...What is the Difference Between ‘Sex’ and ‘Gender’? To start this essay I will clearly state definitions of ‘Sex’ and ‘Gender’ respectively. ‘Sex’ is described as ‘the biological properties that distinguish organisms on the basis of their reproductive roles.’(Princeton University – 2010). Whereas gender is listed as ‘the state of being male or female, typically with reference to social or cultural differences rather than biological.’(Michigan University – 2010). In this essay I will explore and investigate both sex and gender, whilst identifying the differences between the two. I will start by elaborating on the given definitions. Sex is defined on the Princeton University website as ‘biological’. This is a word that has recurred in many other definitions that I have researched for the word ‘sex’. This would suggest that sex is able to be categorized in a straight forward manner. However, there are several high profile cases in the media, when the issue of ‘sex’ has come into question. Perhaps most recently is the case of South African athlete, Caster Semanya. Semanya won the 800m race during the African Junior Championship, with the fastest time of the year. This lead to some spectators questioning her sex. When looking at the athlete she has an incredibly muscular and angular frame, and this coupled with her record breaking run made the International Athletic Association ask for a sex test. This case brought the issue of ‘sex’ into much disrepute. Now, we are...
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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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...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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...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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...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.’ There are therefore...
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...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...
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...and Gender Identity Psy 340 Hormones, Behavior, and Gender Identity Often enough, parents of an unburned child are eagerly excited to find out the sex of the couple’s child to enable planning such as a fitted name, nursery décor, and every extra-curricular and career aspirations. It is from that point forward nature and nurture work together hand in hand to create the child into society’s ideal male or female. Different changes occur, such as biologically, psychologically, and emotionally, depending of the gender of the baby; however, social situations and upbringing will not only be exposed according to the sex, but also the individual child. Certain times, the gender and the sex of an individual do not coordinate with one another. This uncertainty has caused and is currently causing misunderstandings to numerous psychologists, neuroscientists and parents. The origin of the development of gender begins at conception, and the point creates a separation between the male and female gender roles. This paper will discuss interactions between hormones and behaviors, as well as, how the interactions affect the determination of gender identity. Biological psychology takes into consideration the gender from different perspectives of the functions coming from different sexual organs and the underlying physiology (Wickens, 2005). Biological and environmental factor will also be explored, as well as, the influence of nature versus nurture in an individual’s gender identity...
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...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...
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...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 ...
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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 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 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...
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...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...
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...Gender psychology is a multi-faceted concept consisting of many unique definitions, and descriptions for each subject. The section that I chose to cover under this broad topic is gender binaries and norms and while it is zooming in to a specific part of gender psychology, gender binaries is still a very broad subject. The matter of gender binaries contains multiple aspects that are important to recognize in order to begin to understand not only the significance of gender psychology but the ambiguity of our society’s beliefs on the subject. To begin, we should note that gender and sex are completely different realms. Many believe that gender, sex, sexuality, sexual orientation and sexual identity are interchangeable. It is important to educate...
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