The Difference Between Sex and Gender - Essay Example

? WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SEX AND GENDER? HOW DOES GENDER DEVELOP? By of the of the of the SchoolCity, State 4 December 2013 Introduction Most of the time, people tend to think that all attributes of sex and gender are consistent because they are used interchangeably. For common man’s understanding, all these aspects of sex and gender are very complex. For example, a person may be born female (sex), but she does not possess or exhibit all the feminine (gender) attributes, like the lesbians, or a person can be born male, but he does not posses the masculine attributes or behavior, such as the gay men or even the heterosexuals who posses the qualities of both sexes (Blakemore, Berenbaum and Liben, 2013). Modern day scholars have not generally agreed on the meanings that have been given to the two terms. Psychologists have differentiated the two terms by saying that one entails the biological aspects of being male or female such as hormones, chromosomes among others, while they have used gender to refer to social or cultural aspects. This paper embarks on clarifying at the differences that exist between sex and gender. The process of how gender develops is also explained. The Meaning of Sex and Gender and the Difference between the Two Before embarking on giving the differences between gender and sex it is important to look at the definitions of both terms. Being born male or female whether in a human or animal societies comes with responsibilities that one is required to adapt to and even practice. Although the two terms are linked, sex and gender do not mean the same thing. Sex is term has really brought about a lot of controversy among scholars as some have used it to mean sexual intercourse, while others have used the term to mean the differences that exist between a man and a woman. However, sex refers to the biological distinctions between men and women (Canary, Emmers-Sommer and Faulkner, 1997). For example, when a woman gives birth to a baby, it is very common to hear people asking whether the baby is boy or girl. This shows or means that they want to know the sex of the baby (Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2010). Sex also refers to the difference in chromosomes between man and woman. A man’s chromosomes are XY, while a woman’s chromosomes are XX. But there are some exceptions of persons who have both sexes, though they are very few (Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2010). Therefore, a person is either born male or female except for the few exceptions. The term gender on the other hand, was coined by psychologist John Money, when he was trying to differentiate between sex and gender (Blakemore, Berenbaum and Liben, 2013). According to the Journal of Social Personal Relationships (JSPR), gender refers to the differences in men and women in social, psychological, and cultural contexts, for example, dressing, social relations, and societal relations (Canary, Emmers-Sommer and Faulkner, 1997). According to most sociologists, gender is socially constructed. For example, sociologists Candace West and Donald Zimmerman assert that members of a society are required to act in a manly or a womanly manner or behave like boys or girls. This acting is normally socially constructed and therefore a person is supposed to identify himself or herself with the right acts or the appropriate gender (Miller, 1993). It can hence be argued that gender is not innate, since when a child is born, he or she does not know his gender until he or she learns how to behave in the same way people of his own sex are behaving. For example, if a boy is born in a culture where men are the providers and protectors of their homes, he learns and adopts that behavior and this is what gender entails. These are the aspects that identify him as a man. On the other hand, in most cultures women are perceived as housekeepers and therefore when a baby girl is born, she learns the aspects of being a woman and acts according to how other women do (Miller, 1993). At birth, a person’s sex is identified but not gender. The members of the society will purchase clothes according to the sex of the child and therefore if it is a boy, male clothes will be purchased and if she is a girl, female clothes will be purchased. Therefore, even without asking whether a child is male or female, a stranger can be able to know whether that child is boy or a girl through the baby’s clothes (commonly known as gender markers) (Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2010). For example, in the United States and in most of the western cultures, pink and blue colors have been widely used to define gender. Pink is seen as a color for girls and if a boy is dressed in pink, then it is seen as socially and culturally inappropriate. On the other hand, blue has been socially and culturally accepted as a color for boys and therefore if a girl is dressed in blue, it is also found to be inappropriate. These colors are social makers to define gender. From this, it is clear that although people can construct gender, sex is biological (Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2010). How is gender developed? As mentioned earlier, gender is culturally and socially constructed. For example, in most cultures people have had the stereotype that men are naturally unemotional, while women are naturally emotional, but with time, these attribute are becoming less and less important However, there are those biological gender roles that define one’s gender, though drawing a cut line between the two is very difficult (Carroll, 2011). The social learning theory is important for clearer understanding of how gender is developed or constructed. The Social Learning Theory