Sexuality :: Gender Roles, Sex

In chapter 10, Henslin talks about the issues of gender. In addition, he talks how sex and gender are different from one another. â€Å" When we consider how females and males differ, the first thing that usually comes to mind is sex, the biological characteristics that distinguishes males and females.†(248) Henslin defines sex as a biological attribute. (248) There are two distinct kind of sex a primary, and secondary. Primary sex features are related to the reproduction organs. Where as, secondary sex refers to the differences between one sex. â€Å"In short, you inherit your sex, but you learn your gender as you socialized into behaviors and attitudes your culture asserts are appropriate for your sex. (248) Sex is an ascribed status, and on the other hand gender is something you are taught. Gender is a tool that our community uses to control us; it is the structural property of society. (248)â€Å"Gender, in contrast, is a social, not a biological characteristics.† (248) Gender distinguishes the different inflections that one has and requires in words syntactically associated with them. In manifest words gender is refers if one person have masculinity or femininity characteristics. â€Å"Rather, each human group makes its own interpretation of these physical differences and assigns males and females to separate groups.† (248) After they are separated, they are told what is presume for them, and are given different access to property, power, prestige, and other privileges that they community provides. Henslin also talks about nature vs. nurture, your sex is nature, but the way you are raised to be like one is nurture. A medical accident that a 7-month baby experience when accidentally burns off a penis of the boy. The doctor recommend a sex-change-operation, the parents changed their little boy to a little girl. The know new girl behaved as a girl and followed her mother steps, but later on during her adolescent she felt she was trappe d and then her parents told her about her accident at 7 months of age. Then later on she changed back to he. (250) Gender is the main dissection between humans. â€Å" Every society sorts men and women into separate groups and gives them different access to property, power and prestige.† (251) Property, power, and prestige have a good turn for men than women. â€Å" Gerda Lerner concluded that ‘there is not a single society know where women-as-a-group have decision making power over men (as a group).