Sex is the biological classification of male or female according to genitalia at birth. An example is when a baby is born with a vagina its sex is automatically classified as a female and if it is born with a penis its sex is male. Sex category is identificatory displays that match a person’s biological sex. For instance, a person who is born female will appear to be female through her actions, mannerisms, style, etc. However, sex and sex category can vary independently because a person can claim membership in a sex category that does not match their sex criteria. In other words, a person can be a male but have mannerisms, style, etc. of a female. Gender is the social differences used to determine if someone is a man or a woman regardless of their …show more content…
Black lesbians in New York use specific modes of gender to organize their social relationships. This role of gender presentation differs from white lesbian women because white lesbian women “gender play” when organizing their social relationships, the femme and butch dichotomy. The three modes of physical gender representation Moore finds in her study are femme, gender-blender, and transgressive. Femme is a more feminine presentation and is only limited to how they look physically, rather than gender ideologies or personality traits. Gender-blender is when a lesbian combines aspects of femininity and masculinity to create a unique look, and transgressive lesbians have a masculine presentation. Social class shapes these roles because middle and upper class lesbian women expressed femme, gender-blender, and transgressive displays but did not participate in the pairings of feminine and non-feminine women and did not typically like to present themselves as transgressive
While sex refers the biological characteristics that make up a person, their gender is determined by the behaviors and attitudes considered “proper” by society according to their sex.
First of all, what are sex and gender? Sex is described as the interaction between genes, hormones, behavior, and the environment. The adjectives female, male, or intersex are used when referring to sex. Gender is the social status, legal designation, and personal identity. The divisions in gender are due mainly to the expectations of social institutions. The adjectives women and men, boys and girls, are used when addressing gender. Alternative perspective may argue that there is a definite difference between males and females, which may prove that these categories are not socially constructed, but rather innate. However, all around the world, the definition of sex and gender is different. The binary system and the standard story ignore the numerous people who do not fit perfectly into this flawed system.
According to Hochschild, “attitudes toward men’s and women’s roles have been referred to as gender ideologies” (as cited in Helgeson, 2012, p. 68). There are currently three different gender role ideologies that can be measured through the Attitudes Toward Women Scale (ATWS). The three ideologies include egalitarian, the belief that men and women should equally share in both household and workforce duties, traditional, the belief that women only do housework and men only are in the workforce, and transitional, the belief that it is okay for women to enter the workforce, however, they still do proportionally more household duties. Cultural differences also affect individuals’ gender role attitudes, depending on how “expectations for men and
Gender stratification can be described as unequal power, wealth, and privileges between men and women. This stratification is more generally aimed at women who are oppressed in the work place, economic class status, and many other aspects of life because of their gender. We can blame this on the patriarchal culture that we prescribe too, where males hold primary power and privileges in our society. Two of the most common aspects of gender stratification that we see in the United States includes the wage gap between men and women and the violence that women face. There are many more aspects to gender stratification, however, these two topics seem to be a gender stratification problem all over the world.
Throughout this essay it will be discussed how female representations affects society, what has changed, if has changed during the years. Representations of women were a crucial subject of discussion especially in the concepts of the gaze that often refers to women as objects of the active gaze. The gaze establishes relationships of power, representing different codes such as dominance and subjugation, difference and otherness (Sturken and Cartwright 2009: 111).
Q1. What does the "sex/gender" distinction refer to? The sex/gender distinction refers to how sex refers to a person’s biological make-up, like their sex chromosomes, while gender refers to a set of characteristics given to them that are culturally defined. There are also the terms masculine and feminine that are used to indicate one’s gender, as well as their patterns of behavior and sexuality.
