Sex and Gender are DIFFERENT!
Many of us (including me) tend to use the words "sex" and "gender" interchangeably. Yet those terms (like "mass" and "weight," believe it or not) are quite different in meaning.
Sex is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as the two main categories of many living creatures (including humans) as defined by their reproductive organs. It's absolutely true that there are only two sexes, male and female.
On the other hand, gender is identified as the social, cultural, behavioural and psychological traits of humans. It's quite fluid and occasionally vague, especially with the case androgyny. Or put in simple wording, GENDER IS BEHAVIOUR!
Also worthy of clarification is the fact that there is absolutely no fluid connection between gender stereotypes and one's sex. I learned that we learn about how to act from our parents, teachers and anyone else we interact with. In a sense, we are conditioned to perform in a certain way based on the ideologies we live around (the hegemony I talked about a few posts ago).
Did you know that there are actually nine genders?
Also worthy of clarification is the fact that there is absolutely no fluid connection between gender stereotypes and one's sex. I learned that we learn about how to act from our parents, teachers and anyone else we interact with. In a sense, we are conditioned to perform in a certain way based on the ideologies we live around (the hegemony I talked about a few posts ago).
Did you know that there are actually nine genders?
Stereotypes
So why do we mix sex and gender? it's because we tend to associate one's behaviour with their sex. For example, a girl will play with dolls and a boy will want to head out to watch Star Wars.
We have specific behavioural associations with certain sexes. Masculinity tends to be associated with strength and power. Femininity is associated with grace and beauty. In the past, men and women all acted with their unique behaviours and no behaviour criss-crossed with another, until recently.
Some of these stereotypes can get negative. Women are often denied a spot in male executive and engineering jobs because of the fact women aren't usually associated with such jobs. 1 in 3 Canadian women will be assaulted in Canada in their lifetime. It's even worse for transgender people, who often don't have a washroom they can go to. Gay people are often left alone, isolated from the rest.
Worse, there has been experiments among social conservatives to force such outliers to comply with the rest. That has been a problem when it comes to dealing with those that identify themselves within the LGBTQ community. Popular culture often rejects the idea of gays and lesbians. not only does this allow for bullying, but it also means that bystanders may not even try to intervene against such harassment.
The concept of gender is seen as a spectrum, a fluid position, not just two set categories in the case of sex. People will perform their gender roles based on their opinions and what the feel is right. As a result, we have these gender alignments that seem outlandish to some, and possibly you, but we're going have to respect that.
Gays have been around for quite a while. The area around Church and Wellesley in Toronto, was where a Briton that was homosexual but didn't want to face issues of being gay lived there. Today, we know what happens there. It's the gay village and it's where the big gay pride parade rolls into town.
The huge pride movement surfaces from the fact that the LGBTQ community is proud of their gender, and they're not afraid to show that.
I hope you're confused after reading this, and for a good reason. The LGBTQ community wants all to know that they're human, just like us. The thing is that sex and gender, although used interchangeably, are in fact two completely different things, and that by breaking the misconception, we can respect the fact that gays and transgendered individuals do exist.
We have specific behavioural associations with certain sexes. Masculinity tends to be associated with strength and power. Femininity is associated with grace and beauty. In the past, men and women all acted with their unique behaviours and no behaviour criss-crossed with another, until recently.
Leftovers
Then who's gonna stop them from swapping roles? Hey, there's a huge cult following for the animates series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, and a good chunk of that fan base is male. Let me remind you that show is intended for the all-girl demographic that plays with My Little Pony toys.Some of these stereotypes can get negative. Women are often denied a spot in male executive and engineering jobs because of the fact women aren't usually associated with such jobs. 1 in 3 Canadian women will be assaulted in Canada in their lifetime. It's even worse for transgender people, who often don't have a washroom they can go to. Gay people are often left alone, isolated from the rest.
Worse, there has been experiments among social conservatives to force such outliers to comply with the rest. That has been a problem when it comes to dealing with those that identify themselves within the LGBTQ community. Popular culture often rejects the idea of gays and lesbians. not only does this allow for bullying, but it also means that bystanders may not even try to intervene against such harassment.
The concept of gender is seen as a spectrum, a fluid position, not just two set categories in the case of sex. People will perform their gender roles based on their opinions and what the feel is right. As a result, we have these gender alignments that seem outlandish to some, and possibly you, but we're going have to respect that.
Gays have been around for quite a while. The area around Church and Wellesley in Toronto, was where a Briton that was homosexual but didn't want to face issues of being gay lived there. Today, we know what happens there. It's the gay village and it's where the big gay pride parade rolls into town.
The huge pride movement surfaces from the fact that the LGBTQ community is proud of their gender, and they're not afraid to show that.
I hope you're confused after reading this, and for a good reason. The LGBTQ community wants all to know that they're human, just like us. The thing is that sex and gender, although used interchangeably, are in fact two completely different things, and that by breaking the misconception, we can respect the fact that gays and transgendered individuals do exist.
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