Distinction of Sex and Gender

1. The sex/gender distinction. The terms ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ mean different things to different feminist theorists and neither are easy or straightforward to characterize. Sketching out some feminist history of the terms provides a helpful starting point. 1. 1 Biological determinism Most people ordinarily seem to think that sex and gender are coextensive: women are human females, men are human males. Many feminists have historically disagreed and have endorsed the sex/ gender distinction.Provisionally: ‘sex’ denotes human females and males depending on biological features (chromosomes, sex organs, hormones and other physical features);‘gender’ denotes women and men depending on social factors (social role, position, behaviour or identity). The main feminist motivation for making this distinction was to counter biological determinism or the view that biology is destiny. A typical example of a biological determinist view is that of Ged des and Thompson who, in 1889, argued that social, psychological and behavioural traits were caused by metabolic state.Women supposedly conserve energy (being ‘anabolic’) and this makes them passive, conservative, sluggish, stable and uninterested in politics. Men expend their surplus energy (being ‘katabolic’) and this makes them eager, energetic, passionate, variable and, thereby, interested in political and social matters. These biological ‘facts’ about metabolic states were used not only to explain behavioural differences between women and men but also to justify what our social and political arrangements have to be.It would be inappropriate to grant women political rights, as they are simply not suited to have those rights; it would also be futile since women (due to their biology) would simply not be interested in exercising their political rights. To counter this kind of biological determinism, feminists have argued that behavioural and psychological differences have social, rather than biological, causes. For instance, Simone de Beauvoir famously claimed that one is not born, but rather becomes a woman, and that â€Å"social discrimination produces in women moral and intellectual effects so profound that they appear to be caused by nature†.Commonly observed behavioural traits associated with women and men, then, are not caused by anatomy or chromosomes. Rather, they are culturally learned or acquired. Although biological determinism of the kind endorsed by Geddes and Thompson is nowadays uncommon, the idea that behavioural and psychological differences between women and men have biological causes has not disappeared. In the 1970s, sex differences were used to argue that women should not become airline pilots since they will be hormonally unstable once a month and, therefore, unable to perform their duties as well as men (Rogers 1999, 11).More recently, differences in male and female brains have been said to explain behavioural differences; in particular, the anatomy of corpus callosum, a bundle of nerves that connects the right and left cerebral hemispheres, is thought to be responsible for various psychological and behavioural differences. 1. 2 Gender terminology In order to distinguish biological differences from social/psychological ones and to talk about the latter, feminists appropriated the term ‘gender’.Psychologists writing on trans sexuality were the first to employ gender terminology in this sense. However, in order to explain why some people felt that they were ‘trapped in the wrong bodies’, the psychologist Robert Stoller (1968) began using the terms ‘sex’ to pick out biological traits and ‘gender’ to pick out the amount of femininity and masculinity a person showed. Along with psychologists like Stoller, feminists found it useful to distinguish sex and gender.This enabled them to argue that many differences between women and men were socially produced and, therefore, changeable. For instance Gayle Rubin's thought was that although biological differences are fixed, gender differences are the oppressive results of social interventions that dictate how women and men should behave. Women are oppressed as women and â€Å"by having to be women† (Rubin 1975, 204). However, since gender is social, it is thought to be changeable and adjustable by political and social reform that would ultimately bring an end to women's subordination.Feminism should aim to create a â€Å"genderless (though not sexless) society, in which one's sexual anatomy is irrelevant to who one is, what one does, and with whom one makes love† (Rubin 1975, 204). In some earlier interpretations, like Rubin's, sex and gender were thought to complement one another. The slogan ‘Gender is the social interpretation of sex’ captures this view. Nicholson calls this ‘the coat-rack view’ of gender: our sexed bodies are like coat racks and â€Å"provide the site upon which gender [is] constructed† (1994, 81).Gender conceived of as masculinity and femininity is superimposed upon the ‘coat-rack’ of sex as each society imposes on sexed bodies their cultural conceptions of how males and females should behave. This socially constructs gender differences – or the amount of femininity/masculinity of a person– upon our sexed bodies. That is, according to this interpretation, all humans are either male or female; their sex is fixed. But cultures interpret sexed bodies differently and project different norms on those bodies thereby creating feminine and masculine persons.So, this group of feminist arguments against biological determinism suggested that gender differences result from cultural practices and social expectations. Nowadays it is more common to denote this by saying that gender is socially constructed. This means that genders (women and men) and gendere d traits (like being nurturing or ambitious) are the â€Å"intended or unintended product[s] of a social practice† (Haslanger 1995, 97). But which social practices construct gender, what social construction is and what being of a certain gender amounts to are major feminist controversies.There is no consensus on these issues. (See the entry on Intersections between Analytic and Continental Feminism for more on different ways to understand gender. ) 5. Conclusion This entry first looked at feminist arguments against biological determinism and the claim that gender is socially constructed. Next, it examined feminist critiques of prevalent understandings of gender and sex, and the distinction itself. In response to these concerns, the final section looked at how a unified women's category could be articulated for feminist political purposes and illustrated (at least) two things.First, that gender — or what it is to be a woman or a man — is still very much a live is sue. Second, that feminists have not entirely given up the view that gender is about social factors and that it is (in some sense) distinct from biological sex. The jury is still out on what the best, the most useful or (even) the correct definition of gender is. And some contemporary feminists still find there to be value in the original 1960s sex/gender distinction.

