Difference between revisions of "Gender" - New World Encyclopedia

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[[Category:Politics and social sciences]]
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[[Category:Sociology]]
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[[Image:Combotrans.svg|thumb|right|The [[gender symbol]]s used to denote a female (left) or male (right) organism, derived from the astrological symbols of Venus and Mars.]]
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{{Otheruses}}
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"'''Gender'''", in common usage, refers to the differences between [[male|men]] and [[female|women]]. Encyclopaedia Britannica notes that [[gender identity]] is "an individual's self-conception as being male or female, as distinguished from actual biological sex."<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9036351 Gender Identity], Encyclopædia Britannica Online, 2007.</ref> Although "gender" is commonly used interchangeably with "[[sex]]," within the academic fields of [[cultural studies]], [[gender studies]] and the [[social sciences]] in general, the term "gender" often refers to purely social rather than biological differences. Some view gender as a [[social construct]]ion rather than a biological phenomenon. People whose gender identity feels incongruent with their physical bodies may identify themselves as [[intersex]], [[transgender]] or [[genderqueer]].
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Many languages have a system of [[grammatical gender]], a type of [[noun class]] system — nouns may be classified as ''masculine'' or ''feminine'' (for example [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], [[Arabic language|Arabic]] and [[French language|French]]) or may also have a ''neuter'' grammatical gender (for example [[Sanskrit]], [[German language|German]] and [[Polish language|Polish]]). In such languages, this is essentially a [[Convention (norm)|convention]], which may have little or no connection to the meaning of the words. Likewise, a wide variety of phenomena have characteristics termed ''gender'', by analogy with male and female bodies (such as the [[gender of connectors and fasteners]]) or due to [[Norm (sociology)|societal norms]].
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==Etymology and usage==
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===The word ''gender'' in English===
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;Gender = kind
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The word ''gender'' comes from the [[Middle English]] ''gendre'', a [[loanword]] from [[Normans|Norman]]-conquest-era [[Middle French]]. This, in turn, came from [[Latin]] ''genus''. Both words mean 'kind', 'type', or 'sort'. They derive ultimately from a widely attested [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] (PIE) root ''g<sup>e</sup>n-'',<ref>
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Julius Pokorny, [http://www.indo-european.nl/cgi-bin/response.cgi?root=leiden&morpho=0&basename=\data\ie\pokorny&first=651 'gen'], in ''Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch'', (Bern: Francke, 1959, reprinted in 1989), pp. 373-75.</ref><ref>
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[http://www.bartleby.com/61/roots/IE143.html 'gen<sup>ə</sup>-',] in 'Appendix I: Indo-European Roots', to ''[[The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language]]'', Fourth Edition, (Boston: [[Houghton Mifflin|Houghton Mifflin Company]], 2000).</ref>
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which is also the source of ''kin'', ''kind'', ''king'' and many other English words.<ref>
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Your Dictionary.com, [http://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/roots/zzg00600.html 'Gen',] reformatted from AHD.</ref>
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It appears in Modern [[French language|French]] in the word ''[[genre]]'' (type, kind) and is related to the [[Greek language|Greek]] root ''gen-'' (to produce), appearing in ''[[gene]]'', ''[[genesis]]'' and ''[[oxygen]]''.
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<!-- Checked with OED 2nd ed. —>
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As a verb, it means ''breed'' in the [[King James Version of the Bible|King James]] [[Bible]]:
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*'''1616''': Thou shalt not let thy cattle '''gender''' with a diverse kind. — {{bibleref|Leviticus|19:19}}
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Most of the uses of the root ''gen'' in Indo-European languages refer either directly to what pertains to birth
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or, by extension, to natural, innate qualities and their consequent social distinctions
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(for example ''gentry'', ''gentile'', ''genocide'' and ''eugenics'').
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The first edition of the [[Oxford English Dictionary]] (OED1, Volume 4, 1900) notes the original meaning of ''gender'' as 'kind' had already become obsolete.
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<blockquote>
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:'''Gender''' (dʒe'ndəɹ), ''sb''. Also 4 gendre. [a. OF. ''gen(d)re'' (F. ''genre'') = Sp. and Pg. ''genero'', It. ''genere'', ad. L. ''gener''- stem form of ''genus'' race, kind = Gr. γένος, Skr. ''jánas'':— OAryan *''genes''-, f. root γεν- to produce; cf. '''K<small 2>IN</small>'''.]
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:†'''1.''' Kind, sort, class; also, genus as opposed to species. ''The general gender'': the common sort (of people). ''Obs.''
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:'''13..''' ''E.E.Allit. P.'' P. 434 Alle gendrez so ioyst wern ioyned wyth-inne.  ''c'' '''1384''' C<small 2>HAUSER</small> ''H. Fame'''''*''' 1. 18 To knowe of hir signifiaunce The gendres.  '''1398'''  T<small 2>REVISA</small> ''Barth. De P. K.'' <small 2>VIII</small>. xxix. (1495) 34<sup>I</sup> Byshynynge and lyghte ben dyuers as species and gendre, for suery shinyng is lyght, but not ayenwarde.  '''1602''' S<small 2>HAKES</small>. ''Ham''. <small 2>IV</small>. vii. 18 The great loue the generall gender beare him.  '''1604''' — ''Oth''. <small 2>I</small>. iii. 326 Supplie it with one gender of Hearbes, or distract it with many.  '''1643''' and so on.
