It is possible to define the concepts of sex and gender, which are used in the same sense in most cultures and whose distinction has only recently been made in Turkey, from a biological and social perspective.
Gender is the biological, physiological and It represents genetic dimensions. Essentially, gender refers to the biological differences between men and women. For example, the biological sex of the baby is distinguished according to its sexual organ and is recorded in its identity. In English, this term is equivalent to "sex".
The concept created by society according to a person's biological sex and which refers to being male or female in daily life, refers to gender. This term is equivalent to "gender" in English.
The terms sex and gender are concepts used to make sense of the difference between genders. While sex refers to the anatomical difference between men and women, gender; It expresses the difference in social construction between men and women.
The concept of gender refers to the meanings and expectations that society and culture impose on being a woman or a man; It meets a cultural structure and generally includes the psychological characteristics associated with the biological structure of the individual (Dökmen, 2010, p. 20).
For example, all the orders and behaviors created from the moment it is learned that a baby is a boy aim to shape its gender. Thus, the individual grows by learning to be a man or a woman. They play the roles assigned to their gender and have to shape their lives according to this order.
Simone de Beauvoir summarized the difference between sex and gender in her work titled The Second Sex as "one is not born a woman, one becomes a woman". He emphasized how effective the environment is in its formation. She put forward that the differences between men and women are affected by cultural conditions, not biological conditions. With this in mind, the idea has developed that behavioral and psychological differences between men and women are related to social and cultural learning rather than biological and genetic resources. Differences other than anatomical differences between men and women are not biologically based.
Gender Roles
In order to explain the gender roles of women and men, it may first be necessary to focus on the differences between the two genders. Generalizations about gender differences abound. For example, generalizations such as women are more emotional and fragile, men are more aggressive, women are skilled in housework, men are successful in business life, women are successful in verbal areas, and men are successful in numerical areas can be increased. Although there are many studies on gender differences, those who support the nature view we mentioned before think that these differences are due to the nature of the genders and that the gender roles formed in this way will ensure social order. But there is an important fact that many studies conducted in recent years have shown that the differences between genders are just some biological differences. Gender difference occurs due to the 23rd sex chromosomes in our cells; It caused differences in sexual organs, hormones and reproductive function. Thus, physiological differences can occur in the form of changes in body structures or vocal cords.
According to Dökmen, the real differences between male and female genders are some biological features. Other differences are not real differences, they are characteristics constructed by culture and society. Unreal differences occur as a result of society imposing its own patterns on the individual. Real differences refer to innate, permanent and unlearned differences. (Dökmen, 2010, p.23). When we look at it from this perspective, the real differences mentioned above are; We can see that there are differences such as sex chromosomes, reproductive organs, hormones, muscle and body structure. It should be noted that generalizations or stereotypes about men and women, other than 'real differences', may not always be valid. For example, it is important to remember that being emotional is not specific to women and that men can be emotional too. For this reason, the generalization that women are more emotional does not fall under the criterion of 'real difference', like many other stereotypes. gender Generalizations that are not biologically based, that is, no real differences between people, are the expectations that society attributes to women and men. A good example of this is the expectation that women are good at housework and therefore they should do it. “Although some differences are biological, most differences are purely cultural and social.” (Dökmen, 2010, p. 143)
Gender role differentiation is related to behavioral differences, attitudes and psychological characteristics of the genders. This differentiation leads to the formation of gender stereotypes or beliefs about gender. However, male and female genders; There is no consistent evidence showing that there are differences in characteristics such as cognitive style, creativity, independence, influence, general self-esteem, emotionality, empathy, sociability, or talkativeness (Marini, 1990, p. 97). Similarly, Dökmen stated that no significant difference was observed in research on differences between men and women. It has been observed that there are some differences between boys and girls during childhood, for example aggression. Since aggression in girls is considered more inappropriate than in boys, aggression rates in girls may be lower. Similarly, educating girls about caregiving from an early age causes them to be more caregiving than boys (Dökmen, 2010, p. 152-153).
In the concept of gender role, the meaning of the word 'role' is It has a special contribution. Role is the general name for the actions that the actor portraying a personality must say and do (TDK, 2006). Other meaning; It is explained as the duty of a person in a job. As a third meaning, the Turkish Language Association explained the concept of role as 'unreal behavior, ostentation'. These meanings are also appropriate explanations for the concept of 'role' in the gender role pattern. The individual has to comply with the role of femininity or masculinity determined according to whether he is a man or a woman.
Gender roles are the role patterns that society defines the differences between men and women, builds according to these differences and expects people to implement. related to gender, society The expectations that society defines and expects people to fulfill are called 'gender roles'. Society expects men and women to adhere to the 'scenario' it has determined and to 'play' the roles (Dökmen, 2010, p. 29). From the moment an individual's biological sex is learned, gender roles are assigned to men and women; The baby girl wears pink, the baby boy wears blue, the girl's hair is grown long, the boy's hair is short. All these roles take shape and follow the individual throughout life; Women wear make-up, men wear ties, women are responsible for housework and child care, men are responsible for the household economy, women are emotional and delicate, men are strong and tough, women cry, men do not cry.
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