Gender. Sex characteristics and gender roles

Many people assume that the word "gender" is synonymous with the word "sex". But this opinion is wrong. Gender is a set of psychosocial and sociocultural characteristics that are usually assigned to one or another biological sex. That is, a person who is biologically a man may well feel and behave like a woman, and vice versa.

What does the term gender mean?

As mentioned above, this concept defines both social and cultural signs of belonging to biological sex. Initially, a person is born with certain physiological sexual characteristics, and not with gender ones. The baby is simply not familiar with the norms of society or the rules of behavior in it. Therefore, a person is determined by himself and raised by the people around him already at a more conscious age.

Gender education will largely depend on the views on gender relations of those people who surround the child. As a rule, all postulates and fundamentals of behavior are actively instilled by parents. For example, a boy is often told that he shouldn’t cry because he is a future man, just as a girl is dressed in colorful dresses because she is a representative of the female biological sex.

Formation of gender identity

By the age of 18, a person, as a rule, already has his own idea of what gender he considers himself to be. This happens both on an unconscious level, that is, the child himself at an early age determines the group to which he wants to belong, and on a conscious level, for example, under the influence of society. Many people remember how, as children, they were bought toys that corresponded to their gender, that is, boys received cars and soldiers, and girls received dolls and cooking sets. Such stereotypes live in any society. We need them for more comfortable communication, although in many ways they limit the individual.

Formation of gender and family identity is necessary. In kindergartens, special classes are held aimed at this process. With their help, the child gets to know himself, and also learns to classify himself as a member of a certain group of people. These subgroups are formed both by gender and family. In the future, this helps the child quickly learn the rules of behavior in society.

However, it may also be that sex will differ from gender. In this case, the process of self-identification will also occur, but will require an individual approach.

How to determine gender using words?

There are various test methods that allow you to determine a person’s sexual and gender identity. They are aimed at identifying a person’s self-identification, as well as determining his gender role in society.

One of the common methods suggests answering 10 questions, with the help of which the characteristics mentioned above are revealed. The other is based on drawings and their interpretation. The validity of different tests varies widely. Therefore, to say that today there is at least one method that allows one to 100% determine a person’s sexual identity does not exist.

In the modern world, which keeps pace with the times and is in the race for equal rights for people, expressions and grievances related to gender often pop up. Discontent is also associated with discrimination on this basis. Let's understand these concepts and find out where the roots come from.

Congenital and acquired qualities

Seems, that the concept of gender and sex- these are the same thing, there is no difference in them. However, this is not the case; the differences are still significant. Let's try to find out what gender is and the definition of “sex”.

Whether you were born a man or a woman is determined at birth. The differences and divisions are obvious. This factor is biological. In this case, this situation does not change and does not depend on the will of a person.

However, medicine has moved forward a long time ago. Now developments, innovations, and plastic surgery have moved to a higher level. Medicine can change gender.

In some cases, it is even impossible to accurately determine. There are incidents where there are signs of both male and female hormones and sexual characteristics, so this complicates judgment.

As Wikipedia says, gender is associated with the biological and anatomical characteristics of the body, but gender is associated with:

society
social life
education

Simply put, boys and girls are born, but men and women become in the process of life. This applies not only to upbringing, but also in general to how people are influenced by life in society, culture, and self-awareness.

Time does not stand still, so the concept of “gender” is changing. When it was the 19th century, men and women were distinguished as follows: ladies had long braids and wore dresses. And the men had short hair and wore trousers. However, this is not the definition of gender now.

In past centuries, women could not occupy high-ranking positions in politics or engage in business projects. This was considered something immoral and impossible, however, with the passage of time and progress, it became commonplace. And now you won’t surprise anyone with this. However, gender is still used to judge and separate men and women.

Difference dictates mass consciousness

Many factors depend on the level of culture and development of society. Social behavior can only be imposed on those individuals who think incorrectly and are not sufficiently enlightened.

For example, a man owes something and a woman owes something. The difference and separation between men and women is related to their responsibilities. For example, a man should:

be the head of the family
get more money
have a whole set of characteristics - masculinity, toughness, aggressiveness
choose masculine professions
love sports
be a fisherman
strive to climb the career ladder

There is exactly the same list for women. For example, a woman should be, as they say, “real,” get married, have children, be soft and compliant, and choose a female-oriented profession. And the rest of the time, which should be a lot, should be devoted to family.

