Essay on Sex and Gender

Gender refers to the socially constructed categories of feminine and masculine. It is one of the major factors in social difference and inequality in today’s society. Gender inequality refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals based on their gender. It arises from differences in socially constructed gender roles. Using a paragraph based approach I intend to individually analyse various aspects of gender differences referencing to the theory of socialisation and also making links to the works of Marx, Durkham and Goffman. My essay will cover different aspects of gender inequalities still present in today’s contemporary society.

In order to better comprehend the issues in which I will be examining, it is important to have an understanding of the difference between sex and gender, the role and definition of a 'patriarchal society',

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

In this paper, comparative analysis of strategies and views of Katha Pollitt and Aaron Devor, about the determinants which define roles of genders in a society will be discussed. The central idea of the paper is that gender has specific roles which are defined through their innate characteristics and social constructs. Since the start of feminist movements, a debate has arised on the behaviors and roles of genders. Feminist movements were purposed to achieve, the rights of women based on their roles equal to men in the society. Which led to debate over differences between abilities and preferences of gender that are the basis of different and unequal roles of males and females.

Same Difference: How Gender Myths Are Hurting Our Relationships, Our Children, and Our Jobs is relevant to what we have learned in class. We have discussed whether gender inequality is inevitable or not and the unequal treatment or perceptions people face based on their gender. Gender inequality remains a major obstacle to human development. The drawbacks facing women and girls are a major foundation of inequality. All too often, women and girls are victimized in health, education, political representation, and labor market. There are

Sex is categorized on biological grounds for example male and female and it is as a result of nature while gender elaborates sex on social grounds. (West and Zimmerman 1987) define gender as something people learn to do through social pressure and one is not born with it.it is learned over a period of time . A person’s sex does not necessarily correspond with his or her gender and hence division into various gender categories for example transgender, gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, intersex and gender queer. Gender categories are created when a male or a female do not match with their specific sex roles in the society. Human sex differences in humans are between males and females and they are determined by presence or absence of Y chromosomes.

Many parents voice a fear about their child learning about gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation. They think that hearing, seeing, or learning these things will influence their child. According to research, however, no matter how often children are exposed to these topics they still will make their own decisions later on in life on the matter. Often parents are upset when they hear their children are learning about these terms because they do not know the dictionaries definitions for these words are. According to webster; gender is the state of being male or female, the word typically used to reference social and cultural differences rather than biological ones. Gender identity is a person’s perception of having a particular gender that may not correspond with the sex they were given at birth. Sexual orientation is a person’s sexual identity in relation to the gender to which they are attracted. Many times a person’s sexual orientation can be labeled as heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual. Diversity is an important lesson to teach children especially at a young age. To understand how to best teach diversity about gender in a classroom background information, teaching strategies, and student’s understanding of diversity is important.

In The Gendered Society, the writer Michael Kimmel examine an wealth of pragmatic study and accepted outsets regarding gender disparities to disagree from a sociological standpoint that “Gender Divergence is the upshot of gender variation, not its origin”. The sociological characteristic of his debate is footed on the inspiration that “the communal establishments of our world like place of work, family, politics and school are also gender-oriented institutions. Kimmel further argues that these institutions convey a reason, logic, a self-motivated notion that replicates gender associations linking men and women moreover the gender classification of authority and hierarchy”. As Kimmel observes it, an assessment of gender ought to try hard to elucidate not only alleged variance linking women and men however male supremacy (Kimmel).

This paper will explore gender roles and how they have been transformed and at times redefined. Many women wanted change and greater roles in society which lead to a movement that eventually questioned and blurred the lines between who the head of the household is and traditional gender roles. This paper will explore what is feminism, what exactly is gender and sex, is gender important, is the role of the male and female really important in today’s society and finally, why must man be men and women be woman?

Gender inequality is a social problem that is widespread in society. It is referred to as the unfair treatment of individuals based on one 's gender. Historically, laws have opposed women to go to school, access certain jobs, and purchase property. Gender inequality has been experience through culture – honor-killing, sex-selective abortion, and society – occupation, gender roles, and education. The social expectations of men and women differ between cultures that are constructed socially and culturally. These expectations are displayed in roles, and behavior believed both by men and women and their interdependent relationships. Gender inequality can be further understood through the structure of sexism. Discrimination takes place in gender inequality for the reason that men and women are treated on the basis of gender alone (Amjad, R., Ashfaq, M., Kousar, R., Saghir, A., 2010).

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

Males and females are classed differently from the moment they are pronounced boy or girl. Gender determines the differences in power and control in which men and women have over the socioeconomic determinants of their health, lives and status in their community. Our society moulds how men and women should and should not behave and can be observed in all parts of our society. As a result of these Gender stereotypes men and women have issues which affect their health which are unique to each gender. Males for example are perceived to be greater risk takers as a whole in our society than that of females. We represent risk taking behavior with masculinity and violence, high speed driving and contact sport with the male gender. (Doyle 2005)

Social construction of gender is collectively held beliefs. In society we believe that interaction through language, symbols, color, food, gestures and people, are ways we create meaning through social interaction. Also, social construction of gender, we must understand the difference between sex and gender. We use gender as labels for many reasons on how to address an individual, weather the individual want to be recognized as him or her. We use gender display to lead others to make attributions regarding her or his gender, regardless of whether the presented gender corresponds to the person sex or gender sex-identity.

Gender alludes to the obligations, responsibilities, and roles of women and men and ladies that are made in our cultures, societies, and families. Similarly, the idea of gender likewise incorporates the desires held about the qualities, aptitudes and likely practices of masculinity and femininity. Gender roles can be learned, vary between and with within cultures upon having the ability to change with time. Gender is modified by different social separation, and they include; ethnicity, political status, class, mental and physical disability age and that’s only a tip (Marcus, Charles, Benita, Hernalinda, Pablo & Felipe, 2004). Gender concept is indispensable because connected to social science; it uncovers how men ‘s domination or subordination of women is a social perspective. Consequently, it is also applied science construction in that men and women has different unalterable roles in the societal setting though gender role is not predetermined biologically not it is not fixed forever. Male and female gender roles comprise of distinctive work duties and responsibilities, knowledge, the basic process of decision making, however, there are as yet social desires which guide the concept of what it implies to female or male.

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.