Sex & Gender

What is Sex? Sex: biological identity of being female or male Primary & secondary sex characteristics Issue of biological determinism Social behavior explained by sex characteristics

So What is Gender? Socially, culturally defined attitudes, behaviors, activities appropriate for each sex gender socialization gender roles: expected behavior for being female or male normative femininity, masculinity stereotypes gender identity: how individual comes to see self as woman or man

An Example in 2004……

Sexuality Sexuality: constructing and negotiating erotic relationships Normative behavior based on gender role expectations Sexual orientation: preference for emotional-sexual relationship Heterosexual Homosexual Bisexual Heteronormative society

Are Men Genderless? Addressing consciousness of masculinity Hegemonic masculinity: ideology that asserts dominant pattern of masculinity as: White, male, middle class, heterosexual, intelligent, athletic, able-bodied, successful Subversive masculinity Multiple masculinities

The Social Construction of Gender (Lorber, 1996) “Gender is a human invention…gender organizes social relations in everyday life as well as the major social institutions, such as social class and the hierarchies of bureaucratic organizations.” Gender IS a social institution Gender is a continuous process “doing gender”

Gender Stratification Unequal access to wealth, power, prestige based on gender Differential distribution of economic, political, social resources All societies stratified by gender Historically, men have benefited Men: dominant (majority) Women: minority