Jocelyn Anop
Help Received: PPT Sex vs Gender, Stratified Societies handout

Artifact 1

Sex and gender are commonly either mistaken for one another or thought of as the same concept. Although, these two topics are very different from each other. Sex is the biological characteristics that differ between males and females. This includes chromosomes (XY for male and XX for female), hormones and internal/external reproductive organs. Gender has a physiological, behavioral and social aspect of it being the role and social identification of an individual as male or female independent of biological characteristics. We define gender roles and expectations off of tradition and stereotypes. For example, implications of these roles for individuals may mean if someone is male then they are typically expected to do “manly” work, as in hard labor, or if it is female they are expected to wear a dress and do a little to no physical workload. This is gender role and a social aspect of gender. The potential consequences of how we view gender roles are people may not be accepted by family and friends due to cultural norms and expectations of behavior may not be met. Defining gender beyond the “binary” is when someone is both, male and female, another type, or neither type. For example, someone who is transgender is non-binary. If a person is outside of the gender binary they potentially will develop social issues, deal with gender gaps and get reproductive organ surgery.

Third gender is the “other” box people check on documents when marking their gender. These individuals are categorized either by themselves or by society, as either man nor woman. This could mean someone is more than three genders, intermediate gender or indeterminate gender. The United States of America recognizes third gender in some states such as Oregon. Oregon was the first U.S. state to approve the option of neither gender on a driver’s license and state licenses. Also, among other communities as in Hijra of India, Sworn virgins of the Balkans, the Muxes of Mexico and Mahu of Hawaii there is acceptance of people who choose to be a third gender.

In stratified societies such as the Haida and Tlingit of the Canadian Pacific coast, there is social ranking, class differences, and prominent gender behavioral expectations. Men were mainly hunters and fishermen and the women often were the gathers of fruits and nuts. The eldest and highest ranking man in the house was chief of the house. Haida was dispersed into clans throughout its community and these clans controlled martial possibilities for people. Throughout this very delegated society, it was difficult for anyone to express themselves if they went outside of the binary. Therefore, not many people went outside fo the cultural norms.

In conclusion, what a person is born with biologically does not determine what they will grow up to be as an adult. People use gender expression, gender identity and surgeries to make themselves feel what they think is best for their body and desires. To contrast gender and sex, sex is what can be changed surgically because sex is the biological characteristics of a human and gender is physiological, behavioral and social. Gender is a choice that can potentially drag along many consequences in the outside world because it is not accepted by everyone to go outside of a cultural norm. In my opinion, it is an amazing thing when people express themselves by the way they truly are because as long as they are happy that is all that matters.

Works Cited
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/06/21/third-gender-option-non-binary/359260001/