Of course, these stereotypes cause a violent and emotional reaction among rebels. After all, now everything is mixed up: many couples do not want to burden themselves with relationships, marriage, and especially children. And all the energy is used to advance in one’s career, to work and live for one’s pleasure.

Gender problems arise from this kind of thinking. Often, breastfeeding women have to support the whole family, earn money for bread and food, while the man may not work, but, on the contrary, go on maternity leave. Either another option: sacrifices for the sake of a career, or men who feel like women at heart. They are fond of embroidery. It turns out that neither this nor the other case corresponds to their gender.

All people are equal

So it turns out that a gender characteristic is a stereotype? Different countries interpret this problem differently.

For example, in Spanish society, a representative of the stronger sex who cooks well is equated with a “real macho.” But among the Slavs, this is women’s work and not a man’s business at all. This is where problems develop, women feel such discrimination, try to prove their equality, defend their rights and declare themselves as individuals. And leadership positions are most often given to representatives of the stronger sex.

To solve this problem, some countries are pursuing gender policies. This means:

the state is responsible for establishing equality between the sexes and eliminating differences
legal norms are created
an equal society without prohibitions is created

All these actions are aimed at eliminating stereotypes associated with gender.

Gender: Definition

Concept "gender" means social gender. It determines how a person will behave in a certain role as a man or woman. This includes prohibitions on certain behavior.

Gender meaning in society speaks about what profession a person should choose based on his biological sex.

For example, differences between Orthodox and Muslim women are obvious. From an anatomical point of view they are equal, however, in terms of gender they will occupy different niches in society.

So, the concept of “gender” appeared for the following reasons:

as part of an exploration of new self-awareness
studied during the years of intensification of feminist sentiments

All these concepts, one way or another, divide people by gender.

Even 60 years ago, a famous doctor of that time studied gender differences. He called this type of differentiation gender. Then the studies were provoked by the emergence of new types of people - transsexuals and intersex people. However, then this term remained simply a scientific concept.

But then, 10 years later, feminists appeared. They defended their equality and rights. They had their own charter and ideology. Supporters and participants actively maneuvered the concept of gender.

Medicine is based on the same principle

, differences by gender also exist in medical practice. There is even a whole type of science called “Gender Medicine”. This means that a certain disease will be treated differently in men and women. This applies even if the representatives are in the same age categories. This difference is due to the fact that organisms are structured differently.

The male and female halves have differences not only in gender, sex, but also in physiology:

In men, testosterone is pronounced - this is a hormone inherent in them
in women - estrogen and progesterone

Therefore, different reactions occur to different situations, including emotional ones.

And some diseases are more common in men, others more common in women. The same difference exists in stressful situations and during pain. For example, if a woman complains about something, she must first be tested for hormones, because they affect the entire body as a whole.

This gender trait can also manifest itself in morale and emotional health. Let’s say that women feel great if they speak at least 20 thousand words a day, and only 8 thousand are enough for men.

It's no secret that the difference between both sexes and gender lies in the reaction to one or another circumstance. Women are mainly guided by feelings and emotionality, but men behave in a more restrained manner and are guided mainly by logic.

Therefore, even psychologists have different approaches to people based on gender, because people are different inside.

Manifestation of gender in modern society

So, the concept of “gender” was discussed above, now let’s look at specific examples to better understand what we are talking about.

Why do they say that gender judgments are stereotypes? Probably because there are women who are such only in appearance. And there are no particular differences between the others. However, under all the external tinsel - makeup, wig, clothes and heels, there is a man. The only difference is that biologically he is male, but morally he feels like a woman.

Another example -. This term was actively mentioned in the 2000s. Now this concept should surprise absolutely no one. This has become the norm. There are plenty of metrosexuals: in magazines, movies, music videos, in nightclubs. A concrete example of this description is a man who is very attentive to himself, takes care of his appearance, and follows fashion trends. Such a personality can be contrasted with the so-called “real man”, who does not particularly bother about his appearance and has more strong-willed and solid character qualities.

