Biological and Social Constructionist explanations of Gender development

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Biological and Social Constructionist explanations of Gender development.

We begin by exploring the fundamental distinction sociologists make between sex and gender. Although many people use the two words interchangeably, they have very different meanings. Sex is defined as a biological distinction by primary sex characteristics or the anatomical and physiological differences that define male and female bodies, below are some characteristics associated with Sex:

  • Females have a vagina.
  • Males have a penis.
  • Females can breastfeed their babies whereas males cannot.
  • Males have deeper voices than females.
  • Females can get pregnant, males cannot.
  • Males have testicles and females have ovaries.

Gender by contrast, concerns the psychological, social and cultural differences between males and females. Gender is linked to socially constructed notions of masculinity and femininity, it is not necessarily a direct product of an individual’s biological sex. The distinction between sex and gender is an essential one since many differences between males and females are not biological at origin. Gender is seen as socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women. Below are some characteristics associated with Gender:

  • In some  countries, women earn significantly less money than men for similar work
  • In Zimbabwe, many more men than women smoke, as female smoking has not traditionally been considered appropriate
  • In Saudi Arabia men are allowed to drive cars while women are not
  • In most of the world, women do more housework than men.

Gender roles can be defined as the behaviours and attitudes expected of male and female members of a society by that society, it’s important to note that gender roles vary between different societies and cultures. Different cultures impose different expectations upon the men and women who live in that culture. These changes in gender roles affect the home, the workplace, and the school, and they affect all people to some degree. Through the process of socialisation parents, teachers, peers, movies, television, music, books, and religion teach and reinforce gender roles throughout the lifespan, parents probably exert the greatest influence, especially on their very young offspring.  Fathers teach boys how to fix and build things encourage them to play sport while mothers teach girls how to cook, sew, and keep house. Children then receive parental approval when they conform to gender expectations and adopt culturally accepted and conventional roles.  Learning gender roles always occurs within a social context, the values of the parents and society being passed along to the children of successive generations.

 

Leading on from gender and gender roles, we come to Masculinity and Femininity which are social constructions that are linked to cultural, historical, political and social aspects of gender relations. Masculinity is defined as the physical, behavioural, mental and emotional traits believed to be characteristics of males, as defined by the society or culture. Examples of some traits associated with masculinity are rational, aggressiveness, being dominant, being reasonable and being individualistic. Similarly femininity is defined as the physical, behavioural, mental and emotional traits believed to be characteristics of females as defined by the society or culture. Examples of traits associated with femininity are emotional, passive, submissive, sensitive and nurturing.

Gender identity is how individuals perceive themselves and what they call themselves. One’s gender identity can be the same or different than the sex assigned at birth. Individuals are conscious of this between the ages 18 months and 3 years. Most people develop a gender identity that matches their biological sex (male or female). For some however, their gender identity is different from their biological or assigned sex. Some of these individuals choose to socially, hormonally and or surgically change their sex to more fully match their gender identity.

Sexuality – develops at birth but we only become consciously aware of our sexuality from puberty or teen years. It is defined as how you perceive your choice of sexual partner and the type of sex you seek, it influences your thoughts and feelings in relation to sex and your sexuality. Below are some examples of sexual preference:

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  • Heterosexual people of the opposite sex are attracted (male female relations).
  • Homosexual  where people of the same sex are attracted to one another (male male or gay and female female or lesbian)
  •  Bisexual where male and female are attracted to either gender.

The three preferences described above  are by no means exclusive, people can freely identify themselves in a number of different ways such as , ,  ,  and more.

The Nature v Nurture debate:

The Biological approach of gender development is that sex and gender are inter related. Since sex is biologically determined by genetics the ...

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