The Terms Sex, Gender, and Sexuality

Gender and Sexuality ANTH 2301 The Terms: Sex, Gender, and Sexuality The biological categories of male and female (and maybe other categories, as mentioned later in this chapter) are referred to as "sex" in the social sciences. An analysis of a person's biological and anatomical characteristics is used to determine their sex. These characteristics include, but are not limited to: visible genitalia (such as the penis, testes, and vagina); internal sex organs (such as the ovaries and uterus); secondary sex characteristics (such as the breasts and facial hair); chromosomes (XX for females, XY for males, and other potential variants); reproductive capabilities (including menstruation), and the actions of growth hormones, especially testosterone and oestrogen. Although it may appear that nature clearly separates individuals into men and females, there is a lot of ambiguity and variability within these categories due to the lengthy list of characteristics. Hormonal factors, for example, can provide outcomes that deviate from usual human development patterns. Hormonal factors can promote the establishment of secondary sex traits linked to the other sex and alter the development of sex organs throughout time. People can have chromosomes linked to one sex group and bodily traits linked to another, whether or not they are wearing clothing. Social scientists coined the word gender to describe cultural roles derived from biological categories, whereas sex is based on biology. People of various genders are assigned distinct behaviours, relationships, obligations, and rights according to gender-specific cultural norms. Childhood is a crucial period for gender enculturation because gender categories are taught rather than inherited or inborn as components of culture. The particular substance of gender categories is extremely different among cultures and prone to change over time, in contrast to the seeming universality of sex categories. To make clear the distinctions between the two concepts—biological sex and cultural gender—between those ingrained in "nature" and those created by "culture," they are frequently used separately. However, are biological sex classifications founded on a dispassionate evaluation of nature? Are sex categories stable and universal? Some academics contest sex's biological objectivity and argue that it contradicts the more ambiguous concept of gender. The term "sexuality," which is linked to gender and sex, describes erotic ideas, feelings, and behaviours as well as the social identities that go along with them. People's physical behaviours for pleasure, intimacy, and/or reproduction are influenced by the various ways in which they view their own bodies and gender. A person's complex wants, beliefs, and behaviours make up their sexuality. While some cultures are more permissive of sexual behaviour, others have highly rigid cultural standards. Certain cultures bestow a unique identity on individuals who follow a specific sexual orientation, whilst other cultures let an individual to partake in a variety of sexual activities without assuming a distinctive identity linked to those activities (Nanda 2000). Sociocultural identities connected to particular sexualities are referred to as sexual orientation. For example, in American society, having sex with a guy is conventionalized into the heterosexual identity. The majority of Americans would classify you as heterosexual if you only engage in that type of sexual behaviour. In American society, you would be seen as either a lesbian (if you identify as female) or a homosexual person (if you identify as male) if you had sex with someone who belongs to the same sex/gender category. Many young individuals who experience romantic fantasies or fleeting thoughts of a same-sex acquaintance may worry that they are "really" not straight since Americans are so fearful of these categorical identities. Some persons who have romantic, emotional, or erotic impulses for members of their own gender and another gender have come to identify as bisexuals as American standards have shifted over the past several decades. Individuals who identify as pansexual may have sensual urges and relationships with others regardless of their gender identity, sexual orientation, or biological sex. In more recent times, some persons who have never had any form of sexual ideas, wants, or behaviours have come to accept the label of being asexual. Despite the fact that sexual orientation may take many different forms, it is thought to be a fundamental and enduring component of an individual's social identity. Heteronormativity is the term used to describe the idea that heterosexuality is the most "natural" type of sexuality in various societies. Studies and the expansion of the LGBTQIA+ movement throughout the world have cast doubt on this idea. People who engage in several forms of sexuality without necessarily establishing a definite sexual identity are allowed—in fact, expected—in many other cultures. This is not to argue that these other cultures are always more accepting of sexual variety and liberal. Although same-sex relationships are allowed in many countries in some situations, people are nonetheless expected to marry the other sex and have children. A person's gender identity, sexual orientation, and sexuality tend to vary dramatically throughout the course of their life as a response to various situations and interactions, according to scholars who have researched sexuality in many cultures. The term "queer," which was once used disparagingly in American society to describe someone who did not adhere to the strict heterosexual norms, has been appropriated by those who do not follow those norms, especially those who express their gender and sexuality in a more situational and flexible manner. Queer gender and sexuality are not so much a set of stable identities as they are more dynamic, ever-evolving, and dependent on a variety of circumstances. With the complexity of sex, gender, and sexuality, it might be useful to have a diagram that shows the potential connections between these elements. The Genderbread Person is a helpful diagram created by activist Sam Killermann that illustrates the different facets of identification, attraction, expression, and physical traits that come together to determine a person's gender or sexual orientation.