How to spot a metrosexual from a crowd:

he loves shopping
the whole closet is filled with fashionable things
wears many clothing accessories - scarf, glasses, watches, bracelets, rings, badges, jewelry
does not hesitate to paint nails, hair, remove hair from hairy areas of the skin

That’s why there is such a division; it all depends on preferences and self-perception. At the same time, a metrosexual can be both gay and a normal man. You can't guess here.

Be that as it may, even such a trait as metrosexuality leaves a man a man. After all, this trait does not affect gender. For example, in the 18th century this was the fashion. Men wore makeup, heels, wigs, and lavishly accessorized themselves.

Another example is the men of Scotland. According to their culture, they wear skirts, and Arabs even wear dresses. There were also references in history to the love of samurai for each other; the Greeks conveyed their unconventional sexual inclinations in works of art. At the same time, men fought, participated in wars, started families and left offspring.

For example, the difference in gender also lies in logic. Men make fun of women, and women make fun of men. All this also applies to gender stereotypes imposed by society and culture.

Is androgyny a progress in consciousness?

Society is increasingly interested in such a concept as "androgyny". Simply put, this is gender duality. It manifests itself both externally and internally. Not only spiritual practices, but also religions talk about 2-cavity or asexuality. For example, the Bible says that angels are asexual beings, just like our soul has no sexual characteristics.

Androgyny manifests itself in a person when there is:

feeling of two sexes inside
complement of one personality to another
existence of two personalities in one body

This was discussed back in antiquity. Even ancient Greek writings discussed this phenomenon.

Nowadays, androgyny is part of a person’s psychological state. It turns out that with androgyny a person has both masculine and feminine characteristics. And this applies to appearance, too. However, it all begins with the spiritual: how a person reasons, how he behaves, what habits and manners he has. Sometimes boys are very similar to girls, even their voice speaks of the female gender. Anrogyny does not mean that a person has problems with orientation.

It is difficult for a person to be androgynous in the modern world. Because you have to choose who you are. Therefore, you always need to maintain a balance in your states. As practice shows, gender does not play a role here at all. And the choice may not be made in his favor. All this can cause ridicule and reproaches from society. In extreme cases - condemnation and violence against this person.

Androgynes, as a rule, choose a certain style in which they feel comfortable. It is not necessary to undergo surgery for this; you can choose clothes, hairstyle, behavior that is as close as possible to the personality.

For example, in America, freedom in this regard is obvious. There are more than 30 gender identities that a person can choose from. And all this is enshrined in law.

Is there equality?

In the world, in many countries, even among Muslims, where women are a niche lower than men, they also talk about gender equality. These disputes changed many laws and expanded human rights. What does equality mean?

The idea is that people have the same opportunities in different areas of life. This applies to systems of education and science, medicine and health care, law and order. This means:

unhindered choice of one or another job, regardless of gender
access to government activities
starting a family
parenting

When it comes to inequality, then a lot of problems arise here, including violence. Because in the modern world they are already abandoning the stereotypes that existed in the past. For example, the fact that a man is an aggressive male, and a woman is an obedient and patient female. Such characteristics and “echoes of the past” allow men to have promiscuous sexual relations, and as for the female sex, on the contrary, there is complete subordination. This gives rise to a slavish attitude.

Nobody says that it is necessary to fight for equality and create conflicts, however, society has already changed radically. For example, more and more women are occupying positions that are typical for men - they are joining the ranks of police officers, rescuers, drivers, and officials. On the other hand, men can be dancers and cultural figures. And there is nothing shameful here.

In addition, situations are increasingly emerging when a woman cannot afford to be a housewife and deal exclusively with everyday life and housework. She works just like a man, while raising children and taking care of the house. Although gender stereotypes contradict this lifestyle.

However, in Saudi Arabia, there is still a certain hierarchy in relations between men and women. This happens due to mentality, religion and age-old traditions. For example, there the man still stands head and shoulders above the woman and can control her. This is considered the norm; we have been accustomed to this situation since childhood.

If we talk about the differences between men and women, there is an opinion that women value family values more, and men value independence and success. Currently, everything is mixed up and we see that everyone has different values. And this does not depend on gender.

