Gender as a Role

Gender as a Role The first stage of analysis as to whether gender plays a role in society and to what degree it does so begins with the classification and distinguishing of the terms "sex," "sexual category," and finally "gender." One may be in a sex category even if the sexual characteristics are lacking.

Gender activities are thus a furthering of and derived from "sexual categories." Therefore, the emphasis is not so much on the chromosomes of the individual but the set of actions that humans involve themselves in during social interactions. Since society is categorized by physiological differentiation, gender can dictate relationships in the sense that gender speaks to who you are and so in essence results in being an identifier to those who wish to bear responsibility for their actions.

Here the authors argue that gender is not an accurate identifier for the reason that gender is much more versatile than that of a static identifier. Gender is not limited to playing a few fundamental roles. As a result the authors argue that it is erroneous to rely so much on gender. Because gender is so versatile, it is by definition adaptable and shifts frequently to accommodate new meanings in new situations.

Therefore, when gender roles are emphasized too long by too many people as a fundamental guiding system of interpreting or judging another person, we as a society, give in to the simpler solution of not having to think or act in response to ever changing roles. This is what ultimately leads to the subordination of woman to man in a larger sense that gender roles that are used to make decisions, and act in certain predetermined ways preclude inventive social modification that would benefit all of society.

To understand how the flawed analysis of gender of others can result in gross misconceptions, we must return to the classification of biological "sex" and the categorization that comes from that identification. The next step is to then note that gender is the activity that while attributable to sexual category and sex, does not necessarily mean it always works that way. One can claim a sexual category that is inconsistent with that person's physical characteristics.

Since sexual categorization can be ambiguous, what then of gender which is merely a higher level of identification that can be even more ambiguous? Only when a person is being analyzed in a tightly controlled situation interspersed with normative conceptions of how ones activities must correlate with their sex can we even begin to try to understand the concept of gender. Sexual categorization can depend on common sense for its validation or invalidation insofar as the person we are analyzing chooses common sense options by claiming a category consistent.