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</blockquote>
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;Gender = masculinity or femininity
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The use of ''gender'' to refer to [[masculinity]] and [[femininity]] as types is attested throughout the history of [[Modern English]] (from about the [[14th century]]).
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*'''1387-8''': No mo '''genders''' been there but masculine, and femynyne, all the remnaunte been no genders but of grace, in facultie of grammar. — [[Thomas Usk]], ''The Testament of Love'' II iii ([[Walter William Skeat]]) 13
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*''c''. '''1460''':  Has thou oght written there of the femynyn '''gendere'''? — ''[[Wakefield Cycle|Towneley Mystery Plays]]'' xxx 161 Act One
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*'''1632''': Here's a woman! The soul of Hercules has got into her. She has a spirit, is more masculine Than the first '''gender'''. — [[Shackerley Marmion]], ''Holland's Leaguer'' III iv
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*'''1658''': The Psyche, or soul, of Tiresias is of the masculine '''gender'''. — [[Thomas Browne]], ''[[Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial|Hydriotaphia]]''
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*'''1709''': Of the fair sex ... my only consolation for being of that '''gender''' has been the assurance it gave me of never being married to any one among them.
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:— [[Lady Mary Wortley Montagu|Mary Wortley Montagu]], ''Letters to Mrs Wortley'' lxvi 108
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*'''1768''': I may add the '''gender''' too of the person I am to govern — [[Laurence Sterne]], ''[[A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy]]''
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*'''1859''': Black divinities of the feminine '''gender'''. — [[Charles Dickens]], ''[[A Tale of Two Cities]]''
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*'''1874''': It is exactly as if there were a sex in mountains, and their contours and curves and complexions were here all of the feminine '''gender'''.
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:— [[Henry James]], [http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/moa-cgi?notisid=ABK2934-0033-31 'A Chain of Italian Cities'], ''[[The Atlantic Monthly]]'' '''33''' (February, p. 162.)
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*'''1892''': She was uncertain as to his '''gender'''. — [[Robert Grant (novelist)|Robert Grant]], [http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/moa-cgi?notisid=AFR7379-0011-43 'Reflections of a Married Man',] ''[[Scribner's Magazine]]'' '''11''' (March, p. 376.)
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*'''1896''': As to one's success in the work one does, surely that is not a question of '''gender''' either. — ''[[News Chronicle|Daily News]]'' 17 July
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*''c''. '''1900''': Our most lively impression is that the sun is there assumed to be of the feminine '''gender'''. — [[Henry James]], ''Essays on Literature''
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;Gender = noun class
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According to [[Aristotle]], the Greek philosopher [[Protagoras]] used the terms ''masculine'', ''feminine'', and ''neuter''
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to classify nouns, introducing the concept of [[grammatical gender]].
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*{{Polytonic|τὰ γένη τῶν ὀνομάτων ἄρρενα καὶ θήλεα καὶ σκεύη}}
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*The tribes (''genē'') of the namers are ''males'' and ''females'' and ''things''.
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:— Aristotle, ''[[Rhetoric (Aristotle)|The Technique of Rhetoric]]'' III v
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The words for this concept are not related to ''gen-'' in all Indo-European languages (for example, ''rod'' in [[Slavic languages]]).
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The usage of ''gender'' in the context of grammatical distinctions is a specific and technical usage.
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However, in English, the word became attested more widely in the context of grammar, than in making sexual distinctions.
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This was noted in OED1, prompting [[Henry Watson Fowler]] to recommend
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this usage as the primary and preferable meaning of ''gender'' in English.
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"Gender ... is a grammatical term only. To talk of persons ... of the masculine or feminine g[ender], meaning of the male or female sex, is either a jocularity (permissible or not according to context) or a blunder."<ref>
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[[Fowler's Modern English Usage]], 1926: p. 211.</ref>
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The sense of this can be felt by analogy with a modern expression like "persons of the female persuasion." It should be noted, however, that this was a recommendation, neither the ''Daily Mail'' nor Henry James citations (above) are "jocular" nor "blunders." Additionally, patterns of usage of ''gender'' have substantially changed since Fowler's day (''noun class'' above, and ''sexual stereotype'' below).
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;Gender = sexual stereotype
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Over the course of the [[1970]]s, the feminist movement took the word ''gender'' into their own usage
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to describe their theory of human nature.
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Early in that decade, ''gender'' was used in ways consistent with
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both the history of English and the history of attestation of the root.
