In this chapter students will learn:

• about social roles based on sex and gender
• the differences between sex, sexuality, and gender
• about the diverse forms of sexuality across cultures and throughout history
• that a variety of gender identities and expressions exist on a spectrum
• that gender structures many aspects of social life, including bodies, speech, and equality

Introduction: Social Roles Based on Sex and Gender

Roles based on sex and gender exist in every society based on cultural expectations. However, a person’s experience of their gender falls on a spectrum.

Defining Sex, Gender, and Sexuality

Sex refers to our biological and physiological attributes, while sexuality refers to attraction, either romantic or physical or both. Gender is a person’s internal experience of their identity as male, female, both, or neither, as well as the external expression of their identity.

Sexual Identity

Sexual orientation may be formed biologically or in conjunction with social factors. It is subject to a society’s set of cultural expectations and values regarding acceptance. There are many forms of sexual attraction that are found in cultures all over the world.

Masculine and Feminine

Masculinity and femininity are ideas subject to cultural expectations of what it means to be a man or a woman. Gender roles are the culturally appropriate roles of individuals in society, whatever those roles may be. Gender roles change over time. Early work by Margaret Mead showed that gender roles are different cross-culturally.

Gender Identity

Gender identity (and expression) may fit into binary categories, such as cisgender and transgender, or fall somewhere else along the spectrum. Many societies accept third or multiple genders, such as two-spirit people (Native Americans) or hijras of India and Pakistan.

Gendered Body Modification

People’s bodies are modified in different ways according to their gender. When a person moves from one social role to another, they often undergo some body modification as part of a rite of passage. A modification may include tattoos, scarification, or other forms; it may also alter a person’s physiology, such as female genital cutting.

Gendered Speech

Expectations about sex and gender shape language use in that men and women are assumed to conform to certain speech patterns.

Gender Inequality

Gender inequality is in no way “natural,” but is created by social and cultural norms. Gender stratification in societies often means that women are restricted in ways that men are not.

Gendered Occupations

Sometimes gender roles influence the types of work that people do, especially in highly gendered occupations. Many examples exist of gendered work that is limiting or discriminatory for those who do it.

1. What is the difference between sex, sexuality, and gender?

2. What are some of the different variants of sexuality found across cultures?

3. Provide some examples of how masculinity and femininity are culturally constructed.

4. What is the difference between gender identity and gender expression, and why might these not match?

5. What are some examples of third gender identities?

6. How might gender inequality dictate social expectations for women in ways that don’t apply to men?

1. What does it mean to talk about sex, sexuality, and gender on a spectrum?

2. What are ways in which colleges and universities have made campuses safer for LGBTQ+ students, faculty, and staff?

3. From your perspective, how is reading the graphic panel called “Research in Pain” different than reading a textual description of the same thing?

androphilia (page 166): romantic or sexual attraction to males

aromantic (page 166): having little or no romantic feelings toward others

asexual (page 166): without or limited sexual desire

binary (page 164): having two parts; in gender studies, it refers to a two-gender system of masculine males and feminine females

bisexual (page 166): romantic or sexual attraction to both males and females

body modification (page 178): altering the body for reasons of identity, attractiveness, or social status

cisgender (page 171): describing the experience of one’s gender as matching their assigned sex at birth

commodification (page 180): the process of turning something into an object of exchange to be bought and sold

discourse (page 164): written or spoken communication on a topic, especially one extending over a period of time

female genital mutilation (FGM) (page 180): surgical removal and/or sewing together of female genitalia performed for sociocultural, not medical, reasons

gender (page 164): a person’s internal experience of their identity as male, female, both, or neither, as well as the expression of that identity in social behavior

gender descrimintaion (page 184): the apparent or real dominance of men and subordinate status of women in society

gender expression (page 171): the expression of one’s gender identity in dress, mannerisms, and social behavior

gender identity (page 171): a person’s internal experience of their identity as male, female, both, or neither

gender roles (page 169): the culturally appropriate or expected roles of individuals in society based on sex

gender spectrum (page 172): the varieties of gender identity that exist on a continuum

gender stratification (page 183): the hierarchical division of males and females in society

