Sir! Sir! Do you realize this is the ladies room? The concept of gender is not as cut and dry as you might think. The term gender is often used incorrectly as a synonym for our biological sex. Gender is more of a predetermined set of ideas and characteristics used in identifying socially acceptable behaviors and appearances for the sexes. It is not determined by the biological sex of the person. From an early age we begin to develop ideas of what it means to be male or female by observing others. Gender falls on a spectrum from masculine to feminine with many combinations in between. Gender expression and gender identity are also not the same thing. Gender expression is not related directly to how a person perceives their gender, …show more content…
People with gender Identity crises do not feel their genitalia reflects who they are inside. They may feel a powerful drive to have their genitalia match their self-image opting for sex reassignment surgery. Gender expression is far more relaxed than it has been throughout our history in America, but it still poses a problems for some on a daily basis. Gender expression is one area where women have a social advantage over men. It is far more socially acceptable for a woman to dress masculine than for a man to dress feminine; although neither are without predigests. Using a public restrooms seems like a simple task to the majority of us. This is not the case for people who fall outside the gender norm. Seldom does one have a choice beyond boy’s room or girl’s room. This can be a very stressful environment if your outward appearance doesn’t match your biological sex. Spotlighting those who are not perceived by society as gender normal could lead to depression, anxiety and self-loathing. Something as simple as going to the restroom in the mall could lead to a violent encounter. This would be greatly reduced of people would just be more observant. This all because society developed rules everyone must follow in order to be perceived as normal. Today’s young people tend to be more aware of the gender spectrum. Terms like gender identity and gender expression are better understood. Words like
Gender is a topic that not many people are educated on. When people think of gender, they think of boy and girl, people usually think of a girl having a vagina, and a boy having a penis. Many people have their thoughts on how each sex should behave which would be giving people gender roles, girls should play with Barbie dolls, and boys should play with trucks. There is more to gender than just the vagina and penis, In “Understanding The Complexities of Gender”, Sam Killermann talks about the distinct pieces that also comes with gender, like gender identity, gender expression, and biological sex. When people think of gender, the only part people think of is the biological sex.
Gender is defined as whatever behaviors and attitudes a group considers proper for its males and females. Unlike sex, gender is something that we learn from the day we are born. “Young children begin to acquire gender role stereotypes at about the same time they develop gender identity and by the age of 3 or 4 most children” (Amanda Youmans). Peers, community, media, religion and our upbringing all play a role in the understanding of our culture and what is considered acceptable for males and females. When the sex of a child is revealed, they are automatically placed into a gender specific role with certain expectations. There are things in this world such as colors, toys, media depiction and taught behaviors that play into these gender roles.
Gender is defined as the state of being male or female. In most instances, this state is determined based on the biology of an individual’s genitalia. Those born
Gender is defined as being a male or female and determines the personalities, genetics and body functions of an individual. Nowadays people have taken something so simple and have almost changed it completely. Men now want to be women, and women want to be men. We live in a world where many people feel as if they are born into the wrong body and need to change their physical appearance to Appeal to others and feel comfortable again. Gender identity is not the same as it used to be and has been taken to a level that is almost life changing.
The transgender community should have the right to use the restroom of the gender they identity with or have an alternate choice, some people many agree that is would be a dangerous liability, but some people may even agree to proving gender neutral restrooms. In dangerous of a person of the opposite sex using the restroom they prefer are very obvious, but is every person out to cause dangerous to other people in the restroom. Some people’s gender evolves differently, and might not fit rigid traditional notices of female and male. The effects of stereotype threat advanced because of the self-fulfilling prophecies that many different races, sexes or even religions fall into the effects of. “Gender refers to the cultural nature of the
Similar to race and ethnicity, sex and gender are terms that can sometimes be confused. Sex “refers to physical or physiological differences between males and females” and gender “refers to social or cultural distinctions with being male or female.” A person’s sex relates strictly to biological factors, while a person’s gender relates to characteristics that are identified as masculine or feminine in society.
