Biology, Sex and Gender

I think it's important to recognize that there is a biological factor in sex and gender. I enjoyed Dr Widman's visit to our class on Thursday because we looked at sex and gender from a different viewpoint. As someone who has studied both biology and psychology, I have a natural tendency to lean towards these areas in part when discussing the origins of gender because it's what I've been taught.

During class, I think we all began to question where the line lies between accepting information and being skeptical. It's important to be skeptical, especially in matters such as gender, where research is often skewed and methods often corrupt; however it is also important to be open to the idea that biology can be a factor. I think a major problem with the argument over gender, sex and biology is how we talk about them. When we find associations between sex and certain characteristics, I don't think we tend to question our assumptions about these characteristics. Maybe certain characteristics are seen as positive because they are more commonly found in men. Maybe feminists need to address the basic assumptions behind characteristics as well as attacking the assumption of where these characteristics come from.

I also think that the idea of biology being related to gender is a strong potential source of support for those whose gender does not match their sex. Sex doesn't have a direct correlation with gender, but maybe both gender and sex have a correlation with biology. I don't think much research has been done on this, because for a long time we have assumed that gender and sex are the same thing. I also think that biology is important because it gives us a possible base point for where our socialized gender roles have come from.