gender speech (page 181): different speech patterns based on the cultural expectations of each sex

gynophilia (page 166): romantic or sexual attraction to females

heterosexuality (page 165): the sexual or romantic attraction or behavior between partners of the opposite sex, such as between (cisgender) men and women

hijra a third-gender role found in India and Pakistan in which people assigned male sex at birth or intersex individuals adopt feminine gender expression

homosexuality (page 165): the romantic or sexual attraction or sexual behavior between partners of the same sex

intersex (page 165): having a combination of physiological or morphological elements of both sexes

kathoey (page 172): a term used in Thailand to refer to transgender women

lebret (page 179): a decorative ornament inserted into a perforation of the lower lip

Margaret Mead (page 169): pioneering figure in early cultural anthropology; one of the first female anthropologists to undertake long-term fieldwork

muxe (page 184): a transgender woman from Juchitán, Mexico, with a recognized social identity

pansexual (page 166): not limited in romantic or sexual attraction by sex or gender

polysexual (page 166): attracted to people of several sexual or gender variants

rites of passage (page 179): rituals marking life’s important transitions from one social or biological role to another

scarification (page 180): inscribing scars on the body as a marker of identity

sex (page 164): the biological and physiological differences of human beings based on sex chromosomes, hormones, reproductive structures, and external genitalia

sexual orientation (page 165): the pattern of romantic or sexual attraction to another person

sexuality (page 164): a person’s attraction, whether romantic or physical, to another person

tā moko (page 179): the permanent marking (i.e., tattooing) of the skin as practiced by the Maori people. Tā moko is traditionally created using specially designed chisels, not needles

third gender (page 177): a gender role accepted in some societies as combining elements of male and female genders

transgender (page 171): a descriptive term for people who internally experience and/or express their gender identity as different from their assigned sex at birth

two-spirit (page 177): a Native American or First Nations person who identifies with a third gender, or sometimes a gay Native man or woman

Open Sex-Role Inventory online test
www.openpsychometrics.org

Open Access article by L.F. Carver, A. Vafaei, R. Guerra, A. Freire, and S.P. Phillips (2013) on the BSRI Test validity. Gender Differences: Examination of the 12-Item Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI-12) in an Older Brazilian Population
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Living Anthropologically (blog): “Anthropology, Sex, Gender, Sexuality: Gender is a Social Construction” by Jason Antrosio
www.livinganthropologically.com

Intersex Society of North America
www.isna.org

NPR—“A Journey of Pain and Beauty: On Becoming Transgender (sic) in India” (more accurate subtitle: “Being Hijra in India”)
www.npr.org

Jeremy Dutcher performs the song Sakomawit at the Juno Awards 2019
www.youtube.com

This is What LGBT Life is Like Around the World—TED Talk by Jenni Chang and Lisa Dazols (11:50)
www.youtube.com

i-D Meets: Tokyo’s Genderless Youth—genderless fashion
www.youtube.com

Gender Identity and Expression: The Gender Map
www.impactprogram.org

Blackwood, E. (2010). Falling into the lesbi world: Desire and difference in Indonesia. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press.

Counihan, C. (1999). The anthropology of food and body. New York: Routledge.

Friedl, E. (1978). Society and sex roles. Human Nature, 1:8–75.

Gutmann, M.C. (1996). The meanings of macho: Being a man in Mexico City. Oakland: University of CA Press.

Kahn, M. (1986). Always hungry, never greedy: Food and the expression of gender in a Melanesian society. Long Grove: Waveland Press.

Mirandé, A. (2017). Behind the mask: Gender hybridity in a Zapotec community. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.

Ortner, S.B., & Whitehead, H. (1981). Sexual meanings: The cultural construction of gender and sexuality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Nanda, S. (1999). Gender diversity: Crosscultural variations. Long Grove: Waveland Press.

Nanda, S. (1998). Neither man nor woman: The hijras of India. Boston: Cengage Learning.

Neill, J. (2011). The origins and role of same-sex relations in human societies. Jefferson: McFarland.

1. Why are someone’s gender identity and sexual orientation unknown at birth?

This answer should define the following three aspects and how they relate to one another (or not).

