There are two types of sexual selection. Intra-sexual selection is the evolutionary process by which members of one sex (usually males) compete with each other for members of the opposite sex. The victors are able to pass on their genes and successfully reproduce. The factor that made this male successful in reproducing is then passed on to the offspring, helping to ensure their survival and the passing on of their genes. Intersexual selection refers to the fact that members of each sex have innate preferences for mates with certain characteristics.
Biological explanations of gender development by Andy Watson The biological approach takes an extreme nature view of gender development as it believes that an individual’s gender is decided at conception. However this is a reductionist view as both social learning theory and psychodynamic theory have shown that our environment plays an important role in shaping our gender identity. Gender is a psychological term, which may reflect a person’s biological sex but is more to do with how they behave or think. This contrasts with the term sex which refers to biological status as male or female. When a foetus is formed, it has 2 sex chromosomes which decide if the foetus will be male or female.
As males are less investing, they compete within themselves through intra-sexual selection to achieve the dominant position of the alpha male and so have exclusive access to females. Evidence which supports this refers to ‘sexual dimorphism’ which is the difference in size between males and females. Males tend to be physically larger and stronger than a female which is consistent with the claim that they must compete for access to females. Therefore dimorphism is evidence for intra-sexual selection and polygymy as it suggest males fight for females. Inter-sexual selection refers to the selection of characteristics between the genders which females take upon.
The women’s movement and the consequent development of feminist ideas in the 1960s and 1970s influenced the question of gender and began emphasise the importance of gender as a concept of its own. (Howson, 2013, 51). To understand the differences between male and female, it is important to formulate a basic distinction between gender and sex. The key distinctions to note are based around biology and social arrangements. Oakley (1972, cited in Howson, 2013) refers to gender as the ‘psychological, social and representational differences between men and women, which are socially determined and culturally variable’.
The Dominant Substance People question whether sex is natural or not. Sex is the accumulation of the characteristics that distinguish organisms on the basis of their reproductive function. Correct, it’s obvious that sex distinguishes whether a person is a male or female. Or, does it? Studies believe that sex refers to the genitals, musculature, body shapes and hormones.
By the time we reached late childhood and adolescence our concept of gender identity and sexual orientation is firmly entrenched (Wood, 2010). Our behavior, aspirations and attitudes is also strongly influenced by the gender role expectations in particular cultures. This essay will relate, contrast sex and gender in society and how important it is for sociologists to distinguish them both. The term “sex” is the natural biological genetic makeup that distinguishes males from females and in particular the sexual organs and their characteristics. Bodies are, so we think, natural, God- given, sacred, hardwired.
Biological theorists when referring to gender behaviour and gender roles agree that gender is predetermined from biological processes, meaning that men and women think and act differently because of the differences in the brain development and activity (Sammons, 2009). Biologists believe these differences in the brain are all a result from the differences in hormones and chromosomes. Men have an X and Y chromosome where as women have two X chromosomes. The male develops the hormone testosterone and other hormones as a result of having the Y chromosome which leads to the male developing his genitals and also causes the males brain to develop differently to the females brain (Sammons, 2009) the differences’ in the brain development of the male caused by the extra hormones in adulthood, lead to behaviour differences from women such as aggression. Testosterone is the male sex hormone although it is still found in women it is found in greater quantities in men.
Men were seen as dominant and aggressive, whereas women were seen as nurturing and deferent. These findings suggest that there is a kind of universal biological basis for gender stereotypes. However, this study is influenced by alpha bias, as it is exaggerating how people view women. Not all men are going to see women as only fitting into weaker, more nurturing categories. A stronger study was done by Whyte (1978) who considered 93 non-industrialised cultures and found that in 67% of these cultures, men dominated the women.
I believe, however, that if a girl is ready to have sex at a young age that she should have to face the consequences of getting pregnant if it happens. Also if the girl is unable to keep the baby another alternative is always adoption. There are many people who would be happy to adopt a baby. Not only that but going with adoption is giving the life a chance rather just aborting it. Another reason that abortions aren’t such a good thing is that studies have been done proving how early the embryo shows signs of being a human.
Donovan et al., explored in her study the attitudes and perceptions of the benefits, limitations and risks of genetic testing among an African American and Caucasian women population sample. African American women had more positive beliefs about the benefits of testing than Caucasian women; however women with a family history did not rate the benefits of testing as more or less important as women with a family history. African American women also had more concerns about limitations of testing than Caucasian women. Overall, women’s ratings of the importance of the benefits of testing were quite high; however certain issues were clearly more salient for the African American