Evaluate two perspectives on the psychology of sex and gender. What can these perspectives tell us about what it is to be a man or a woman?

The notion of what it is to be a man or woman is a hugely difficult subject

to pin. There is a multitude of research into the differences between the

sexes, some of which is demonstrated here in this essay. Biological

accounts of what it is to be a man or woman present the biological

evidence; characteristics such as the biochemistry involved (genes,

hormones or molecules) and the imaging studies which have shown

differences the brains of men and women. With all this taken into

account, the social constructionist perspective uses the discourses created

about masculinity and femininity within society, and how individuals

create their own gender through experience. This essay favours the

biological perspective; being descriptive in its prose. The first section

focuses on the physical aspects of what it is to be a man or woman. This

is further developed in the next section by discussing the discourse

generated within society. Other areas which are explored are the

cognitive differences between boys and girls, and the notion of

masculinity and femininity.

An area that has been researched is the physical characteristics of

humans and in a small proportion of cases it is unreliable. The physical

characteristics e.g. sexing of humans is not as straight forward as it

appears; although from the observation of the anatomical characteristics

of a neonate has been more than 98 per cent reliable (Holloway, Cooper,

Johnston and Stevens, 2003), the mechanical pressures of vaginal birth

and hormones produced by the mother can cause swelling of areas around

the genitalia of the baby which can lead to the wrong sexing.

Although the physical characteristics of a human at birth may have been

determined wrongly, the neonatal infant may develop the identity of the

opposite sex later on in life; as could an individual whose sex has been

correctly determined. This is an argument Social constructionists would

use to demonstrate that the behaviour of an individual cannot be fully

explained by their biological make up alone.

An important point from this argument is that there is this notion of

oppositeness; male/female, masculinity/femininity. Even before we are

born, anticipatory socialization is taking place, for example another

member of the family may state ` it` s going to be a boy and he` s going

to be fireman` or the opposite ` it` s definitely going to be a ...