GENDER or GENDER ROLES?

Question

I keep seeing people argue that gender is a social construct, but what I THINK they mean is that gender ROLES are a social construct. After all, gender is a physical condition, based on anatomy and chromosomes. Gender roles, however, are activities ascribed to a person because of their particular gender.
Am I missing something?

Ok I understand the sociological difference between sex and gender.
This is a very important distinction in GLBT discussions, but
I don't see how differentiating those terms is important in the women's studies discussions of feminism, anti-feminism, etc.

Baba Yaga - my whole question is about clarifying and understanding terms and definitions, so that I may make intelligent contributions in this forum. If my current understanding is wrong - - explain how and why instead of just pointing out my ignorance. I already KNOW that I don't know.

I'd like to split the points between Kristy and Yu Yevon. Your answers were the most helpful to me in understanding these terms.

Answer 1

There is no difference between gender and gender roles. What we confuse is sex and gender. People often say gender when they mean sex. They just don't know the difference between the two. Sex is the physical condition whereas gender is the role one plays in society.

It is important in terms of women's studies because it isn't all about extreme feminism. Personally, I think it's every bit as important to recognize traits such as nurturing, gentle, pink, whatever, as strong and empowering traits as well. In feminism there can be a tendency for people to think of certain "feminine" traits as weak. I think it self destructive. It's taking the way we learn to think and behave (for whatever reasons) and turning it against our selves. On some level feminism was twisted a bit into "women are equal to men when they act like men." I'd much rather see us not run from all that makes us unique when compared to men.

In that sense I think it is very important to acknowledge a base line for the feminine gender role. It doesn't mean we need to be barefoot and pregnant at all times. It doesn't mean we can never go barefoot, either, or that we cannot choose to never have children.

It's important because historically and globally there have been consistent masculine and feminine roles. Whether we like it or not women have pretty much always been the primary care givers to children. Men have always been physically stronger. Both in general, of course, there have always been exceptions even in patriarchal societies.

If you are the one your child relies on most then it would make sense for you to take less risks and to be more available to your children. If you are stronger it makes more sense for you to be out hunting, labouring, or whatever.

It's important to remember this when we argue points about the oppression of our gender throughout the ages. It is very relevant. In many ways a woman's natural role would be inside the home (hut, cave, whatever) and the man's outside. Intellectual evolution has made the roles less well defined in these terms, certainly. And power-plays and fear have certainly lead to forcing these roles.

We're slowly getting to a stronger point in our universal feminist philosophy that will allow women to actually be themselves and accepts that it is perfectly fine and not at all anti-feminist for a woman to be a housewife. We're getting to a point where we won't have to play corporate games in the terms the boys play them. Someday a woman won't have to try to be as unthreateningly feminine or masculine as possible to be a CEO.

This is why it is (in a nutshell) important to have concepts of gender roles and to acknowledge the sociological, biological, and historical aspects of these roles.

Answer 2

As said earlier sex is biological and gender is sociological. Women tend to get into the nurturing professions such as nursing because historically they were low paying terrible jobs with no prestige unlike Doctors. Teaching was also a profession that was considered females work because it was generally around children. Now that both professions are being recognized as important and the pay scales are reflecting that, more men are joining these careers.
The most ridiculous example of gender not being a social role was by a person who said little boys will use crayons as substitutes for guns because gender is not socially constructed. That would mean that males in countries where they have no guns, and also thousands of years ago little boys would pretend to shoot things with quills and sticks. That is how those who argue that gender roles are not socially constructed explain that they are, which just shows you how without thought or logic that argument is.

Answer 3

Gender roles are being less defined and segregated. Now there is more sharing of functions such as making money and doing housework, although men tend to do more of the outside stuff and women do more inside chores, but not exclusively.

Just something to think about... Many people ask what ever happened to chivalry? It went out the door with women's rights. For 40 some-odd years now, women have been saying they can do anything a man is capable of doing. Many men are now buying into it. You got your way. You are now equal. You can stand in crowded buses, open your own doors, pay for your own meals, etc. Of course this is more of a single thing than a married thing.

Answer 4

It is an interesting point. However, take into consideration certain things such as playing poker. Women poker players tend to be overlooked due to the fact that their gender is a female. However, due to their specific gender role they actually can tend to be better poker players, and it is well known. However, in the heat of the game male's who know this tend to lose the idea of it through their gender role. It pertains to other things as well. Gender becomes the social construct merely whenever the opposite gender's gender role allows it to.

Answer 5

We wouldn't have such a problem if the Industrial Revolution hadn't torn apart the family structure of business and work from home.
There was a time when the family altogether farmed, or divided up the chored when a person was a smith, etc.
Then when men had to go out of the house to work, it became nearly impossible to lean on each other.

Answer 6

KA1227 - I think your right and well said actually.

For those of you who think Gender is only a construct:

Gender is NOT an absolute social contruct. The proof of that are the many young boys for example who feel like females, desire to be females, and act accordingly regardless to what "gender roles" society try's to force on them.

Eventually many of these boys will be forced to start to "act" like boys in order to make their parents/society happy, but acting like a boy is unnatural to them.

No one taught them to be like a girl, to desire to wear dresses and makeup, etc. Their genetics controlled that for them, not society. Society controls them to behave like boys after many years of telling them to do so, but it doesn't change the fact that these boys genetically felt like females from the start. Many of them become transexuals when they realize that living as a guy was not them.

So, the fact is, Gender is first a natural accurance through genetics, then later on when the child is old enough, society tries to force their ideals of how your gender should act, which is social gender construction.

But Gender is not completely, only, or absolutely a social construct. Anyone who disagrees should talk to a few true transgendered (male to female) guys for example who always felt like natural females regardless to what societies constructions of gender are.

Answer 7

no gender is social...sex is the anotomy. There is no mistake...the two are defined differently.

The term transgendered-it still has the word GENDER...not transsexed. Yes they feel like the oppisite, but thats a completly different thing.Society still plays a role in it. .

Answer 8

well, according to my sociology professor, sex and gender are two different things, sex is biological and gender is sociological. Gender is more what you identify yourself as, rather than what genitalia you happen to have been born with.
so, gender is sort of a social construct in that way, and that goes along with gender roles.
i hope that makes sense.

Answer 9

"Sex" is physical characteristics (do you have girl parts, boy parts, or something else altogether?)

"Gender" is in your mind (do you consider yourself to be masculine or feminine; do you think of yourself as a man or a woman [or something else altogether]?) It is also how you present yourself to the world.

"Gender roles" are in society's mind (what do we expect from men or women based on their gender?)

For example: a transvestite's sex might be male, but her gender would be female. Assuming she could convince society to view her as female, her gender role (well, in the 50's at least) would be to stay home and keep house.

Answer 10

Gender is identity. Sex is physical.