Is Gender An Arbitrary Social Construct? Is It Just A Label?

Question

Society and culture create gender roles, and we are now trying to eradicate them. A person with a dangling dick can be a woman. Should set 'gender roles' even exist?

hellionthesage · Accepted Answer

The notion that gender roles are social is quite honestly absurd. The fact is we have scientificly proven that men and women are different, biologicly, biochemicly, physiologicly, neurologicaly, psycologicly, geneticly different. Thats a lot of things telling us we are different and really the only thing that is telling us we are not (despite our own personal interactions proving everything science has proven) is society. Their is this strange fear in our society that being different is bad ergo one must never ever acknowledge when we are different because it means one is superior the other inferior. This is very much not the case. We are different (transexualims being a perfect example for why this is so (they are raised and socially conditioned to act as one gender yet despite this social construction of a gender identity they FEEL (ie inherint drive) like they are the opposite of what society tells them they are). The genetic similarity between any man or any woman is 99%. But between any man and any woman its only 97% the same percentage as between a human and a chimpanzee. We are different and social aspects of gender (like division of labor) is not informed by society but biology. Society merely plays off of the strengths of the gender establishing roles for both that best fit their biology. Yes their is some deviations between individuals but as a general rule it does work (studies show that women who adhere to traditional gender roles are actually happier then those who don't, most likely due to the thousands of years that have gone into constructing them to best suit them and men).

amazon-boy · Accepted Answer

I'm a man cuz I act like one...

rose004b · Accepted Answer

Your chromosomes determine your gender.

Even if we put biology aside, I thought this was kind of basic. Common sense is not even 'common' these days. I can't really blame the younger generations for being confused though. They have been brainwashed and dumbed down by the media and the stupidity of identity politics.

MargaritaPeach · Accepted Answer

It's biological and anatomical. But there are not just male and female bodies... there is whole spectrum in between. And a small percentage of people fall into that in-between catagory.

BiscuitesSwag · Accepted Answer

The "you should act like this and this because you have a penis/vagina" is a social construct, while your sex is biological, you can't deny what were you born with.

Redshift · Answer

Genders are biologically determined during pregnancy. Say what you want but unless a genetic defect causes mutation you're either male or female. Evolution/God/Spaghetti monster did not include a third option. Everything else is deviation from the standard. Behaviour is linked to the organism itself. "Manliness" or "femininity" is not just based on the surrounding enviroment. Men are not agressive just because they're told to be. They are built to be. Same with women. Nothing in our bodies is there for no good reason. Evolution however made sure that we can adapt. That means that even if you're built for one purpose you can change. In fact quite fast. Slicing a man's dick off will not make him a woman no matter how close to one looks or feels he is one. For me transgenders are like a car with flat tyre. Sex change is like reworking the car into a tricycle instead of fixing the damn tyre.

AdamThomas · Answer

If a man with a dangling dick can be a woman then this really is a tiger: This is progress. Don't be a bigot, it's 2016, you can be whatever you like based on feelings, biology is bullshit.

ObscuredBeyond · Answer

The spiritually and mentally ill who wish to rebel against their own DNA do not get to decide what is and is not an "arbitrary construct." The DNA code - and its Coder - have already decided what is and is not.

if I set my CSS background to "blanchedalmond," it renders a table in "blanchedalmond." Telling me that the result is "firebrick," and that what I call "blanchedalmond" is arbitrary, is a pointless argument. The code will only render blanchedalmond as blanchedalmond and firebrick and firebrick.

That's not "bigotry," it's truth-by-definition. Then again, those controlled by Satan have always despised the idea of self-evident truth-by-definition. Because it is a power limiter. They define "bigotry" as anything which is a stumbling block to more self-arbitrated power.

Mesonfielde · Answer

>> A person with a dangling dick can be a woman.

