BI-218X
Noah Delaney-Manuel
5/24/18
Artifact 1: Sex and Gender
In today’s society, the difference between sex and gender are bringing up many different arguments. One of these arguments stems from the religious background that some people in the United States have. Is it right to allow the children of today to be able to say they are a boy or a girl by how they feel? Many people have a difficult time with this subject and decide not to talk about it at all. That is no way to solve any dilemma. When it comes to the correct definition of sex and gender, sex is the anatomic and physiological characteristics that differ between human males and females. This would include body characteristics such as chromosomes, hormones, internal and external reproductive organs, and secondary sex characteristics. Gender is where most confusion comes to people about the true definition of gender. The actual definition of gender is the role and social identification of an individual as male or female independent of biological characteristics. This entails the psychological, social, and behavioral factors.
One problem that our society also has is that we place stereotypes of what a male or a female is capable of doing. In today’s society, one stereotype is that men are always and supposed to be the caregivers of their home. A stereotype for women is that they are supposed to take care of the household and the children that they might have. This contributes to the unfair pay in the workplace. These stereotypes sometimes have tremendous effects on what happens in society and in the workplace. Our stereotypes also have impacts on those who do not fit into the gender binary system. The binary system is a way that either a male or female is supposed to act and how they are a male or a female. If someone feels inside that they are a boy but have the parts and features of a woman, then society often frowns upon this. There are some societies that accept this in their cultures.
In India, there is an interesting phenomenon of a term called Hijra. Hijra are a third gender that is accepted into Indian society as neither a male or female. There are over 1 million people in the country that are Hijra. In order to become a Hijra, you must go through the nirvana, otherwise known as a rebirth. The Hijra believe that when one sacrifices the male genitalia, that you release feminine powers into your body. The Hindu religion supports this process of becoming a Hijra which gives refuge to those who wish to become a middle gender, rather than conform to either male or female. Another interesting concept is the lady boys of Thailand. Thailand, like India, also supports the third gender concept into their society. Part of that acceptance is a factor of a religion that accepts transsexuals. These lady boys in Thailand are a fantasy in Thailand and considered a beauty despite sometimes not having women parts.
With the acceptance of third gender and the stereotypes that can sometimes hurt those who fall into a third gender, it always is a reflection of their culture. When a culture accepts a third gender, you find that those stereotypes cease to exist and there is a level of comfort in people being what they desire. If someone does not feel as though they fit into the role of a male or a female, but they feel as different, society has an impact on the action that one might take. In our American culture, third genders are not necessarily accepted to the degree that either India or Thailand do. Although we have the same capabilities that those countries have to be able to make one switch genders, society does not accept this. On a personal level, my family is very religious and believes in the male and female are the only connection that is accepted. In conclusion, religion and culture have huge impacts on the acceptance of third gender and the deletion of stereotypes.
Help Received: Power point slides for Artifact 1
Middlesex’s video from YouTube
Noah Delaney-Manuel