Is gender behaviour learned or innate?

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Sociology 1: Issues of Identity

Gender

Gender

Is gender behaviour learned or innate?

        Construction of one’s gender often starts at birth, and perhaps even before. John Bowlby (1953) says that the preparation is the very beginning of gender construction. It is even possible to find out the sex of a child before birth and when this happens, parents often begin to buy clothes and toys which are usual to a specific gender, i.e. blue for a boy, and pink for a girl, dolls for girls and cars for a boys. So gender construction happens from the outset.

        It is difficult to determine whether gender behaviour is innate when the parents of a child begin this construction of gender identity at such an early stage.

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        Lionel Tiger and Robin Fox (1972) however believe that the difference in behaviour of both males and females can be explained in part by hormone production. As hormones are so closely related to the actions of the nervous system, this would then mean that hormones affect sexual behaviour, personality and emotion. Increased levels of testosterone and androgen in the human male can make them more boisterous, influencing change in their physical self as well as their psychological self. Sexual desire and aggressiveness are also related to these hormones.

        This would present a very ‘animal’ way of looking at the ...

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