Question

Please answer all of the questions in as much details as you can. You need at least 2-3 sentences to answer the question, 2-3 sentences to provide details and examples.

1. Why do researchers prefer to use the word gender rather than sex when referring to social or cultural categories?

2. Define human sexuality? What are some of the sources that may influence an individual’s value system?

3. List some of the beliefs and behaviors about sex and sexuality that existed throughout history?

4. List two stereotypes of males and females that are opposite of each other ?

5. As far as social behavior, how do males and females differ in willingness to seek health care, aggressiveness and sexuality ?

Answer 1

1. Sex is a biological concept. Gender is socio-cultural concept constructed to address the sex. Hence, the researchers prefers gender concept of man and woman over sex concept of male and female when referring to social or cultural categories.

2. Human sexuality is the way individuals experience and express their sexual identities. Human sexuality is biological, emotional, cultural and social expression and experience of the sexuality. Though it is biologically determined by nature but the cultural norms and values, individual's emotions and feelings and the societal rules determines it's orientation or expression. For example the stricter patriarchial societies expect a strict adherence to heterogeneity of sexuality than the the society that gives equal importance to both the sex.

3. Emergence of agricultural societies led to the concept of gender roles in most of the societies of the world. Patriarchy gave rise to male dominance over female in the societies. Females were considered inferior to males and were subjugated under them. Societies were strictly divided into the expression and orientation of man and woman sexual identity, any other orientation than these were considered as immorality.

4. Males have masculine characters that is they were expected to have high level of aggressiveness and physically strengh. They have dominant role in the decision making process of the society.

Females are expected to be caring and nurturing. They are not supposed to be aggressive but to remain subtle under the dominance of males.

5. As the norms and cultures gives preference to males and their dominance, the males seek health care at first hand than females. This is because females are expected by the cultural norms to keep their preferences below their families needs.

Regarding aggressiveness it is considered inappropriate for a female to have aggressive behavior, while, males are expected to be aggressive by the social norms.

Again the females are expected to be restricted in expressing their sexuality and sexual interest, while, the male machoism is measured by how well they express their sexual interest.