Title: 4.1 Understanding Sex and Gender – Social Problems
Headings: 4.1 Understanding Sex and Gender
4.1 Understanding Sex and Gender
Learning Objectives
Gender as a Social Construction
The Development of Gender Differences
Biology and Gender
Culture and Gender
Socialization and Gender
The Family
Peers
Children and Our Future
Schools
Mass Media
Religion
A Final Word on the Sources of Gender
Key Takeaways
References

Content: If culture and social influences matter much more than biology, then gender differences can change and the status quo may give way. With this backdrop in mind, let’s turn to the biological evidence for behavioral and other differences between the sexes and then examine the evidence for their social and cultural roots. Biology and Gender
Several biological explanations for gender roles exist, and we discuss two of the most important ones here. One explanation is from the field of evolutionary psychology (Buss, 2012) and argues an evolutionary basis for traditional gender roles. Scholars advocating this view reason as follows (Thornhill & Gangestad, 2008). In prehistoric societies, two major social roles existed (1) hunting or gathering food to relieve hunger, and (2) bearing and nursing children. Because only women could perform the latter role, they were also the primary caretakers for children for several years after birth. And because women were frequently pregnant, their roles as mothers confined them to the home. Meanwhile, men were better suited than women for hunting because they were stronger and quicker than women. In prehistoric societies, then, biology was indeed destiny: