SY101 Chapter 8: SY 101 Chapter 8
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Sex refers to our physical bodies, whereby we distinguish between female and male, division of the human population into two categories is a binary construction. Theorists began to use the term gender as a way of directing attention to the social realm. Gender then refers to the socially constructed characteristic s associated with men and women, what we call masculinity and femininity. Feminist theorists are now more comfortable with accepting how our understanding of biology a(cid:374)d (cid:271)iologi(cid:272)al (cid:862)dis(cid:272)o(cid:448)e(cid:396)ies(cid:863) is so(cid:272)iall(cid:455) shaped. Further problematizing the sex/gender distinction, and the category of sex itself is the assertion that our bodies are distinctly female or male. Intersexed individuals those born with ambiguous genitalia do not fit into either of these categories, also referred to as hermaphrodites. Gender relations shape and order interactions between men and women as well as shape the relative social importance and worth of men and women.
