Gender

This week’s discussion was very instructive. I had never thought of gender and sex as different nor had i ever really thought about the ideas of more than two genders. After discussing the ideas with a few of my classmates however I began to understand that there are numerous aspects to look at: What genitalia does one posses, does one fancy their own gender or the opposite, does one have body hair or breasts. In today’s culture, especially American culture, sexuality is a highly politically charged and controversial subject. Ask a conservative what sexes there are and they will most likely state that there is male and female. If you were to ask many liberals they will probably say there is male, female, transgendered, and hermaphrodites. Debate rages as to whether it is appropriate for same sex marriages. Sex and gender differ in that gender is what is expected of a certain sex. For example: Men participate in sports, have relationships with women, provide for the family, and protect the family; whereas women have children, take care of the children and cook dinner and take care of the household. Outdated as these statements are, they provide a very clear idea as to what was once viewed as proper gendered behavior. So what is gender? Gender is the prescribed role a culture gives to a certain sex, learned from family, friends, institutions such as school, the church, or the boy/girl scouts. In America many see it as unseemly and shameful for a boy to ‘come out of the closet’. it is regarded as a shame for the family for a son to desire a boy, however in certain tribal cultures it was a rite of passage for a boy to become a man by ‘receiving’ sperm from an older male. Whereas this practice has many falacies both moral and scientific the point is that it is a different point of view than our own. while this may not be the best analogy to demonstrate openness to new ideas it does demonstrate that other ideas do exist in this world. I am looking forward to this semester and continuing to look at new ideas and perspectives.