Gender and Sexuality

Learning Objectives

- about social roles based on sex and gender

- the differences between sex, sexuality, and gender

- about diverse forms of sexuality across cultures and throughout history

- that a variety of gender identities and expressions exist on a spectrum

- that gender expectations structure many aspects of social life, including bodies and speech

- how gender ideology can lead to inequality

Review Questions

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?

Discussion Questions

1. Before this course, had you heard about sex, sexuality, and gender on a spectrum? Which is the newest idea for you?

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

3. Which of the gendered body modifications would you identify as “maladaptive,” using the criteria from Chapter 2? How did you come to this conclusion?

4. What examples can you think of that illustrate the gender ideology of your culture(s) or subculture(s)?

Chapter Outline and Key Points

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.

Glossary

androphilia: romantic or sexual attraction to males

aromantic: having little or no romantic feelings toward others

assigned sex at birth: the designated sex assigned to a newborn at the time of their birth by the attending doctor or other birth specialist

asexual: without or limited sexual desire

Ballroom culture: an underground drag scene originated by members of the Latinx and African American LGBTQ+ community that involves fashion, dance (“vogueing”), and community

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

bisexual: romantic or sexual attraction to both males and females

body modification: altering the body for reasons of identity, attractiveness, or social status

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

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

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

essentialism: the idea that categories of human beings (such as different genders) have an inherent set of biologically-based characteristics that make up their essence

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

gender: 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 discrimination: the apparent or real dominance of men and subordinate status of women in society

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

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

gender ideology: a set of ideas about gender roles and norms in any society

gender roles: the culturally appropriate or expected roles of individuals in society based on sex

gender spectrum: the varieties of gender identity that exist on a continuum

gender stratification: the hierarchical division of males and females in society

gender variant: gender identity that exists outside of the culturally accepted norms for gender in a particular society

gendered speech: different speech patterns based on the cultural expectations of each sex

gynophilia: romantic or sexual attraction to females

heterosexuality: 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: the romantic or sexual attraction or sexual behavior between partners of the same sex

incel: an “involuntarily celibate” man who desires sex with women and blames women and society for his inability to find a sexual partner, often misogynistic and hostile towards women

intersex: having a combination of physiological or morphological elements of both sexes

kathoey: a term used in Thailand to refer to transgender women

labret: a decorative ornament inserted into a perforation of the lower lip

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

muxe: a transgender woman from Juchitán, Mexico, with a recognized social identity

pansexual: not limited in romantic or sexual attraction by sex or gender

patriarchy: a type of society in which men have power and control and women are considered to be subordinate

polysexual: attracted to people of several sexual or gender variants

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

scarification: inscribing scars on the body as a marker of identity

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

sexual orientation: the pattern of romantic or sexual attraction to another person

sexuality: a person’s attraction, whether romantic or physical, to another person

tā moko: 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: a gender role accepted in some societies as combining elements of male and female genders

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

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

Weblinks

Open Sex-Role Inventory online test

https://openpsychometrics.org/tests/OSRI/

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”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3788731/

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

http://www.livinganthropologically.com/2012/05/16/anthropology-sex-gender-sexuality-social-constructions/

InterAct Advocates for Intersex Youth

https://interactadvocates.org/

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

https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2014/04/18/304548675/a-journey-of-pain-and-beauty-on-becoming-transgender-in-india

http://KEXP.ORG presents Jeremy Dutcher performing live in the KEXP studio. Recorded May 19, 2023

https://youtu.be/xGZgeM__Rf0?si=BLJmf3OUyVt5xUDM

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivfJJh9y1UI

A Map of Gender-Diverse Cultures

https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/content/two-spirits_map-html/

Chapter 8