What does it mean that Gender is a Social Construct?

You may have heard that gender is a social construct.; it is not something tangible. This usually generates a lot of debate, since there are many opinions about it. It is important to be aware of the variety and diversity of perspectives in relation to gender theory and not to dismiss those with which you disagree.

That gender is a social construct means that gender differences have been differentiated through social construction. through the history of a set of beliefs, traits, attitudes, feelings, values, behaviors and activities. Basically, the gender construct refers to the social construction of the biological fact of being a man or a woman. Its main contribution is to question the hierarchy and inequality of power that exists between men and women; in addition to highlighting the reproduction of these inequalities in different areas of social life.

What does it imply that gender is a social construct?

In this article we will review what sex, gender and its different components mean, as well to comment on some theoretical perspectives that have given force to consider gender as a social construction. Let's start with some basic definitions.

The biological sex or sex assigned at birth is the label attributed at birth according to medical factors related to the genitals, chromosomes and hormones. Most people are assigned the male or female sex, male or female, as recorded on our birth certificate. There is also intersex; people whose bodies do not follow the anatomy of male or female sexual patterns.

The sex assigned at birth arises from factors beginning with the fertilization of the egg by sperm. Sexual differentiation occurs according to the chromosomal load of sperm and ovules; a person with XX sex chromosomes will have female reproductive organs and sex, and a person with XY chromosomes will have male ones.

For its part, gender is a more complex and broader concept than sex. Make reference to the expectations of society and people about behaviors, thoughts and characteristics that are assumed to correspond to the sex assigned at birth of people.

Gender is also considered as a social and legal category that identifies us before the law and bureaucracy as boys, girls and men or women. Gender is spoken of as one of the basic structuring principles of our societies; based on what we understand by gender we can understand what is appropriate for men and women.

If we differentiate sex from gender and making a more simplified proposal; Biological sex refers to the body, to the physical (biology, anatomy, chromosomes...), while gender It is made up of societal expectations, standards, and beliefs about what men and women should be, do, and feel. women.

Gender dimensions and components

Within the range of everything that encompasses the genre, we can find different related concepts. It is important to know and understand them to really understand the concept of gender and why it is said that it is a social construction.

1. Gender identity

Gender identity is the subjective perception that a person has about their own gender.. It is a separate and differentiated concept of biological sex and sexual orientation. Basically, gender identity is considered the personal, intimate and psychological identification that a person has about the gender to which they feel they belong. Therefore, this gender identity is independent of biological sex; a person may have a male biological sex, but a female gender identity, for example.

In the same way as in the case of gender, gender identity is spoken of as a social construction during, normally, early childhood. In it there are external influences, for example, by parental care and social reinforcement; and also internal influences, the questioning of gender is an important stage in our development.

Normally, the distinction of three gender identities is usually made:

1.1. cisgender

Gender identity matches that assigned at birth, matches the sex.

1.2. Transgender

In these people, the gender identity does not coincide with that expected by law according to the sex assigned at birth.

1.3. non-binary identity

This gender identity It is not associated with either the masculine or feminine gender; It is conceived as a differentiation of the man-woman binary that is normally imposed in society.

2. gender roles

Another concept associated with gender is that of gender roles. These include all the patterns of social behavior assigned to men and women and which are the main and structural components of the relationships between them. Gender roles attribute different values, responsibilities, and even jobs to men and women..

For example, normatively and historically in our society, the role of care has been attributed to women. For this reason, on many occasions, it can generate the obligation to have children in some women and, in addition, the exclusive responsibility of their upbringing in the case of having them.

In these attitudes there is no biological basis or an explanation through sex, they come from a history and a particular culture that has fostered the emergence of these attitudes and has reinforced them over time and intergenerational.

3. gender stereotypes

gender stereotypes they are related to gender roles, but they do not make as much reference to the tasks or functions of men and women in societyRather, they assume a simplistic perspective of reality, reproducing fixed images or ideas about what is appropriate for each gender or identity.

Basically, stereotypes are based on dichotomous, polar and exclusive ideas. They are discriminatory and prevent the full development of each person's opportunities. A gender stereotype is, for example, associating women with a higher emotionality than men, or, on the contrary, associate men with emotional and physical resistance elderly.

Stereotypes contribute to internalizing gender norms that have been built and internalized in our cultures, reinforcing their values ​​from childhood and educating ourselves on what is appropriate to feel or experience according to the gender with which we are let's identify.

4. gender socialization

Gender socialization refers to the learning process through which the dominant beliefs, values ​​and behaviors of a society are transmitted. Through this, gender relations are built and differential roles are assigned to each gender; thus generating roles and stereotypes.

It is from this socialization and learning how the internalization of, for example, the division of the tasks, and gender roles are being built that perpetuate the practice and discrimination of this differentiation.

The gender perspective and gender as a social convention

The gender perspective is defined as a "new" critical theory that seeks to reveal gender inequalities and analyze the social and cultural institutions that sustain them. It emerges as a critique of the dominant thinking approaches. In all scientific research it is important to take a gender perspective, not only to increase the presence of women in the research, but also to create an inclusive scientific culture that integrates the gender dimension into our realities.

We are going to comment on the ideas of two theorists integrated in the gender perspective that give value to considering gender as a social construction.

Monique Wittig: heterosexual thought

Monique Wittig devoted much of her research to demystifying "the feminine," with the intention of stopping considering women on the basis of sex.. Analyzing the man-woman dichotomy from the oppressor-oppressed point of view, she proposes that the Discrimination of people occurs when their behavior does not match what is expected of them by of the society.

She launches the idea of ​​heterosexual thought as the cause of the construction, with social, subjective and material implications, of relationships based on sexual dualism, I feel their only function is to build positions of control and subordination between men and women.

Judith Butler: break with the binary

For her part, Judith Butler, a pioneer of queer theory, proposes a break with the general categories regarding the ideas we have regarding sex and gender. It raises the need to denature certain internalized concepts and that "are given to us" to break with the imposed dichotomies of gender and sex and being able to deploy the theme of gender in other dimensions.

In fact, Judith Butler not only criticizes gender as a social construction, but she also proposes to break with the gender binary; stop understanding only the masculine and the feminine. He defends that this binary is the main perpetuator of the heteronormative model of society; model that imposes two options on bodies; being women or men, behaving femininely or masculinely, and desiring the opposite sex.

The importance of reflecting

Throughout this article we have discussed different components in relation to the sex-gender binomial to understand the perspectives that defend gender as a social construction. Gender is thus considered something social, cultural and historical, which, following the normative and binary patterns of society, perpetuates the roles and stereotypes linked to each gender.

We consider it important to conclude by thinking about what happens to the people who are excluded from the social binary of gender. Where are trans and non-binary people? Is it interesting to think about breaking the binary sex-gender system, as Butler proposed, to promote the inclusion of all people, regardless of their gender identity? It is important to reflect and be critical of these issues, we encourage you to do so!