Social learning theorists have the common belief that people learn gender almost entirely from the surroundings, which include the society among others. This theory emphasizes that through the environment and also through cognition, a child is able to construct his or her gender. The profounder of this theory, Albert Bandura believed that gender or masculinity and femininity are acquired in the same way as all other behavior. This means that both girls and boys are supposed to be socialized differently by their parents, so as to acquire the appropriate genders (Carroll, 2011). Classical conditioning of gender: This is one way that gender is developed according to the social learning theory. For example, when a baby is born, his or her sex is defined but the gender comes later. With time and as the child grows, he or she can talk, feed and do all sorts of things by himself or herself. At the same time, due to socialization both males and females will exhibit the traits that are of their respective genders. At this point, a young boy will behave and act like other boys or men. The boy will play with toys which like trucks and guns and if one tries to give the boy a doll to play with, he will definitely refuse because his gender has now been internalized in him. When it comes to the girl, she will exhibit the different traits of other females such as playing with kitchen toys and dolls. Therefore, according to this theory, it is clear that people learn and develop gender through social and cultural learning (Carroll, 2011). It is a fact that children are usually discouraged from adapting traits that are gender inappropriate. As mentioned earlier, when given a doll to play with, a boy will refuse because he has been discouraged from engaging in activities which are gender inappropriate, and this is what results in him internalizing the traits meant for boys (Beckett and Taylor, 2010). Observational learning of gender: This is another way that gender is developed. Albert Bandura in his social learning theory explained that children are normally sensitive to the characteristics of the model they use, and are more likely to copy those who seem like them from observing their models. In this context, a child will tend to model himself or herself on the same sex parent. For example, a boy will observe what the father or any other male figure around him does, and he will copy those traits. These traits are such as maybe repairing wooden things in the compound. On the other hand, a girl is going to observe the female figure present in her life such as the mother or sister, and will tend to copy her traits. Such roles as cooking, cleaning, and even washing the clothes will help the girl learn that those are the roles that are appropriate for her and define her gender (Beckett and Taylor, 2010). However, this method of developing gender brings about some confusion when applied to a single parent family. The children born in such families might observe the wrong gender roles and sometimes end up getting confused. If a boy is surrounded by only female figures in his socialization, he will tend to adopt the behaviors of the females around him and that is how some of the children grow to be gay men. On the other hand, if a girl is only socialized by male figures, she will at the end exhibits traits that are inappropriate for her gender. The chances of such a girl becoming a lesbian are numerous due to the inappropriate traits she observes from the males (Beckett and Taylor, 2010). Conclusion I will conclude this discussion by with the words of Simone de Beau-Voir who voiced the argument that “one is not born, but rather becomes a woman” (Butler, 1986). These words meant that the gender or the masculinity or femininity of a person is not born, but rather acquired with time. There have been long debates by scholars to separate the two terms ad most have been successful. This is after they came to the realization that the two terms are very distinct, though earlier, most of them had been using them interchangeably. As mentioned, sex is the biological distinction between a man and a woman. The chromosomes of a man are XY, while those of a woman are XX. The reproductive system is also different both physically and inwardly. Gender on the other hand is what we use to determine masculinity and femininity. Gender is not innate but rather acquired; this means that one is not born with the woman in herself or the man in him, but rather he or she acquires the traits of the appropriate gender from the socialization in the society. Just as Bandura holds, gender takes a process to be formed. This can be through classical conditioning where a child is socialized on the right way to act from the word go. It can also be through observational learning where the child observes what the members of his or her gender do, and copies them Reference List Beckett, C. and Taylor, H., 2010. Human Growth and Development. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Blakemore, J. E. O., Berenbaum, S. A. & Liben, L.S., 2013. Gender Development. New York: Psychology Press.  Butler, J., 1986. Sex and Gender in Simone de Beauvior’s Second Sex. [online] Available at: < http://www.egs.edu/faculty/judith-butler/articles/sex-and-gender-in-simone-de-beauvoirs/> [Accessed 11 December 2013]. Canary, D. J., Emmers-Sommer, T. M. and Faulkner, S., 1997. Sex and Gender Differences in Personal Relationships. New York: The Guilford Press. Carroll, J. L., 2011. Sexuality Now: Embracing Diversity, 4th ed. California: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2010. Sex and Society, Volume 1. New York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation.  Miller, Barbara D. ed., 1993. Sex and Gender Hierarchies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Read More