...How do sociologists draw a distinction between sex and gender? The difference between sex and gender causes much controversy between sociologists. The definition of sex does not cause much debate: Sex is physical and refers to biological differences. On the other hand, gender is psychological and so causes more disputes as interpretations differ between societies and cultures. This is due to the common sense ideas societies have regarding culture and additionally whether gender is nature or nurture. It can also be said that gender is socially constructed which will also be looked at. Sex is easily defined as “the biological distinction between females and males” and is commonly seen to have six main factors associated: chromosome make up (females having XX and male having XY), reproductive organs, external genitals, hormonal states, internal genitals and secondary sex characteristics. Sex is commonly seen as a biological term based on nature which is why there is not much argument over the definition. People are either classified as male or female, however, there are some exceptions as if a child is born with too many or too few X or Y chromosomes they may have the chromosome make up of one sex and the genitals of another. However, gender is not seen as an inbuilt trait but instead refers to “the social aspects of differences and hierarchies between male and female” which means that gender suggests the behaviours and aspects a particular group (society or culture) consider...
Words: 631 - Pages: 3
...points in each chapter. Keep in mind that most gender differences are small and that there is a great deal of overlap between women and men. Thus, when I ask about differences, it is in the context of many similarities and small mean differences. Chapter 7: Communication The text provides 3 reasons why children prefer to play with others of the same sex. Be familiar with them. How do girls tend to play with each other in same sex groups? How do boys tend to play with each other in same sex groups? How do girls tend to talk to each other in same sex groups? How do boys tend to talk to each other in same sex groups? What -- if anything -- is different in children’s cross sex play and talk compared to same sex play and talk? Are girls more likely than boys to engage in relational aggression? What do meta-analysis findings suggest? What gender similarities and differences have been found in how adults interact? What factors determine what types of differences are found? You are not responsible for the section discussing online communication (p. 229). The text provides a long list of differences in how men and women in the US typically use language in natural conversations. Be familiar with them. What factors influence the likelihood of these differences occurring? Under what circumstances are men most likely to interrupt? Under what circumstances are women most likely to interrupt? To what extent do these findings apply to men’s and women’s...
Words: 2408 - Pages: 10
...them. The young man makes his first attempt to jump in the ropes. As soon as he is ready to jump in, he’s pushed from behind. The push is so forceful that he stumbles into the ropes, tangling them around him and falls to the ground, scraping his knee badly. He looks up and sees one of the boys that was watching the girls play jump rope, had pushed him. He started shouting obscenely things at the young boy and soon begin punching hitting and kicking him. The young boy didn’t know what he did wrong and why he was being treated this way. An adult saw what was going on and ran to stop it. He then took the young boy home with the little boy asking “Why?” See the young boy didn’t know that jump rope was known as “femininity”. He was raised to be open-minded and androgynous. The other boy was raised and taught the masculine gender roles and what he is appropriate and inappropriate behavior. Somehow, the other boy felt that the young boy’s behavior was inappropriate and he should be punished for it. This is what happens when development of the human sexuality is influenced by factors, such as parents, authoritative figures, peers, etc. Some people are raised differently from others and as a result of that are ridiculed and made fun of or even, hated. This paper will discuss the factors that influence the development of human...
Words: 2218 - Pages: 9
...Associate Program Material Gender and Sex Worksheet Answer the following questions in 50 to 150 words each. Provide citations for all the sources you use. What is gender? What is sex in biological terms? Are gender and sex the same thing? Explain why or why not? Gender is the state of being a male or a female. Sex in biological terms is a either of the two major forms of individuals that can occur in many of the species and that are distinguished respectively as a female or a male especially on the basis of their reproductive organs and their structures. Gender and sex are the similar but they are not the same. Gender refers to an individual while sex refers to the entire group as a whole. How do gender and sex contribute to the concepts and constructions of masculinity and femininity? Sex helps us identify the difference between being a female or a male while gender helps us to identify the forms of masculinity or femininity. Gender identification plays a huge part in masculinity and feminity as well. Although the these roles can bereversed, but is often frowned upon and made fun of in modern society by most people.Although this has changed in the past few years with more people becoming accepeting of maculine women and feminine men. Do our concepts of gender and sex contribute to the ways we embrace gender and sex in diversity? I believe our concept of gender and sex does contribute to the way we embrace gender and sex in diversity. We were taught...
