...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...
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...This article is a detailed, academically supported body of work, designed to retort the following questions: How and why are semantically sexualised women used as a perceptive marketing stunt’ and ‘what role does the media play in legitimizing gender discrepancies through framing and cultivation strategies? Coaxed by the issue of female objectification in the mass media, the following research was conducted both practically, and theoretically, to overtly annunciate the social and democratic problems associated with advertised female subordination. The relative research involves a semiotic analysis of two sources, coupled with a survey of 40 candidates of varying ages. Furthermore, theoretical mechanisms of media framing and cultivation have been deconstructed throughout this article to uncover the impact of magnified female subordination on the domestic expectations of children and young adults. Through the collection of data, it was able to be conclusively recognized the impact of objectification on social attitudes. Results had shown the many conceptions concerning the female purpose, these include; a woman’s role as a domestic and sexual slave to her male partner. Through the convergence of data, semiotic analysis and academic theory, it may be meticulously understood how female objectification in the mass media is a social complication in the construction of an egalitarian future. ‘Women’s bodies are predominantly valued for its use to others’ Fredrickson & Roberts 1997 ...
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...Social Factors vs. Sex Roles Men should behave like men and women should behave like women. All over the world, a born child could be a boy or a girl, which means different genders. Therefore, both genders should have different sex roles and behaviors. What makes both genders behave differently is an argumentative subject. Some people say biological factors and others say social factors. However, they could be the social factors such as socialization, treatment, and role models. The first social factor that determines sex roles is the socialization. Boys and girls can be socialized to behave differently. According to the article titled Sex Roles, “most differences between females and males are learned through family interactions, socialization in schools, and the mass media. Thus, sex roles could be socialized. The second social factor that determines sex roles is the treatment. Boys and girls get different treatment; girls get more sensitive and emotional treatment. An example from the article titled Sex Roles is that adults describe girls as delicate, sweet, or dainty; however, they describe boys as bouncing, sturdy, or handsome. So, the treatment is important for determining sex roles. The last social factor that determines sex roles is the role models. Role models affect children’s thinking and behaviors. Sex roles article has reported that children can be influenced of determining which jobs are for them and which are not by watching the role models available in a...
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...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...
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...Gender Identity Disorder The psychological diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder (GID) describes an individual who experiences a strong identification with the opposite sex. This cross-gender identification refers to the desire to be, or the insistence that one is, of the other sex, often results in the individual experiencing high levels of discomfort and distress. Many key terms are commonly misunderstood and are often assumed to be synonymous when referring to Gender Identity Disorder. Thus, it is important to differentiate these terms. First, the term “sex” refers to an individual’s biological reproductive structures. Whereas, gender refers to the psychosocial, expected behaviours and rules an individual attributes to. Gender identity refers to the individual’s subjective feelings towards the particular gender they identify with. Lastly, gender role is another important concept that should be properly defined. It refers to the behaviours, attitudes, and schemas that a society deems acceptable and designates as either masculine or feminine (Dragpwski, Scharron-del Rio & Sandigorsky, 2011). The DSM-IV-TR defines two important components of Gender Identity Disorder. The first is the presence of strong and persistent cross-gender identification (Criterion A) (DSM-IV-TR, 2010). In children, the problem must lie within 4 of the 5 following behavioural characteristics: (a) repeatedly stated desire to be, or insistence that he or she is, the other sex; (b) in boys, preference...
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...A foremost feminist Ann Oakley distinguishes between sex and gender where she says, ‘‘sex’ is a biological term: ‘gender’ a psychological and cultural one. Common sense suggest that they are merely two ways of looking at the same division and that someone who belongs to, say, the female sex will automatically belong to the corresponding (feminine) gender. In reality this is not so. To be a man or a woman, boy or a girl, is as much a function of dress, gesture, occupation, social network and personality, as it is of possessing a particular set of genitals.’ (Oakley, 1972:158). Sex as Oakley said refers to the biological difference of being a male or female which can be usually fixed, while gender is the cultural differences between men and women in the society and it can change over time. In societies women and men are expected to behave in ways which are usually expected of them. The differences with sex and gender yet, the perception have different connections. This means despite the fact that sex is biological and gender is social, social definitions are often given to biological attributes, and indeed, most social connotations arise from biological attribute. For example, the reference to women as the weaker sex has a biological base their possession of less physical strength relative to men. Analysing the statement made by Marchbank and Letherby (2007) which says, ‘Sex is deemed to be natural whereas gender is seen as the social expression of natural, biological differences...