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<!-- citation in Feminist section of this article —>
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However, by the end of the decade consensus was achieved in both theory and terminology.
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The theory was that human nature is essentially [[epicene]] and social distinctions based on sex are arbitrarily constructed.
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Matters pertaining to this theoretical process of social construction were labelled matters of ''gender''.
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*'''1998''': Today a return to separate single-sex schools may hasten the revival of separate '''gender''' roles.
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:— [[Wendy Kaminer]], [http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/prem/199804/single-sex 'The Trouble with Single-Sex Schools',] ''[[The Atlantic Monthly]]'' (April)
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The [[American Heritage Dictionary]] uses the following two sentences to illustrate the difference.<ref name="difference"> [http://www.bartleby.com/61/59/G0075900.html Usage note: ''Gender'',] ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'', Fourth Edition, (2000).</ref>
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*'''2000''': The effectiveness of the medication appears to depend on the sex ''(not gender)'' of the patient.
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*'''2000''': In peasant societies, gender ''(not sex)'' roles are likely to be more clearly defined.
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In the last two decades of the 20th century, the use of ''gender'' in academia increased greatly,
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outnumbering uses of ''sex'' in the social sciences.<ref name="haig">
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Haig, D. (2004). '[http://www.oeb.harvard.edu/faculty/haig/pdfs/04InexorableRise.pdf The Inexorable Rise of Gender and the Decline of Sex:] Social Change in Academic Titles, 1945–2001'. ''Archives of Sexual Behavior'' '''33''': 87–96.</ref>
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Frequently, but not exclusively, this indicates acceptance of the feminist theory of human nature.
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However, in many instances, the term ''gender'' still refers to sexual distinction generally without such an assumption.
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*'''2004''': Among the reasons that working scientists have given me for choosing '''gender''' rather than sex in biological contexts are desires to signal sympathy with feminist goals, to use a more academic term, or to avoid the connotation of copulation.
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:— D Haig, ''The Inexorable Rise of Gender and the Decline of Sex''
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In fact, the ideological distinction between ''sex'' and ''gender'' is only fitfully observed.<ref name="haig" />
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===The concept of gender in other languages===
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;German and Dutch
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In English, both 'sex' and 'gender' can be used in contexts where they could not be substituted — ''sexual intercourse'', ''safe sex'', ''sex worker'', or on the other hand, ''grammatical gender''. Other languages, like German or Dutch, use the same word, ''Geschlecht'' or ''Geslacht'', to refer not only to biological sex, but social differences and grammatical gender as well, making a distinction between 'sex' and 'gender' difficult. In some contexts, German has adopted the English loanword ''Gender'' to achieve this distinction. Sometimes ''Geschlechtsidentität'' is used for 'gender' (although it literally means 'gender identity') and ''Geschlecht'' for 'sex'.
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<!-- (translation of Judith Butler's ''Gender Trouble'') —>
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More common is the use of modifiers: ''biologisches Geschlecht'' for 'sex', ''Geschlechtsidentität'' for 'gender identity' and ''Geschlechtsrolle'' for 'gender role', and so on.
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;Swedish
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In Swedish, 'gender' is translated with the linguistically cognate ''genus'', including sociological contexts, thus: ''Genusstudier'' (gender studies) and ''Genusvetenskap'' (gender science). 'Sex' in Swedish, however, only signifies sexual relations, and not the typical English dichotomy, a concept for which ''kön'' (also from [[Proto Indo-European|PIE]] ''g<sup>e</sup>n-'') is used. A common distinction is then made between ''kön'' (sex) and ''genus'' (gender), where the former refers only to biological sex. In earlier literature, and occasionally in non-academic contexts, Swedish uses the word ''könsroll'' (literally 'sex role', but contextually translated as 'gender role'). These terms can have the same or different meanings depending on the context.
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==Sex==
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[[Image:55542main maflies med.jpg|thumb|right|Male (left) and female fruit flies, ''D. melanogaster''. The female is determined by the presence of two X chromosomes.]]
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{{main|Biological sex}}
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{{see also|Sexual dimorphism|Sex-determination systems|Sexual differentiation|Evolution of sex}}
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Gender can refer to the biological condition of being male or female, or less commonly [[intersex]] or "[[third sex]]" as applied to humans, or [[hermaphroditic]], as applied to non-human animals and plants.{{Fact|date=June 2007}} In this sense, the term is a synonym for ''sex''{{Fact|date=June 2007}}, a word that has undergone a usage shift itself, having become a synonym for ''sexual intercourse''.
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==Biology of gender==
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{{main|Biology of gender}}
