Final answer:
Bill's beliefs about the expectations of men in his culture, including being aggressive leaders, sole providers, and minimally involved in child care, are components of his gender role, which is a societal construct dictating how men and women should behave. Option b) is correct.
Step-by-step explanation:
Bill believes that his culture expects men to be aggressive leaders who provide the sole income for the family and do not participate actively in child care. Taken together, these are components of Bill's gender role.
The term gender role refers to society's concept of how men and women are expected to look and how they should behave. These roles are based on norms, or standards, created by society. In many cultures, including U.S. culture, masculine roles are usually associated with strength, aggression, and dominance, while feminine roles are often seen as encompassing passivity, nurturing, and subordination. Gender roles are influenced by a variety of factors, including historical contexts, sociocultural expectations, and the socialization process that begins from birth and continues throughout life. Occupational sorting is one way in which adherence to gender roles can manifest, with men and women being differentially represented across different job sectors.
It's important to distinguish these societal constructs from concepts like biological sex, which refers to the physiological differences between males and females, or biological determinism, the belief that behavioral differences are a result of innate biological differences.