Gender and Sex

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Gender and Sex Gender and Sex • What is gender? What is sex in biological terms? Are gender and sex the same thing? Explain why or why not? According to the “Oxford Dictionary” (2013), gender and sex both have the same basic meaning; the meanings are the state of the person who is male or female. The difference between the two is gender is referring to social and cultural differences whereas sex is referring to the reproductive parts that separate the people into their group. Gender and sex do have a similar definition, but the two are not the same thing. Gender has become the word to replace sex when talking about males or females; unless it is a scientific discussion for those instances the word sex is used (“Sex and Gender,” 2007). • How do gender and sex contribute to the concepts and constructions of masculinity and femininity? Masculinity and femininity are a set of behaviors, roles, and attitudes of males and females in each society (“Masculinity and femininity: interpretation in terms of the gender theory,” 2012). A woman’s feminine traits are considered to be emotional, sensitive, weak, soft and many more. Man’s masculinity is often described as tough-skinned, strong, non-emotional, and more. When boys are taught to be tough and hard from when they were little they will typically grow to be more masculine. When girls are taught to be sensitive at a young age they will typically grow to be more feminine ("Understanding Gender", 2013). • Do our concepts of gender and sex contribute to the ways we embrace gender and sex in diversity? I believe our concepts of gender and sex contribute to the ways we embrace gender and sex in diversity. Typically men are stronger and act like they are; they also act like women are
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