SEX VERSUS GENDER

WENIE ROSE DAYA – CANAY, EdD

LESSON 1 – DEFINING SEX AND GENDER
• Historically, “sex” and “gender” have been treated as synonyms.
• 1950s American and British psychologist, sociologist, and other
professionals working on gender-related issues pushed to
distinguish one term from the other ( Moi, 2005).
• By definition, sex and gender are actually two different terms and
thus these should not be used interchangeably.
• It is a promising development that modern use of the terms “sex”
and “ gender” are now based on their distinct meaning, as is
appropriate.
SEX
What easily comes to mind about sex
• in general, SEX refers to categories that people are
assigned to at birth based on reproductive
characteristics.
• Biologically, organism of various species are assigned
either as a male sex or a female sex in reference to the
physical differences between a female organism and a
male organism.
For example : human child born having a penis is
categorized as male, a child born having vagina is
categorized as female.
SEX
• Genetic factors determine the sex of an organism.
• The sex chromosomes are referred to as X and Y. Whether a
person has an XX or an XY chromosomes .
• There are instances a person’s reproductive or sexual anatomy
does not conform to a typical male or female
• For example, a person’s genitals seem to be in between that of
a male and a female. This condition is called intersex.
SEX
• INTERSEX is a physiological condition where an organism has
different variations of the physical characteristics compared to a
true male or a true female of its kind.
• This condition is usually due to some extra chromosome or a
hormonal anomaly during its embryonic stage.
• Intersex is sometimes determined at birth, but other times a
person would only find out about the condition by the time he or
she reached puberty or as infertile adult. ( though not all intersex
people are infertile).
• According to a study, a person born intersex occurs once in every
1500 to 2000 births.
GENDER
• WHO defined “ gender” as socially constructed
characteristics of a male person and a female person.
• Etymologically, the word gender came from the Latin
genus, meaning kind, type or sort.
• It is the legal status differentiated through social roles,
behaviors, capabilities, emotional, intellectual, and social
characteristics attributed to a given culture to women and
men.
GENDER
• Characteristics of gender vary between societies.
• Skirts and long dresses or gowns are associated with
being feminine and are socially appropriate for the female
sex.
• Middle Eastern, Asian, and African cultures, men wear
long robes, while Scottish men wear a “kilt,” a knee –
length garment resembling a skirt. These clothes are
considered masculine or socially appropriate for their
respective cultures.
Difference Between SEX and GENDER
SEX GENDER
• Primarily refers to physical
• is the composite of attitude and
attributes-body characteristics behavior of men and women
notably sex organ which are ( masculinity and feminity)
distinct in majority of individuals • is learned and perpetuated
• Is biologically determined – by primarily through: the family,
genes and hormones, media; thus education, religion ( where
it. dominant) and is an acquired
identity.
• Is relatively fixed/constant
through time and across cultures. • Because it is socialized, it may be
variable through time and across
cultures.
THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE ON GENDER AND FAMILY
• Functionalist. It assumed that the traditional nuclear family is
a natural unit and exist to maintain social order and is
mutually beneficial to all. Marriage controls sexual behavior
and ensures it is morally acceptable (i.e., heterosexual and
monogamous), parents can control children.
• Marxist. It believed that the nuclear family is valued over the
typical working-class extended family to encourage material
aspirations. This family unit is organized to reinforced
passive acceptance of authority, hierarchy, and inequality,
thereby keeping the working classes ( proletariat) under the
control of the middle/upper classes ( bourgouise)
THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE ON GENDER AND FAMILY
• Marxist Feminist. It explained that the nuclear family
benefits the powerful at the expense of the working class,
and women’s domestic labor enables the future
workforce to be raised at little cost to the patriarchal
capitalist community. The containment the male
workforce is emotionally and physically fit.
