Khylle Quizon Gender and Society

OL115 MRR1
MRR1-Do We Need a Sex/Gender Distinction?

1. What are the three (3) things that you significantly learned from the reading?
Before reading the article, I used to think that sex and the gender is just a
fundamental constituent of human life, that there is nothing behind it other than
individuality or specification. I thought that sex and gender are associated with each
other, that there is really no need of distinction. I also used to think that I accurately knew
how to make use of the subject matter, even though what exactly it refers to differs from
situation to situation. After reading the article, I now think that (1) to determine sex, one
must assess a set of conditions — chromosomes, external and internal genitalia, gonads,
hormonal states and secondary sex characteristics. Mere attributes cannot just define
one’s sex or gender. (2) People may also have assorted genders. Gender is an appellation
that has psychological and cultural rather than biological connotations. (3) Lastly, I now
think that sex and gender are truly compelling subject matters, that there is still a lot to
acquire a knowledge of.

2. What three (3) things about the reading are unclear to you?
The three things that are unclear to me are (1) confusion about some are of use
(e.g. love), (2) degendering (3) and the objections to the distinction.

3. What three (3) questions that you want to ask about the reading?
(1) How is the prior knowledge of sex and gender possible?
(2) Given that gender is culturally defined, are gender roles really more fluid in
other societies?
(3) What is the significance of the distinction?