blog 11/11: sex and gender
Transitioning into the book Middlesex, I am glad that we are learning about the diversity of different sexualities today. I feel like it’s important to know how others live and feel sexually, as I can’t fathom the fact. We learned about how sex differs from gender in class; a subject I never really thought of before and found particularly interesting. I talked about the subject to others who I know differ sexually and found out some pretty cool info I didn’t really care to know before.
What sex a person is has a lot to do with the physical makeup of the body. Obviously guys and girls are made differently, but it boils down to if you have a penis or not. That’s it. The reproductive system is what defines your sex, and little else. Linguistically the two words are used interchangeably today, but it isn’t accurate.
In my own words, gender refers to the social personality a person displays for his or her self. I word it this way to emphasize the importance of what others view you as. You couldn’t have a male gender if there was no one else around to notice it. An example is how it is usually acceptable for girls to wear dresses and not guys, not even gay guys. This shows that sex and gender have a strong correlation, but are still not interchangeable. For a lesbian does not have a male gender, but more a “gay female” gender.