Cause of Prejudice Essay

There are many types of prejudice in modern society. The definition of prejudice according to Webster’s Dictionary is â€Å"an adverse opinion or leaning formed without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge.† The causes of some prejudice can be linked to a person’s childhood. The effects of being prejudice can be harmful to the person who is prejudice and to the people or group that person is prejudice of. The causes of racial prejudice stem mainly from childhood. One way childhood can cause a person to be more prejudice is where that person lived as a child. For example, if a child lives in southern United States, that person is more likely to be more prejudice against African-Americans because their culture in the South has been more prejudice towards that group because it has had a prejudice toward that group in general for many years due to slavery. This is not to say that all people in the South are prejudice but it does lean more prejudice against that group. Whereas, in the northern states, there is less prejudice in general towards African-Americans. Another way childhood can affect whether or not a person has a prejudice is their family and how they were raised. If a child see’s their family or parents using racial slurs or putting down a race for any reason, that child could grow up to be the same way and think it is acceptable to have a prejudice. The effect of that could be going in public or at school using derogatory comments towards a race and thinking that it is alright and hurting someone’s feelings. Living in a household with more open views to other races allows for a child to be more open, show less prejudice to others, and be more accepting and tolerant. A child could also pick up prejudice opinions through their friends. Their friends could be bullying another child due to his race and that child could join along to fit in. This also is a major problem in schools because that child that is bullied could resent his classmates and this can cause many more problems down the road. If a child can learn to not fall into the peer pressure of bullying others for being different then more children could  follow and there is the solution to bullying in schools. Children are very impressionable and the more we can teach them about tolerance and to be more open to others than the better off as a society we are. With less prejudice there wouldn’t be as much violence because much of the violence that happens has some sort of prejudice attached with it. Also, the more open we are then the fewer problems we will have because everyone will get along and focus on more important issues of the world.

Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Strategy - Essay Example Waterstones’ current market position faces huge challenges from various external and internal elements. Indeed, the way it responds to the adverse market conditions becomes the key enabling factor of the firm to gain competitive advantage. The recent changes in trading environment with increasing popularity of e-commerce and online shopping, Waterstones needs to evolve and compete on new dimensions. Advent of computers and internet has considerably widened the area of business. While it has provided the firms with huge opportunities worldwide, the new cyber platform has also made it hugely competitive. The companies must evolve and develop strategic initiatives to compete on unique capabilities that meet the challenges of time. Waterstones has already introduced online shopping and provide online customers with huge choice of books. At the same time, its various outlets across the globe have facilitating environment that encourages reading. Porter (1996) believes that leadership initiatives are major facilitators that help sustain a firm’s success through hard times. Through strong leadership, Waterstones was quick to embrace technology and make its online presence. The technology has helped it to expand its customer base across wider geographical areas and at the same time, facilitated easier access to books to its customers. Strategic action plans need to be dynamic to encompass micro and macro environment changes to maintain competitive advantage (Montgomery, 2008). They not only encourage speed and flexibility but also ensure that customers’ requirements are met timely and efficiently through evolving process of developing effective linkages. Indeed, on an average, Waterstones bookshops keeps a minimum of 30,000 individual books and help the customer to get his/her preferred product through online search and ensure availability of the same within defined time limit. This is key element of the firm’s value proposition that has enabled it to

Sound and fury Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Sound and fury - Essay Example Heather’s family members seem to be all deaf; two brothers and parents. Peter, one of Heathers families, is a candid head of the anti-implant deaf society who lives on the Island of Long. His life is twisted upside down by his daughter aspiration to hear. After being overpowered by the daughter’s desires, Peter and Nita put on hold their long-standing position about the implant. They later realize that children that are under implant are frequently conversant and mainstreamed interested in the hearing situation. Heather’s parents become frightened that the implant will make their daughter develop a rejection to the American Sign Language and deaf way of life. The family divergence or disagreement arises after one of Peter’s brothers who do not have hearing impediment, and the wife realized that their newborn infant is also having a hearing problem. They decide to put the child under the implant. The clash gets to an intense peak after the part of the family who does have hearing impediment tries to battle for Heather’s right to join the hearing world while the other part of the family (deaf family members) also battle to keep her deaf individuality. In my opinion, the movie talks about respect for culture. From the movie, there is a battle between two different groups, one group supporting the use of cochlear implant while another group is opposed to the use of the device. It is an indication of how important culture is to different people with different conditions especially the disabled group; respect to culture is essential to every individual. Aronson, Josh, Roger Weisberg, Chris Artinian, Nita Artinian, Heather Artinian, Peter Artinian, Brian Danitz, Ann Collins, Mark Suozzo, Ronald Guttman, and Nora Coblence. Sound and Fury. New York?: Docurama,