Gender and Sexuality Each person has a sex, a gender, and a gender identity. These are all aspects of your sexuality. They are all about who you are, and they are all different, but related.

What is male. What is female What is male? What is female? Your answers to these questions may depend on the types of gender roles you were exposed to as a child. Gender roles can be defined as the behaviors and attitudes expected of male and female members of a society by that society.

Gender roles vary. Different cultures impose different expectations upon the men and women who live in that culture. The United States has experienced tremendous upheaval and revising of its traditional gender roles in the last generation. These changes in gender roles affect the home, the workplace, and the school, and they affect all Americans to some degree.

Where Do Gender Roles Come From? A person's sexuality comes from within him or her, making a person heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, or asexual, depending on the partners he or she is(or is not) attracted to. Unlike sexuality, however, gender roles are imposed from without, through a variety of social influences. Formed during the socialization phases of childhood and adolescence, gender role issues influence people throughout their lives; conflict can arise when some one does not feel at ease with his or her gender role.

Definitions: Sex—the biological category of male or female; sexual intercourse Gender—cultural, social, and psychological meanings associated with masculinity or femininity. The classification of being male or female. Gender roles- roles assigned by society to people of each gender.

Definitions: Gender identity—A person’s psychological sense of being male or female. That part of a person’s self-image that is determined by the person’s gender. Sexual orientation—direction of a person's emotional and erotic attractions Sexuality- the quality of being sexual. Sexuality is part of the total person: physical, emotional, social, intellectual and spiritual.

Defining Some Terms Primary Sexual Characteristics: Sexual and internal reproductive organs Secondary Sexual Characteristics: Features other than genitals and reproductive organs (breasts, facial hair, etc.) that appear at puberty Menarche: Onset of menstruation; a woman’s first menstrual period

Some More Terms to Know Ovulation: Release of ova (eggs) from the ovaries Menopause: End of monthly menstrual cycles; usually occurs in the late 40’s or early 50’s Gonads: Sex glands; testes in males and ovaries in females Estrogens: Female Hormones Androgens: Male hormones Testosterone: Male sex hormone (androgen) secreted mainly by the testes

Gender Roles Sometimes known as sex roles; favored pattern of behavior for males and females E.g. girls are expected to be sensitive, and boys dominant Gender Role Stereotypes: Oversimplified beliefs (stereotypes) about what men and women are really like Gender roles appear to be learned

Gender Role Development Between ages 2-3 years, children can identify themselves and other children as boys or girls. The concept of gender or sex, however, is based more on outward characteristics such as clothing Toddler girls tend to play more with dolls and ask for help more than boys Toddler boys tend to play more with trucks and wagons, and tend to play more actively After age 3 years we see consistent gender differences in preferred toys and activities

Sexual Orientation Sexual orientation—Sexual orientation is the term used to describe whether a person feels sexual desire for people of the opposite gender, same gender, or both genders. Heterosexual—sexual attraction for the opposite sex Homosexual—sexual attraction for the same sex Gay—typically used to describe male homosexuals Lesbian—typically used to describe female homosexuals Bisexual—sexual attraction for both sexes

What cause sexual orientation? It’s not exactly known what causes a person to be straight, gay, lesbian, or bisexual, but research shows that it's based on biological factors that are in place before birth. We do know that sexual orientation is usually established before puberty. And although sexual orientation probably begins to develop before birth, it may seem to change over the course of a lifetime for some people. One thing is clear — sexual orientation is not something that people can decide for themselves, or for others.

People are all different, and each person’s sexual orientation is unique. People may choose to label their sexual orientation as they wish — and many people choose not to label it at all.