Ch. 8 Gender, pt 2: Sex vs. Gender Identity

Check out this National Geographic Video on women in Samoa. How can all these varieties of what defines women co-exist in the world? Should they? Why or why not?

For more on the Etoro read here.

Here's another video of eunuchs in India also from NG.

Five Genders in Indonesia from National Geographic

Kottak - Gender

Next week we explore how the cultural meanings assigned to the biological differences between females and males and some variations from the norm that can assist us in getting related to the kind of ethnocentrism that arises around sexuality, gender roles and sexual orientations. Below are some short videos and links that will assist us in exploring the cultural evolution of the ways we think and learn about gender.

Lauren Wells Hasten/Digital Anthropologist writes:

Used interchangeably in both anthropological research and popular conversation, the words "sex" and "gender" are usually handled as synonyms. They are in fact two different things, and each incorporates multiple aspects. Sex itself refers to the biological manifestation of gender as well as to sexual activity; a person's sex is usually determined by the genitalia that are present at birth, while sex refers to the physical activity that involves the stimulation of these genitals. ... most Americans expect a person with female genitalia to desire a sexual partner of the opposite biological sex, and ....

1. The Hilary Factor from Reuters
   Apr 18 - Best selling Author Deborah Tannen details "The Hillary Factor" and understanding gender in the Presidential campaign.Tannen says when a female politician shows a softer side, whether its ...
   
   
2. The gender trap
   "We're familiar with drug testing for athletes, but officials at the Beijing Olympics will be taking things one stage further and examining competitors whose sex is in doubt. And it is far from being a new problem, as Emine Saner discovers..."
   
   
3. Al Roker interviews Leonard Sax, "Why Gender Matters" (2005)
   For more from MSNBC
   
   
4. Read more about the anthropological study of multiple genders
   
   
5. Gender Puzzle - 44min. documentary: http://www.booserver.com/projects.php?ProjectID=2394
   

I do both Jay and Jane

This plays into our discussion regarding Gender Stereotypes. The song "I do both Jay and Jane" clearly distinct these roles through the eyes of a bi-sexual who sees men and women as equal. The song states:

Jane is sweet as honey, the taste I'm teasin'
She knows how to hit the spot, her touch is pleasing

He knows how to make me hot, his heat is healing babe
He is a special man, long, rough, and rugged

The adjectives that she chooses to describe women "sweet as honey" "her touch is pleasing." On the other hand, men were described as "long, rough, and rugged."