How Gender Can Be A Reason For Exclusion?

The determination of gender identity is much deeper than whether a person is born a male or a female. The exact identifier that separates gender identity is currently unknown but researchers believe that genetics, hormones, reproductive organs, biological, and environmental factors all play a role in distinguishing a person’s gender identity. A person’s physical gender and their sense of gender are formed at two different times in two different parts of the body. A person’s gender is whether they are born male or female, but the way they identify themselves may be the opposite, which is not uncommon and has occurred since the beginning of time. In culture males are known to be the stronger, more aggressive sex, while females are the

Gender is a complex socially constructed idea. Often people interchangeably use gender to refer to someone’s sex. This is not the case. Sex is the biological characteristics that makes someone a male, female or intersex. Gender however is made up of expression, identity, and sexual orientation. Gender identity is how one views themselves such as a woman, man or transgender. Gender identity does not correspond to the sex of that person. Gender expression is how one expresses their gender identity. This could be through a masculine , feminine or androgynous expression. In Western societies, although there has been a push for change in our gender system, the gender system as been a binary system. This binary system only believes that there are

The gender describes how our understandings and perception of differences between masculinity (what society deems appropriate behaviour a “man” and femininity (what society deems appropriate behaviour for a “woman”) are influenced.

Throughout many studies, researchers have said that gender develops from families, which is part of the social construction in children. According to Coltrane and Adams, Gender is defined as “To what it means to be a man or a woman in a specific time and place” (Coltrane and Adams). People in this world think that gender is automatically part of biological sex, but according to Coltrane and Adams, it is not a direct result of biological sex. The term is defined as “to refer relatively distinct biological differences between male and females such as genitals, hormones, and chromosomes” (Coltrane and Adams). For gender it is also social and it refers to how a person thinks that someone should look, act and feel (Coltrane and Adams). On the daily life, people will usually assume that a person “is” the gender that corresponds to his or her sex: females are feminine and males are masculine (Coltrane and Adams). In addition, gender also describes how the typical man and woman are supposed to present themselves. A man presenting himself as masculine and a woman presenting herself as feminine in particular cultures (Coltrane and Adams). In other words how women should act and how men should act.

West and Zimmerman’s theory of “Doing Gender” defines sex and gender as two separate entities within this binary society. Sex refers to the biological characteristics that are typically attributed to males and females. Gender is the status of the individual performing the activities that are commonly associated with masculinity and femininity. These traits are rigid in dictating the individual’s consistent performance of them. A gendered individual must execute the appropriate acts that are linked to masculinity or femininity respectively. It is a learned behavior that is taught at an early age through observation of society. Therefore, it is society that decides whether an action is attributed to masculinity or femininity. Gender is a socially constructed idea of thought that people unconsciously follow. The acts that constitute a particular gender can change based on the views of society within a generation. Certain activities and forms of appearance have shifted between males and females. As society evolves throughout history, the interactions between individuals and their gendered actions have changed. West and Zimmerman state, “When we view gender as an accomplishment, an achieved property of situated conduct, our attention shifts from matters internal to the individual and focuses on interactional and, ultimately, institutional arenas” (West and Zimmerman, 1987, page 126). Thus the performance of gender has developed passed the individual and is engrained within the

All children and young people have an equal right to education and learning. Inclusion means that all children and young people, regardless of their background or situation, should be included in all aspects of education and they have the right to participate fully in the curriculum. All schools should be inclusive, they need to recognise that every individual is different and this needs to be accepted. Schools should celebrate all the differences and similarities within their pupils. This can refer to differences and similarities in religion, culture, beliefs and disability. Every child needs to have a sense of belonging, they need to feel valued and accepted. If a child feels valued and accepted their confidence and self-esteem will increase.

