Gender in a Cross-Cultural Context - Essay Example

Gender in a Cross-Cultural Context Introduction Gender refers to a range of humanistic characteristics about or relating to differentiating between femininity and masculinity. In relation to gender context, masculinity and femininity characteristics may include biological sex (that is the state of being female, male or intersex), gender identity and sex-based social structures (including social roles and other gender roles). The terminological difference between gender and biological sex was introduced in the cross-cultural context by sexologist known as John Money, in the year 1955. After the introduction of the definitions of gender, however, the meaning of gender only became widespread in the 1970s after the emergence of feminist theory. Feminist theory embraced in totality the concept of the distinction between the concept of biological sex and the socio-cultural construct of gender. In the current conservative societal systems, the gender-biological sex distinction is strictly followed in specific contexts, especially the documents written by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the social sciences. Put differently in other contexts, including social science areas, gender is the basic inclusion of sexuality, or it replaces sexuality. Although the change in gender meaning is overly traced in the 1980s, a meager acceleration of gender context in the scientific field was liberally observed in 1993 in the United States. This is the period in which USA’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began using the terminology gender instead of sex. Therefore, gender was reversely used during this period as a sexual view of individuals or as a person’s self-assessment and self-representation as male or female. This paper, therefore, describes how individual social role players construct gender in a culture other than the ordinarily known cultures. Gender and Language as a Cultural Element Natural languages often make up all the gender distinctions. Gender relation and language may be of various kinds. Gender and language distinctions socially are more or less loosely associated with analogies of either perceived or actual differences between men and women. Some grammatical gender issues go far much beyond or totally ignore the masculine-feminine distinctions. In the explanation of gender and languages, the following are the key and elementary attributes of gender as a cultural construction concept. Firstly, languages include the terminologies used unequally while referring to men and women (Jowett, 2005). The conservative societal concern that the current language structures may be biased in favor of only men has led some authors in the recent past to argue for the use of a more gender-neutral vocabulary in English as well as other culturally assimilated languages. Secondly, in language, the grammatical gender is a property of some cultural languages. Herein, every noun is assigned a gender, which in most cases is without appropriate relation to gender meaning as a concept. Thirdly, several languages such as Persian are gender-neutral. In Persia, for example, the same word is used to refer to both men and women. Verbs, adjectives and nouns in Persia do not promote gender chauvinism. This implies that gender inequality is minimized at all costs in this culture. Gender neutrality in genderless languages additionally promotes an ideal gender-sexuality based society with well-coordinated structures. Structural functionalism is, therefore, directly linked to gender and sexuality studies at all levels of the society (Messinger & Morrow, 2006). Lastly, several languages promptly attest the use of different vocabularies by either men or women in various extents. For example, gender differences spoken in Japanese. The oldest documented languages such as Sumerian record a distinctive cultural sub-language view of gender only used by female speakers. Gender and Science Gender as Cultural Entities Many social scientists argue that science should have a gender. Raising a masculine philosophy is, therefore, an important aspect of gender construction in a culturally based manner. Put differently, the feminine desires arrived as a context of gender in the 19th Century. During this epoch, even though manly historians desired a return to manly philosophy, the feminine perspective was equally gaining roots in the society. On a different view, the female perspective of gender created equality between the sexes thus encouraging women to become more masculine and respectable (Rahmann & Jackson, 2010). The cultural science towards gender construction is masculine. This gender attribute is not only seen in the social role players, but also in the gender-based ethos and substance. Culturally, gender is actually the sole reason as to why women always feel left out and estranged in the social role player’s realm. Men in the other societies, apart from the one I have grown in, still feels greater in class strata as opposed to women. This feeling is based on the socialization process wherein feminine gender are always made from the onset to believe that masculine gender is more important and perfect than them. Gender and Religion as a Cultural Element This topic is about both the external and internal religious issue related to gender. Religion, in this context, is described as the opium of the masses. Therefore, it plays a crucial role culturally in the shaping of the overall view of gender and sexuality. Gender issues involved in religious practices include the gender of God as well as deities engulfed in creation myths about human gender, roles and rights (Jowett, 2005). This includes the leadership roles especially in the ordination of women, gender equality, marriage, abortion, abortion and sex segregation. In general terms, the culturally initiated views of gender are different depending on the religious provisions. Various religions believe that men are naturally superior to women. This is owing to the factual statements obtained from the scriptures in which the creator is seen to be of a masculine biological structure. This view nonetheless may be different in other culturally-based religious practices, but the fact remains that through cultural assimilations, in one way or the other, people still believe in gender superiority of men to women (Messinger & Morrow, 2006). Women, through findings, are found to be more religious than men are. This is because of the life frustrations especially as a result of gender inequality and sexuality. Women gender and sexuality is often believed to be inferior to men’s. This inferiority complex or the religious fanaticism makes the feminine gender be on the receiving end socially especially when it comes to all the socio-cultural punishing situations. Questions Associated With Alternative Gender Construct Gender systems are the societal gender-based roles. A gender role is actually anything that a person says and does as an indication to others that one is a straight male, female