiban, E. R., & San Jose, A. C. G. (2016). Living within a broken vow: The impact of parental infidelity among late adolescents in establishing romantic relationships. Universal Journal of Psychology, 4(5), 228-235.
  12. Delgado-Infante, M. L., & Ofreneo, M. A. P. (2014). Maintaining a “good girl” position: Young Filipina women constructing sexual agency in first sex within Catholicism. Feminism & Psychology, 24(3), 390–407
  13. Del Mundo, M. L. A. L. (2023). Gender Perspectives of Selected First Year Students: An Exploratory Study. QCU-APCORE RISE 2023 Special Issue, 121.
  14. Dionisio, N. J. (2016). The Effect of Objectified Images in the Media on the Development of Body Dissatisfaction and Depressive Symptoms in Filipino American Women (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University).
  15. Fadilla, P. F., Abdullah, S. M., & Wu, M. (2020). Does conformity occur during students' decision making for their careers? Asian Journal of Assessment in Teaching and Learning, 10(1), 1-9.
  16. Gacad, F. (2019). Motherhood, womanhood, and the 'pagdadalaga' experience: Contradictions and aspirations of professional Filipino women. In F. Gacad & M.-L. Tan (Eds.), Gender and social change in the Philippines, 213-230. Routledge.
  17. Gipson, J. D., & Hicks, A. L. (2017). The delinking of sex and marriage: pathways to fertility among young Filipino women. Journal of Biosocial Science, 49(1), 1-14.
  18. Hega, M. D., Alporha, V. C., & Evangelista, M. S. (2017). Feminism and the Women's Movement in the Philippines. Friedrich Eberto Stiftung.
  19. James, J. (2022). Religious and cultural influences on Filipino sexual behavior. Interdisciplinary Journal of Ethics, 22(1), 23-41.
  20. Jocson, M. C. A. (2022). Conformity to traditional gender roles among Filipino women: A cross-generational study. Philippine Social Science Review, 66(1-2), 1-18.
  21. Magdaraog, S. R. (2014). The Beholder and the Beholden: The Portrayal of Beauty in the Context of Philippine Mass Media. Quezon City, Philippines.
  22. Ng, B. Y. C. (2020). The role of social media in promoting female conformity in the Philippines. Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints, 68(1), 103-124
  23. Power, L. F. (2017) Religiousness and Conformity to Feminine Norms. A Dissertation
  24. Relojo, D., & Gagani, A. E. (2016). Power of Pen: Expressive Writing as an Intervention Tool on Exposure to Thin-Ideal Images with Dietary Restraint and Self-Compassion as Covariates. Journal on English Language Teaching, 6(3), 39-45.
  25. Reyes, Jeremiah. (2015). Loób and Kapwa : An Introduction to a Filipino Virtue Ethics. Asian Philosophy. 25. 1-24
  26. Santos, M. A., Cruz, R. M., & Mendoza, M. J. (2023). Gender role conformity and sexual orientation among female college students in the Philippines. Journal of College Student Research, 37(1), 121-140.
  27. Stamos, A., McLaughlin, J., Bruyneel, S., & Dewitte, S. (2021). A preregistered study of the relationship between childhood socioeconomic background, life history strategies and conformity. Journal of Research in Personality, 92, 104095
  28. Straiton, M.L., Ledesma, H.M.L. & Donnelly, T.T. A qualitative study of Filipina immigrants’ stress, distress and coping: the impact of their multiple, transnational roles as women. BMC Women's Health 17, 72 (2017).
  29. Tablan, F. (2021). Meaningful Work for Filipinos. Philpapers.
  30. Talamayan, F. (2021). NEPA and Women: A Study of the Relationship Between the Representation of Gender, Fulfillment of a Role, and Acceptance of an Identity. Plaridel: A Philippine Journal of Communication, Media, and Society.
  31. Tiangson, S. (2018). Images and Gender Role Development of Filipino Women on Selected Short Stories. European Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 3(1), 144–154.
  32. Torre, A. M. (2021). Unwanted sexual attention, prescriptive gender norms, and mental health among sexual minority women: Examining the mediating role of perceived heteronormativity. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 38(3), 1676-1702
  33. Uhlmann, L. R., Donovan, C. L., & Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J. (2020). Beyond the thin ideal: Development and validation of the Fit Ideal Internalization Test (FIIT) for women. Psychological Assessment, 32(2), 140.
  34. Ullrich, R., Becker, M. & Scharf, J. The Development of Gender Role Attitudes During Adolescence: Effects of Sex, Socioeconomic Background, and Cognitive Abilities. J Youth Adolescence 51, 2114–2129 (2022). 
  35. Wiswall, M., & Zafar, B. (2015). Determinants of College Major Choice: Identification using an Information Experiment. The Review of Economic Studies, 82(2 (291)), 791–824.
  36. Vinzons, I., & Jose, M.D. (2013). Kagandahang Panloob at Panlabas sa Paglalarawan ng Kababaihan sa Piling Epikong Pilipino. DIWA E-Journal Tomo, 1(1).
  37. Stojan, N., & Mijić, S. N. (2019). Conceptual metaphors in political discourse in Croatian, American and Italian Newspapers. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 8(1), 69. http://archive.sciendo.com/AJIS/ajis.2019.8.issue-1/ajis-2019-0007/ajis-2019-0007.pdf
  38. Tameryan, T. Y., Zheltukhina, M. R., Slyshkin, G. G., Abakumova, O. B., Volskaya, N. N., & Nikolaeva, A. V. (2018). Metaphor in political media discourse: Mental political leader portrait. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 8(4), 377-384. https://doi.org/10.12973/ojcmt/3958
  39. Thibodeau, P. H., Matlock, T., & Flusberg, S. J. (2019). The role of metaphor in communication and thought. Language and Linguistics Compass, 13(5), e12327. https://doi.org/10.1111/lnc3.12327
  40. Tipler, C. N., & Ruscher, J. B. (2019). Dehumanizing representations of women: the shaping of hostile sexist attitudes through animalistic metaphors. Journal of Gender Studies, 28(1), 109-118. https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2017.1411790
  41. Witherington, D.C., Overton, W.F., Lickliter, R., Marshall, P.J., & Narvaez, D. (2018). Metatheory and the primacy of conceptual analysis in developmental science. Human Development, 61(3), 181-198. https://doi.org/10.1159/000490160
  42. Wyatt, S. (2021). Metaphors in critical Internet and digital media studies. New Media & Society, 23(2), 406-416. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444820929324