Sex : Strict Dimorphism Or Sexual Haploid

In her article "The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female Are Not Enough," Anne Fausto-Sterling describes why male and female gender identities are not sufficient in identifying the sexes of every individual. While “Western culture is [still] deeply committed to the idea that there are only two sexes" (20), Fausto-Sterling challenges this viewpoint by determining that there are more than just two sexes, but “at least five sexes– and perhaps even more” (21). According to Fausto-Sterling, these five (or more) sexes lie on a much wider sexual spectrum, where male and female are not the only biological sexes. It so happens that there is a small number of people who are born intersex: having both male and female sex organs or other sexual characteristics

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

Although men and women have significant biological differences, the question whether gender-specific labels stems from these biological differences or are gender constructed remains a polarised nature versus nurture debate. Whether it is through the process of socialisation or genetic make-up, “gender identity” is given from a person’s birth, determining how a person culturally interacts and the expectations society places on them. Along with a “gender identity” comes a whole set of “norms”, “values” and so-called “gender characteristics”, which are supposed to define the differences between a male and a female. According to the World Health Organisation (n.d.), the term “sex” is often used to define the biological and physiological

Gender being ‘biologically determined’ means that whether gender is inherited or passed down by genetics. If a person is a man or woman, (which is usually called ‘The Sex’), that is biologically determined because they inherit the chromosomes to be born a man, or to be born as a woman. In the early 1970’s sex was described by “biology as: anatomy, hormones, and physiology” (West and Zimmerman 1987). Apart from gender being a biological factor, there are other things which are not biologically determined; “Gender was an achieved status, which was constructed through psychological, cultural and social means” (West and Zimmerman1987). Hence the answer

Biological sex is determined by chromosomes in your genes. At prenatal development, only a few weeks after conception, there is no notable difference between male and female structure until the Gonadal Ridges, the structure which develops either female or male sex organs, grows to determine the sex of the baby. All prenatal babies have genitalia that appears distinctly feminine until at three months, hormones- testosterone if the baby’s to be a boy, and oestrogen if the baby’s to be a girl- is released and the baby develops into the hormone determined gender. For these reasons it is believed that there is a direct link between chromosomes and sex, and therefore sex and

‘Gender should not be regarded merely as a matter of chromosomes. It is partly a psychological question, one of self-perception, and partly a social question, how society perceives the individual.’

According to the Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences of Monash University, “Gender describes the characteristics that a society or culture delineates as masculine or feminine.” (Nobelius, Ann-Marrie, med.monash.edu.au). Sex, says Ann-Maree,“ refers to biological differences; chromosomes, hormonal profiles, internal and external sex organs” (med.monash.edu.au). Sometimes people use these terms interchangeably. Sex has to do with you being biologically male or female, and gender has to do with being masculine, or feminine and is determined by society depending in the culture. The reason these terms are often mistaken is because, usually, if one is born male they are assigned a masculine role in society, and there is a difference in expectations with the masculine and feminine roles. These genders were created by society. There are cases where neither roles apply for a group of people or individuals. These ideals of gender roles being assigned are being challenged by individuals. For example a family member of mine is one of the individuals whom the

First of all I am going to begin with defining sex and gender. Sex in a sociological perspective is defined as the biological and physiological differences between men and women which are contrasted in terms of reproductive function(Abercrombie et al 2000 :313). On the other hand gender is sociologically conceived as the social roles allocated to men and women in society that is to say gender is learned not innate. However previously it was believed that sex determined gender thus the differences between men and

It is not the same as sex and it is not the same as women. Gender is determined by the origination of tasks, functions and roles attributed to women and men in society and in public and private life.

More often than not, the sex of a person, is commonly misinterpreted with gender. This is wrong. Your sex is your biological and physiological attributes that define you as male or female. Having “male parts” or “female parts”, strictly make up a person 's sex. Where gender refers to socially constructed roles, or how society defines the components that make up an acceptable male or female. Key word being acceptable. Gender is not something that can be defined solely based off of one’s anatomy.

For example, females usually inherit an X chromosome form both parents. Social skills which are a typical female characteristics can be found in he x chromosome. From these findings it can be said that women are more comfortable in social settings. I can think of my husband in social settings where he does not know anyone he is less likely than me to introduce himself. I have no problem introducing myself and striking up a conversation with a stranger. Hormones also have an effect on gender determination. Men and women go through maturity as a result of hormones. Estrogen in women and Testosterone influence skills and tendencies associated with gender. Sex effects how the brain develops. According to our textbook, the force of biology is evident in cases where doctors try to change a child’s biological sex” (47). Doctors mistakenly amputated David’s penis to correct phimosis, a condition in which the foreskin of the penis interferes with urination. The child’s name was changed to Brenda and she did not take to being a girl. Later in life Brenda changed her name back into David and began living a life as a male eventually getting married and raising stepchildren. I believe that biological theory is accurate match for one’s gender.

The words ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ are commonly confused with each other in regular, everyday conversations when the two have very different meanings. The term ‘sex’ refers to the biological and physiological characteristics of a person, such as male or female; ‘gender’ is a social construction that refers to masculine or feminine roles in society ( Nordqvist). For

As evident from the generalized patterns found in differences in behaviour and outlook observed between the sexes, it may be tempting, as has been done in the past, to conclude that gender is an unavoidable aspect of human existence as determined purely from one 's genes. Indeed, human physiology is subject to sexual dimorphism; statistically significant differences in brain size and rate of maturation of specific substructures in the brain exist between males and females (Giedd, Castellanos, Rajapakese, Vaituzis, & Rapoport, 1997), yet these physical differences fail to explain how individuals form their concept of their own gender, and why they tend to conform to their perceived gender roles as defined by the society in which they live, when these roles are ever-changing. Thus, it is important to differentiate between the physical and nonphysical traits, and how the labels of femininity and masculinity should not confuse the two aspects. As defined by Unger (1979), “sex” would be used to refer to the biological differences in males and females, while “gender” describes socioculturally determined, nonphysiological traits which are arbitrarily designated as being appropriate for either females or males. With more recent awareness and interest in matters of gender nonconformity and individual gender identity, new research now explains how these concepts of gender are shaped by social influences (Perry

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.

You are born with sexual attributes but gender qualities are developed after birth (Tovey and Share, 2003). The variations between the two sexes are an outcome of culture and society (Giddens, 2001). The best way to prove the difference between the terms ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ is the situation of transsexuals. These people fit biologically into one sex but feel they belong to the other. Through surgery and hormone treatment they try to change their biological sex and by doing this they also have to learn how to act like the sex they have changed to. They also have to take on new masculine/feminine roles (Browne, 2005). One in every two thousand babies is born intersex which is a baby with mixed female and male characteristics.