Best of Week: Gender

                This week in class we discussed the relationship between gender and sex and the differences between them.
                At first I assumed gender and sex were the same thing. Once we looked at the definitions of both words I began to see the significant differences between gender and sex. Sex is more biological; the way you were born. Gender seems to correlate to how one socially defines themselves and how others see them. Basically, if my sex is male but if for some reason I felt I really should be a women I could simply dress like a women and thus redefine my gender in the social stratosphere; yet my sex would still remain the same as I would medically still be a man no matter how much surgery I receive. Gender can change; sex cannot.
                Now that you understand my stance on gender vs. sex I begin my larger point; what defines ones gender excluding the physical differences? What makes a man a man and a woman a woman? The answer I believe is quite complex but could be addressed simply by stating; society sets the standards for peoples gender identities. What I mean by this is that we as a society set standards for common normalcies in our attitudes and behaviors. We then raise new generations according to this standard.
                But how does society set a model for each gender? Do our natural instincts define gender or does society and our interactions shape our gender? I believe we may have been influenced by our natural instincts before but now we as a human race have gone beyond what is natural and created our own standards and instincts. Similar to how we no longer act animalistic; we no longer let nature define us and give us gender specific roles. We as a society have decided the traits for each gender.