What

What is gender and human biological sex and what is the difference

Criticizing the movement for equality, people can not explain the difference between the concepts of "gender" and "gender." Feminists seem to be embittered creatures, and few have heard of feminists in general. What are gender roles, stereotypes and features? What are the differences between the concepts of "gender" and "sex"? And why in the summary it is worth removing marks M and M? The article answers all the questions.

What is gender?

Gender is a socially constructed cluster that is not related to biological sex. This is the social gender that a person chooses at will. He was put into circulation to separate the sexual and socially organized characteristics of a person. The term "gender" is an English word with Latin roots meaning grammatical gender. In Russian, there is also a grammatical definition of gender. But for the purity of the research, these two concepts decided not to mix.

Gender identity is the main feeling of belonging to the selected gender. Moreover, gender is not necessarily male or female. Today you can assign yourself to the "third" gender, which does not fit into the binary system of understanding. Representatives of the third floor may be several. Today, the UN and the European Union have adopted documents according to which the existence of more than 50 genders has been proved.

Respectively gender roles - social norms that determine the rules of human behavior, confident in their gender. Gender patterns or social roles of men and women are prescribed at the state level. But outdated ideas about female-male occupations limit freedom of choice. This applies to the profession, work, hobbies, maternity leave.

Evolution of the concept of gender

Gender identity has always worried people, but the subject of scientific research has become relatively recent. The pioneer of the term is considered an American sexologist, psychoanalyst. Robert Stoller. In 1958 he published the book "Sex and Gender", where he proposed to dissolve biological and cultural studies related to gender. But the concept became widespread in the 1970s thanks to a new wave of feminist movement.

In the 1980s, a new direction was formed in the history of women's science - gender history. But unlike the feminist theory, she sought to provide a holistic picture of the relationship of the sexes. Prior to this, it was customary to assume that biological sex determines physiological, anatomical, as well as psychological and behavioral differences. The main idea of ​​gender history is that it replaces biological identity on the “gender-gender” principle with socio-cultural on the “half-sex” principle.

Over the past three decades, the concept of gender equality has become popular all over the world - it has become the basis for many national laws and international documents. Equal Gender Role implies the same rights and obligations of people in all areas of life: education, work and career, family and parenting.

The attitude of religion to gender psychology today is ambiguous. On the one hand, most religious teachings are based on the fact that salvation is for every sincere believer. But on the other hand, religious tenets were created at a time when women were excluded from social and social life. Conservative norms and today lead to a criticism of gender ideology.

Gender features: 5 myths about the differences between men and women

Gender is formed and developed in direct connection with biological features and self-knowledge.

According to psychologists, boys and girls will recognize their gender by the age of two, but they do not fully understand what it is. By 5-7 years, gender identity is formed under the influence of education, experience and expectations of the environment. The next stage is the puberty period, accompanied by changes in the body, erotic fantasies and romantic experiences. This period has a strong influence on subsequent gender differences. And only at the age of 17-25 years passes the stage of socialization, when a person’s worldview, his ideas about his own purpose and meaning of life is formed.

But the thing is, child education in many families, gardens and schools relies solely on its biological sex. This is manifested in everything from the choice of the color of the stroller, clothing, toys to expectations and norms of behavior. So, girls are expected to love bows, dolls, sociability and exemplary behavior. They read fairy tales about fairies and princesses. The boys are credited with an analytical mind, restraint, interest in typewriters and airplanes. The idea that boys and girls just have to different from each other, soaked our whole culture.

But many of the perceptions of character traits inherent in girls or boys turned out to be nothing more than a myth. Studies have shown that the similarities in children are much smaller than the differences. For example, the difference in mathematical abilities was manifested in 8% of cases, differences in the assimilation of the text were found in 1% of children. And these numbers can be continued. If you look at the data unbiased, you can see: all studies of sexual differences only confirmed their similarity.

But in the world of adult gender myths do not become less:

Myth 1. The biological differences of gender are a given, which is undesirable and unsafe to change.

In fact, most of the characteristics are acquired. Different requirements, education, classes form different qualities. So, girls from childhood are taught to cook, run a household, boys are inculcated with a love of technology, and they bring up physical endurance. Thus, most of the differences are formed as socialization, which, if desired, can be changed.

Myth 2. Women lose in men in their intellectual abilities, logic, and professional competence.

