SOCI 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Caster Semenya, Sexual Differentiation, Libido
9
SOCI 100 Full Course Notes
Verified Note
9 documents
Document Summary
Origins of race as a social construction (relatively recent) Understanding how system of racial / ethnic inequality is produced / maintained. Sex: the biological and physiological characteristics that define men and women typically understood in terms of female/male. Gender: the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women. Western societies tend to split people into two biologically distinct genders. Although female and male bodies differ, these differences are given meaning by society. But neither sex nor gender are pure categories (blending / transitional) Approximately 1 in 2,000 infants have sufficient genitalia variation as to require careful examination prior to sex classification (usually within hours of birth) Approximately 1 in 20,000 infants have even greater ambiguity and the assignment process takes longer, with some parents receiving education in regards to sexual differentiation in order to ease the child"s development. Helps maintain muscle and bone strength, raises libido (e. g. , caster semenya in athletics)
