Sociology of Sex and Sexuality

Through my experiences with people of many backgrounds, as well as my education, I have learned to separate the idea of sex and gender. I still maintain certain traditional views regarding gender, however I’ve come to the realization that the social constructs of men and women are not, and should not, be as rigid. In my opinion, I have acknowledged that there are differences between ‘men’ and ‘women’, however these differences should be used to uplift one another, rather than to tear the other gender apart. For example, a family unit in which the man decides to take on the responsibilities of the

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

In every society, there is a profound distinction between the sexes and their roles within said society. In most societies, this is a diverse network of associations that not only covers those features directly related to sex, such as anatomy and physiology, reproduction, the division of labor, and personality attributes.

“Sex” suggests human females and males in relation to biological features, such as chromosomes, sex organs and other physical features. “Gender”, on the other hand, vindicates women and men based on social factors, such as social role, behavior or identity. The main feminist motivation for making this distinction is to eliminate biological determinism or the view that biology is what determines what a person has to offer. Instead, citizens in country X would be judged on what they have to offer intellectually and physically.

Around the world, gender is the fundamental division between the people in any given 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

A huge misunderstanding grows out of the words gender and sex. When asked about gender on an application or questionnaire, the frequent available responses are either male or female. Similarly, the terms male and female are also accepted as responses to questions regarding an individual’s sex. The terms sex and gender have components of their own.

The history of the world is a complex arrangement of happenings and occurrences that have shaped the current state of civilization. At a fundamental level, history is the driving force behind every element of society that exists today. Within history, there are several factors that have and continue to determine the way in which our society functions. One of the most significant of these factors is gender. Today, conceptions, viewpoints and ideas surrounding gender are always changing. It is this fluidity of thought that ultimately allows society to progress forward and create change. However, gender has not always been as openly discussed. Tracing back through history, gender has consistently been a point of identity among humans.

The sociology of gender is one of the largest subfields within sociology; sociological gender studies look at the social construction of gender and how gender interacts with other social structures within society (Crossman, 2016). It Is important that one understands the difference between sex and gender to understand the sociology of gender; unlike gender, sex is biologically determined and relates to the reproductive organs a person has. In order to separate gender and sex sociologists use different pronouns; when discussing gender, sociologists use the terms man/woman and when discussing sex sociologists will use the terms male/female (Crossman, 2016). Although most people fall into wither the category of male or female, some people are born with ‘sex organs’ that do not clearly fit into either of the two specific sex categories, these people are known as intersex (Ashley Crossman, 2016). Gender is described as a social classification based on one’s identity and how one presents themselves to the world; this identity relates to the way one behaves and interacts within society. Many sociologists view gender as a learned behaviour and look at gendered identities as being culturally produced which makes gendered identities socially constructed (Crossman,

You are to respond honestly and completely to each of the questions in the journal. It is important that I will be able to understand your point of view on each and every question - so short 'Yes' or 'No' responses will not suffice. ( Place your response in the ‘Answer’ section indicated.) Give examples and details to support your responses.

First let me define gender. Gender is composed of three parts: biology, gender roles, and sexuality. Gender roles are the behaviors, attitudes, appearance, and etcetera that a specific culture has deemed appropriate for a specific sex. May I note that gender roles can and do vary between cultures. Some cultures even include a third gender category because not everyone fits within

Introduction Traditionally gender has been viewed as a simple binary category with certain dichotomies that exist between the masculine and feminine. The categorization is borne from the belief that because men and women are biologically different that is, different sexes, there will be a natural difference in the way they behave within the society (language use being an important aspect of this behavior). There is little evidence that this belief is based on anything other than stereotyping. Just by virtue that women and men are biologically different, the society believes that the men and women should behave different also and that each should be treated differently. The natural belief that men and women are different has led to the rise

Human sexuality is a common phrase for all, and anything, pertaining to the feelings and behaviors of sex for the human race. Sexuality has been a topic that has been discussed and studied for as far back as 1000 years B.C. and is still being studied today. As the discussion of sexuality has progressed through history, theories have been created based on research and experiments that scholars have implemented, based on their own perceptions of human behavior. Out of the many theories that pose to explain sexual behavior, Sexuality Now explained ten that are seemed to be the most overlapped, and built off of theories. Of these theories, two that were discussed in the text were the behavioral and sociological theory. These two theories cover some of the basic ideas of what could possibly influence a person’s sexuality.

interactions performed by people on a daily basis; gender is not merely a concept, but an

In a culture that often uses the terms “sex” and “gender” synonymously, it’s important to recognize the difference between the two. In West and Zimmerman’s article, “Doing Gender,” they make this distinction. Sex is defined as “biology: anatomy, hormones, and physiology,” and gender is “an achieved status: that which is constructed through psychological, cultural, and social means” (West and Zimmerman; 125). Michael Kimmel, the author of The Gendered Society and a sociologist at Stony Brook University in New York, further defines gender as “[referring] to the meanings that are attached to [the differences between men and women] within a culture…’gender’ is masculinity and femininity—what it means to be a man or a woman” (Kimmel; 3). In addition to these definitions of gender, gender also serves to express the universal inequalities between men and women in their respective cultures, such as inequalities in power and access to resources. However, both of these understandings of sex and gender perpetuate the idea that individuals are categorized into binary categories. Sex is divided into being biologically male or biologically female, while gender is divided into being a man or a woman.