Paradoxically, in the era of women's success in politics, economics, and management, prejudices about their mental abilities can be heard everywhere. This is supported by the opinion and low competence of women, their inability to strategic thinking, decision-making. But this is no more than an opinion.

Myth 3. Men are not capable of caring, empathy, but women are genetically inclined to show empathy.

The results of the study showed that men and women are endowed with the same emotionality. But differences in social norms and expectations do not allow men to express their feelings. From childhood, the boy is told that tears are a sign of a non-male character. Therefore, the rejection of emotional hardness - no more than the fear of being unworthy of the title of "real man."

Myth 4. Women dream of getting married, and men do not need married.

Since childhood, girls are taught the "correct" model of life, according to which it will become fully-fledged only after marriage and the birth of children. Boys are living with the expectation that women seek to lure them, sit on their necks. But a man can achieve career growth and status only when his rear is well protected. It turns out that married life gives a man the opportunity to conquer peaks, and not solve everyday problems.

Myth 5. Gender equality has been achieved, there is no point in fighting anymore.

According to statistics, 88% of recruiters are purposefully looking for a candidate of a particular gender. No matter how trite, but the reason for this social stereotypes. It is believed that women are more prone to routine work, while men are ambitious and persistent. To exclude such prejudices when hiring an employee in some countries, photos and some biographical abilities were removed from the questionnaire. But the situation with gender inequality is still relevant.

Myth 6. Girls prefer pale pink, boys love sky blue.

The girls' department in the children's clothing store is unmistakably recognizable by the abundance of pink. Boys rely discreet shades of blue, gray and azure. But in the course of the experiments, the relationship of color preferences with the floor was not revealed. Children chose a pink color no more than any other. But adult women and men called blue the most beloved and popular.

What is gender dysphoria

If we consider the term dysphoria - this is the mental state, the opposite of euphoria. A person in a state of dysphoria is extremely irritable, aggressively disposed towards others. Accordingly, gender dysphoria is a state of acute discontent of a person who is unable to fully accept his gender status. This is how dictionaries describe it.

If it is simpler to say - this is a condition when the body rises against the brain and against the soul. This is more than a psychological problem. This is a painful internal conflict that psychologists, psychiatrists, friends, loved ones and relatives cannot reconcile. This feeling is always inside.

Gender in advertising

In addition to the main function “to sell goods”, modern advertising has one more important function - popularization of the model of relations between a man and a woman. On advertising pictures and commercials, there are patterned images: men appear successful, rich, confident, and women appear erotic, economic, caring.

Advertising for women more often offered one of three models of behavior: a seductress, a hostess, or a romantic person. And in every way emphasized the superiority of men. But today, a woman in advertising looks different. More often she is an independent, versatile, integral person, ready to achieve success in life without the help of a man. She can be anyone: a pilot, commercial director, Olympic champion or auto mechanic.

Gender stereotypes - why are they?

Socially organized differences between the sexes are promoted and used by the state to their advantage. There are laws, regulations, morality, which prescribe what roles should be in men and women. Although the problem of stereotype has been solved for many years, it causes little sympathy in the minds. And both in male and female.

Conflicts over the distribution of female-male responsibilities exist in all spheres of life, but are more often identified during work. Women have long fought for their rights and have succeeded significantly in this. But gender stereotypes influence our decisions even when we do not notice this:

  • When hiring for work, preference is given to a man, because he is unlikely to go on maternity leave.
  • The same achievements in the work more often lead to the increase of the employee men.
  • Raising men recognize deserved, and the promotion of women is associated with her ability to use their charms.
  • When new visitors enter the office, they are a priori recognized as a senior officer.

Life goes too fast to spend it on a quarrel, finding out who is in charge or loneliness. A strong woman is able to love, support, inspire. A generous man knows how to forgive, care, lsh2yust.p9

to celebrate Getting rid of stereotypes will help to achieve spiritual closeness, which we lack so much.

Findings:

  • Gender is a social organization of relations between the sexes.
  • Old, archaic ideas about femininity and masculinity limit the degree of human freedom.
  • Due to the small number of differences between men and women, the concept of "gender" was introduced - as a kind of social gender that a person accepts as a result of socialization.
  • Gender stereotypes are double standards that assign specific roles to a man or a woman.

Watch the video: Biological Differences Between Men and Women. Jordan B Peterson (April 2024).