Gender as defined by society as a division between biological sex and the roles you must take on in society. In reality gender is a true spectrum that does not follow a simple linear pattern. There are three major aspects that make a person who they are inside. These aspects are Sex, Gender and Gender Identity.
Gender identity is ultimately constructed by the vision of society plus the choice of an individual. Social expectations are heavily regulated even before one is born. From there it depends if one wants to follow the path chosen before birth or create a new one. Although society takes part in classifying gender that does not mean that one must agree with how one chooses to identify as.
We have to identify our sex when filling out a bank application, requesting a driver's license, obtaining a marriage license, applying for school, etc. On some questionnaires the answer should be irrelevant. There is a difference between "sex" and “gender” however, these two words have been used interchangeably and continue to be used that way. In layman's term for biological sex, the male has a penis, and one Y chromosome and one X chromosome. Females have a vagina and two XX chromosomes. Being a male, does not make you masculine, and being a female does not make a person feminine. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines "gender" as such "gender refers to socially constructed characteristics of women and men - such as norms, roles, and relationships of and between groups of women and men. It varies from society to society and can be
When we look up gender in the dictionary it states “Although it is possible to define gender as “sex,” indicating that the term can be used when differentiating male creatures from female ones biologically, the concept of gender, a word primarily applied to human beings, has additional connotations—more rich and more amorphous—having to do with general behavior, social interactions, and most importantly, one 's fundamental sense of self.” When I define gender I automatically define it as being a boy and girl or male and female. People define gender in so many ways, but it is in the way that we think more outside of the box based on people’s opinions, that make us wonder more.
Merriam-Webster provides two definitions for the meaning of gender. The first is simply that gender is a synonym for sex. The second, however, states that gender is “the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex (Merriam-Webster).” This is the definition for gender used in this paper, while sex is defined separately, as the biological differences between males and females.
Growing up, I always believed that there was not a difference between a person’s sex and gender. Before learning about sex and gender throughout my school career, I would have defined sex as a category in which you are born into based on what reproductive organ you are born with, which is slightly correct. Yet, I would have defined gender in the same manner, using them interchangeably just as most people, not knowing how complicated the terms really are. The appropriate definition of sex referred to a person’s biological status and categorized as male, female, or intersex. Gender relates to the attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with a person’s biological sex. (apa.org) I remember I would see things on tv about people who say they were born with a body part that was different from what they felt like they were on the inside, yet I never thought too much about it considering my mother always called it foolishness and unreal. I had always heard the stereotype that girls were to act like girls and boys were to act like boys. There was no in between, but if there was, it was not normal.
Gender is not based on physical attributes. Sex is the word that should be used when speaking about biological characteristics. So, based on the definition of gender by LeVay, gender identity is one’s personal attitude towards being more male or female.
Male and female. Two words, that define our entire lives from the day we are born. Binary classifications of sex and gender have always been the norm in society. The entrenchment of those categories in identification documents, expose individuals who do not correctly fit into the status-quo of these two categories. Among them, intersex people are especially vulnerable. In recent years, the LGBTQ community has had strong pushes for more rights and societal recognition, however there is still one hole remaining that flies under the radar all too often. To this day, people are still predominantly unaware of the existence of intersex people. However, through the striving growth of the number of intersex groups and individual activists, the
There are distinct differences between Sex and Gender. Sex is divided up into two divisions, male or female, based upon their reproductive system. Gender is the notion set by society on what social behaviours are acceptable for males and females, for example the expectation that females are more caring or nurturing than men. Gender can be further divided into two subcategorise: identity and stereotype. Gender identity is the concept that your sex and gender do not have to be the same but can different, i.e. a male at birth can identify as a female. These notions of acceptable behaviour set by society create gender stereotypes for both male and female, which can cause a person to reject their gender identity if they do not conform these gender stereotypes.