SEXUAL DIVISION OF LABOR
• Work task is an allocated sexual division of labor, either in the
private household or in the public economy. It is a specific
expression of the division of labor where workers are divided
according to certain assumptions about “men’s work” and
“women’s work”. It is based upon gender divisions which, although
socially constructed, are frequently believed to be the outcome of
the “ natural” attributes and aptitudes of the sexes. Some form of
the sexual division of labor is apparent in most known societies,
but its particular manifestation and degree of differentiation are
socially and historically relative.
LESSON 2 – GENDER
CONCEPTS
This is an example
GENDER ROLES
• Gender roles are learned behaviors in a given society ,
community or other social group . They condition
activities , tasks and responsibilities are perceived as
male or female. Gender roles are affected by age, class,
race, ethnicity and religion, and by the geographical,
economic and political environment.
GENDER ROLE IN THE SOCIETY
1. REPRODUCTIVE ROLE. This includes childbearing/rearing
responsibilities and domestic tasks done by women. Divided into
three:
a. Human or Biological Reproduction. It includes not only bearing
children but also reproducing the relationship of marriage, kinship,
fertility, and sexuality.
b. Reproduction of Labor. It means the care and socialization of
children and the maintenance of adult individuals who will fit into
the social structure of society.
c. Social reproduction. These activities include caring of children,
adults, and old through activities of feeding the children,cooking
food for adult and old. Washing, cleaning, nursing, and many
other household activities.
GENDER ROLE IN THE SOCIETY
2. PRODUCTIVE ROLE. This refers to social production of
commodities in which goods and services are for exchange
rather than for immediate consumption. Both women and
men are engaged in these activities. These activities carry
a reward in the form of wages in cash or kind in return to
their labor or the product they produce. However, men
generally dominate in these activities due to having more
time and better skills to get higher wages while women are
concentrated in labor-intensive, low paid jobs.
GENDER ROLE IN THE SOCIETY
3. Community Management Role. This activity is related
to the governance of community life, the organization of
cultural and social activities. Community management
work is voluntary and unpaid work. Both women and men
are engaged in these activities. However, men gain in this
by earning social prestige, and social leadership, whereas
women’s community management role is valued as doing
some work in their free time.
GENDER ROLE IN THE SOCIETY
4. Community Politics Role. This activity is undertaken
by men at the community level, organizing at the formal
political often within the frameworks of national politics.
This is usually paid work, either directly or indirectly,
through status or power.
5. MULTIPLE ROLES. Both men and women play multiple
roles. The significant difference, however, is that men are
typically playing their roles sequentially, focusing on a
single productive role. However, women usually play their
roles simultaneously, balancing the demands of each within
their limited time constraints.
EXAMPLE OF GENDER ROLES:
FEMININE ROLE MASCULINE ROLE
cooking Fishing
childcare hunting
housecare Repair work in the home, e.g., repairing broken furniture
SEX ROLES
• Refer to the rules and standards of behavior and
practices often related to a person’s reproductive
capacity. It is a function or role that a male or a female
assumes for the simple fact that it is the basic
physiological difference between sexes. It is a
biologically determined role and can only be performed
by the specific sex.
• For example; child-bearing is a woman’s sex role while
ovum fertilization is a man’s sex role ( Boudreau, 1986;
Encyclopedia.com, 2016).
SEX ROLES
• Notions of sex roles rely heavily on biological factors,
especially so on a person’s reproductive capacity, and
these ideas are expressed differently between cultures
and historical periods.
• Binary view of the sexes is particularly emphasized in
patriarchal societies where men are considered bigger
and stronger, thus they are regarded as tough and
dependable in every aspect of being a person
SEX ROLES
• Leadership roles like “ head of the family” are always
attributed to the men.
