Gauging Gender and Sex

Many people consider gender and sex the same thing, however they are very different. One must understand that sex is the physical sex of a person as in which type of genitals they have, male or female. Gender is what the person’s brain chemicals make them feel like and what makes them either think like a male or female. In the article, the scientists say that it is not necessarily our genes that define our sex or gender but also the society and our culture in which we are raised. For example, the Samoan culture may raise a male boy to become a Fafafini. A Fafafini is a person with male genitals who dresses and acts like a woman, has sex with other males, and takes on a woman’s tasks. All of this is done without being considered gay and is not frowned upon in the Samoan culture because it is socially acceptable. Why is it socially acceptable one may ask? In Samoan culture if someone acts like a woman, even though they have male genitals, then they are considered a woman. So these Fafafini are considered “women” so it is not frowned upon. I put women in quotes because the Fafafini are actually considered to be a third gender in Samoan culture because they take on the manly and tough tasks that males have to normally do but also are the women within a household. There are many ways that the article says how scientists decided how sex and gender are determined. Many believe that the society and culture in which we are raised is what determines what gender we will likely take on. On the other hand, many believe that the genes we are born with determine from the start what gender we will feel like. Personally, I believe it is actually a combination of both because I do not think one of those possibilities by itself can determine how someone will likely feel in there lives. It is hard to decide on which one is correct because there is so much research that supports both sides, so for now I will settle on a mutual agreement. In one part of the article it talked about how men have to “detach twice” from their mother in the womb when they are born while women have to “detach once” from their mother. Personally I feel like you can say that this may be the cause for some of the differences between men and women. Although I feel that men act the way the act mostly because society and culture teach them to be that way, I think you can also say that because they have to detach twice, they are probably a little bit different because of it. It is a little bit of a stretch however, one will understand when they think about how much influence culture has and how this may aid in that.