Nevertheless, she, in clarifying this definition, also highlights the impact of some norms, which can affect this feeling: “To some extent this identity is usually based on race, class, ethnicity gender and sexual orientation” (p. 19). According to her, gender identity is a signifier for human beings; it can be used in the process of forming individuals’ identity. Thus, it becomes a demand to study gender identity. Gender identity is a personal inner sense of self as a male or female. Psychological theory of gender identity reveals a new postmodern problematic issue related to gender identity: gender identity as a personal feeling, can be changed, transformed and masqueraded.
The term gender, as opposed to the concept of sex, refers to the non-physiological aspects of identifying an individual as male or female. The genre is a product of cultural and subjective constructs that constantly change over time, context and environment. So, when it comes to gender differences, there is more talk about differences and explicit or implicit attributes between men and women in a spectrum resulting from socialization. In fact, it is the differences between the sexes that socialization has inculcated, which is attributed to femininity and masculinity. From a summary point of view, if sex is our biology, then everything else is the genre.
How can the word ‘gender’ be defined? The American Psychological Association refers to gender as, “The attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with a person’s biological sex.” Gender is not to be confused with an individual’s sex, which is predicated solely on biological factors, such as genitalia and sex chromosomes. Gender has become a social construct, and society has absolute control in defining gender roles; stifling creativity and innovation. Gender construction is the distinction between the two sexes and attribution of traits and characteristics through gender roles. The culture within a society defines what is considered masculine or feminine.
It is what we are born with, a product of biological processes (DNA, evolution, mutation, replication, reproduction, and selection). Sex is a biological construct, as opposed to gender which is a social and cultural construct. Gender identity is one’s self perception, sense of belonging to being woman, man or a genderqueer (both or none). It is our own interpretation of who we are, and what we recognize ourselves as. It is our internal sense of self.
Throughout history, we have seen the same stereotypes placed on gender, men should be strong and brave. They are the ones that support their families while women are the caregivers and the nurturers and handling the household. According to Emily Kane in “Glamour Babies” and “Little Toughies”, “gender is not a straightforward amplification of underling biological differences between male and females; rather, gender is constructed through social processes and enforced through social mechanisms.” With that being said Kane feels that we should not limit ourselves to those preconceived notions of what men and women can do. According to Kane, we should not believe that men and women could not develop certain mental or psychological attributes merely because of their sex. This mean that we do not have to fall into the trap of preconceived notions, such as; if we are born a girl we will love the color pink and do poorly in mathematics.
Gender identity has been defined in several ways, including comfort with one’s gender, self-perception of adherence to gender stereotypes, and internalized social pressure for conforming to gender stereotypes. According to the Journal and Reseach on Gender and Adolescent Development, there are several problems with this practice. First, it involves inferring gender identity from self-perceived gender typing, and one cannot test such theories without distinguishing the two constructs conceptually and empirically. Second, because the degree to which a person is male typical (or female typical) in one domain is not highly correlated with how male typical the person in other domain. (Egan and Perry,
Rebekah Hayes Instructor: Harmony Thibodeaux Psychology 2080 August 20, 2015 1) What are the important differences between biological sex, gender, and sexuality? Biological sex is our anatomy; this relates to a humans anatomical and reproductive system. Determined by karyotype (chromosomes of a cell, 46 XY karyotype in typical males and 46 XX karyotype in typical females), internal genitalia (testes and ovaries), external genitalia (scrotum and penis in males; labia and clitoris in females), and secondary sex differentiation at puberty (Pasterski, 2008). Gender is the state of being female or male; it is the separation of a species, commonly used with reference to social, behavioral and cultural differences preferably than biological ones. The word gender was used by Jacobs, Thomas, and Lang (1997) to refer to "cultural rules, ideologies, and expected behaviors for individuals of diverse phenotypes and psychosocial characteristics."
The general aim of these works has been to condemn the male attitude towards women. ‘Sex’ according to her is determined biologically and ‘Gender’ is a social construct through stereotyping and conditioning. The two terms quiet often used in Gender Studies have different meanings. Sex defines the maleness and femaleness of a person, a biological difference in genitalia. Gender is the socio-cultural definition of man and woman with roles and behaviour assigned to them by society.
(Reading, 2014) Defines gender identity as “a personal conception of oneself as male or female (or rarely, both or neither)”. Gender expression, which is defined as the ways in which we each manifest masculinity or feminity or the outward manifestations of personality that reflect the gender identity. Sex is either of the two categories (male and female) into which humans and most other living things are divided on the basis of their reproductive functions. In this essay, gender identity, gender expression and biological sex will be critically evaluated and examples will be given in order to distinguish between gender identity and gender expression. Gender is a socially constructed way of seeing a person as either male or female.
4.3 Theory of difference The difference theory assumes that well prevails a fundamental difference between the sexes being husband and wife. The focus of difference theory therefore is not the abolition of these differences, but rather whose recognition (Heintz, B., 1993, p 21). Wesely (2000) is highlighting that the basis of the difference theory assumes that gender is not only occupied biologically, but also a strong social category belongs (Wesely, 2000, p.21). The nature and the behavior of men and women is influenced by their sex and therefore decides on certain lifestyles and life opportunities. Furthermore, one can speak of a structural difference, which affects the social life different to each gender.