...Biological and Cultural Forces that Differentiate Males and Females Males and females have been different throughout history. The question we study is why and what drives them to be different. There are two forces that make us unique, which are biological and cultural. Studies show that male selections throughout the world are being analyzed studies done by scientists, biologists and sociologists to psychologists. Three books I used to understand this question are “The Third Chimpanzee: The evolution and future of the human animal” by Jared Diamond, “Same Difference: How gender, myths are hurting our relationships, our children, and our jobs” by Rosalind C. Barnett, and “Our Kind” by Marvin Harris. Some questions aren’t just about the biological and cultural aspect but about the social norms as well. In what ways are males and females different? Also what ways are they similar? These questions all can be answered going back to the beginning of time. Evolution is something we need to understand because it is responsible for the observable differences between males and females. A question that everyone wonders is, how did we get here? Jared Diamond’s “The Third Chimpanzee” answers this question. A strong theory comes from Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection and adaptation. Even though species are all different in its own nature they play a special role in life. The species that have the traits to allow them to survive in the environment will be able to reproduce which...
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...Rights? We all have them, don’t we? That is the question I had to ask myself repeatedly while reading about this controversial issue. How far can or should you take the issue when dealing with cultural traditions? Over the past 3 weeks, I have done a lot of research on this topic and have found many things that I did not know. At first, when I read the two articles, honestly, I was more grossed out than anything. I did not really care; I just thought how weird it was going to be to try to write a paper on this topic. The main thing that ran through my mind was, “Why do people even care, men get circumcised every day.” However, after doing research and learning more, I decided it was so much more than that. Marrilee H. Salmon, a professor of science, states in her article how unmoral and degrading the process of female circumcision is. I strongly agree with her opinion and the opinion of many other feminist anthropologists, who are desperately trying to help eliminate this procedure. Salmon also goes on to tell how female circumcision is an act of power more than anything, giving men power and/or authority over women. And it truly is, I mean how is this beneficial to women at all? Every one is entitled to their own opinion and mine is expressed exactly in Marrilee’s article when she says, “it’s also called genital mutilation!” That is exactly what this is, “MUTILATION,” and I definitely agree with putting a stop to it. I also feel that anthropologists have a responsibility...
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... Persons prostitute themselves when they grant sexual favors to others in exchange for money, gifts, or other payment and in so doing use their bodies as commodities. In legal terms, the word prostitute refers only to those who engage overtly in such sexual-economic transactions, usually for a specified sum of money. Prostitutes may be of either sex, but throughout history the majorities have been women, reflecting both the traditional socioeconomic dependence of women and the tendency to exploit female sexuality. Although prostitution has often been characterized as the “world’s oldest profession,” the concept of women as property, which prevailed in most cultures until the end of the 19th century, meant that the profits of the profession most often accrued to the men who controlled it. Men have traditionally been characterized as procurers and customers, but they are increasingly being identified as prostitutes. They generally serve male customers and sometimes impersonate women (Prostitution.http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=219912). Statement of the Problem The study aims to reveal the reasons behind some women, who consider prostitution as a source of income or as a career in Cainta, Rizal. It specifically answers...
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...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...
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...Psychology Week 5 Assignment 1 Explain the ways in which culture and gender contribute to sexual behavior and expectations about that behavior. Every culture has different practices that can contribute to sexual behavior. Religion is the first that I can think about. Different teaching and practices in different cultures in different religion. Christians that are conservative define that sexual behavior is only for men and woman and can only have sex after marriage. Some Christians are allowed to have premarital sex between men and woman. And nowadays, some churches allowed homosexuals. So, it depends how we thought and put on practice. Second is, “In Africa, certain forms of polygamous relationships are normative. In some of these cultures...
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...Testosterone in Both Men and Women One of the most important hormones found in a human's body is testosterone. This word is often associated with the male sex though it is also present in women. When people read or hear about this word, the first thing that comes into their minds is a picture of a man or an aggressive behavior. Yes you can see a connection between the two. However, this is just one of the many things that truly describe testosterone. These things are not only evident in males but in the female sex as well. What is testosterone by the way? It is the hormone responsible for the development of the male secondary sex characteristics. This performs many other functions which also include those in women. One significant function of this hormone in women is it contributes in maintaining the sex drive. Many other processes in the body of females involve this hormone and its low or high level affects such processes. In males, the description of this hormone has been fully established. Many researches took place in order to describe this hormone better and how it affects the processes in the body of males. Since most studies about this hormone revolved around males, this hormone attached itself to the male sex for a long time. However, there are still mysteries that surround this hormone that not all individuals know. Now you can learn more about this hormone with the help of this list about the 12 surprising facts about testosterone in both men and women. The 12 surprising...