Words: 493 - Pages: 2
...Gender Identity Gender Identity is defined by, Encyclopedia Britannica “as an individual’s self-conception as being male or female, as distinguished from actual biological sex.” A person can identify the concept of being a male or female through their psychological alertness. As early as 18 months a child can identify one’s anatomic sex. Gender is always a debated issue in today’s society. Some people argue that gender is solely based on biological makeup (nature), or based on the environment and social interactions one was brought up in (nurture). In this paper, I will explain the interaction between hormones and behavior and how these interactions affect the determination of gender identity. From a biological factor (nature), gender is decided during fertilization. There is 23 pair of chromosomes that determines the sex of a fetus. Within the eggs of females, they only contain the X chromosome, although within the sperm of males it contains either an X or Y chromosome. The X and Y chromosomes in the male sperm are called sex chromosomes that determine the gender. In the womb, it is said that the all embryo start out as the same sex that all embryos have feminine looking genitalia. When the X chromosome of a male sperms reaches the X chromosomes of a female egg, the process of zygote takes places which, produce a combination of XX meaning the embryo is a female. When the Y chromosome of a male, reaches the X chromosome of the female egg in a process of zygote...
Words: 1580 - Pages: 7
...Gender Identity Paper Brandie Thurman PSY/340 May 25, 2013 Dr. Stephanie Sencil-White There are many biological, psychological, and sociological factors involved in the formation of gender identity. Gender identity is not completely understood as it is much more complex than the joining of a sperm and an egg. For many people, the terms “gender” and “sex” are interchangeable. Biological sex and gender are different; gender is not inherently connected to one’s physical anatomy as biological sex is. When one thinks’ of the term “gender”, we are referring to the role and personalities one assumes within society, for example in American culture females tend to be perceived as more nurturing and males are aggressive and dominant. Hormones and behavior affect gender identity in significant ways each with a distinct purpose. To understand the difference of biological sex and gender, nature versus nurture, and how the environment has an effect this paper will review and explain the interactions between hormones and behaviors and how those interactions affect the determination of gender identity. Gender development starts at the point one is conceived. Gender identity is defined as an individual’s self conception of being either male or female, as distinguished from actual biological sex (Britannica, 2013). Gender differences exist in nearly every social phenomena and for most persons, gender identity and biological characteristics are the same however there are some circumstances...
Words: 1517 - Pages: 7
...of gender, like the origins of human nature, are sometimes said to lie in biological determination, sometimes in social construction. Feminist theory began with criticising biological determinism and its portrayal of women, and inevitably emphasised the social construction of gender. However, seeing gender or human nature as wholly or mainly socially constructed seems to deny the biological processes which comprise our physical experiences of ourselves, and it is this omission which has recently led some writers (both feminist and antifeminist) to lay stress on the significance of biology in human behaviour and its development. These two opposing views of the origin of behaviour are still dominant, despite various attempts to emphasise how biology and social context might interact to produce, say, gender differences: this continued dominance of the nature/nurture duality has considerable political relevance to feminism, and has contributed to the rise of the New Right ideology concerning, for example, the natural role of women and the family. Gender-role development is one of the most important areas of human development. In fact, the sex of a newborn sets the agenda for a whole array of developmental experiences that will influence the person throughout his or her life. The often controversial study of the development of gender is a topic that is inherently interesting to parents, students, researchers, and scholars for several reasons. First and foremost, one's sex is one...