Considering that's the example, I'm going with B) on this one. Gender roles are arbitrary nonsense enforced by cultural dogma and peer pressure just like any other religion based on preconditions and misconception, but that doesn't mean wearing makeup suddenly makes you "more womanly". In fact, the concept of gender roles (and stereotypes) is the direct core of ALL sexism.

But that doesn't mean physical sex isn't a thing. Genitals exist for reproduction. And having testicles makes you a man, and having ovaries makes you a woman.

FakeName123 · Answer

So if gender is a social construct why do people think they are born with the wrong sex?

Is it just me seeing the mental gymnastics behind this?

Most importantly though, men and women are biologically different. Physically and psychologically. That includes their brains operating quite differently - something a culture can't influence. Societies gender roles build up on those biological ones existing already and shapes them differently depending on each culture - but the gender roles and certain characteristics are universal worldwide.

QooLipBite · Answer

If you somehow find a way to deny the fact that men and women are unique and different in their own ways, then you aren't living in reality.

Be rational, get real.

Men and Women COMPLEMENT each other (which effectively means they complete each other). Obviously there has to be differences in order for a puzzle piece to fit together. You can't build a puzzle if all the pieces are the same.

If you are religious, you would know well enough to appreciate that your God has created both genders to be different and unique and to complement and help each other.

Zamac · Answer

I realized I am not a man nor a woman: I am an alien mechanic lifeform and my social identity is Optimus Prime! I just came out the closet!

You all have to accept me because I was born this way and I finally assumed my real gender is Prime! And this gender is MINE! ALL MINE!!!

I am for diversity, free speech, tolerance and World peace!

But if you don't accept me and my Prime gender you are an evil sick person! Racist! Robophobic! Xenophobic! Fascist! The Earth would be a better place without you!

Spiorad_Aisce · Answer

I think I would go along with A - In the sense that an individual can adapt to whatever role they want without causing a fundamental disturbance to the balance for example you could have a female breadwinner and a househusband instead of the traditional roles of male breadwinner and housewife but in both cases the house is financially provided for and the house maintained. That is just an extreme example of how swappable the genders are. We can then move on to dual incomes and male/female childcare provider, same sex couples with children etc. On the physical side who cares who is male and who is female, is it vitally important, it should be just a designation we choose for ourselves.

bluenose1872 · Answer

Are people really this dumb. A woman with a swinging dick? Ffs. What the fuck do they teach these fannys in school these days. A man's a man and a woman's a woman. It's like saying ice is hot and fire is freezing. Let's just break down all our understandings of life. Let's have fun. I'm a Martian in human form and the earth is flat. Space is just a black cloth with glitter stuck to it and the sun is just a giant shining his torch around. I'm actually a plant and don't need to eat because I'm photosynthetic and in a few weeks I'll grow beautiful lilacs out of the ends of my hair. Fukin fruitloops

Dandeus · Answer

It's semi-arbitrary.

Biology has an influence on behavior such that various behaviors and traits are more common in males or females, but biology is not uniform, it exists on a spectrum the same way behaviors do, and both males and females share extensive neurological and endocrine systems that are simply configured in different ways.

The binary nature of gender roles - this thing is reserved for males, that's reserved for females - is arbitrary, and in that sense, the labels themselves are arbitrary.

genericname85 · Answer

first there is man and woman. the biological gender or sex. i mean even there are obscurities sometimes but just assume there was no biological "in between". there are clear bioloical differences between men and woman. society emerges from people living together. of course the biological differences have an impact on the evolution of society. the biological differences have evolved to different "gender-roles" that go along with those biological differences.

now we can make the observation that some of the constructed gender roles are somewhat obsolete today. however totally preposterous to assume that gender is an arbitrary social construct of the society. sex was there first. there is a necessity to construct a gender around it cause it is impossible to see both sexes as exactly the same. i´m not talking about inequality. i´m talking about accepting differences that we have to somehow deal with.

Anonymous · Answer

Sex is real enough.