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...Reading Response Gender Google Searches When the class originally began to discuss the different Google searches that we would be analyzing, my original thoughts were that the “suggested searches” would not differ between the two genders too drastically. Little did I know the recent history on the topics typed into the search line proved that to be very wrong. There were four different types of initial searches the class would be looking at. One that asked Google what men and women should do, what they shouldn’t do, what they cannot do, and what the sex’s need to do. All cues were searched for both men and women, analyzing what Google used as “suggested searches” or “common searches” from past attempts explored on the search engine. Before taking 350, prior to the experiences and information learned in the classroom, my views towards gender issues as a whole were very misguided and skewed. The issues between genders in economics, and the world in general, almost didn’t even occur to me, as I had never really had too much of an interest in learning about the different problems that follow. Its not that I didn’t care that these issues and problems were happening, but a lack of information towards them didn’t allow me to investigate further. Thankfully after almost completing 350, gender issues in economics and the world in general are now very apparent, and in the future will hopefully be closer to achieving equality with the help of our class, and the classes to come....
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...explanation of relationships says humans have an innate drive to reproduce and pass on our genes. Sexual selection is a process within natural selection where characteristics are selected because they’re attractive to the opposite sex, and so this increases reproductive success and passes on these traits to their offspring. Sex differences in sexual selection comes from our evolutionary past and so males and females have different reproductive behaviour; these differences are shown from their mate choice (inter sexual selection), mate competition (intra sexual selection) and differences within their short term and long term mating strategies. Males and females differ in mate selection as the different sexes have different needs which are stemmed from our genetic code which has evolved over millions of years. According to the inter sexual selection theory males and females look for different characteristics in a mate and behave differently to attract these mates. It is important to men that women prioritise physical attractiveness and so men are responsive to those who are young and attractive as it connotes that these women are more likely to be fertile and so the man can reproduce and pass on his genes. Therefore, men are attractive to women who are healthy, take care of their bodies, wear makeup so they look youthful, curvaceous (to show child bearing hips) and are also faithful. Whereas men find physical appearance important women look for indicators of socioeconomic status...
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...affiliation between people. In “Sex Lies and Communication: Why Is It So Hard For Men And Women To Talk To Each Other?” Professor of linguistics Deborah Tannen go over the distinctness between men and women and present some answers to the subject. She says that the lack of communication is often the cause of divorce. She noted that most women’s complaints in a marriage or any other relationship were that the women believe that their men do not listen to them. However, after an analysis with many couples and same sex-friends, she concluded that the problem was not that men do not listen, but they listen differently. Throughout her essay, Tannen has focused on the problems and...
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...Feminists study society today through the viewpoint of oppressed women who are seen to be subordinated by men. Their main aim is to liberate women from men, patriarchal society and the socially constructed stereotypes of women. In order to do so, there are different strands of Feminism, which are, Liberal, the least extreme or violent, Marxist, who link in capitalism to Feminism and Radical Feminists, the most extreme. These groups seek to bring about equality through different means and on different levels of severity. In addition to these, there are smaller and more modern groups of Feminism which are Dual Systems Feminists, who are similar to Marxist Feminists and Poststructuralists who believe other Feminists disregard differences between women. Liberal Feminists are concerned with the human civil rights, therefore they seek legal reforms and changes in attitudes and socialisation to bring about gender equality, which does not require a violent revolution. They are the closest Feminist theory to a consensus view on today’s society even though it focuses on the conflicts between men and women. Liberal Feminists reject the idea that biological differences make women less competent or rational than men or vice versa. They distinguish between sex and gender; whereby sex refers to the biological differences such as their reproductive role and physical differences and gender refers to culturally constructed differences between ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ roles. As gender is culturally...
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...They believe that all human beings should have equal rights * Reformism is the progress towards equal rights and freedoms through gradual reforms * They feel that laws against sex discrimination will lead towards a rise in equal rights * Also they feel that changes in culture will help equality, e.g. stereotypes being abolished Sex and Gender * Like Ann Oakley liberal feminists find a difference between sex and gender; * Sex refers to biological differences * Gender refers to culturally constructed differences between masculine and feminine roles * While sex differences are fixed, gender is different for different cultures, this is the part Liberal feminists want to change * Want to promote equality in education and the media * Take political action to introduce anti-discriminatory laws * Liberal feminist criticise the Funtionalist views of Parsons, regarding the Instrumental and Expressive roles * They feel that men and women are equally capable of performing either role, however society is constructed to tell us which role to adhere to * Liberal feminists do have a consensus view on society – they accept that there are conflicts between men and women but argue that it’s a product of outdated attitudes Evaluation of liberal feminism * Experiments conducted by liberal feminists have produced evidence legitimising gender inequality in work (equal pay), the media etc. * They have also shown, through their work, that gender...