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{{See also|Gender taxonomy}}
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{{Expand|date=June 2007}}
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==Social category==
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{{main|Sociology of gender|Gender roles}}
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Since the 1950s, the term ''gender'' has been increasingly used to distinguish a social role ([[gender role]]) and/or personal identity ([[gender identity]]) distinct from biological sex. Sexologist [[John Money]] wrote in 1955, "[t]he term ''gender role'' is used to signify all those things that a person says or does to disclose himself or herself as having the status of boy or man, girl or woman, respectively. It includes, but is not restricted to, sexuality in the sense of eroticism."<ref name="eroticism">Money, J. (1955). "Hermaphroditism, gender and precocity in hyperadrenocorticism: Psychologic findings." ''Bulletin of the Johns Hopkins Hospital'' '''96''', 253–264.</ref> Elements of such a role include clothing, speech patterns, movement and other factors not solely limited to [[biological sex]].
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Many societies categorize all individuals as either [[male]] or [[female]]—however, this is not universal. Some societies recognise a [[third gender]]<ref name="third-gender">Herdt, Gilbert (ed.) (1996). ''Third Sex Third Gender: Beyond Sexual Dimorphism in Culture and History.'' ISBN 0-942299-82-5</ref>—for instance, the [[Two-Spirit]] people of some indigenous American peoples, and [[hijra (South Asia)|hijra]]s of India and Pakistan<ref name="hijras">Nanda, Serena (1998). ''Neither Man Nor Woman: The Hijras of India''. Wadsworth Publishing. ISBN 0-534-50903-7<br/>* Reddy, Gayatri (2005). ''With Respect to Sex: Negotiating Hijra Identity in South India.'' (Worlds of Desire: The Chicago Series on Sexuality, Gender, and Culture), University Of Chicago Press (July 1, 2005). ISBN 0-226-70756-3</ref>—or even a fourth<ref name="fourth">Roscoe, Will (2000). ''Changing Ones: Third and Fourth Genders in Native North America''. Palgrave Macmillan (June 17, 2000) ISBN 0-312-22479-6</ref> or fifth.<ref name="fifth">Graham, Sharyn (2001), [http://www.insideindonesia.org/edit66/bissu2.htm Sulawesi's fifth gender], Inside Indonesia, April-June 2001.</ref> Such categories may be an intermediate state between male and female, a state of sexlessness, or a distinct gender not dependent on male and female gender roles. [[Joan Roughgarden]] argues that in some non-human animal species, there can also be said to be more than two genders, in that there might be multiple templates for behavior available to individual organisms with a given biological sex.<ref name="roughgarden">Roughgarden, Joan. (2004) ''Evolution's Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People''. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-24073-1</ref>
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There is debate over to what extent gender is a [[social construct]] and to what extent it is a biological construct. One point of view in the debate is [[social constructionism]], which suggests that gender is entirely a social construct. Contrary to social constructionism is [[essentialism]] which suggests that it is entirely a biological construct. Others' opinions on the subject lie somewhere in between.
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Some gender associations are changing as society changes, yet much controversy exists over the extent to which [[gender role]]s are simply [[stereotypes]], arbitrary [[social construction]]s, or natural innate differences.
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===In feminist and gender theory===
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{{main|Feminist theory|Gender studies}}
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During the 1970s there was no consensus about how the terms were to be applied. In the 1974 edition of ''[[Masculine/Feminine or Human]]'', the author uses "[[innate]] gender" and "learned [[sex roles]]," but in the 1978 edition, the use of ''sex'' and ''gender'' is reversed. By 1980, most [[feminist]] writings had agreed on using ''gender'' only for socioculturally adapted [[trait]]s.
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The philosopher and feminist [[Simone de Beauvoir]] applied [[existentialism]] to women's experience of life: "One is not born a woman, one becomes one."<ref name="de Beauvoir">de Beauvoir, S. (1949, 1989) "The Second Sex."</ref> In Gender Studies the term ''gender'' is used to refer to proposed [[social construct|social and cultural constructions]] of masculinities and femininities. In this context, ''gender'' explicitly excludes reference biological differences, to focus on cultural differences.<ref name="Stephanie Garrett">Garrett, S. (1992). "Gender," p. vii.</ref> This emerged from a number of different areas: in sociology during the 1950s (see [[Sociology of gender]]); from the theories of the psychoanalyst [[Lacan#Lacan and his discontents|Jaques Lacan]]; and in the work of feminists (such as [[Judith Butler]]). Each field came to regard "gender" as a practice, sometimes referred to as "[[performative]]."<ref name="performativity of gender">Butler, J. (1999). "Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity," 9.</ref>
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=== Gender and development ===
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{{main|Gender identity}}
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Gender, and particularly the role of [[women]] is widely recognized as vitally important to [[international development]] issues. This often means a focus on gender-equality, ensuring [[participation (decision making)|participation]], but includes an understanding of the different roles and expectation of the genders within the community.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
