Does Biology or Society determine gender?

We’ve been discussing the question of whether sex or biology determines gender in my Women’s Studies class. All of us had to research both sides of the argument, and later on debate the topic in class. Our professor didn’t tell us which side we would be on until we arrived in class, however. When we got there, I was assigned to the biological side of the argument, which in my opinion, was slightly easier to argue since I could base my points on scientific facts. Either way, I can definitely appreciate both sides of the argument after doing research and analyzing both.

My professor provided definitions of both sex and gender, and I think understanding both is essential in order to be able to discuss the argument properly. According to Professor McGowan, sex is the categories of male and female, and the biological characteristics and properties of bodies placed in their categories. Gender is the masculine and feminine characteristics assigned to bodies in cultural contexts and the social expectation that everyone will fit into their designated gender roles.

At first, I analyzed the “society determines gender” portion of the debate using several sources. “The only way we notice how gender is produced is if there’s a disruption in our daily lives regarding men and women’s behavior.” Therefore, we usually fail to notice gender signs until they are missing. “Gender construction begins with the assignment to a sex category at birth, depending on genitalia.” After that, parents dress their babies in a certain way in order to avoid people asking them whether their baby is a boy or a girl. Once a child’s gender is evident, others treat them in a specific way, and the children behave differently. Children learn to walk, talk, and gesture the way their social group says girls and boys should.

On the other hand, some people argue that biology plays a much bigger role in determining the gender of a person. For example, hormones play a huge part in the development of a person’s personality and affect their behavior. Testosterone is more present in males than in females, who have larger doses of estrogen. “Testosterone acts upon the hypothalamus, which results in masculinization of the brain, and causes typically male behaviors such as aggression, competitiveness, visio-spatial abilities, higher sexual drive, etc.” There have been tests run on animals, in which scientists have increased the females’ exposure to testosterone, and the results stated that they engaged in much more aggressive behaviors.

My final takeaway on this topic is that both biology and society definitely affect gender. While biology plays a huge role in influencing a person’s behavior, their interactions with other people and the way they are viewed and treated majorly affects their development and changes their personality. Also, a person’s gender identity might not match their biological sex, which could cause some confusion in the person’s life and lead them to become transsexual or transgender. Therefore, I conclude that gender is shaped by both social and biological factors.

Sources:

http://www.testocreme.com/images/Testosterone-Target-Organs-.jpg

Biological Theories of Gender

http://sociology.sunimc.net/htmledit/uploadfile/system/20100912/20100912154810839.pdf

2 thoughts on “Does Biology or Society determine gender?

  1. Jenna Nichole Campbell

    I really like this topic a lot. I would be interested to read about it more in-depth. I honestly believe that biological factors can play a part depending on your perspective, but I think there are so many social constraints on what male and female is or isn’t. Like the good old example, a boy can’t play with a Barbie because he’s a boy and Barbie’s are girl toys. Meanwhile, playing with a Barbie has nothing to do with the genetic make up of a person, they just want to play with the Barbie. I think the biology of sex confines people too much. I once discussed this in a sociology class, and an excellent point was made. If you ask a person their name, and they say Jack, you don’t question it. You will just call them Jack. Yet, if a person says they are male, but they aren’t “biologically” male then everyone wants to call them female. But should it matter if that’s what they want to be?

  2. Angelique L Santiago

    I saw the title, and had a feeling you wrote this, I was right, and of course I just had to comment! I definitely agree with you! I believe that gender is biologically determined and socially constructed. Like you said, depending on what gender you are born affects the hormone levels in your body. Testosterone for males and estrogen for females. Clearly, our hormone levels shape our personalities and behavior, but your social environment as you grow and develop can play an equally large role and either confirm the gender you were born as, or change your personality and behavior which might not exactly aline with your biology. I think that is also why some doctors have been trying the “intersex” process that we read about in class. I think it’s confusing and very complicated. However, I think that learning about it and talking about it in class helps make us all more aware and more open-minded which is good because our world and our society is always evolving. We’ve already talked so much about this in class and have had so many readings, but I will leave you with this link. 🙂 https://www.genderspectrum.org/quick-links/understanding-gender/

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