Sex and gender
What is the difference between the terms sex and gender? Discuss gender stratification and provide examples of gender stratification in the U.S. Find a recent news piece (within the last 3 months) related to gender OR provide an example of how gender is portrayed in the media (such as advertisements shown on GenderAds.com). Share a link to your selected source or image and describe the connection to the course topics this week (such as sexism or gender roles).
Sample Solution
The terms sex and gender are often used interchangeably but they have distinct meanings. Sex is a biological concept which refers to the physical characteristics that differentiate males from females, such as reproductive organs and chromosomes (Rathus et al., 2020). On the other hand, gender is a social phenomenon determined by societal expectations and norms rather than physical factors. It can be broken down into two parts; firstly there’s gender identity – an individual’s own perception of their gender regardless of biological sex , followed by gender expression – how one chooses to externally present their gender in order to fit in with societal standards (Bem, 1993).
Gender stratification on the other hand refers to the unequal distribution of resources or opportunities available depending on one’s perceived gender. Examples of this can be seen in many facets of society; in the US women still earn approximately 82 cents for every dollar earned by men despite having equal qualifications or experience (National Women’s Law Center 2020). Additionally , issues such as pay gap or workplace discrimination remain prevalent even today due to traditional beliefs about what roles each genders should fulfil within family life . Moreover , women are more likely than men to bear sole responsibility for unpaid care work such as housekeeping or childcare(Kabeer & Tarikhan 2017 ).
In order to challenge this state of affairs it is important that we become aware of how sexism plays out everyday life. For example, an advertisement released earlier this year featuring a young girl playing with construction toys was deemed sexist because it perpetuated stereotypes suggesting certain jobs were only suited for boys instead encouraging girls towards traditionally ‘feminine’ pursuits (NEWS18 India, 2021). This highlights how media representations can either perpetuate existing inequalities between sexes or help dismantle them through depicting more balanced portrayals .