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As well as directly addressing inequality, attention to gender issues is regarded as important to the success of development programs, for all participants. For example, in [[microfinance]] it is common to target women, as besides the fact that women tend to be over-represented in the poorest segments of the population, they are also regarded as more reliable at repaying the loans.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Also, it is claimed that women are more likely to use the money for the benefit of their families.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
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Some organizations working in developing countries and in the development field have incorporated advocacy and empowerment for women into their work. A notable example is [[Wangari Maathai]]'s environmental organization, the [[Green Belt Movement]].
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===Legal status===
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A person's sex as female or male has legal significance—sex is indicated on government documents, and laws provide differently for women and men. Some examples of how sex and gender are legally relevant: many pension systems have different retirement ages for men or women, and usually marriage is only available to opposite-gender couples, whereas a civil partnership is often only available for same-sex couples.
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The question then arises as to  what legally determines whether someone is male or female. In most cases this can appear obvious, but the matter is complicated for [[intersexual]] or [[transgender]] people. Different jurisdictions have adopted different answers to this question. Almost all countries permit changes of legal gender status in cases of intersexualism, when the gender assignment made at birth is determined upon further investigation to be biologically inaccurate—technically, however, this is not a change of status ''per se.'' Rather, it is recognition of a status which was deemed to exist unknown from birth. Increasingly, jurisdictions also provide a procedure for changes of legal gender for transgender people.
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[[Sex assignment|Gender assignment]], when there are any indications that genital sex might not be decisive in a particular case, is normally not defined by any single definition, but by a combination of conditions, including chromosomes and gonads. Thus, for example, in many jurisdictions a person with XY chromosomes but female gonads could be recognised as female at birth.
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The ability to [[Legal aspects of transsexualism|change legal gender]] for transgender people in particular has given rise to the phenomena in some jurisdictions of the same person having different genders for the purposes of different areas of the law. For example, in Australia prior to the Re Kevin decisions, a transsexual person could be recognised as the gender they identified with under many areas of the law, e.g., social security law, but not for the law of marriage. Thus, for a period it was possible for the same person to have two different genders under Australian law.
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It is also possible in federal systems for the same person to have one gender under state law and a different gender under federal law (e.g., suppose the state recognises gender transitions, but the federal government does not).
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==Spirituality==
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In [[Taoism]], [[yin and yang]] are considered feminine and masculine, respectively.
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In [[Christianity]], God is described in masculine terms; however, the Church has historically been described in feminine terms.
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Of one of the several forms of the Hindu God, Shiva, is Ardhanarishwar (literally half-female God). Here Shiva manifests himself so that the left half is Female and the right half is Male. The left represents Shakti (energy, power) in the form of Goddess Parvati (otherwise his consort) and the right half Shiva. Whereas Parvati is the cause of arousal of Kama (desires), Shiva is the killer. Shiva is pervaded by the power of Parvati and Parvati is pervaded by the power of Shiva.
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While the stone images may seem to represent a half-male and half-female God, the true symbolic representation is of a being the whole of which is Shiva and the whole of which is Shakti at the same time. It is a 3-D representation of only shakti from one angle and only Shiva from the other. Shiva and Shakti are hence the same being representing a collective of Jnana (knowledge) and Kriya (activity).
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Adi Shankaracharya, the founder of non-dualistic philosophy (Advaita–"not two") in Hindu thought says in his "Saundaryalahari"—''Shivah Shaktayaa yukto yadi bhavati shaktah prabhavitum na che devum devona khalu kushalah spanditam api'' " i.e., It is only when Shiva is united with Shakti that He acquires the capability of becoming the Lord of the Universe. In the absence of Shakti, He is not even able to stir. In fact, the term "Shiva" originated from "Shva," which implies a dead body. It is only through his inherent shakti that Shiva realizes his true nature.
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This mythology projects the inherent view in ancient Hinduism, that each human carries within himself both male and female components, which are forces rather than sexes, and it is the harmony between the creative and the annihilative, the strong and the soft, the proactive and the passive, that makes a true person. Such thought, leave alone entail gender equality, in fact obliterates any material distinction between the male and female altogether. This may explain why in ancient India we find evidence of homosexuality, bisexuality, androgyny, multiple sex partners and open representation of sexual pleasures in artworks like the Khajuraho temples, being accepted within prevalent social frameworks.<ref name="vohra">"The Male-Female Hologram," Ashok Vohra, [[Times of India]], [[March 8]], [[2005]], Page 9</ref>
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==Language==
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===Connectors and fasteners===
