Distinction Between Sex And Gender

According to Google, gender is defined as the following, “ The state of being male or female (typically used with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones).” Although this definition is a great one, it is far more complex than just that. It is important that the distinction between sex and gender is clear. Sex is the biological difference, for example the sex organs, physical features, as well as the chromosomes that females inherit which are (xx) and men inherit (xy). Gender is a socially constructed term it is based on social roles and the way that a person identifies themselves as. It is important to note that there are also multiple genders. With that said, in this paper I will be explaining how anthropological …show more content…
One finds implicit recognition of an association between children nature in many cultural practices… Thus children are more likely to be categorized with nature and woman’s close association with the children may compound her potential for being seen as closer to nature herself… the boys must be purged of the defilement accrued from being around mother and other women so much of the time, when in fact much of the woman’s defilement may derive from her being around children so much of the time. (78)
What Ortner is trying to say here, is that women are seen closer to nature than men because of the association that they have with the children. However, she also stated that boys must be purged out because being so close to the mother might lead him to being seen less. The men don’t want to be seen as less. It is also seen later on in her article how she explains that women have more natural processes than men. For example, giving birth, and breast feeding, these are seen as natural processes and these natural processes link women to nature which then link them to being less superior to …show more content…
Gender has a variety of options to choose from and it is how you want to identify as and how you truly feel in the inside. Furthermore, research has brought out an interesting alternative sex from India. This alternative sex or “third sex” identify themselves as Hijras. Hijras are neither men or women but are usually born as men. These men sacrifice their male genitalia to the goddness in return for the divine power to curse or bless with fertility or infertility. These men dress as women and take on women’s roles. This “third sex” is seen mostly in India but it can also be reference to Native Americans “two-spirit”. Two- spirit like hijras is an alternative gender to Native Americans. These two-spirit are male, they dress in women’s clothing and do womens work and they are set to have supernatural powers. These two types of alternative genders both share similarities to one another. And this is the beauty to the fieldwork that is done in anthropology, without these studies, we would not be able to see any other culture rather than our own and most important we would not be able to compare and contract the different