Another gender problem is the dual standards. It can manifest itself equally in any area or area of life, even in personal relationships. For example, sexual behavior.

Men tend to have a varied sex life. And the more partners there were before the wedding, the better. Gaining experience is useful and necessary for future relationships.

As for the female sex, they must marry innocent, otherwise it is considered bad manners. Actually, earlier they paid more attention to this than now. Since more and more couples live in civil marriages, that is, according to the law, they are nobody to each other. It turns out that a man’s affairs are not condemned as vehemently as a woman’s infidelity.

According to the double standard, a man can dominate sexual life, at his own discretion, while a woman can play the role of a slave.

Therefore, when it comes to education, it’s up to you to decide. If you strive for gender equality, your child needs to be shown an appropriate example of behavior and communication with each other. And do not discriminate against people based on gender. When it comes to professions, it is not necessary to emphasize what is strictly for men and what is exclusively for women. You can show that dad can also do household chores, cook food, and mom can work and love football, and go fishing with dad. And don't encourage violence. Emphasize that it is bad when a boy offends a girl, but when a girl responds and offends the boy, this is also offensive and wrong.

Gender equality does not change history, gender or character traits, it just helps you find your path in life, without relying on stereotypes - who can do what and who can’t.

Recently, for those Americans who are dissatisfied with their gender, the Internet network Facebook offered a choice of registration.

There was a lot of fun on the internet about this. But he who laughs last laughs best. As if the children of laughing people would not have to forcefully try on these gender roles (it would be more correct to call them genders). Reality overtakes the most avant-garde antics like this.

Few people realize that the UN, the European Union, PACE and a host of other influential international organizations have already adopted resolutions, declarations and other documents that not only give the green light to these 58 genders, but also oblige many countries to introduce such gender designations by law.

Cockerel or chicken?

On the eve of the Facebook action, the European Parliament welcomed the “Lunacek report”, named after the Austrian LGBT activist and deputy from the Green Party, with a bang. In essence, she proposed giving representatives of her native LGBT community special rights that would give them advantages over other homo sapiens. They receive unlimited freedom of speech, but they cannot be contradicted. Even parents do not have the right to protect their children from gender propaganda.

So the modern world revolves not only around the dollar, oil or sex, but also around gender. Strictly speaking, the world itself does not rotate around this axis; it is turned by force, like meat in a meat grinder. Laws requiring such a radical restructuring of society are adopted behind the scenes in the most democratic countries. This is done by the caste of untouchables - international bureaucracy, concentrated in supranational structures. And then they are imposed on almost all countries.

What is the essence of gender? In the 1970s, this term began to designate one of the hypostases of gender - social. To determine your biological sex, just take off your pants. But social gender is what is in the head, how a person feels about himself, what gender he chose, regardless of whether he was born a boy or a girl. Initially, this was used only in medicine for the treatment and rehabilitation of people with such disorders.

But when radical philosophers, psychologists and anthropologists took up gender, they developed the so-called gender theory. What is its essence? We warn you that further reading is not for the faint of heart. According to gender theory, a child is born not as a boy or a girl, but as something indeterminate; he has the makings of all genders at once, regardless of whether he actually has a “cockerel” or a “hen.” And we become men and women only because we are raised that way. The main role, of course, is played by the family - from century to century, “gender violence” (this is the official term) is reproduced against the individual, imposing on the boy the role of a man, and on the girl the role of a woman and mother. This dictatorship of the family must be destroyed. Hence, juvenile justice, the fight against so-called domestic violence, radical forms of protecting the rights of the child, and other actively sponsored technologies for family destruction - they all play on the side of gender theory and practice.

In the United States, a book called “It's Totally Normal” is recommended for reading in 4th grade. One of the pages talks about how it's okay to be gay or lesbian. Photo: Collage AiF

Lessons for youngsters

Gender pedagogy recommends that children try themselves in different roles, emphasizing that unconventionality is great. It is better to start doing this in elementary school or even in kindergarten, when the child begins to realize his biological sex - the optimal age to create gender chaos in a child’s head.