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{{main|Gender of connectors and fasteners}}
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<!-- merged from full article —>In [[electrical]] and [[Mechanics|mechanical]] trades and manufacturing, and in [[electronics]], each of a pair of mating [[Electrical connector|connectors]] or [[fastener]]s (such as [[Nut (hardware)|nut]]s and [[screw|bolt]]s) is conventionally assigned the designation ''male'' or ''female''. The assignment is by direct [[analogy]] with animal [[genitalia]]; the part bearing one or more protrusions, or which fits inside the other, being designated male and the part containing the corresponding indentations or fitting outside the other being female.
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[[Image:F plug.jpg|thumb|right|250px|An electrical power male plug, left, and matching female socket, of a type common in many European countries.]]
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===Music===
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In western music theory, keys, chords and scales are often described as having ''major'' or ''minor'' tonality, sometimes related to ''masculine'' and ''feminine''. {{Fact|date=February 2007}} By analogy, the ''major'' scales are masculine (clear, open, extroverted), while the minor scales are given feminine qualities (dark, soft, introverted). German uses the word ''Tongeschlecht'' ("Tone gender") for tonality, and the words ''Dur'' (from Latin ''durus'', hard) for ''major'' and ''moll'' (from Latin ''mollis'', soft) for ''minor''.
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:''See'' [[Major and minor]].
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===Linguistics===
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Natural languages often make gender distinctions. These may be of various kinds:
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* [[Grammatical gender]], a property of some languages in which every [[noun]] is assigned a gender, often with no direct relation to its meaning. For example, [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ''muchacha'' (grammatically feminine), [[German language|German]] ''Mädchen'' (grammatically neuter), and [[Irish language|Irish]] ''cailín'' (grammatically masculine) all mean "girl". The terms "masculine" and "feminine" are generally preferred to "male" and "female" in reference to grammatical gender.
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* The traditional use of different vocabulary by men and women. See, for instance, [[Gender differences in spoken Japanese]].
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* The  asymmetrical use of terms that refer to males and females. Concern that current language may be biased in favor of males has led some authors in recent times to argue for the use of more [[Gender-neutral language in English]] and other languages.
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==See also==
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*[[Androcentrism]]
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*[[Androgyny]]
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*[[Biology of gender]]
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*[[Femininity]]
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*[[Gender bender]]
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*[[Gender differences]]
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*[[Gender studies]]
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*[[Genderqueer]]
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*[[List of gender names]]
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*[[Masculinity]]
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*[[Postgenderism]]
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*[[Sexism]]
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*[[Transgender]]
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*[[Two-Spirit]]
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==References==
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{{reflist|2}}
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==Further reading==
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* Chafetz, J. S. ''Masculine/feminine or human? An overview of the sociology of sex roles''. 1st ed. 1974, 2nd ed. 178. Itasca, IL: F. E. Peacock.
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==External links==
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*[http://www.intellinate.com/science/social-sciences/psychology/childrens-gender-beliefs.html Children's Gender Beliefs]
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*[http://www.gendercide.org Gendercide Watch]: a project of the [[Gender Issues Education Foundation]] (GIEF), a registered charitable foundation based in [[Edmonton]], [[Alberta]]
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*[http://moodle.ed.uiuc.edu/wiked/index.php/Gender_Differences WikEd—Gender Differences]
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*[http://moodle.ed.uiuc.edu/wiked/index.php/Gender_Inequities_in_the_Classroom WikEd—Gender Inequities in the Classroom]
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*[http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19980612 'gender'] ''The Maven's Word of the Day'' June 12, 1998.
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=== Links on gender and development ===
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*[http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTGENDER/0,,menuPK:336874~pagePK:149018~piPK:149093~theSitePK:336868,00.html Gender Equality as Smart Economics - A New World Bank Group Action Plan], at the [[World Bank]] "Gender and Development" site.
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*[http://www.undp.org/hiv/publications/gender/gendere.htm Gender, Development and the HIV Epidemic], at the [[UNDP]] site.
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*[http://topics.developmentgateway.org/gender Gender, Poverty and Development]
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*[http://us.oneworld.net/section/us/perspectives/gendermatters Perspectives: Gender Matters]—OneWorld.net's living magazine.
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{{Credits|Gender|157015622|}}