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...Gender gender is a range of physical, mental, and behavioral characteristics distinguishing between masculinity and femininity.[1][2][3] Depending on the context, the term may refer to sex (i.e. the state of being male or female), social roles (as in gender roles), or gender identity.[1][2][3][4] Gender studies is a branch of the social sciences. Sexologist John Money introduced the terminological distinction between biological sex and gender as a role in 1955. Before his work, it was uncommon to use the word "gender" to refer to anything but grammatical categories.[1][2] However, Money's meaning of the word did not become widespread until the 1970s, when feminist theory embraced the distinction between biological sex and the social construct of gender. Today, the distinction is strictly followed in some contexts, especially the social sciences[5][6] and documents written by the World Health Organization (WHO).[4] In contrast, for many contexts, including some areas of social sciences, the meaning of gender has expanded to include "sex" or even to replace the latter word.[1][2] Although this gradual change in the meaning of gender can be traced to the 1980s, a small acceleration of the process in the scientific literature was observed when the Food and Drug Administration started to use "gender" instead of "sex" in 1993.[7] "Gender" is now commonly used even to refer to the physiology of non-human animals, without any implication of social gender roles.[2] In the English...
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...Gender is a range of physical, mental, and behavioral characteristics distinguishing between masculinity and femininity.[1][2][3] Depending on the context, the term may refer to sex (i.e. the state of being male or female), social roles (as in gender roles), or gender identity.[1][2][3][4] Gender studies is a branch of the social sciences. Sexologist John Money introduced the terminological distinction between biological sex and gender as a role in 1955. Before his work, it was uncommon to use the word "gender" to refer to anything but grammatical categories.[1][2] However, Money's meaning of the word did not become widespread until the 1970s, when feminist theory embraced the distinction between biological sex and the social construct of gender. Today, the distinction is strictly followed in some contexts, especially the social sciences[5][6] and documents written by the World Health Organization (WHO).[4] In contrast, for many contexts, including some areas of social sciences, the meaning of gender has expanded to include "sex" or even to replace the latter word.[1][2] Although this gradual change in the meaning of gender can be traced to the 1980s, a small acceleration of the process in the scientific literature was observed when the Food and Drug Administration started to use "gender" instead of "sex" in 1993.[7] "Gender" is now commonly used even to refer to the physiology of non-human animals, without any implication of social gender roles.[2] In the English literature...
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...Gender Identity Kaylene Merchant PSY/265 July 27, 2014 Doris Tolan Gender Identity Gender identity is not a concept that everyone actually gives consideration. For most people, they fall into the role that is recognized by those around them. This role, however, is not always compatible with who they really are. For some, there is confusion about who they are and who they would like to be. To better understand gender identity and the traits of masculinity and femininity, one must first fully understand the factors of each concept, and how they apply to an individual. According to Rathus, Nevid, and Fichner-Rathus (2011), gender identity is the personal awareness or sense of self that either reflects as male or female. Gender identity should not be confused with sex (gender) assignment, which is the assignment of “boy” or “girl” that is given at birth. Gender identity focuses on the gender that an individual associates with in their own perception. While an individual may become aware of their anatomic sex by the time they are 18 months old, a firm sense of gender identity is not typically grasped until around 36 months old (Rathus, Nevid, & Fichner-Rathus, 2011). The definition aside, there are several different factors that are thought to contribute to the determination of gender identity. It is almost always aligned with chromosomal sex, but there are cases where biology does not determine identity. In individuals who are intersexual, meaning that they possess the gonads...
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...Discuss the roles of hormones and genes in gender development Everyone has 23 pairs of chromosomes and of these one set of sex chromosomes and these establish our sex. Females have XX chromosomes whereas males have XY chromosomes. Although the Y chromosome doesn’t carry much genetic information it does determine an individual’s sex, this causes changes to the embryo from a very early stage. Usually there is a direct link between our chromosomes and our internal/ external reproductive organs. It is these chromosomes that stat a chain of events that establish the individuals sex. Chromosomes determine a person’s sex but most gender development is actually governed by hormones. Hormones are released prenatally and in adolescence when we are exposed to a surge of hormones during puberty. To study hormones Congenital adrenal hyperplasia is looked at, this is an inherited disorder, present at birth which affects babies adrenal glands and therefor their ability to produce certain hormones. Research into this is Hines and Kaufman, they found girls with CAH played equally with boys and girls Whereas biologically normal girls choose their sex 90% of the time. This supports the theory that genes determined gender development as the change in genes caused by CAH resulted in these girls behaving differently and not being split into gender groups like a genetically normal gender. One evaluation to this study is that it lacks control, as it was a case study there was little if any...
