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How is gender socially and culturally constructed
Sociological views on gender
How is gender socially and culturally constructed
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What is gender? Gender is the intersection of the relationships between sex, gender identity, sexuality and gender expression; gender is an achieved status Gender is not just sex, gender identity, gender expression and sexuality. These aspects are a basis for gender, but they do not determine gender. Sex is the measurable organs (anatomies), hormones and chromosomes that determines us as male, female or intersex. It is what we are born with, a product of biological processes (DNA, evolution, mutation, replication, reproduction, and selection). Sex is a biological construct, as opposed to gender which is a social and cultural construct. Gender identity is one’s self perception, sense of belonging to being woman, man or a genderqueer (both …show more content…
Gender differences are best understood as a process of socialization, to organize the roles each individual have to fulfil in society. From parents to teachers, religions, media, and peers; we observe and make sense of the behaviors exhibited by the people around us since young. We imitate and construct our own understanding of how to be of a particular gender, and of how to position ourselves. Parents socialize their children based on their biological sex, and this process starts as soon as the sex of the baby is known. Gender is hence socially constructed. Gender differs in meanings across cultures. There are many different ways to organize society, and to interpret our sexual reproductive biology across cultures. In different cultures, there are various classification systems and interpretations. There are binary and plural systems, as well as the idea of genderless. Androgyny is the cultural ideal of genderlessness, where it is neither masculinity nor femininity. Binary systems categorizes the world into only two genders – man and woman, while plural systems recognizes that there can be more than two genders
Gender is the expressions of what a male or female should act like. Gender is also extremely confusing. A baby is born with a penius or vagina but as the baby grows into it’s teen and young adult years the interest in the opposite sex or same sex are determined by gender. Gender is a choice by that individual. Sex is the bodily piece one is born with. An individual does not have any choice in this decision. Masculinity and femininity displays dominant notions of how
identity or roles. Gender expression may or may not conform to a person’s gender identity.
When the term gender is used it is in reference to the expected physical, behavioral, and personality traits from the group in which they reside (Ferris, Stein 243). This means that gender is constructed socially, and it will vary from group to group. Each group will have its own definition on what is masculine and feminine. In spite of this, the gender assigned to a person may not be the gender they choose to identify with. This can vary from the biological sex. A person who identifies with a different gender than their sex is known as transgender. A person who has the same gender identity and sex is known as cisgender. Separate from gender identity is gender expression. This is how a person expresses their gender through clothing, body language, or grooming (Ferris, Stein 244). In addition, a person may identify as gender fluid, bigender, trigender, or pangender. These variations are what are known as gender nonconforming. A person who is gender nonconforming is someone whose gender identity or expression is different from what is expected of them from society. The term gender is an intricate topic that is ever changing with
The word gender refers to a general classification of human beings into male and female with socially and culturally constructed characteristics, behaviors, attributes and roles preconceived and labelled as appropriate for each class. The society and culture today have placed human beings in a box which to a large extent dictates how we act in the world.
According to the Oxford Dictionary of English (2010) Gender is defined as the group in which an individual belongs to whether it being male or female and states that these definitions are identified through social and cultural differences, a male being identified as masculine and a female being identified as feminine. When referring to gender the term also correlates to the term ‘sex’ in which according to Stevenson (2010) ‘either of the two
What is Gender Identity? Gender Identity is an individual's inner feeling of being a man or a woman or another gender. Although most social orders characterize two categories of gender. Some cultures recognize other genders and individual and people may distinguish as neither male nor female. A person's gender and gender identity character are frequently thought to be the same as their sex; that is, a person who was conceived with male life systems is thought to take care of business and a person conceived anatomically female is thought to be a lady. What is Identity? Identity is the certainty of being who or what a man or thing is. Having a feeling of identity is vital in light of the fact that it permits individuals to emerge as people, identity
Gender, Sex, & Sexuality: Separate and NOT equal. First and foremost, a few key terms to keep in mind while reading this paper. “Sex”: refers to the biological and physiological characteristics that define men and women. [ 1] “Gender”: refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women. [ 2] “Gender identity“: an individual's self-conception as being male or female, as distinguished from actual biological sex.
From the instant we are born, we are taught about gender. We are labeled male or female and from that point on, it becomes one of the basic aspects of our identity. For some, sex and gender may mean something similar, as in either female or male. Yet these two are very different since gender is not a purely anatomical distinction. Women behave one way and men another, an idea that we are enriched with by our environment at a young age. Society chooses what it means to be a man or to be a woman and who should be feminine and who should act masculine. Gender identity is how we choose to express our gender and act in our gender roles. Whether we are male or female does not solely rely on our sexual organs. The way we were brought up, our community, culture, beliefs and the media are some of the ways that structure our own understanding of our primary identity.
In social sciences gender refers to a social construction rather than a biological condition. The distinction between sex and gender can be defined in the following way: ‘“Sex” refers to the biological division into male and female; “gender” to the parallel and socially unequal division into femininity and masculinity'.
In order to grasp the concept of social construction of gender, it is essential to understand the difference between sex and gender. Biologically, there are only two reproductive genital organs that are determinants of sex: the vagina and the penis. Sex is established solely through biological structures; in other words, genitalia are the basis of sex. Once a sex category is determined, gender, a human categorization socially attached to sex, is assigned based on anatomy. Gender typically references social or cultural differen...
Social Construction of Gender is a process, stratification system and structure. The day to day interactions emphasize gender as opposites. Take for instance, conversations, formalities of daily life, sayings, and so on. The social construction of gender is created through social interaction – through the things we do and say with other people. This means that gender it is not a fixed or inherent fact, but instead it varies across time and place.
In biosocial terms, gender is not the same as sex. Most people believe gender and sex are kindred, but they’re not. There is a difference between gender and sex. Sex is how society classifies a person’s genetic and biological anatomy. Gender is how an individual views their identity, regardless of sex. Sex is biological in nature and determines one 's biological destiny. Gender, on the other hand, helps define one 's role within society. Lorber wrote: “Individuals are born sexed but not gendered, they have to be taught to be masculine or feminine” (1994). What if children aren’t taught to be masculine or feminine? Of course, these social cues are what mainly divides men from women, and nature from nurture, but does it also divide sex from gender?
Gender" refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women "Sex" refers to the biological and physiological characteristics that define men and women
Society and genders are known to society but they really don't know the difference between each other. The terms don't really mean anything unless you first understand men and women. The relationship between men and women are different than between each gender. There is always been the relationship that males are always dominant and females week. The term 'sex' and 'gender' are concepts that researcher go to make the difference between male and female.
Gender refers to the psychological, social, and cultural differences between males and females. Gender also means the physiological and anatomical differences between the male and female bodies. Most socio-biologists believe differences in sex are a result of differences in the thinking and behavior of men and women. They argue gender identity is formed through socialization. Gender structures every aspect of an individual's life through social relationships and all forms of interaction with society including work.