• Female, on the other hand is stereotyped as smaller
than a man, henceforth, she is beheld as frail and weak
who needs the protection of men, and delegated as a
“housewife”. ( Encyclopedia.com, 2016)
EXAMPLES OF SEX ROLES
• FEMININE Role Masculine Role
Ovum fertilization
Child-bearing
lactation Produces spermatozoa which determine
child’s sex
gestation
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SEX ROLES AND GENDER ROLES
GENDER ROLES SEX ROLES
May differ from society to society Same in all societies; they are universal. E.g., it is
only women who give birth to children all over the
world
Can change history Never change with history
Can be performed by both sexes Can be performed by only one of the sexes
They are socially, culturally determined They are biologically determined
GENDER EQUALITY AND EQUITY
• What is the difference between gender equality and gender
equity?
• GENDER EQUALITY, equality between men and women, entails
the concepts that all human beings. Both men and women are free
to develop their personal abilities and make choices without the
limitations set. By stereotypes, rigid gender roles and prejudices.
• GENDER EQUALITY means that the different behavior,
aspirations and need of women and men are considered, valued
and favored equally. It does not mean that women and men have
to become the same, but that their rights, responsibilities, and
opportunities will not depend on whether they are born male or
female.
GENDER EQUALITY AND EQUITY
• GENDER EQUITY’ means fairness of treatment for
women and men, according to their respective needs.
This may include equal treatment or treatment that is
different but which is considered equivalent in terms of
rights, benefits, obligations, and opportunities.
• The global commitment to gender equality and equity is
founded on the principle that sustainable development
can only be ensured if the two sexes ( male and female)
are seen as “complimentary biological entities” and that
the equality and equity of the social roles that male and
female assume in life are fully respected.
THEORIES OF GENDER DEVELOPMENT
• GENDER DEVELOPMENT – refers to the process by which a
person builds his or her sense of self within the context of the
gender norms expected by his or her community.
• GENDER NORMS – traits or behavior that are generally
associated with either being male or being a female.
• In general, gender norms dictate gender roles. For example , the
gender norm is that men are the breadwinners and women are the
caregivers. Thus, as an expected gender role, the men go to work,
while women stay at home.
BIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF GENDER
• Biological theories are the earliest approaches in
explaining the physical and behavioral development of a
man and woman. According to this theory , gender
development begins at fertilization and is a result of
biological processes mainly in two ways: Chromosomes
and Hormones
THE ROLE OF CHROMOSOMES
• The human body has 46 chromosomes typically
arranged in 23 pairs, wherein the 23rd pair determines the
biological sex as either female ( XX chromosomes) or
male (XY chromosomes)
• XY chromosomes contains genes responsible for
masculine traits.
• Biological theory posited that masculine and feminine
traits are already coded in the chromosomes. These
coded traits manifest in a person’s looks and behavior
that explains the physical and psychological differences
between males and females.
A TYPICAL SEX CHROMOSOME
• There are instances when chromosomes deviate
from the usual XX/XY pairing. This condition is
called a typical sex chromosomes. Having an a
typical sex chromosomes means the person’s
body and behavior looks like a typical male or
female, but their chromosomes do not align to
their birth sex. People with a typical sex
chromosomes also have distinct physical and
psychological manifestations.
SWYER SYNDROME
• The sex – determine Region Y gene (SRY gene) in the Y
chromosomes carries the gene that causes the embryo to develop
testes. If the does not have a Y chromosome, it will not have the
SRY gene and the embryo would develop an ovary.
• Swyer Syndrome is a condition when the Y chromosomes does
not carry the SRY gene or that the SRY gene does not activate.
• This condition affects 1 in 80,000 people.
• People with Swyer syndrome have a typical female reproductive
system but the gonads are underdeveloped. They are typically
raised as female , and based on physical appearance their
community would identity them as females. However, clinically,
their chromosome are X’i.
SWYER SYNDROME
KLINEFELTER’S SYNDROME
• This condition affects 1 in 500 to 1000 men.
• The person is biologically male and has the physical appearance
of a male.
• However, this person carries and extra X chromosomes in his
chromosomal pairing, hence, XX’/
• Although physical appearance is male, the extra X chromosome
causes less body hair, underdeveloped genitals, and shows breast
development.
