Changes

Jump to navigation Jump to search
71 bytes added ,  02:17, December 4, 2007
Fix grammatically the last statement. It had a sentence fragment, and "discrimination on the basis of both" means both need be conjointly true, "either" is the best word here
Line 3: Line 3:  
An organism's sex category reflects its biological reproductive function rather than its sexuality or other behavior. The female sex is defined as the one which produces the larger [[gamete]] (the egg) and which typically bears the offspring. In contrast, the male sex has a smaller gamete (sperm) and rarely bears offspring. In some animals, sex may be assigned to specific structures rather than the entire organism. Earthworms, for example, are normally [[hermaphrodites]].
 
An organism's sex category reflects its biological reproductive function rather than its sexuality or other behavior. The female sex is defined as the one which produces the larger [[gamete]] (the egg) and which typically bears the offspring. In contrast, the male sex has a smaller gamete (sperm) and rarely bears offspring. In some animals, sex may be assigned to specific structures rather than the entire organism. Earthworms, for example, are normally [[hermaphrodites]].
   −
Alternatively, "gender" may be defined to be the norm of social conduct, based on sex.  That is, "sex" defines what is biologically present, whereas "gender" defines what society expects of persons of different sexes.  The distinction is important: the law tends to forbid discrimination on the basis of both (effeminate men cannot be fired for not acting according to their "gender"), but matters in terms of more abstracted social and legal arguments.
+
Alternatively, "gender" may be defined to be the norm of social conduct, based on sex.  That is, "sex" defines what is biologically present, whereas "gender" defines what society expects of persons of different sexes.  The distinction is important in law, as it tends to forbid discrimination on the basis of either, e.g. effeminate men cannot be fired for not acting according to their "gender". In other areas the distinction is primarily important for more abstracted social and legal arguments, rather than everyday use.
    
[[category:biology]]
 
[[category:biology]]
 
[[category:sociology]]
 
[[category:sociology]]
 
[[Category:Sexuality]]
 
[[Category:Sexuality]]
104

edits

Navigation menu