Revision as of 21:15, 11 September 2007


The gender symbols used to denote a female (left) or male (right) organism, derived from the astrological symbols of Venus and Mars.
For other uses, see Gender (disambiguation).

"Gender", in common usage, refers to the differences between men and women. Encyclopaedia Britannica notes that gender identity is "an individual's self-conception as being male or female, as distinguished from actual biological sex."[1] Although "gender" is commonly used interchangeably with "sex," within the academic fields of cultural studies, gender studies and the social sciences in general, the term "gender" often refers to purely social rather than biological differences. Some view gender as a social construction rather than a biological phenomenon. People whose gender identity feels incongruent with their physical bodies may identify themselves as intersex, transgender or genderqueer.

Many languages have a system of grammatical gender, a type of noun class system — nouns may be classified as masculine or feminine (for example Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic and French) or may also have a neuter grammatical gender (for example Sanskrit, German and Polish). In such languages, this is essentially a convention, which may have little or no connection to the meaning of the words. Likewise, a wide variety of phenomena have characteristics termed gender, by analogy with male and female bodies (such as the gender of connectors and fasteners) or due to societal norms.

Etymology and usage

The word gender in English

Gender = kind

The word gender comes from the Middle English gendre, a loanword from Norman-conquest-era Middle French. This, in turn, came from Latin genus. Both words mean 'kind', 'type', or 'sort'. They derive ultimately from a widely attested Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root gen-,[2][3] which is also the source of kin, kind, king and many other English words.[4] It appears in Modern French in the word genre (type, kind) and is related to the Greek root gen- (to produce), appearing in gene, genesis and oxygen. As a verb, it means breed in the King James Bible:

  • 1616: Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind. — Leviticus 19:19

Most of the uses of the root gen in Indo-European languages refer either directly to what pertains to birth or, by extension, to natural, innate qualities and their consequent social distinctions (for example gentry, gentile, genocide and eugenics). The first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED1, Volume 4, 1900) notes the original meaning of gender as 'kind' had already become obsolete.

Gender (dʒe'ndəɹ), sb. Also 4 gendre. [a. OF. gen(d)re (F. genre) = Sp. and Pg. genero, It. genere, ad. L. gener- stem form of genus race, kind = Gr. γένος, Skr. jánas:— OAryan *genes-, f. root γεν- to produce; cf. KIN.]
1. Kind, sort, class; also, genus as opposed to species. The general gender: the common sort (of people). Obs.
13.. E.E.Allit. P. P. 434 Alle gendrez so ioyst wern ioyned wyth-inne. c 1384 CHAUSER H. Fame* 1. 18 To knowe of hir signifiaunce The gendres. 1398 TREVISA Barth. De P. K. VIII. xxix. (1495) 34I Byshynynge and lyghte ben dyuers as species and gendre, for suery shinyng is lyght, but not ayenwarde. 1602 SHAKES. Ham. IV. vii. 18 The great loue the generall gender beare him. 1604Oth. I. iii. 326 Supplie it with one gender of Hearbes, or distract it with many. 1643 and so on.
Gender = masculinity or femininity

The use of gender to refer to masculinity and femininity as types is attested throughout the history of Modern English (from about the 14th century).

  • 1387-8: No mo genders been there but masculine, and femynyne, all the remnaunte been no genders but of grace, in facultie of grammar. — Thomas Usk, The Testament of Love II iii (Walter William Skeat) 13
  • c. 1460: Has thou oght written there of the femynyn gendere? — Towneley Mystery Plays xxx 161 Act One
  • 1632: Here's a woman! The soul of Hercules has got into her. She has a spirit, is more masculine Than the first gender. — Shackerley Marmion, Holland's Leaguer III iv
  • 1658: The Psyche, or soul, of Tiresias is of the masculine gender. — Thomas Browne, Hydriotaphia
  • 1709: Of the fair sex ... my only consolation for being of that gender has been the assurance it gave me of never being married to any one among them.
— Mary Wortley Montagu, Letters to Mrs Wortley lxvi 108
  • 1768: I may add the gender too of the person I am to govern — Laurence Sterne, A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy
  • 1859: Black divinities of the feminine gender. — Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
  • 1874: It is exactly as if there were a sex in mountains, and their contours and curves and complexions were here all of the feminine gender.
Henry James, 'A Chain of Italian Cities', The Atlantic Monthly 33 (February, p. 162.)
  • 1892: She was uncertain as to his gender. — Robert Grant, 'Reflections of a Married Man', Scribner's Magazine 11 (March, p. 376.)
  • 1896: As to one's success in the work one does, surely that is not a question of gender either. — Daily News 17 July
  • c. 1900: Our most lively impression is that the sun is there assumed to be of the feminine gender. — Henry James, Essays on Literature
Gender = noun class

According to Aristotle, the Greek philosopher Protagoras used the terms masculine, feminine, and neuter to classify nouns, introducing the concept of grammatical gender.

