Gender

Gender, the sex-role identity used by humans to emphasize the distinctions between males and females. The words gender and sex are often used interchangeably, but sex relates specifically to the biological, physical characteristics which make a person male or female at birth, whereas gender refers to the behaviours associated with members of that sex.

By the age of three, children tend to be aware of their gender; they are encouraged to prefer the games, clothing, modes of speech, and other aspects of culture usually assigned to their sex. Even as babies, boys and girls are treated differently from one another: boys are seldom dressed in pink as it is considered to be a “feminine” colour. So even at an age at which male and female behaviour is indistinguishable it is seen as important that the child's sex is not mistaken.

Because gender roles vary from culture to culture, it appears that many of the behavioural differences between males and females are caused by socialization as well as male and female hormones, and other innate causes. As increasing numbers of Western women are employed in wage labour, divisions between the gender roles are shifting, but very much still exist.

Stereotypical sex-associated behaviour such as male aggression and female passivity is derived at least partly from roles which are taught during childhood; males are told “boys don't cry” and are given guns and cars as toys; girls are given dolls and playhouses so they can mimic the traditional female home-making role. Increasingly, girls take on games previously associated with boys—but the reverse is still less in evidence. Similarly, many boys and girls tend to excel only in the areas of study traditionally attributed to their sex, and this may partly explain male dominance in many fields such as science and engineering. These factors have provided significant arguments for the campaign by the Women's Movement for sexual equality.

Cases where a person's gender identity differs from his or her biological sex often result in transsexualism and subsequent sex-change.