Lesson 1 – Leveling Off: Gender and Sexuality
- From birth until adulthood and old age the society looks differently at women and men.
- There are two types of differences between men and women: gender and sex
- sex and gender are two very essential yet underrated parts of human life. They
affect all aspects of our lives from how we look and act to the job we take and the
laws and values of our society.
Sex - refers to the biological characteristics which defines human as either male and female.
- It is often refers to as the act of reproduction (copulation), thus an important notion of how
population culture sees sex.
- According to popular culture, sex is something done for pleasure and in a Freudian sense it is
what drives people to do certain things.
- The association of sex with pleasure and vice versa may make people dismiss it as a serious topic
for study.
- Sex in a biological sense is a category for living being beings specifically related to their
reproductive function.
- There are two sexes:
Determinants of Sex Female Male
Genitalia vagina; clitoris penis; scrotum
Internal reproductive organ uterus; ovaries testes
Chromosomes XX XY
Hormones estrogen androgen
progesterone testosterone
Other produced eggs fertilized by produces sperm cells to
another sex fertilize the cells
- Our differences as to sex are usually use to explain the status, roles and characteristics ascribed
and dictated by the society to women and men.
Ex: We usually consider it “natural” for a woman to take care of her child and her
husband as well as do household chores (gender) as she is the one who gets
pregnant and gives birth (sex), and since we consider men as stronger they are
expected to become breadwinners and heads of the family as well as leaders in the
community and society.
- We ascribe female characteristics as being sensitive, weak and a “cry baby” to women; while
male characteristics such as strong, brave and aggressive to men.
- If all males presented in advertisements are in powerful and dominant poses, one can presume
that power and dominance are associated with maleness or masculinity.
- If all female in advertisements are seen to take care of people (spouses, children, parents) one
associates females with caring roles.
Gender – is a socially learned behavior usually associated with one’s sex.
, - it is how male and female relate to one another.
- it is based on how people see themselves and on their tendency to act along either the
masculine or the feminine line.
- it is a social construct that determines one’s roles, expected values, beliefs and interaction in
relationships involving men and women.
- it affects what access are available to men and women to decision making, knowledge and
resources.
- it identifies the characteristics and social behavior of men and women and the relationship
between them.
- gender roles and characteristics are:
Note fixed
May change over time
May vary from culture to culture
It is learned or acquires
Differences Between Sex and Gender
Sex Gender
Physiological (born with) Socially constructed (not born with)
Related to reproduction cultural
Congenital learned behavior
Unchangeable varies within a culture/among cultures
- due to advances in science and other societal trends, one can now legally and physically
change his or her gender.
Does Sex Correspond to Gender?
- Sex does not determine one’s gender.
- Femininity – the behavior that one associates with females may not actually be tied to a
woman’s sex.
- Masculinity is not tied to one’s gonads (a sex organ that produces sperm; testicle)
Gender Role Socialization – is defined as the process of learning and internalizing culturally approved
ways of thinking, feeling and behaving.
- It starts as soon as one is born and manifests from the color associated with one’s gender to the
roles one’s sees his or her gender performs the most.
- Socialization affects all parts of one’s identity by dictating what is acceptable to do because of
one’s educational background, class, religion and gender. Thus, female and male gender roles
develop.
- One’s socialization regulates his or her perceptions of genders in two ways:
External regulation – involves various institutions dictating what is proper and
normal based on one’s identity.
- it affects how one sees his or her own gender.
- it can happen through censorship of some form of sexuality (homosexuality is
bad!) or subtle form of control such as microaggression (like “only girly boys do
homework)
- because of these external regulations enforced by society, notions of genders
are absorbed and internalize social control is formed.
Internalized social control causes a person to police himself or herself according to
society’s standards and norms.
- From birth until adulthood and old age the society looks differently at women and men.
- There are two types of differences between men and women: gender and sex
- sex and gender are two very essential yet underrated parts of human life. They
affect all aspects of our lives from how we look and act to the job we take and the
laws and values of our society.
Sex - refers to the biological characteristics which defines human as either male and female.
- It is often refers to as the act of reproduction (copulation), thus an important notion of how
population culture sees sex.
- According to popular culture, sex is something done for pleasure and in a Freudian sense it is
what drives people to do certain things.
- The association of sex with pleasure and vice versa may make people dismiss it as a serious topic
for study.
- Sex in a biological sense is a category for living being beings specifically related to their
reproductive function.
- There are two sexes:
Determinants of Sex Female Male
Genitalia vagina; clitoris penis; scrotum
Internal reproductive organ uterus; ovaries testes
Chromosomes XX XY
Hormones estrogen androgen
progesterone testosterone
Other produced eggs fertilized by produces sperm cells to
another sex fertilize the cells
- Our differences as to sex are usually use to explain the status, roles and characteristics ascribed
and dictated by the society to women and men.
Ex: We usually consider it “natural” for a woman to take care of her child and her
husband as well as do household chores (gender) as she is the one who gets
pregnant and gives birth (sex), and since we consider men as stronger they are
expected to become breadwinners and heads of the family as well as leaders in the
community and society.
- We ascribe female characteristics as being sensitive, weak and a “cry baby” to women; while
male characteristics such as strong, brave and aggressive to men.
- If all males presented in advertisements are in powerful and dominant poses, one can presume
that power and dominance are associated with maleness or masculinity.
- If all female in advertisements are seen to take care of people (spouses, children, parents) one
associates females with caring roles.
Gender – is a socially learned behavior usually associated with one’s sex.
, - it is how male and female relate to one another.
- it is based on how people see themselves and on their tendency to act along either the
masculine or the feminine line.
- it is a social construct that determines one’s roles, expected values, beliefs and interaction in
relationships involving men and women.
- it affects what access are available to men and women to decision making, knowledge and
resources.
- it identifies the characteristics and social behavior of men and women and the relationship
between them.
- gender roles and characteristics are:
Note fixed
May change over time
May vary from culture to culture
It is learned or acquires
Differences Between Sex and Gender
Sex Gender
Physiological (born with) Socially constructed (not born with)
Related to reproduction cultural
Congenital learned behavior
Unchangeable varies within a culture/among cultures
- due to advances in science and other societal trends, one can now legally and physically
change his or her gender.
Does Sex Correspond to Gender?
- Sex does not determine one’s gender.
- Femininity – the behavior that one associates with females may not actually be tied to a
woman’s sex.
- Masculinity is not tied to one’s gonads (a sex organ that produces sperm; testicle)
Gender Role Socialization – is defined as the process of learning and internalizing culturally approved
ways of thinking, feeling and behaving.
- It starts as soon as one is born and manifests from the color associated with one’s gender to the
roles one’s sees his or her gender performs the most.
- Socialization affects all parts of one’s identity by dictating what is acceptable to do because of
one’s educational background, class, religion and gender. Thus, female and male gender roles
develop.
- One’s socialization regulates his or her perceptions of genders in two ways:
External regulation – involves various institutions dictating what is proper and
normal based on one’s identity.
- it affects how one sees his or her own gender.
- it can happen through censorship of some form of sexuality (homosexuality is
bad!) or subtle form of control such as microaggression (like “only girly boys do
homework)
- because of these external regulations enforced by society, notions of genders
are absorbed and internalize social control is formed.
Internalized social control causes a person to police himself or herself according to
society’s standards and norms.