Words: 1248 - Pages: 5
...Sexuality and Gender In this chapter , I"ll summarize the Gidden's chapter 12 entitled "Sexuality and Gender" whose main points are introduction of human sexuality and sexual behavior , what factors affect it , sexual orientation , causes of homosexuality , attitudes towards homosexuality , differences between definition of sex and gender , gender socialization and 2 main approaches to gender inequality; functionalist and feminist approaches. First of all , according to text , we can say that sexuality is personal subject and it is hard to explain it with exact words , but with biological basis , sexuality means that "female anatomy differs from that of the male."(Giddens, chapter 12) In addition to the explanations of biologists , medical researchers and sexologists about human sexual behavior, we can also see another view that comes from scholars which is looking to the animal world to understand the human sexual behavior. However, Steven Rose claimed that , in contrast to most animal , not only genetically programmed insticts , but also environment shape the human behavior even more than their genetics do , and Rose also stated that humans learn more from their experiences thanks to having exceptionaly long infancy relative to animals . Secondly , there are social influences on sexual behavior . In all societies , heterosexuality , i.e "looking to the other sex for emotional involvement and sexual pleasure" is considered to be the basis of marriage ...
Words: 554 - Pages: 3
...focused on the concept of gender in translation (e.g. von Flotow 2001, Simon 1996, and Chamberlain 1998). According to Chamberlain (1998: 96), “the issues relating to gender in the practice of translation are myriad, varying widely according to the type of text being translated, the language involved, cultural practices and countless other factors”. Von Flotow (2001) offers a comprehensive overview of research areas in which the issue of “gender and translation” could be investigated: - Historical studies (who translated what when and how, and how did gender play into this?) - Theoretical considerations (how do different gender affiliations, definitions, constructions play themselves out in translation and translation research?) - Issues of identity (how does gendered identity or a lack of it affect translation, translation research?) - Post-colonial questions (does our largely Anglo-American "gender" apply in other cultures and their texts? Does it translate into other languages? And what does it mean if it doesn’t?) - More general questions of cultural transfer (is the current government-supported export of Canadian women’s writing, a hot commodity in some literary markets, really about Canadian tolerance and egalitarianism?) Whereas most of researches done regarding gender in translation have dealt specifically with the issue of the translators’ gender identity and its effect on their translations, the main focus of current article is on how gender itself is translated and...
Words: 4874 - Pages: 20
...ways in which toys are gender-stereotyped and marketed, and some go so far to argue that, in addition to shaping gender identity, it in contributes to gender inequality. [additional discussion/framing main questions of the paper etc] Gender, not to be confused with sex, which is biologically defined by reproductive organs, may be understood as a socially constructed range of characteristics that pertain to and differentiate between masculinity and femininity. To further clarify, “male” and “female” are sex categories,...
Words: 1683 - Pages: 7
...What things have you done since last class that makes you conscious of your sex or gender? When I first came into class I thought sex in gender were synonyms of each other. I did not know that sex describes the biological identities of women and men while gender is the socially constructed behaviors and characteristics that are associated with each sex. I have thought about where I work which is Starbucks on campus. Everyone that I work with are females except one male. Also I noticed that people who are over my team are white which does not make a difference to me but it was an observation. My boss is a white female, my boss’s boss is white female but her boss is a white male. I noticed the higher I go into the ranks of my job the differences I see in gender. The highest position at my school for my company is lead by a white male but the second highest is lead by a white female. This shows me how patriarchy is still present in the twenty-first century but is being changed because the second highest in rank would normally be a male if changes had not begun. From learning the meaning of gender and sex I have begun observing people more through their actions. This has made me evaluate myself to see if I feel that what people classify me as which is a female really is what I feel I am. Yes my sex if taken from what everyone says such as doctors I am a female. I feel actions speak louder than words. When I look at my behavior in my everyday life I have more male characteristics...
Words: 894 - Pages: 4
...Sex and gender I) Summary the video Some people wonder whether gender is genetically based or they just learn 2 be feminine or masculine. It is very important to know what gender we are since birth because each of us has very perceptions of what each sex is like, how they should be treated, and even what value they have for society. Therefore, sex is the most basic way in which we categorize people throughout their lives. There are differences between two genders at birth which are biologically congenital, universal, and essentially reproductive. As we know, males and females are different in sexual organs, genes and hormones. While daughters are described as beautiful, delicate, and weak, sons seem strong, coordinated and alert despite no differences between them in weight, health and strength. What makes sex categorization significant goes beyond the biological characteristics. Gender is different cultural definitions of masculinity and femininity, different expectations and experiences, and psychological and social meanings attached to the categories of male and female. We define women or men by their sexual organs, the way they behave, how they look and dress, what they are supposed to do in order to be acceptable and appropriate and what roles they are allowed to do. Gender roles, as basic as femininity and masculinity, are two sets of traits and behaviors to distinguish men and women and based on socially-prescribed expectations about ideal sexual...
