Recognising the distinction between sex and gender is vital, in order to comprehend structured social inequality between both men and women

Essay by dany5University, Bachelor's May 2010

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Recognising the distinction between sex and gender is vital, in order to comprehend structured social inequality between both men and women. The word 'gender' is often used in the wrong context, i.e. assuming sex and gender are the same concept. However this is not the case. The first person to recognize this distinction was Dr Robert Stoller. He stated that 'sex' is the biological makeup which defines the differences between men and women, i.e. external genitalia and internal genitalia. He also defined 'gender' to be what make people either feminine or masculine, he continued on pointing out that sex and gender can be independent of each other.

Gender refers to the social, cultural, anatomical, physiological, and psychological implications we have in mind when we label an individual as either male or female, or describe that person as being masculine or feminine. Huffaker (2005) states that gender is not only a vital component in the way individuals are depicted to others, it is also central to the way individuals see and understand themselves

Firstly, the definition of gender through socialisation will be looked at from Feminist and Functionalist perspectives established through studies into the nature of gender, i.e.

parental expectations, exploitation of females through children's books and the media etc. A conclusion will then be made based on research conducted in relation to this area of investigation.

The feminist perspective can be divided into many sub-groups, two of which are radical feminism and Marxist feminism. The feminist perspective on gender is that of exploitation of women through the media, children's toys and books etc. They believe that society's aim is to condition children right from initial years by establishing their expected roles in society. They do this via the use of childrens TV shows- depicting the women...