Gender and Sex are misused and are not interchangeable topics. Gender pertains to the social and cultural aspects of what male and female traits are, as opposed to sex which pertains to …show more content…
Risman makes a great point that gender is a social construct and that everything around us plays a role in what one perceives as masculine and feminine. From the moment we take our first breaths in the hospital we are wrapped in a blue or pink blanket to signify, male or female and this trend continues through the years. General stores such a Target or Kmart deliver the message of gender and gender roles through toys and clothes. The section in these stores for little girls are always pink, filled with dolls and play house sets, as opposed to the little boy section which is less flamboyant, filled with action figures and guns. These symbolic ideas that girls are to be soft, need to take care of the kids while her husband needs to be touch and go to work are all part of the continuous social construct that has been imbedded in our society as the ideology of what is socially acceptable. “Markers: Women Who Make America”, presented that during the 1950’s women would proceed to higher education to find a husband or “Get your Mrs.Degree”, which is interesting because what did the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community or LGBT community do to find a partner? One’s sexuality is also a socially constructed and is promoted by what is socially …show more content…
These labels are complex, therefore misunderstood because of the social construction of what is socially acceptable. Many people believe sex is female or male as stated in “Me, my sex and I”, disorder of sexual development varies on their genetic makeup and is more complex. Gender is what is socially acceptable for a man or woman, like getting your “Mrs. Degree”. Heterosexuals and LGBT community were part of The North American Indian culture, and wasn’t labeled until the Europeans invaded. All of which further indicates that sex, gender and sexuality are social