  • τὰ γένη τῶν ὀνομάτων ἄρρενα καὶ θήλεα καὶ σκεύη
  • The tribes (genē) of the namers are males and females and things.
— Aristotle, The Technique of Rhetoric III v

The words for this concept are not related to gen- in all Indo-European languages (for example, rod in Slavic languages).

The usage of gender in the context of grammatical distinctions is a specific and technical usage. However, in English, the word became attested more widely in the context of grammar, than in making sexual distinctions. This was noted in OED1, prompting Henry Watson Fowler to recommend this usage as the primary and preferable meaning of gender in English. "Gender ... is a grammatical term only. To talk of persons ... of the masculine or feminine g[ender], meaning of the male or female sex, is either a jocularity (permissible or not according to context) or a blunder."[5] The sense of this can be felt by analogy with a modern expression like "persons of the female persuasion." It should be noted, however, that this was a recommendation, neither the Daily Mail nor Henry James citations (above) are "jocular" nor "blunders." Additionally, patterns of usage of gender have substantially changed since Fowler's day (noun class above, and sexual stereotype below).

Gender = sexual stereotype

Over the course of the 1970s, the feminist movement took the word gender into their own usage to describe their theory of human nature. Early in that decade, gender was used in ways consistent with both the history of English and the history of attestation of the root. However, by the end of the decade consensus was achieved in both theory and terminology. The theory was that human nature is essentially epicene and social distinctions based on sex are arbitrarily constructed. Matters pertaining to this theoretical process of social construction were labelled matters of gender.

  • 1998: Today a return to separate single-sex schools may hasten the revival of separate gender roles.
— Wendy Kaminer, 'The Trouble with Single-Sex Schools', The Atlantic Monthly (April)

The American Heritage Dictionary uses the following two sentences to illustrate the difference.[6]

  • 2000: The effectiveness of the medication appears to depend on the sex (not gender) of the patient.
  • 2000: In peasant societies, gender (not sex) roles are likely to be more clearly defined.

In the last two decades of the 20th century, the use of gender in academia increased greatly, outnumbering uses of sex in the social sciences.[7] Frequently, but not exclusively, this indicates acceptance of the feminist theory of human nature. However, in many instances, the term gender still refers to sexual distinction generally without such an assumption.

  • 2004: Among the reasons that working scientists have given me for choosing gender rather than sex in biological contexts are desires to signal sympathy with feminist goals, to use a more academic term, or to avoid the connotation of copulation.
— D Haig, The Inexorable Rise of Gender and the Decline of Sex

In fact, the ideological distinction between sex and gender is only fitfully observed.[7]

The concept of gender in other languages

German and Dutch

In English, both 'sex' and 'gender' can be used in contexts where they could not be substituted — sexual intercourse, safe sex, sex worker, or on the other hand, grammatical gender. Other languages, like German or Dutch, use the same word, Geschlecht or Geslacht, to refer not only to biological sex, but social differences and grammatical gender as well, making a distinction between 'sex' and 'gender' difficult. In some contexts, German has adopted the English loanword Gender to achieve this distinction. Sometimes Geschlechtsidentität is used for 'gender' (although it literally means 'gender identity') and Geschlecht for 'sex'. More common is the use of modifiers: biologisches Geschlecht for 'sex', Geschlechtsidentität for 'gender identity' and Geschlechtsrolle for 'gender role', and so on.

Swedish

In Swedish, 'gender' is translated with the linguistically cognate genus, including sociological contexts, thus: Genusstudier (gender studies) and Genusvetenskap (gender science). 'Sex' in Swedish, however, only signifies sexual relations, and not the typical English dichotomy, a concept for which kön (also from PIE gen-) is used. A common distinction is then made between kön (sex) and genus (gender), where the former refers only to biological sex. In earlier literature, and occasionally in non-academic contexts, Swedish uses the word könsroll (literally 'sex role', but contextually translated as 'gender role'). These terms can have the same or different meanings depending on the context.

Sex

Male (left) and female fruit flies, D. melanogaster. The female is determined by the presence of two X chromosomes.


Gender can refer to the biological condition of being male or female, or less commonly intersex or "third sex" as applied to humans, or hermaphroditic, as applied to non-human animals and plants.[citation needed] In this sense, the term is a synonym for sex[citation needed], a word that has undergone a usage shift itself, having become a synonym for sexual intercourse.

Biology of gender