Gender
A term that refers to the social and cultural aspects of being a man, a woman, or another gender.
Gender is influenced by factors such as norms, expectations, roles, expressions, and identities that vary across cultures and time periods. Gender is not fixed or binary; it can be fluid and diverse. It is the social elaboration of biological sex.
Gender is different from sex, which is based on biological characteristics such as chromosomes, hormones, and genitals.
Gender =/= Sex
Gender is a social construct, it is NOT dependent on biological sex (or at least, that’s how it’s supposed to be) They’re usually conflated though they are not the same. Gender is social elaboration
Sex is a biological categorization
is not Gender Binary either
There’s intersex people; people with XXY chromosomes; Klinefelter Syndrome; XYY Jacobs Syndrome
Gender exaggerates biological differences, Stereotypes
Simplistically, crudely, it can be said that Sex - nature and Gender - nurture but it’s not that cut and dry.
Gender vs Sex
| Gender | Sex |
|---|---|
| social construct; elaboration of sex | biological categorization |
| dependent on norms, traditions, culture, etc | based on biological characteristics like chromosomes, hormones, genitalia |
| exaggerates biological differences [^2] (in a general context) |
Gender identity cannot be freely chosen, but people are not just “born this way”. It’s the interaction of nature and nurture.
Actual differences between males and females tend to be scalar rather than dichotomous [^2]
Mainstream usage of gender focuses on similarities and exaggerates the differences, it perpetuates the Gender Binary. Selective magnification, cherry picking
Definitions
“it is not something we are born with, and not something we have, but something we do” - Candace West and Don H. Zimmerman[^1: (Doing Gender. Gender and Society, 1(2), 125–151)]
“gender is performed” - Judith Butler
labeling someone a man or a woman is a social decision. We may use scientific knowledge to help us make the decision, but only our beliefs about gender – not science – can define our sex. Furthermore, our beliefs about gender affect what kinds of knowledge scientists produce about sex in the first place. - Anne Fausto-Sterling
[2]: Rudman & Glick 2008 observe that again and again, sex differences in performance on various measures emerge as very small with large overlap between the sexes.
see also:
- social programming
- Gender Binary
- Guevedoce
- psychological case study of the boy who was raised as a girl; one with the really messed up piece of shit doctor - John Money - Joan John Case