In ordinary conversation sex and gender are often used synonymously. In academic discussions of culture, they’re more often distinguished. Sex refers to the biological and physiological qualities that characterize men and women; sex is determined by genes, by biology. Gender, on the other hand, refers to the socially constructed roles and behaviors that society deems appropriate for males and females. Gender is learned from society; it’s the attitudes, beliefs, values, and ways of communicating that boys and girls learn as they grow up.
Thus, gender—although partly transmitted genetically and not by communication—may be considered a cultural variable, largely because cultures teach boys and girls different attitudes, beliefs, values, and ways of behaving. Thus, you act like a man or a woman in part because of what your culture has taught you about how men and women should act. This is not, of course, to deny that biological differences also play a role in the differences between male and female behavior. In fact, research continues to uncover biological roots of male/female differences we once thought were entirely learned (Helgeson, 2009; McCroskey, 1998).
Thus, gender—although partly transmitted genetically and not by communication—may be considered a cultural variable, largely because cultures teach boys and girls different attitudes, beliefs, values, and ways of behaving. Thus, you act like a man or a woman in part because of what your culture has taught you about how men and women should act. This is not, of course, to deny that biological differences also play a role in the differences between male and female behavior. In fact, research continues to uncover biological roots of male/female differences we once thought were entirely learned (Helgeson, 2009; McCroskey, 1998).
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