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University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation 2014 SEX AND GENDER IDENTITY: A NEW PERSPECTIVE FOR COLLEGE STUDENT DEVELOPMENT Steven Ray Wise University of Kentucky, [email protected] Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Wise, Steven Ray, "SEX AND GENDER IDENTITY: A NEW PERSPECTIVE FOR COLLEGE STUDENT DEVELOPMENT" (2014). Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation. 26. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/epe_etds/26 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources. I understand that I am solely responsible for obtaining any needed copyright permissions. I have obtained needed written permission statement(s) from the owner(s) of each third-party copyrighted matter to be included in my work, allowing electronic distribution (if such use is not permitted by the fair use doctrine) which will be submitted to UKnowledge as Additional File. I hereby grant to The University of Kentucky and its agents the irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free license to archive and make accessible my work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I agree that the document mentioned above may be made available immediately for worldwide access unless an embargo applies. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of my work. I understand that I am free to register the copyright to my work. REVIEW, APPROVAL AND ACCEPTANCE The document mentioned above has been reviewed and accepted by the student’s advisor, on behalf of the advisory committee, and by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), on behalf of the program; we verify that this is the final, approved version of the student’s thesis including all changes required by the advisory committee. The undersigned agree to abide by the statements above. Steven Ray Wise, Student Dr. Kelly D. Bradley, Major Professor Dr. Jeffrey Bieber, Director of Graduate Studies SEX AND GENDER IDENTITY: A NEW PERSPECTIVE FOR COLLEGE STUDENT DEVELOPMENT _____________________________________________ DISSERTATION _____________________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Education in the College of Education at the University of Kentucky By Steven Ray Wise Lexington, KY Director: Dr. Kelly D. Bradley, Associate Professor of Educational Policy Studies & Evaluation Lexington, KY 2014 Copyright © Steven Ray Wise 2014 ASTRACT OF DISSERTATION SEX AND GENDER IDENTITY: A NEW PERSPECTIVE FOR COLLEGE STUDENT DEVELOPMENT One of the goals of college student development professionals is to help undergraduate students develop a meaningful sense of personal identity. Early in the history of the profession, practitioners borrowed freely from related fields such as sociology and psychology to guide their practice, but beginning around the 1960s, scholars began in earnest to develop their own unique body of literature. In this work I examine the development of that scholarly work as it relates to identity development—specifically the evolution of understanding around the issues of sex and gender identity development. Beginning with William Perry, whose work has impacted so many theories that followed his, I review the work of Nancy Chodorow, who was among the first to note that student development theory based on male samples disadvantaged women, Marcia Baxter-Magolda, Carol Gilligan, Ruthellen Josselson, Mary Field Belenkey, Blythe McVicker Clinchy, Nancy Rule Goldberger, and Jill Mattuck Tarule…and…. I discovered that each of these scholars approached sex and gender from a binary, essentialist, deterministic position which served to limit the understanding of sex and gender issues in the field of college student development. During the same period, work in the fields of anthropology, gender studies, psychology, sociology, and women’s studies were greatly expanding their understanding of sex and gender as components of identity. In this work I identify the deficiencies and limitations in the research in the field of college student development related to sex and gender identity development; note the challenges to our work with college students because of those deficiencies and limitations, and make practical recommendations to three groups of professionals who operate in the field of college student development—theorists and scholars, practitioners, and educators and provide a model for efficiently effecting change in the field. KEYWORDS: Gender Identity Development, Sex Identity Development, Androgyny, Personally Meaningful Sense of Identity, College Students Steven Ray Wise December 5, 2014 SEX AND GENDER IDENTITY: A NEW PERSPECTIVE FOR COLLEGE STUDENT DEVELOPMENT By Steven Ray Wise Kelly D. Bradley, Ph.D. Director of Dissertation Jeffrey Bieber, Ph.D. Director of Graduate Studies December 5, 2014 I dedicate this work to my colleague and best friend of over 42 years—my wife Becky. You have lived with and shared each challenge I have faced with grace, courage, and faithfulness. Your enduring and unfailing faith in me and my dreams have given me courage, strength, and confidence to pursue each one. When we were just kids you rescued me--and you have been rescuing me ever since. Just like everything else we have shared over the years, this work is ours. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS When reflecting back over almost forty years of professional work there are many people who come to mind that have made significant contributions to my personal and professional growth. I’ll begin by naming Dr. Larry Pusey, a college friend of mine who first suggested that I owed God my best work—“He requires it of us,” he said. Though I have since come to understand that God does not require it of us—that He really just wants us to know the joy and deep sense of satisfaction that comes from doing our best, Larry’s admonition was an important part of my beginning to set higher standards for myself. Because of his statement, the idea of doing my best has informed and inspired everything I have done. Though he passed away many years ago, I want to thank Dr. Jerry Saddlemire for allowing me to take classes as a special standing student in the summer of 1975. During that summer I was able to prove my ability to do graduate school work in a highly regarded graduate program which resulted in my admission to that program. It was a kind and generous thing—the sort of thing that a college student development professional should do—look at the whole person and encourage them. I trust that I have honored him over the years and that I thanked him sufficiently before he left us. My thesis advisor, Dr. Hal Marquardt inspired and encouraged me and was among the first to make me feel like a scholar and a true professional. The high standard for performance he set in his gentle way provided the context for confident growth for myself and my classmates. Though he died many years ago, his spirit continues to guide me as a professional. I know I did not thank him sufficiently while he was alive. I hope he knew then, as I am sure he knows now, how valuable he was to me. I walked into my first doctoral-level classroom in the fall of 1986. A slim, energetic, red- headed, woman from the south (the great and sovereign state of Alabama, thank you very much) greeted us in a classroom on the 7th or 8th floor of the university library with this statement: “It is altogether appropriate that our class is meeting in the library as this is where you will be spending iii the majority of your lives for the next several years.” From that moment, Dr. Martha Wingard Tack both scared and thrilled me. I was scared that there was no way I would be able to match the energy, excitement, and commitment to learning that emanated from this woman. I was thrilled to think that if I could just come close—I would be a better professional and scholar that I ever imagined possible. I enjoyed several years of studying with her before her professional pursuits took her to another university. She is one of a very few people in my life who set a high standard and lived it. She made me believe that I could do the same and her example and spirit has been a constant driving force in my professional life. “What would Dr. Tack expect?” has been an oft asked question as I have sought to be a good professional over the years. In a recent meeting of college personnel and legislators, several of our college leaders were asked to make brief presentations. I was not scheduled to present that day, but noticed that none of our leaders stood as they addressed the legislators. When they asked a question that I was uniquely qualified to answer, I quietly rose to my feet to speak—“Martha would expect me to do so”—I thought quietly to myself as I stood to respond. Thank-you Martha, for giving so freely of yourself to me and the scores of other students who have been privileged to know and learn from you. You have lighted my professional path since that very first day all those years ago.

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