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Royer Gramajo
Professor Ditch
English 113A 3:30 pm
8 December, 2014
Sex vs Gender Construction
The articles Night to His Day by Judith Lorber and From Women, Men, and
Society by Curan Renzetti have similar information about how gender and sex are
different. A conversation about sex and gender construction can go on for hours and
hours. It can possibly even end up as an argument and people wont run out of things to
say to each other. Sometimes its hard to understand exactly what does sex and gender
mean and how are they both created. What is the difference between sex and gender?
Sex is the biological and physiological characteristics that define men and women.
Gender refers to the socially constructed roles or behaviors that a society is given for
men and women. In todays society sex and gender perhaps have two separate
meanings. That is what many people dont understand or seem to realize because they
think consider it the same thing, when in reality they both mean different things. It
comes to a conclusion that it is better for a single person to have their own definition of
sex and gender according to the way they were raised.
How are gender roles socially constructed? Gender roles are socially constructed
through human interaction/socialization? In the article, Night to His Day by Judith
Lorber, the author provides a very good example of how gender is being constructed

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without people realizing it in the streets. The example is Today, on the subway, I saw a
well-dressed man with a year-old child in a stroller (19). In todays society you rarely
will see a man with his baby child in a stroller. Usually, women are the ones who are
expected to perform that gender role. This example shows the human interaction that is
happening between the father and the baby child while walking in the streets. Many
men wont perform this role because many may feel uncomfortable about it or know that
other people will take the wrong idea of performing that role. In the streets parents are
parenting their children while not realizing it and performing gender construction
according to what a certain society is given to them.
What is the controversy surrounding gender construction? Well, many people will
have different attitudes towards gender construction. Some may agree to them and
some may be against them. Each individual will have their own opinion about it. Gender
roles are important to society. Every person born, is born with a specific purpose.
Gender roles as males and females are important as each have a responsibility of its
own. Both male and females have responsibility that specifically only male can do and
same goes with females.
Without gender roles there will be chaos all around and not knowing what to do
and what is peoples responsibility. Those people who are against it will say that gender
roles dont matter at all in the society they live. They will say that the society they live in
is better at knowing women and men as being equal, as being one. Many will say that
women don't really need to get marry and take care of a house, and men don't need to
support women. People are not judged by their gender. They can be known for who
they are.

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Gender construction affects identity construction by adding a third gender.

Gender identity is consider to be define as being male, female, or a third gender. People
are expected to completely recognize either as male or female. Yet, some people
believe that a third gender is required. It depends on how a person truly feels about
themselves and if there has to be an identity change in their lives.
Gender roles are performed mostly by the behavior and attitude of a person.
Many children learn their behavior and attitude by following the behavior of their
parents. It can also be performed by the cultural norms depending on the culture a
person comes from. According to what their culture expects to act, people will perform
gender roles that way. If that person doesnt feel comfortable with their identity that is
where gender identity is consider to act upon. Like I said earlier, people tend to add a
third gender whenever they feel like they havent discovered their real gender identity.
But it all depends on how that individual feels about themselves. In this next article you
will see how mothers are performing gender construction with their children.
In the article From Women, Men, and Society. By Renzetti and Curran, it states
that However, she also found that the mothers of girls were more sensitive to their
children, while the mothers of boys were more restrictive of their children (78). This
statement is talking about how a mother treated their child differently according to their
sex. Many parents usually will treat their child different according to what the child is.
Either a female or male. According to this text, mother of girls may be better behaved
than mother of boys.
Ive performed some gender roles by the way I dress and act when Im around
people. Im a male so I dress as a male. I wear jeans and t-shirts. The way I act is the

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way I believe many males act. Im respectful and friendly. Gender roles have played a
big part of my life because the society I live in expects me to act according to what it is
expecting me along with other males to act. At home Im expected to be the bigger
person and be respectful to my siblings. Gender roles have made me become a
different person and become what society expects males to be. Strong and aggressive
is a way the society I live in expect many males to be. It has taught me not to dress like
a girl because Im not one or even act and behave like one.
To conclude this sex vs gender topic, I just want to recap the main points. It has
come to the points that there is a difference between sex and gender and many people
dont understand that. It can also come to the point where an individual can define sex
and gender to the way they want to define it. People think sex and gender both have the
same meaning and are both alike. Sex is the biological and physiological characteristics
that define men and women. Gender refers to the socially constructed roles or
behaviors that a society is given for men and women.
Therefore, a person will understand the meaning of these both categories
whenever they start performing them and taking to consideration in their life. Gender
construction can be perform anywhere and at any time. People will not realize that and
those who understand the difference between sex and gender will realize it. The way a
person is raised since the beginning of birth is the way the person will see sex and
gender like. Ive made gender construction be a part of my life and follow the norms I
was raised by because that is how I am expected to behave. I think personally there is a
difference between sex and gender. But like I said we all may have a different opinion
towards it and maybe will agree to it or disagree.

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Work Cited
Judith Lorber. Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender. Newbury
Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1991. Print.
Renzetti, Claire and Curran, David. "From Women, Men, and Society." n.d.: n.p.
Print.