Saturday, May 10, 2014

Introduction to Sociology/Gender

Gender vs. Sex


Gender and Sex has similar meaning. But There is subtle distinction between two word. While sex has biological meaning, gender has social meaning. This difference prevent confuse which are between social and biological aspect. Sex can be defined by chromosomes. And gender are constructed by inner feeling or social concept.


Sex

Many species of living things are divided into male and female. In this sentence, male and female have biological meaning. We can call these sex.
Male has XY chromosomes and female has XX chromosomes. The goal of sex is sexual reproduction for life cycle. For survival of species, living things want to pass down dominant genetic trait. That is role of sex.

Gender

Gender is constructed meaning. In society, people think about component of human sexuality. As the think become fixed idea, they construct gender. If father and mother give birth to baby, that has sexual meaning. If father earn money and mother take care of household affairs, that has gender meaning. These called gender role. Traditionally, feminine characteristic is regarded as submissive, dependent, emotional, receptive, intuitive, timid, passive and sensitive. The other way, masculine characteristic is regarded as dominant, independent, rational, assertive, analytic, brave, active, insensitive. Many people expect male or female to act through gender role or gender characteristics.

I think gender role or gender characteristics can be component of discrimination. For example, when people think about nurse, it come as feminine job. More over, traditionally, female has restriction in political world. According to old saying, it goes ill with the house where the hen sings and the cock is silent. Or It is a sad house where the hen crows louder than the cock. That means female should not attend politics or female should obey to male. It can show traditional gender suppression.

Nowadays, male can be female through surgery. It called transgender.
Can we accept them as female in gender meaning?

2 comments:

  1. I think we should accept gender meaning of transgender. gender was molded by society, not by birth. So they want third gender, we should think of them genuine male or female.

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  2. I think we can accept transgender as a female. That before, I saw a transgender show up androgynous in appearance of them, but at the sight you speak and act themselves think you are a woman, I recognize as a woman them I felt that it must be.

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