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...Phase four is resolution. Even though the changes that occur in men’s and women’s bodies differ in each phase, they do have some things in common. So that we may learn and better understand what makes us different and the same, we must first learn the components that make up the sexual response cycle. There are two components and they are vasocongestion and myotonia (Nevid & Rathus, 2010). Vasocongestion is the swelling of the breasts, the genitals, and even the earlobes (Nevid & Rathus, 2010). This event happens in both men and women. Myotonia is the tensing of the muscles, which causes spasms in many different areas including the hands, feet, face, and finally, the spasms in orgasms (Nevid & Rathus, 2010). In the next section we will go over the four phases of the sexual response cycle. Phase 1, excitement. This is the beginning phase and leads in or serves as a primer to the following three phases. It occurs in both men and women, and it’s when the genitals become ready for intercourse. When the man is aroused, his penis experiences a surge in blood flow and becomes erect, his scrotal skin thickens, and his testes become enlarged. In women, the clitoris will swell and become flat, which in turn cases the lips of the vagina to open, and the vaginal canal to become lubricated. Her vagina will also expand and her breast will enlarge. In both men and women, blood pressure will rise, the skin may blush from excitement, their heart rates will increase, and their nipples...
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...race and sex play a role in shaping the life chances of people entering into and working in your intended career path? In what ways may sex and race impact your life as a professional? What are the possible causes of these inequalities? The correlation of success with gender and ethnicity has always been and will always be a matter of debate. It is commonly claimed that differences exist among people belonging to different minority groups and when it come to gender, men are considered more privileged than women. In reality, statistics do support such assumptions; however, they do not explain the factors driving such preferential behaviors. In this essay, besides displaying some statistical data, I would go a bit further into analyzing the reasons of such patterns. The hiring process, although seemingly easy, is very complicated and entails several complex relationships. There are several perceived disadvantages of women or minority groups when it comes to employment. In the past 20 years, through affirmative action policies, men and women have been encouraged to enter non-traditional areas. However, the removal of legal barriers has not eliminated all obstacles faced by them. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, there were 28,372 charges of sex-based discrimination in 2008. Also, data collected from the American Community Survey in 2008 indicate that women in even the most economically advantaged race groups, white and Asian, earn less than men in the...
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...society women have been heavily degraded for centuries in terms of dignity and respect by both men and society at large. They have been denied the justice to equal opportunities such as voting, job employments, making household decisions, etc. These denials have been catapulted by cultural, religious, and political barriers, which resulted in making the woman be seen as the weaker sex. Especially within relationships, the media has taught society to view women as sex symbols, which causes men to lose respect for them. Women are seen as sexualized beings that cause feelings of fantasy and desire, which is also shown in all aspects of media. For years, women have been trying to escape these secular images, but as long as men have an imagination they will never go away. And although, “How to date a brown girl (black girl, white girl, or halfie)” by Junot Diaz was meant to be a humorous story, it was degrading and demeaning towards women of all races. He proves the point of men only sexualizing women by saying, “A local girl may have hips and a thick ass but she won’t be quick about letting you touch” (3). This sows that most men, not all, only have one motive when they are out seeking women, and that is whether or not she will sleep with him anytime soon. And that when they look for women they are seeking certain body types, facial features, gender, whatever pleases them, they are basically shopping for women. This is also really dangerous because this is what drives predators...
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...Grice Dr. Lund 2302 English 05/02/2016 Becoming a Woman In Simone de Beauvoir's book, ‘The Second Sex' she states that one is not born a woman but rather becomes one. The author strives to distinguish between gender and sex and suggests that gender is an aspect of identity which is gradually obtained. Over the years, the distinction between sex and gender has been a major debate and crucial for the long-standing feminist effort to debunk the purported claim that anatomy is destiny. Sex is understood in this case as the invariant, and distinct anatomical aspects of the female body whereas gender can be described as the cultural meaning and form that the body acquires. With the distinction between sex and gender intact, it is not possible to attribute the social functions of women to the biological necessity. The presumption that exists between the difference between sex and gender is undermined. For this reason, authors Beauvoir, Ibsen, Rhys, and Del Toro tries to differentiate the two and explains that one becomes a woman and not born as one. The Philosophy of Gender According to the existentialist philosophy of Simone de Beauvoir, it is not nature which determines the life of an individual, but rather their social circumstances and personal choices. For Beauvoir, the aspects of race, gender, and other biological categories are socio-historical constructs that have the option of being challenged. The first thing that happens when a child is born is to determine the gender...
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