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This option on facebook (and the news of it right now) will also be great for gender awareness.

Most people don't know there's a difference between sex and gender.




I am one of those that didn't know there was a difference.

I was hoping you had a short explanation as I am pretty sure searching with some of those keywords will cause an issue at work but if not this will serve as a reminder for me to look it up when I get home.


Here's a good link:

http://www.med.monash.edu.au/gendermed/sexandgender.html

And for you and other people whose URLs might get audited, here's the content:

What is the difference between sex and gender?

Sex = male and female

Gender = masculine and feminine

So in essence:

Sex refers to biological differences; chromosomes, hormonal profiles, internal and external sex organs.

Gender describes the characteristics that a society or culture delineates as masculine or feminine.

So while your sex as male or female is a biological fact that is the same in any culture, what that sex means in terms of your gender role as a 'man' or a 'woman' in society can be quite different cross culturally. These 'gender roles' have an impact on the health of the individual.

In sociological terms 'gender role' refers to the characteristics and behaviours that different cultures attribute to the sexes. What it means to be a 'real man' in any culture requires male sex plus what our various cultures define as masculine characteristics and behaviours, likewise a 'real woman' needs female sex and feminine characteristics. To summarise:

'man' = male sex+ masculine social role

(a 'real man', 'masculine' or 'manly')

'woman' = female sex + feminine social role

(a 'real woman', 'feminine' or 'womanly')


It's even more complicated than that because sex really isn't binary either. Here's a good explanation in video form: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXAoG8vAyzI


Great point. Let me add a much longer textual take on this from a transgendered person: "Debunking Myth #11: Sex and Gender are Straightforward" http://catholictrans.wordpress.com/2013/11/18/debunking-myth...


I like this way of explaining things the best: http://itspronouncedmetrosexual.com/2012/03/the-genderbread-...




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