Gonads: Organs that produce reproductive cells (eggs or sperm).Chromosomes: Carriers of DNA, typically a person has xx (female) or xy (male) chromosomes.Medical professionals and laypeople alike typically determine a person’s sex (and, therefore gender) based on 3 characteristics that we call “the primary sex characteristics (Guest).” The primary characteristics are: But anthropologists know that male and female characteristics are learned and taught throughout childhood and are, in no way, connected to specific genitalia. So, when a doctor observes a baby’s penis, the doctor will assign “male” to the child and the child’s parents will then expect him to have male characteristics. In culture’s with very strict binary gender definitions, a person’s gender is expected to correspond to their biological sex.
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The medical professional will observe the baby’s genitalia and then will assign “female” or “male” based on the genitalia present. Our biological sex is assigned to us at birth (usually by a medical professional who is present at the birth). We can further consider sex characteristics to understand human diversity. The traditional, largely coercive gender definitions used above are not perfect and are only used to establish a starting point. Culturally, we ask people to exaggerate their differences as either “male” or “female” in order to create a sense of order in an otherwise diverse world (Douglas 1966). Based on all of this knowledge, we can understand that there is almost no defining trait that universally separates the categories of “woman” and “man.” Rather, the biological characteristics of all human beings exist upon a spectrum with great variation.
In both cases, you’d almost certainly call these people the genders that they identified as using the pronouns that they asked you to use.įurthermore, not all people with uteruses are able to become pregnant so we cannot use the presence of a uterus as the defining factor of gender, either. If a man has a penis, uterus, and an otherwise male body, would you call him a woman? Likely not. If you met a person who was born without a uterus but still had the build, breasts, hair, and personality of a “traditional woman,” would you call her a man due to her lack of uterus? Likely, you would not. While we traditionally call people with uteruses “women,” not all women have uteruses (see: MRKH syndrome), and some men have uteruses and fallopian tubes (see persistent Müllerian syndrome). So, you may decide to answer our initial question with, “The difference between men and women is that women can give birth, but men cannot.” However, even this definition is not sufficient. Only people with uteruses can create and give birth to a new life. There is only one thing that cannot be done by all humans: the creation of life. While there are socially-constructed restrictions placed upon both the male and female genders, they can be transformed and are not typically connected to any biological limitations. It may even surprise you to learn that in cases of galactorrhoea, men produce breast milk! Society is increasingly accepting the possibility of men breastfeeding their own children. Men can similarly have all of the talents and abilities traditionally associated with women: men can be incredible stay-at-home parents, men can be award-winning makeup artists, and men are very frequently outstanding teachers and nurses. There are no skills or abilities that are not possible for both genders. In all cases, women can do the tasks traditionally assigned to men: women can be incredibly strong award-winning body builders, women can be globally competitive athletes (consider, for example, comparing the achievements of the US Women’s Soccer Team to the US Men’s Soccer Team), women can be life-saving doctors, women can serve as Prime Ministers and Presidents (see Germany, India, South Korea, New Zealand, etc.).
If we base our answer purely on the most basic, socially-constructed, and traditional definitions of “woman and man,” we can see that there are almost no differences in ability.
We might start the examination of gender and sex by asking: What is the difference between a woman and a man? Let’s examine characteristics and abilities. Written by Amanda Zunner-Keating, Lukas Daniels, Angelica Alvarado, Brandon Cho, Meghan Matuszeski, Jessica Proctor, and Lindsay Donaldson.Īudio recording for Chapter 6 is available on Soundcloud. 6 The Anthropological Examination of Gender and Sex
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