Sociology Now, Census Update

Sex and Gender: Nature andNurture

Sociologists begin by distinguishing sex and gender. When we refer to sexwe refer to

the biology of maleness and femaleness—our chromosomal, chemical, anatomical

organization.

Genderrefers to the meaning that societies give to the fact of biological differ-

ence. What is the significance of biological difference? Does it mean that you must—

or must not—perform certain tasks, think certain thoughts, or do certain things? Sex

is male and female; gender is the cultural meanings of masculinity and femininity.

280 CHAPTER 9SEX AND GENDER

Gender is one of the foundations on which we build our identities. It is also one of the

major ways in which societies organize themselves. Sociologists are interested in both

gender identities and gender inequality.

Gender is one of the fundamental ways in which we develop an identity. Every society

in the world classifies people by whether they are male or female, and a host of social roles

and relationships are prescribed as a result. And virtually every society assumes that, in

some basic ways, women and men are different (see Kimmel, 2003).

And in virtually every society, women and men are not equal. Gender inequality is a

nearly universal phenomenon: To be a man or a woman means not only difference but

also hierarchy.

Why does virtually every society differentiate people on the basis of biological sex? And

why is virtually every known society also based on gender inequality, on the dominance of men

over women? These are the two questions that animate the sociological study of gender.

To many observers, the answer to the second question derives from the answer to the

first: Men dominate women because men and women are so different. Biological differences

between women and men lead inevitably to different political, social, and economic

outcomes. Men and women are unequal because nature made them different.

But sociologists take a different view. Sociologists believe that if gender inequality

were simply the product of gender difference, then gender inequality would look pretty much

the same everywhere. And, as we will see, gender inequality varies enormously from one

culture to another. Plus, if gender difference itself were simply a reflection of natural

differences, then these differences, too, would be universal. As we will see, they are far

from universal.