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...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 refers to the personal sexual identity of an individual, regardless of the person's biological and outward sex. How people define masculinity and femininity can vary based on the individual's background and surrounding culture. Differing societal expectations in different cultures establish the behavioral, psychological and physical attributes that are associated one gender or another. Our biological sex is how we are defined as female, male, or intersex. It describes our internal and external bodies — including our sexual and reproductive anatomy, our genetic makeup, and our hormones. The words sex and gender are commonly used interchangeably, but many linguists would argue that their usage is quite distinct. Sex refers to the biological and physiological characteristics, while gender refers to behaviors, roles, expectations, and activities in society. How do gender and sex contribute to the concepts and constructions of masculinity and femininity? Gender is our social and legal status as girls and boys, women and men. Gender identity is how you feel about and express your gender. Culture determines gender roles and what is masculine and feminine. Do our concepts of gender and sex contribute to...
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...Abstract There has been an ongoing debate over what affects gender identity more, nature or nurture. One’s gender is decided at the time of conception. Gender identity is defined as a personal belief of what it means to be a boy or a girl (Ghosh, 2013). As children grow and develop they are exposed to ideas, attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs that aid in the development of their sense of self (Witt, 1997). It is impossible for a child to grow to adulthood without experiencing some form of gender bias, such as boys should not wear pink and girls should not play sports. The gender stereotypes they experience at home is reinforced by additional ones they are exposed to in school and from friends (Witt, 1997). Most times children will develop a gender identity that matches his or her genitalia but sometimes this is not the case. So the question remains, what affects an individual’s gender identity more, nature or nurture? Gender Identity Gender identity is defined as a “complex system of beliefs about the subjective self in relation to masculinity and femininity” (Ault & Brzuzy, 2009, p. 187). Gender roles, maleness, and femaleness, have been argued to be a factor of environmental influences, the nurture aspect of child development, and nature, the biological aspect. “Gender identity presents itself in how people outwardly express masculinity and femininity in everyday life and how others respond to this expression” (Ault & Brzuzy, 2009, p. 187)...
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...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...
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...Constructing Gender And Sexuality Chapter Study Objectives What Is Sex? What Is Gender? • Compare and contrast the concepts of sex and gender. ==> Sex is a distinct category that someone belongs to male or female. Gender is not only the physical but also the behavioral personality traits that a group considers normal for its members. Essentialist and Constructionist Approaches to Gender Identity • Compare and contrast the essentialist and constructionist approaches to gender identity. ==> The essentialists believes that there can only be two categories, male or female, there is no exception. However constructionists believe that gender isn’t a dichotomy and that there can be more than two categories, and different ways for explaining them. Essentialists typically reside outside of sociology, usually in medicine, theology, and biology. Constructionists are typically mainstream sociologists. Gender Inequality • Explain the possible origins of gender inequality according to the text. ==> Back in the day when men had to go out and procure food, they needed to be bigger and stronger. They were needed for this vital role. Women were built to be nurturing so they could stay back with their offspring and keep them safe while the men hunted. The two rules were crucial for survival. • Compare and contrast functionalist theory and conflict theory in their approaches to explaining gender inequality. ==> Functionalists theory says that sex determines which roles men and women...
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...Gender Identity Shelley Sanchez PSY265 September 2, 2011 Lauren Lappe Gender Identity In this assignment the factors that determine gender identity will be discussed. How is an individual’s masculine or feminine traits described using the continuum of masculinity- femininity. First we need to identify the meaning of the term gender identity. Gender identity is the psychological state of mind in which a person identifies with being male or female. A person’s anatomic sex does not always match with how they perceive themself as a sexual being. Hence, an anatomic male may feel as though he is a female trapped in a male’s body. Determining gender identity is one of the most obvious and important aspects in the development of self-concepts (Rathus, Nevid, Fichner-Rathus, 2011). The three factors that have been utilized in my own life to determine my personal gender identity will be detailed as well as the masculine and feminine traits using the continuum of masculinity-femininity that I attribute to my gender. The factors that are included in determining gender identity are; genetic, environmental, and psychological as well as levels of sex hormones. At the point of the fertilization from the sperm and the ovum the chromosomal combination of 23 provided by the male along with the 23 provided by the female create the beginning of life called the zygote. Although this life form is only 1/175 of an inch its unique characteristics have been determined, the color of hair, eyes...
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