Sex denotes to the bodily and birth features of men and women. Sex is the categorization of people into male and female groups based in biological characteristics. While gender is the cultural or social interpretation of sex; putting people into male behavioral and female expectations groups based on association with biological being a socially characteristics appropriate man or woman. In “The Social Construction of Gender”, “When sociologist refer to the social construction of gender, they are referring to the many different process by which the expectations associated with being a boy or girl are passed through society”. (p.22)
The relationship between sex and gender can be argued in many different lights. All of which complicated lights. Each individual beholds a sexual identity and a gender identity, with the argument of perceiving these identities however way they wish to perceive them. However, the impact of gender on our identities and on our bodies and how they play out is often taken for granted in various ways. Gender issues continue to be a hugely important topic within contemporary modern society. I intend to help the reader understand that femininities and masculinities is a social constructed concept and whether the binary categories of “male” and “female” are adequate concepts for understanding and organising contemporary social life with discussing the experiences of individuals and groups who have resisted these labels and forged new identities.
Sex and gender are terms that are mixed up from day to day and seen as similarities rather than differences. Sex is what distinguishes people from being either male or female. It is the natural or biological variation between males and females (Browne, 1998). Some of these variations are genital, body hair, and internal and external organs. It is the make-up of chromosomes, men have one X and one Y chromosome and women have two X chromosomes, which are responsible for primary characteristics (Fulcher and Scott, 2003).
What if one day you woke up in the body of the opposite gender? The only exception is that you possess the same thoughts and mindset. “700,000 people” (Times Union 1), have been born in a body that they do not love or wish to have. These people are never fully accepted and they never get a break as they continuously have to fight for their happiness. With this statement I am constantly reminded of how far people have to gone to fight for their equality and so many years later we are still left with more questions than answers.
Gender communication focused on the method of expressing a thought or idea through the use of a gender in the relationship and the role of people. Some will argue that gender communication is qualified as a form of intercultural communication on the development of effective communication skills when we interact with an opposite sex. The communication between men and women have a huge difference because people from different culture speak different dialects. In the current society, it is common for us to hear phrases such as “ you men (women) are from a different planet,”these phrases are developed due to the miscommunication between men and women over the course of evolution. Men and women had developed different methods of
The gender issues in today’s society are issues to discuss because they are tainting the lives of people from an early age. This is important because girls and boys are showing increasing levels of insecurities that are arising due to fundamental gender issues in society. The masculine stereotype is one the most prevailing causes of gender issues in society, especially the issue of sexism. Our society must address this issue because the cycle of sexism only feeds into peoples’ insecurities. Men should not feel obligated to objectify women to feel masculine and women should not feel like they must be sensual and beautiful to have value. The stereotypes that are being placed on men and young boys effect the attitudes of the women around them and creates a cycle of hypersexualization and sexism, leaving the relationships between genders tainted and women feeling less confident in themselves. By changing the way people think men and women are supposed to be, we can change the way our society values one another and in turn, become a more equal and respectful society.
It has been made inherently obvious that women and men are not on a level playing field in the United States regarding many everyday issues. This is particularly the case in politics and is especially evident when there are political discrepancies involving women's rights. Due to the underrepresentation of women in U.S. politics, men are put in charge of making decisions for women and about women, in an area where they have no personal experience or expertise. In order to compensate for the lack of political representation that has occurred for far too long, women should be encouraged to fight for positions in U.S. politics and government. In the United States, where 51 percent of the population is female, there is clearly a representation problem in our government, just based on numbers.
There is a difference between sex, sex category and gender. Sex is the assigned title at birth based on genitally. West and Zimmerman (1987:127) define sex as “…a determination made through the application of socially agreed upon biological criteria for classifying persons as females or males. The criteria for classification can be genitalia at birth…” Sex categories are the categories (male, female) people are placed into on the basis of their genitally. West and Zimmerman (1987:127) elaborate on this definition, “Placement in a sex category is achieved through application of the sex criteria, but in everyday life.” Sex and sex category can be independent
Empowerment is the advancement of individual to control the thing that affect its life and make them more aware about the surrounding for healthy participation in decision making related to real life issues. Empowerment of Gender is used to calculate inequality among the gender. Inequality among the gender across the countries is measure by estimating relative participation of women in economic, income, political power and its status in society. It is defined, how much men and women actively contribute in decision making regarding economic and political life. It is more about to strength to do work rather than well being of women and