This is called "gender equality" education and is practiced in many countries in northern Europe and is being imposed on countries that have recently joined the EU. In a camouflaged form, it leaks out in the form of sex education for young children. After such lessons, girls often begin to play at war, and boys - at gays, transvestites or daughter-mothers.

But after the “Lunacek report”, such education may become practically mandatory, and parents will no longer be able to protect their child from these lessons. By the way, conflicts are already arising in Germany, where parents who protect their children are even subject to criminal penalties. Is this hard for you to believe? Does all this seem like nonsense that cannot happen because it can never happen? I understand your logic, but I remind you: the relevant agreements are already enshrined in official documents, signed by hundreds of countries, and are being implemented in practice in many regions.

How could this happen? Quiet and unnoticeable. The term “gender” first appeared in documents in 1995 in the so-called UN Beijing Declaration. And then it only meant the need to introduce equality between men and women. At that time, few people argued with this statement, and the document was accepted with enthusiasm. But it turned out that women seemed to be simply used to quietly push all representatives of the LGBT community under the gender umbrella. And as you already know, they needed equality even more than women.

The number of 58 genders identified by experts for the Facebook campaign is arbitrary. According to gender theory, there may be more of them. You can essentially distinguish them endlessly, inventing microscopic differences. For example, the most common ones are those for which the acronym LGBT is used: its letters stand for homosexual genders (lesbians, gays, bisexuals) and transgenders - these are those who are dissatisfied with their biological sex. There are many of them: transsexuals seek to change their sex surgically, transvestites simply dress up in clothes of the opposite sex, androgynes combine male and female traits and behavior, hermaphrodites have male and female genital organs, bigenders change sexual behavior depending on the circumstances, agenders deny any floor. The list goes on, as they did on Facebook. On the sidelines, the introduction of new genders is being discussed, based on incest and pedophilia.

The book introduces the reader to modern ideas about sexual selection, its role in the formation of modern species of animals and humans. Sex and gender in human society are presented as a complex biosocial phenomenon. The differences between the male and female bodies, features of physiology and genetics, mental activity and strategies of sexual and parental behavior are considered. The book shows the specifics of male and female behavior in traditional societies and demonstrates the connection between reproductive success and social status and economic well-being. The reasons for the persistence of a number of gender stereotypes in modern society are discussed. The article describes in detail universal and culturally specific ideals of beauty and methods of their research.

The book is intended for anthropologists, psychologists, sociologists, historians, political scientists, social workers, and a wide range of readers interested in issues of relationships between the sexes.

Book:

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2.2. Hormonal disorders and gender

A discrepancy between genetic and external morphological sex may also occur for other reasons. A typical case of this kind is known as androgynous insensitivity syndrome. This anomaly is associated with insensitivity to testosterone at the cellular level. As a result, in an embryo with a normal male XY genotype and developed testes, female external genitalia are formed. Such an individual not only looks like a woman outwardly, but also behaves like a woman. Available full-fledged testes do not have any impact on the life and activity of the child. Before the onset of puberty, both the parents and the child himself do not experience the slightest discomfort. However, during puberty, the girl’s period does not come, the parents begin to sound the alarm and consult a doctor. If an experienced doctor determines the true cause of this anomaly, then a surgical operation is performed - the testes are removed, and in the future the girl continues to lead a normal lifestyle characteristic of her sex, without experiencing problems with gender identity. Unfortunately, such a woman turns out to be infertile. According to Money and Earhart, 80% of individuals with androgynous insensitivity syndrome have an exclusively heterosexual orientation and none demonstrated lesbian predispositions in adulthood. Thus, despite the male XY genotype, males develop into females. They demonstrate sensitivity to the feminizing effects of estrogens secreted by the testes during puberty, causing these men to develop breasts and feminine body shapes.

An even rarer and extremely curious genetic anomaly, in line with our reasoning about the role of nature and nurture, is called 5-alpha reductase deficiency. It was this case that we had in mind above when we argued that the external morphological sex of a person in rare cases can spontaneously change to the opposite under the influence of internal hormonal activity.