Gender is considered an axis of social order. Its categorisation into masculinity and femininity is social constructed and maintained in everyday life (Clark and Page, 2005; Mackie, 1994). Gender identity is our innermost understanding of our self as ‘male’ or ‘female’. Most people develop a gender identity that matched their biological sex (their body). Gender identity can be affected by, and is different from one society to another, depending on the way the members of society evaluate the role of females and males. Our gender identity can be influenced from the ethnicity of the group, their cultural background, and family values. Gender like social class and race can be used to socially categorize people and even lead to prejudice and discrimination. From day –to-day, continuous production of gender has been called ‘doing gender’ (West and Zimmermann, 1987), meaning that gender is “made” by us in everyday lives in our interactions with others.

My Gender Development Gender identity is the measure by which one identifies as being masculine and feminine, and it is often shaped early in life. Gender varies across cultures over time, and over the individual’s term of life. However, the formation of “gender identity is not clearly understood, many factors have been indicated as the ones changing the gender development” (Boundless, 2014). This factors are described as theories, and throughout these theories we can discover stage by stage the approaches to gender development.

Gender can sometimes be seen as biological characteristics humans have, when in fact it is the social characteristic ones society deems either masculine or feminine. Sex, on the other hand, is the biological differences in humans, for example, hormones and sex organs. People usually play gender roles in society, otherwise known as gender ideology. Gender ideology is when men and women have certain attitudes regarding their ‘fixed’ roles, responsibilities and rights. Throughout history men and women have been socialized to play these expected roles that have been placed on them due to their sex. In my own personal life I have encountered many instances where I have been socialized in relation to sex and gender.

Inclusion remains a controversial concept in education because it relates to educational and social values, as well as to our sense of individual worth. In order to discuss the concept of inclusion, it is first necessary to have an understanding of terms dealing with inclusion. Inclusion is a term which articulates obligation to educate each child, to the maximum level appropriate, in the institution and classroom the students would otherwise attend. It includes bringing the support services to the student rather than moving the student to the services and entails only that the student will value from being in the classroom rather than having to keep up with the other students. Supporters of inclusion normally favor original forms of

From a young age, society classifies us in order to keep our civilization organized and to avoid chaos. However, ambiguity can be necessary at times to question the systematic norms. Gender is a system that categorizes males and females based on their physical appearance, tone of voice, and personality. However, these strict gender roles created by society exclude those who defy classification, such as individuals who are non-gender binary or gender fluid.

It is a common belief that a person’s gender is biologically determined, where in fact, gender does not occur naturally from the body (Butler 1999). Rather, gender is a social construct (Hansot & Tyack, 1988). It is a set of expectations and behavioural norms that individuals learn and perform (Butler 1999). Depending on time and culture, every society sets out what is considered appropriate behaviour for a man or a woman, based on concepts of ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ practices (Holmes, 2013). It is through socialisation that we learn these expectations (Holmes, 2013). We then shape our behaviour to fit the gender that is assigned to us at birth, according to our sex category (Butler, 1999). West and Zimmerman (1987), discuss the idea that gender is a “routine, methodical and recurring accomplishment” (p. 126) and that one can never not ‘do’ gender, as every activity, attitude and behaviour is

The concept of gender has a strong social impact on me. When I was born, I was immediately assigned to a biological sex as a female with two X chromosomes. I was then socially classified as a girl in the society with feminine gender roles. Gender is defined as a social principle which attribute to the roles and expectations of males and females through the years of different societies (Phillips, 2005). Gender can be considered as behavioural, cultural and psychological traits

To understand gender as a social construction, one must know the meaning of some terms; 1) gender is a social concept, 2) sex is a biological concept, and 3) gender roles ascribes to a society’s expectations of peoples actions and perspectives depending on whether they are male or female. Furthermore, “social concept” refers to the cultural and social differences a society assigns to people based on their

Gender identity is an important component of an individual’s sense of self. As a person matures they start to learn about their place in the wider world. According to sociology by John Scott and James Fulcher, gender socialisation refers to learned gender roles that we acquire from family, social media and school. It too teaches us of the social expectations linked with gender; the distinctions between sex and gender. Sex is based on the physical characteristics considered to distinguish between a male and a female, whereas, gender refers to the differences in how men and women in society are expected to behave and feel (sociology: James Fulcher and John Scott 2007). An example of gender socialisation would be that women should wear pink and men should wear