• As babies and all the way to adulthood, men with XX’/
chromosomes are described as having a mild temperament,
passive, and cooperative.
KLINEFELTER’S SYNDROME
THE ROLE OF HORMONES IN GENDER DEV.
• Biological theory claims that hormones determine how
girls and boys behave.
• For example : in most cultures, males are more
aggressive in their behavior than females. This
phenomenon, according to biological views, is explained
by studies linking aggressive behavior to androgen in
males.
ANDROGEN
• A hormone present in both men and women.
• Androgen is typically assigned as a male hormone because it is
present in much higher levels in men and significantly factor in
male traits such as aggression, competitiveness, spatial ability,a nd
higher sexual drive.
• Clinical findings also claimed that a female child exposed to high
levels of androgen while in her mother’s womb tend to be as
physically active as boys.
• A girl whose twin is a boy tends to be more physically active and
adventurous than a girl whose twin is also a girl
TESTOSTERONE
• A major androgen hormone in males.
• Produced predominantly by males ( females produce it but at
much lower levels than males)
• Controls the development of male sex organs
• Claimed to influence specific areas in brain development ,
associated with masculine, behavior such as competitiveness,
spatial skills, and aggressiveness among others.
• when an XX chromosome was exposed to high levels of prenatal
testosterone, the female child prevalently developed into a female
adult who generally did not identify with the female gender and
whose sexual orientation was towards other females.
ESTROGEN
• Primarily a female hormone ( males produce it too but at
a much lower level than females)
• Determines female sexual characteristics
• Linked in the development of feminine body shapes and
facial features.
• Found to enhance feelings of intimacy, attachment, and
the desire to have more children.
ESTROGEN
• A study found that women with higher estrogen levels
also desired having more children. These women who
wanted to have more children were also described as
having very feminine features. The study concluded that
strong maternal tendencies are related to having a more
feminine physique , and in effect reflects the influence of
the hormone estrogen on this typically feminine trait.
EVOLUTIONARY EXPLANATION
• The evolutionary explanation to gender development is a
biological approach. The focal argument of the
evolutionary approach is that the human brain learned.
Through learning, the brain evolved and gradually gained
abilities that increased survival chances.
EVOLUTIONARY EXPLANATION
• The Core basic assumptions of evolutionary theory are the
following :
• All living species struggle for existence
• variations in hereditary traits exist within species.
• The result of the first two assumptions is natural selection

• Natural selection is the process by which organisms bthat can

adapt to the environment tend to survive and produce offspring.
• The evolutionary approach argues that gender development
started as an adaptive trait based on social roles.
INTERPERSONAL INFLUENCES
• Gender development is an important topic within
the academic discipline of psychology.
Psychologist focus on how individual traits interact
with the social environment to produce behavior.
Psychology is often interested on how biological
and mental processes produce or affect behavior.
PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY
• Explains that human behavior is the result of a person’s
unconscious psychological processes, and that the adult
personality is crucially shaped by childhood experiences.
• Psychodynamic theory is closely associated to Austrian
psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud and his psychoanalytic approach.
• generally, libido means “ sexual drive” or ”sexual activity”.
• In Freud’s phases of psychosexual development, he used the term
libido to mean as “energy that comes from drives or instincts that
direct behavior.
• Life drive – love and affection
• death drive – controls risky behavior such as aggression
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 Martin Luther
King, Jr.
• 1929-1968
• Pastor Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
• Voting rights campaign
• Non-violent leader of the civil rights
movement
• Assassinated 1968
• Famous speech “I Have a Dream”
• Posthumously awarded the Presidential
Medal of Freedom and the Congressional
Gold Medal
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established
as a holiday in numerous cities and states
beginning in 1971, and as a U.S. federal
holiday in 1986.
 John F. Kennedy
• 1917-1963
• President of the United States, 1961-
1963
• Champion of freedom
• Strong supporter of civil rights
• Assassinated 1963
Ending slide 2
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