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Arlenn Galvan
Professor Beadle
English 115
7 December 2016
Sex, Gender & Genderless
Are gender and sex the same thing? Will we see genderless people in the future? The
common idea of the 21st century all you witness is is young children no longer having a
childhood, similar to the ones kids from younger generations did before. Not just the fact of
no longer playing outside whereas the fact of years back, you were to follow the teachings
you witness in your household. Judith Lorber and Ruth Hubbard alter our understanding
on the issue of gender construction growing as individuals begin to fully identify themselves,
many may confuse the word sex and gender as something that is the same by following society
influences in today's culture. I come from a Latino household where gender roles were forced
upon us, yet it never restricted us from playing with the opposite genders.
To start off, when people hear or even mention the word sex, they automatically dont think
of the way it relates to our identity. Sex is what defines you and what categorizes you in our
society; but it is all based on physiological characteristics between men and women since the
day of their birth. Sex is usually categorized as a gender status through naming, dress, and the
use of other gender markers (Lorber 20). In this quote Lorber reflects upon the factor of how
society focuses on your physical aspect and when people are aware of your sex you are
separated from the other. For example, Lorber mentions a man who takes the role of
motherhood to his children. Many will think that is abnormal for a male to take a feminine

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role with raising a child but as society advances/changes this action is seen as something
normal. However, other people of older generations may believe that a traditional role is
being violated and it should be a woman handling the children while the men have to worry
about providing for his family. But Lorber later refers to gender as a way people can organize
their life. In my household, my brother and I followed the same values but also we followed our
gender roles. My dad enforced me to fully grasp the female roles of learning how to clean, cook
and being lady like.
Furthermore, gender is constructed through political and social views your behavior and so
called gender roles. Society has its own belief on roles for men and women. Take for example,
in Latino households, women must learn to cook, clean and become a stay at home mother so
they can offer a great life to their children. Men are to work for a living so they can offer a better
life for his family. In Hubbards article Rethinking Womens Biology she gives the example of
the common ideal about women, offered that characterize women as weak, or overemotional.
(Hubbard 46). This quote shows that women are seen as weak links compared to men seen as
tough, masculine and they are considered superior than women due to what they believed in and
saw in their households. Hubbard supports her claim by using the example of the height of
men and women in the United States, using the stereotypes of how the men are the ones to
be taller, instead of women. The authors purpose is demonstrate that womens biology
isnt all about since because the word biology is used, yet women are seen as a physical item
instead of being seen a women.
In a like matter, many people believe that the words sex and gender mean the same exact
thing. Where you specifically identify yourself as either female or male. People tend to

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relate them in a way believing that they can be asked either one when filling out an
application or a simple piece of paperwork. However, theres also people who arent quite
sure on what gender they reflect or associate themselves with. In the article Are We Facing a
Genderless Future by Barbara Kantrowitz and Pat Wingert; they mention the controversy of
people who arent quite decided or in the mindset of what their gender is. As they express their
belief they say the following, Develops between the biological and the environmental. You cant
always detect gender by physical evidence. You have to ask the person how they identify
themselves, in that sense, its psychological (Kantrowitz & Wingert 69). Both Kantrowitz &
Wingert mention the facts that you arent just looked at your physical appearance, but for
you to ask yourself where you believe you feel like you identify as a person and to not let
society affect your decision as a person. The quote demonstrates that we are just assigned
to a sex because of our external appearance and not what one feels on the inside. In the
future I can begin to see the major transition society will take where people will be
genderless and no one will put them down about it. Growing up my parents never really
restricted me from playing with cars, wrestle or even play and watch sports. I was allowed
to play with whatever made me happy, although I still played with dolls, house and did my dolls
hair. Despite what society portrays and Latino culture very well is present, my parents
never saw me participating in boys activities as a bad thing, in this case they saw it as
something more normal. In the future, I begin to imagine the major transition society will
take when people become genderless and no one will shame them.
In the end, as years go on we will no longer focus on the question of what gender you
identify yourself but as people who will no longer be characterized as a certain category

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and be expected to complete one's roles as a male or female. People will be more free and
anybody will be able to do whatever they want. The wont have to feel like they must satisfy
what the views society sees them for being female or male. Think how this can affect our
children in the future or maybe even it will help them fit into society even more.

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Work Cited
Lobber, Judith. Night to his Day: The Social Construction of Gender. Composing Gender,
edited by John E. Sullivan III, A Bedford Spotlight Reader, pg 19-33.
Hubbard, Ruth. Rethinking Womens Biology Composing Gender, edited by John E. Sullivan
III, A Bedford Spotlight Reader, pg 46-52.
Kantrowitz, Barbara and Wingert, Pat. Are We Facing a Genderless Future?. Composing
Gender, edited by John E. Sullivan III, A Bedford Spotlight Reader, pg 68-71.