Jun
Sex and Gender: The Psychology of An Individual Difference
This post is to continue with the theme of gender differnces. It is an important concept in psychology as individual differences are often used to differentiate a sample into groups or just to compare results within a study (i.e., as a control variable). Also, there is a wealth of research, particularly in developing nations, that point to gender discrimination as a dominant factor in perpetuating cycles of war, violence and poverty. Give peace a chance and learn more about gender differences (there are many surprises.
The term “sex” refers to a persons biological and genetic attributes, generally accepted physical differences that identify a person as being female or male. Thus the particular sex of a person implies a certain type of gonads, internal and external genitalia, sex chromosomes and genes as well as hormones that are dominant within their system (Diamond, 1997). So that the “female sex” has ovaries, a uterus, ovarian tubes and a vagina and clitoris; whereas the “male sex” has testes, accessory glands such as a prostate, seminal vesicles and bulbo-urethral glands, as well as a penis and scrotum. “Intersex” persons are rarer than the other two sexes and have a mix of female and male sex physical and genetic attributes, these vary in distribution across individual.
The term “gender” only came into general use in the late 1960s and early 1970s alongside radical changes in social thought due to wars and the Great Depression. As men in the west were needed for the war and later in the 1950s many were unemployed during the depression, women began to enter the workforce taking roles usually occupied by men (Harris, 123). The term was applied to aspects of life seen to be of social origin rather than biological. As such, a person’s sexual identity was determined to be prenatally organized based on genetic and endocrine interactions, becoming activated during the course of lifespan development. Whereas a person’s gender identity was identified as the “recognition” of how the self is viewed by society, developing post-nataly due to socio-cultural and environmental interactions and experiences. The self is considered to observe the norms of society and to internatlize social expectations by comparison with one’s peers. At an early age children learn that they are physically different from the other sex, and that there are behavioral expectations of their gender, such as girls playing “nice” and boys playing “rough”.
Androgynous roles are adopted through social comparisons and self-reflection of which gender one identifies oneself with. An example of androgynous roles in the 21st century include job roles such as being; a nurse, a fire officer or police officer, professional careers and even stay at home parent.
Reference
Diamond M, (1997) Sexual Identity and Sexual Orientation in Children with Traumatized or Ambiguous Genitalia. Journal of Sex Research, 34, 199-222.
Further Reading
Gender Differences: Psychology and the Brain with Humor
When is Racism a Feminist Issue?
