Gender and its difference from the sexual

The concepts of sex and gender are often confused, but meanwhile, there is a significant, though unobvious, difference between them. Let's try to determine what gender is and what is its difference from gender. We can say that the biological sex - male and female - is an innate quality of the individual, which is revealed even at the stage of embryonic development; That the sexual sign is unchanging, and not dependent on the will of the individual. But is it so simple? Indeed, recently with the help of modern medicine you can change the sex. And the presence at birth of certain genital organs in the child does not mean that it can be uniquely placed in the category of boys or girls. For now, for example, in examining athletes participating in competitions between women, not only obvious female signs of their organism are taken into account, but also a chromosome set, since it is found that along with the female genital organs there are male hormones, and this gives some such athletes some Advantages in competitions.

And yet, if the sexual characteristics of most people are still biological and anatomical, the gender sign is unequivocally social, social and acquired as a result of upbringing. In a simpler language, this can be reformulated as follows: babies of male and female appear, but become men and women. And it's not even how they raise a child from a diaper - a girl or a boy: we are all influenced by the cultural unconscious of our environment. And since gender is a cultural and social phenomenon, it can undergo changes along with the development of culture and society. For example, back in the XIX century it was believed that a woman wears a dress and long hair, and a man - pants and a short hairstyle, but now these things are not a sign of gender. Earlier, "female academician", "female politician" and "businesswomen" were considered something incredible, but now this is observed more and more often, and no one is surprised.

But, nevertheless, the gender attribute attributed to men and women is still tenacious in the mass consciousness, and the more undeveloped a society, the more it dominates individuals, imposing certain forms of social behavior on them . So, it is believed that a man must be a "breadwinner for the family" and necessarily earn more than his wife. It is also believed that a man should be courageous, assertive, aggressive, engage in "male" professions, get involved in sports and fishing, make a career at work. A woman is also supposed to be feminine, soft, emotional, get married, have children, be compliant and compliant, engage in "female" professions, doing a modest career in them, because she should devote the main time to the family.

These stereotypes, which, alas, still prevail in some strata and even countries, generate gender problems for human individuals. Wife feeding the whole family; A husband going to maternity leave on the care of a newborn; A woman who sacrificed her marriage for the sake of a successful scientific career; A man who is fond of embroidery - all of them are to some extent exposed to social ostracism for their inappropriate behavior. Is it possible to say unequivocally that gender is a social stereotype? Yes, because in different societies gender stereotypes - male and female - differ among themselves. For example, in the Spanish paradigm to be able to cook - a sign of this macho, whereas in the Slavic stand at the stove - a purely feminine occupation.

It is obvious that gender stereotypes lead not only to gender problems, but also to gender discrimination, since men play a leading role in society. Therefore, many developed countries at the highest level develops a special gender policy. This means that the state takes responsibility for eliminating gender inequality and creates a code of laws for the formation of an egalitarian (equal for all people) society. It should also conduct an educational policy aimed at eradicating gender stereotypes.