Words: 1819 - Pages: 8
...Running Head: SEX ROLES AND GENDER INEQUALITY Sex roles and Gender Inequality SEX ROLES AND GENDER INEQUALITY Introduction Sex is defined as the biological differences between a male and female. Gender, however, can be identified as the way society organizes understandings of sexual difference (Shaw & Lee, 2001). In this essay, I will try to discuss whether gender differences, and in turn inequality, is a creation of people and society or it is indeed the natural state with virtue of their sexual character. This essay, which is written under the guidance of Daniel Bosley, part-time lecturer at Maldives National University, will focus upon the formation of gender, sex roles, feminine and masculine character, gender stereotypes and how it leads to gender inequality. SEX ROLES AND GENDER INEQUALITY Formation of Gender: Feminine and Masculine As people live together in a society, different roles are taught based on their sex known as sex roles, not much different from social role and socialization. The way individuals of different sexes acquire these roles, also known as role learning or socialization, is important in understanding how sexual characters are formed. “Feminine character is produced by socialization into the female role, masculine character by socialization into the male role – and deviants by some kind of failure in socialization” (Connell, 1987). The sex roles are therefore a set of prescriptions, attributes and expectations...
Words: 1281 - Pages: 6
...Look at Same Sex Couples Psychology 399 Kari Holter May 3rd, 2013 Conflict can be both good and bad and with mediation and conflict resolution we can handle conflict situations properly and strengthen relationships. In this paper I will focus on same sex couples and how mediation and conflict resolution is the same and different compared to heterosexual couples. I will talk about some background info on conflict, mediation, and same sex couples and families. I will then discuss the 4 articles I read and what was found on same sex couples and mediation. CONFLICT Conflict is the interaction of interdependent people who perceive incompatibility and the possibility of interference from others as a result of this incompatibility (Folger, Poole, Stutman, 2009). The most important feature of conflict is human interactions and they are sustained by behaviors of the parties involved and their reactions to one another. These reactions are usually verbal and nonverbal communication. MEDIATION Mediation is a range of processes in which a mediator facilitates communication between parties to assist the parties in reaching voluntary decisions related to their dispute (SBHE Policy 605.5, Antes, 2003). There are three types of mediation. 1. Transformative – empowerment and recognition opportunities are supported. 2. Facilitative – parties reach a mutually satisfactory agreement. 3. Evaluative – parties decide based upon a clear understanding of what the consequences...
Words: 2512 - Pages: 11
...Gender and Development Gender-role development is one of the most important areas of human development. The moment a women finds out she is pregnant she is often anxious to find out the sex of her child. The definitions of the terms "sex" and "gender" need to be understood. The term "sex" denotes the actual physical makeup of individuals that define them as male or female. Sex is determined by genetic makeup, internal reproductive organs, the organization of the brain, and external genitalia. The behavior of individuals as males or females, the types of roles they assume, and their personality characteristics, may be just as important as a person's biological framework. In order to differentiate between biological features one may take into consideration behaviors and social roles to establish "gender." Sex and gender are often intertwined, and certain social expectations can be attributed to one’s biological sex. The sex of a newborn sets the agenda for a whole array of developmental experiences that will influence the person throughout his or her life. Overall, the sex differences between boys and girls in the first year of life are minimal. Boys may be a bit more active or fussier and girls more physically mature and less prone to physical problems, but that may be the extent of the significant differences. Mothers have a tendency to ignore more of their son's emotional outbursts in comparison to their daughters' outbursts. Boys may be rough-housed or played with in...
Words: 1796 - Pages: 8
