Sex and Culture What Intrinsic

Sex and Culture

What intrinsic and extrinsic factors determine the gender identity of an adult?

The intrinsic factors that determine the gender identity of an adult are identified as biological variables, which include genetics, prenatal and postnatal hormones, and the interactivity amongst the brain and one's reproductive organs. Genetically, gender identity is determined since genes are the basis of one's heredity and characteristics inherited from both parents. Genes contain the DNA infrastructure and exoskeleton in determining not only recessive and dominant traits but also the sex chromosome, whether the sequence is XX or XY; the former female and latter male. The determination of one's gender identity genetically takes place when the sperm and egg meet or in other words, at conception.

The extrinsic factors that determine the gender identity of an adult are psychological and social. Socially, it is where he or she learns about the roles society has deemed appropriate for said gender. Parents play a part in that as a child, for example, if a girl acknowledges she is a girl and is raised as such, she will believe she is a female, and the same can be said for boys. Therefore, the child develops an understanding of their gender and what is to be expected to be a boy or a girl. Overall, the biological or intrinsic factors set the stage for the child but it is through environmental and social interactions that determine the nature of his or her gender identity.

2. How do cultures accentuate the differences in behavior and appearance between the sexes, as children become adults?

Cultures accentuate the differences in behavior and appearance amongst the sexes as children morph into adults through clothes, accessories, hair, body modification, makeup, kinesics, and proxemics. In terms of clothing, female and males are differentiated by what he or she wear but it isn't just to differentiate gender but also, such as age. For example, women's jeans are tighter than men's to accentuate certain aspects of the lower female body. In the case of button downs, for women, the fit gives the one wearing it more shape and certain seams flatter the upper body. The button downs made for men tend to accentuate and broaden different areas than for women, for example, the shoulders. Both genders accessorize in different ways and one way is through shoes and bags. Women tend to wear high heels while men don't, and the former tend to carry a purse while the latter accessorize with a cross-body or messenger bag. Hair is another way to accentuate the gender difference for men and women fashion it differently, whether it is in terms of length or cut. As well, women tend to shave their hair in places men may not, for example, underarms and legs. Men may just shave their facial hair should they choose not to grow a beard.