The anomaly has been described for only a few families of relatives living in the Dominican Republic (18 cases) and in Papua New Guinea (several cases). The mutation appears only in men and only if the individual inherits two copies of the recessive gene, which leads to disruption of normal testosterone metabolism. As a result, the fetus does not convert primary testosterone to dihydrotestosterone. Although the testes develop, they do not descend into the scrotum, but remain inside the body. The external genitalia of such a newborn child are more reminiscent of women. It is not surprising, therefore, that his parents and those around him see him as a girl and raise him accordingly. True, such girls behave in an inappropriate manner, from the point of view of gender stereotypes. They almost always grow up as tomboys, strive for increased physical activity, power games and competition, are rarely interested in playing with dolls and mother-daughter games and prefer to play with boys, despite the persuasion and prohibitions of distressed parents.

During puberty, dihydrotestosterone loses its leading importance as a sex hormone, and testosterone takes its place. And its effect on the cells of the body in persons with this syndrome occurs in a completely normal way. Therefore, rapid changes begin to occur in the “girl’s” body: the penis grows, the testes move down into the formed scrotum, male-type hair growth occurs, the voice becomes deeper, the shoulders widen, and the nature of fat deposition changes. It is curious that in the future the young man does not experience any problems not only with sexual identity, but also with gender identity. He starts a family and can have healthy children.

If we consider gender identity entirely as a product of socialization and upbringing, then it seems completely incomprehensible why, in cases of this syndrome, an individual is able to easily and painlessly change his identity to the opposite one. If we turn to another version proposed by biologists, then this phenomenon turns out to be more understandable. It is likely that the formation of gender identity is influenced by sex hormones (testosterone has an irreversible effect on the fetal brain in the womb and contributes to the final choice of gender identity during puberty).

Certain morphological disturbances in the expression of external sexual characteristics have been recorded when pregnant women take a number of medications. Laboratory experiments on rhesus monkeys have shown that with high doses in the mother's body of a substance called testosterone propionate, a pronounced masculinization of the body structure occurs in the female fetus. Female cubs are born with developed penises.

Thus, the considered examples clearly prove that appearance can be deceptive: a person may outwardly look like a man or a woman, but from the point of view of D. Mani’s classification, he may not be either one or the other. Of course, his gender can be quite unambiguous: male or female (more on this in one of the following chapters). In addition, in modern society such an individual may consider himself to be a third gender.

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Belonging and gender psychology are on everyone’s lips these days. So what is gender? much broader than the simple belonging of an individual to a particular gender. The subject's biological sex cannot be changed throughout his life (except in cases of surgical intervention). Gender is, rather, something that has the ability to change during the development of society, and also varies among different cultures and communities.

Definition

So what is gender? The definition of this concept is to describe the entire behavioral complex that characterizes the subject as a man or a woman. It should be noted that physiological aspects play a secondary role here. First of all, gender is a socially determined model of a person that determines his position in society. The concept of gender includes a set of cultural and social norms prescribed to a person by society depending on their physiological sex. In other words, gender is what traits a person should have as a man or as a woman.

Thus, gender roles are determined by the characteristics of the society in which a person lives. It should also be noted that a biological male may not be gendered male at all, just like a female.

Gender identity issue

How does a person’s gender development occur in society, how does he assimilate gender-role characteristics, what problems arise if this does not happen? The formation or construction of a subject's gender identification throughout life - this is the problem of gender as In the process it goes through a number of stages of constructing gender identity. The first is gender identity itself. The subject is aware of his biological belonging to a certain gender and is aware of his body. At the second stage, learning and acceptance of social roles characteristic of gender in a given society occurs. And finally, at the third stage, the gender structure of the individual is completed; a person perceives himself as part of a social structure and builds appropriate relationships between the sexes. Thus, gender is the functioning of society; with its help, certain relationships are built, a system of social stereotypes is created, etc.

The concept of gender in public perception

Surely many have heard such statements as “a real man should...”, “a woman should...”, etc. This is a system of social stereotypes regarding gender. In the modern world of establishing gender equality, destroying the institution of marriage and family, a person is disoriented; he does not know what roles are inherent in a particular gender. There is confusion and rejection by many people of the gender roles prescribed by archaic society. Thus, in the modern world, gender is a rather vague concept, which over time must undoubtedly change to suit the needs of society.