• Biological sex: the outcome of biological and physiological development as it pertains to hormones, brain structures, chromosomes, and genitalia.
• Gender identity: whether you identify as male, female, transgender, gender non-conforming or other. This is unrelated to biological sex, in that it is not a causal relationship. Most humans who self-identify as men are assigned a male sex at birth due to their genitalia, but this does not mean that all people who are assigned a male sex at birth will consider themselves men. Gender identity begins later in the child’s development, when they become aware of their sense of self as masculine, feminine, or other. Any gender that is attributed to an infant is imposed externally.
• Sexual orientation: the feeling of attraction to others goes beyond homosexuality and heterosexuality, and includes bisexuality, pansexuality, polysexuality, and asexuality. Sexual development does not occur until later in a child’s life, and therefore is unknown at birth.
• All have bearing on one another, but no one can ascertain someone’s gender or sexuality simply by noting their apparent biological sex at birth.

See pages 164-178 of your text.

2. Consider the gender roles in your community. Do you feel that your gender identity and gender expression fit into these norms? Have these gender roles changed over time, and if so, how?

Your answer should define gender roles, gender identity, and gender expression, while applying these terms to your own experience of gender. It should also look at the ways that gender roles have changed over time in your own culture or community and apply that information to your answer.

• Gender roles are the socially and culturally defined norms for different genders in society.
• Gender identity is the way a person identifies their own sense of masculinity or femininity, or maleness or femaleness
• Gender expression is the external presentation of a person’s gender identity, which may or may not match their gender identity for various reasons.

See pages 169-172 of your text.

3. Discuss the ways in which Sally Campbell Galman’s graphic panel, “Research in Pain,” explores the issues of doing fieldwork, working with children who are experiencing trauma, and dealing with the emotional pain of both the study participants and the researcher. How does the graphic representation of this story change the experience for the reader, rather than simply reading a text-based account?

Your answer should show a thorough understanding of the issues presented in the graphic panel. It should also reflect on the difference between reading about a story such as the one presented here, and seeing it portrayed in images. Do you notice a difference in the way that you process or understand it?

• Galman does fieldwork among transgender children and their families, who were frightened after the US elections in 2016 when the new president began to use hateful words and take discriminatory actions against transgender people.
• The children in her study experienced emotional trauma, including nightmares, bullying, and fear.
• Galman’s work is about resilience, which she still sees in her study participants, but she was unprepared for the amount of emotional pain that she feels for them, for the community, and for her own child, who is transgender.
• She is trying to use the pain to continue to unmask injustice and oppression, and to continue to see all the ways in which her study participants are continuing to be brave and resilient.

See pages 172-176 of your text.

4. Create a short conversation between a man and a woman, but flip the gendered expectations of stereotypical speech. Explain what you’ve created.

Joe: Gee, the weather is lovely outside today, don’t you think? [A tag question, decreasing its forcefulness, combined with an instance of a soft exclamation, “Gee,” generally ascribed to women.]

Jill: It won’t last. [A report-style, curt reply.]

Joe: Well, I think it would be great to try and enjoy it. Perhaps you want to have a picnic with me? [An accommodating question trying to establish rapport, with a qualifier of “perhaps.”]

Jill: *grunts* Eh, fuck it, sure. [Non-verbal “manly” sound, with swearing.]

See pages 181-183 of your text.

5. Compare and contrast the third gender roles of two-spirits of Indigenous North America and hijras of South Asia.

Your answer should provide the characteristics of each of these gender roles, emphasizing the ways they are similar and different. It should include the following points:

• People who identify as two-spirit are found across North America, in First Nations and Indigenous cultures. They may have a gender that is non-binary, be transgender, have a non-heterosexual orientation, identify as queer, or a combination of these. They are understood to occupy a third gender role that combines elements of binary genders. They may use they/them or alternate pronouns.
• People who identify as hijra consider themselves to occupy a gender that is between the sexes—that is, not-man, not-woman. They may have intersex biology, or identify as trans women, and are required to surgically remove any external male genitalia. They use female pronouns and present in a feminine way, through the use of feminine dress, hair, and makeup.
• Both are accepted roles in their respective societies, although they still may experience prejudice or discrimination.

See pages 177-178 of your text.