SOC 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Sexual Orientation, Femininity, Childbirth
Gender and Society: Part 1
Introduction
• Gender is an identity
o Influences every aspect of who we are
• Gender is a social construction
• Gender roles and gender expectations vary across societies
Difference between sex and gender
• Sex – refers to a biological state, the physiological differences between men and women
• Gender – culturally-defined behaviors that indicate what is proper and acceptable
behavior for men and for women
Specifics about Sex
• Traditionally we think there are two biological sexes (girls and boys)
• 1%-3% of the population are born “intersex”
o Attitudes toward gender dictate how a society deals with it
• Attitudes about sex do not always typically align with gender
Traditional Terms
• Masculinity – set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with boys and
men
• Femininity – set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with girls and
women
Terms
• Sexuality – ways in which people construct their sexual desires and relationships,
including the norms governing sexual behavior
• Sexual orientation – person’s sexual identity in relation to the gender to which they are
attracted; the fact of being heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual
• Transsexual – people who alter their sex (anatomy) through surgery or hormone
replacement to match one’s preferred gender
• Transgender – people whose gender identity, expression, or behaviors differ from their
sex
Constructing our Gendered Selves
• We learn societies’ prescribed gender roles from the day we are conceived
• Gender roles – attitudes and behaviors that are considered to be masculine and feminine
in a particular culture
Traditional Gender Roles are Evolving in the United States
• Women
o Childbirth and child rearing involve a great investment
o Requires the mother to stay near the home to care for the young
• Men
o Engages in behaviors outside the home
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Document Summary
Introduction: gender is an identity, influences every aspect of who we are, gender is a social construction, gender roles and gender expectations vary across societies. Difference between sex and gender: sex refers to a biological state, the physiological differences between men and women, gender culturally-defined behaviors that indicate what is proper and acceptable behavior for men and for women. Traditional terms: masculinity set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with boys and men, femininity set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with girls and women. Constructing our gendered selves: we learn societies" prescribed gender roles from the day we are conceived, gender roles attitudes and behaviors that are considered to be masculine and feminine in a particular culture. Androgyny: androgyny possessing both masculine and feminine characteristics, research has found it correlated to, academic achievement, greater social skills, increased life and interpersonal satisfaction.