or an androgynous gender. It is awkward in relation to gender limits to see men walking while holding hands. On the other hand, it is normal to see two feminine gender individuals walking while holding hands. These are, therefore, some of the social construct questions, which an individual’s social role players should be able to answer in order to comprehend the concept of gender including its pros and cons. Gender construct, though not limited to sexual arousal, involves an erotic arousal and responses. Gender identity and construct is an individual’s own personal experiences with gender role and the persistence of specified one’s sexuality and individuality as androgynous, female or male especially in behavior and self-awareness (Rahman & Jackson, 2010). Gender binary is one of the outstanding futuristic characteristics of cultural gender construct. A gender binary is a question of larger scope in as far as gender construct is concerned. A gender binary is cordially the classification of sex and gender into two disconnected, but distinct forms of masculinity and femininity. Gender binary can to some extent be a description of social boundaries that discourages people from mixing gender roles or creating a third form of gender expression (Jowett, 2005). Gender binary construct can also represent some of the gender prejudices that stigmatize transgender or intersex people. The gender binary construct also involve gender identities and gender roles as measures of identifying someone to openly fit in a female or male role in society. The equations of gender construct beyond any doubt answer validity of our own specific cultures such as non-western gender systems, the cultural definition of homosexuality, the understanding of alternative models of gender as well as the understanding of the gendered violence. Non-western gender: In cultures where gender binary is important and prominent, the transgender people are majorly referred to as a major exception to the societally approved ways of life or norms in society (Jowett, 2005). Intersex people or those who cannot be biologically determined as either masculine or feminine are another culturally discriminated individuals as an obvious cultural deviation. The non-western gender system in the current cultural assimilation era presents other forms of gender deviations such as lesbians, gays, transsexuals, and crossdressers. Other cultures, nonetheless, have their own specific gendered-based practices, which are independent and free from the Western gender binary. Cultural definition of homosexuality: This concept is another validity element of gender construct on an individual’s own societal ways of life (Messinger & Morrow, 2006). In the cultures where differences between male and female in gender binary are masculine and feminine, it is largely vital to look at how same-sex sexuality results in the changes between specified cultural practices. In some cultures, for instance, homosexual behavior transcends from one gender binary part to another whereas other cultures homosexuality is a constant variable. The understanding of alternative models of gender and the understanding of the gendered violence In the “five sexes: why male and female are not enough,” Anne Fausto- Sterling systematically explores the possibilities and possible solutions to of intersex. Additionally, understanding of the alternative gender models socially looks into the traditional labeling of male or female genders. A body, to some degree, is not a proposition that allows wholesomely for all-inclusive intersexual individuals to adapt in a traditional gender labeling system. Gendered violence: Gendered violence can be similarly understood as a hate crime. Gendered violence, in specific cases, targets the victim’s gender especially feminine gendered sexuality. Gendered violent acts are usually aimed at transgender victims or women. However, gendered violence is typically limited to only women and transgendered groups of individuals. Gendered violence happens in private as well as in public domain; thus this gender construct cannot be overlooked (Rahman, 2010). Consequences of Third and Fourth Genders in Other Societies Third gender or third sex is a concept that individuals are categorically grouped neither as a man nor as a woman. Third gender is a concept of free will, thus by the will of social consensus, people are generalized in grouping as opposed to specify in gender groupings. Social categories presented in the third gendered societies overwhelmingly recognize three or more genders. The term third is usually used to comprehend “other”. Anthropologists and sociologists have in addition described fourth gender as a replica of the third gender. Fourth and “some” other genders can be challenging gender and sexuality concepts to be understood especially in the Western conventionally conceptual category of gender categories explanation (Jowett, 2005). Third and fourth genders in the society biologically help in the understanding of the societal specify as per genders and sexuality. Even though biology usually determines genetically human’s biological sex as either male or female, intersexual relationships may also lead to having progeny. The state of personality identification as, or being identified by the society as ultimately belonging to either the male or the female genders, is considered relative to the third and fourth genders roles in the society. Summary Consequences of gender variance, in the western society, relatively range from deviant societal practices to rewarding social situations in as far as gendered sexuality is concerned. Gender variance or gender nonconformity is a behavior, which gendered expression do not whatsoever match male and female gendered norms. People have openly expressed gender variance in the West. Examples include openly exposing gay marriages, men holding hands in the public and other socially unaccepted gender mischiefs. People who express gender variance in the West have emergently blamed such behaviors on the primary socialization process drawbacks. Individuals who exhibit extraordinary gender variance are called gender nonconformity, gender variant or gender atypical. Gender variance may includes transgender or ultimately variant in terms of gender expression. Intersexual variant is also an emerging socio-cultural problem as a result of gender variance. Gender variance as a result of the uncultured and uncouth behaviors should be shun away from the society at all costs. Doing away with cultural variance, even though has many sociological technicalities, should be practiced at the primary levels of socialization. References Jowett, L. (2005). Sex and the Slayer: A Gender Studies Primer for the Buffy Fan. Middletown, Conn: Wesleyan Univ. Press. Messinger, L., & Morrow, D. F. (2006). Case Studies on Sexual Orientation and Gender Expression in Social Work Practice. New York: Columbia University Press. Rahman, M., & Jackson, S. (2010). Gender and Sexuality: Sociological Approaches. Cambridge: Polity. Read More