Unit 6
Multiple Genders, Intersexed Individuals, and Transsexuals

Every individual male or female identity is a complex combination of biological characteristics, gender role, and gender identity. Masculinity and femininity are difficult terms to define. It is often easier to describe how a person behaves as, or appears to be, male or female. But this type of description is based largely on how closely that person conforms to our cultural perception of male or female. North American culture tends to place masculine and feminine traits at opposite ends of a continuum, as though they are mutually exclusive. Today, the idea that masculinity and femininity should be viewed as antagonistic positions is being challenged; it is now considered more accurate to say that all individuals have both masculine and feminine traits.

Cross-cultural studies have found evidence that the two-gender, polarized lens through which North American culture looks at the world is supported and encouraged by an adherence to certain stereotypes. Studying cultures that allow for a third gender challenges the “givens” of the gender-based roles that are generally accepted in North American society. The development of gender role and gender attention is a social-cultural process that probably has a biological basis. In Canada and the US, an acceptance of clearly defined gender roles for both males and females is common. Yet there is a significant overlap in terms of men's and women's behaviours and abilities, and the diversity that is said to exist between males and females is, in fact, small. Although males and females are expected to be different in certain social contexts, the differences that are expected are usually exaggerated.

The maintenance of gender differences has important political and social implications. Anomalies of sex and gender (such as intersexuals and transsexuals) reflect the biological and social basis of gender role and gender identity and encourage us to question our assumptions about “maleness” and “femaleness.” Expectations about gender role affect every aspect of adult life, but the distinctions between male and female roles are fading and have occasionally become blended. Nevertheless, gender discrepancies continue in terms of the kinds of jobs men and women are hired to, the pay they receive, the benefits associated with their employment, and the opportunities for advancement. Women tend to lose on all counts.

Objectives

When you have completed the study activities for Unit 6, you should be able to

1. describe how societal taboos mask sexual diversity.
2. define the differences between sex, gender, and gender role.
3. explain the connection between biological status and social and cultural role.
4. critically examine the biological basis of gender.
5. describe the biological processes and stages of sexual development that occur in the human embryo.
6. describe the advantages of developing a gender identity.
7. discuss the advantages of not developing a gender identity.
8. describe the two theories of gender development that best explain the elements of gender development.
9. assess what can be learned from other societies regarding different concepts of gender.
10. compare and contrast genital cutting with operations done on intersexed individuals.
11. compare and contrast transgenderism and intersexuality.