A construct is just that, something put together out of parts. You could arrange the parts in a number of different stable ways, hence the many variable ways human sexuality has been defined in different cultures.

But a construct is not completely mutable. You can make a house out of bits of wood and you can construct it in any number of different ways but you can't use the material to make a hot air balloon or a chocolate mousse. The elements of human sexuality can be arranged in a number of stable ways but the elements themselves are real and have definite characteristics.

adollarsworth · Answer

Why would opposite sexes want to go into opposite restrooms. Some things should remain private. I am thinking that instead of have a picture of a man or a woman on the restroom door, there should be a picture of a cock and a vagina on the doors and whichever you currently have is the one you go in. Of course, like what happened just yesterday, some guy had a wig on supposedly identified as a woman and went into the womans restroom. Of course he also brought a mini video recorder and recorded women using the restroom. I kinky, but this is sick and it is where all of this is going.

TheSpecticularRoss · Answer

Gender is biological, a person's gender is determined by their sex chromosomes. A male has an X and Y, a female has two X chromosomes. Men and women have vast biological differences due to this, even neurologically, and hence psychologically. Yes gender roles should exist, and we should not be afraid to examine how one gender may be superior at certain things over another (which has been proven countless times, sadly leftists and feminazis shut down and attempt to thwart the publication of gender comparison studies.)

BearsAnswers · Answer

Yes, it's an arbitrary social construct.

In different places in the world, gender norms are different. In some places there is a known third gender. In the same locations, but different times in history, gender norms have been different. Different behaviours, different clothing, different occupations. They change, because society changes, and the construct therefore changes.

If it was inherent it would be static and universal. It is not, and it has never been. So it cannot be inherent.

ThisDudeHere · Answer

I say 50/50 in terms of social construct and biology. The way each gender has acted throughout history has changed multiple times in each culture. Men could be barely recognizable from the men half a millennia ago. The same for women.
But then again, some common traits still persist and never go away.

Anonymous · Answer

Since feminist like to use the "definition" of feminism to define their ideology and ignore all the actually actions of feminism.
Here's the definition of gender.
gen·der /ˈjendər/
noun: gender
1. the state of being male or female (typically used with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones).

And since a "definition" is all that we are expected to go by when defining things, it appears that Male and Female are the ONLY genders. Period.
___________
There is masculine and feminine, regardless of what someone wants to call themselves... if you have a dick you're a dude. You may be a feminine dude, or a dude that wishes to be a woman, but a male brain is a male brain. Same goes for females.
So someone calling themselves a "pan fluid space monkey wonder pump-kin" is NOT a gender. No matter how much they force society to pretend it is.

Metlahaed · Answer

Gender is associated with biological sex, but also depends on cultural differences. It is somewhat arbitrary, and going beyond biological sex is kind of pointless, it is just a way of self-validation that shows how insecure someone is. I don't give a fuck what you think you are. Science is all that matters, and all I know is that a Doctor can't help you if you tell them you are a Cis Overlord Pony Guardian Toaster.

ThatNiceGuy · Answer

It's definitely not 100% biological or 100% social construct. There's a lot of evidence that supports that hormones, brain structure and instinct affect behaviour. I would not mind a woman having an important job or a man staying home but we need to be careful with where we draw the line.

Jayded1 · Answer

Of course not. It is biology, hormones, brain chemistry. You can see it easily in small children that have not had a chance to be effected by any of that. The people trying to eradicate them are just social justice idiot types with no education, usually young, early university students.

Socialrealist · Answer

I looked under my boxers for a second. There seems to be nothing arbitrary or socially constructed about the penis that hangs beneath. The penis is a nature given organ that says I am not a female, female's have vaginas.

Therefore, you're either a moron or a try-hard troll.

aliceinwonderland69 · Answer

Gender affects you hormones, brain structure and neuro-chemicals. If you don't think that would have an effect on your behavior, abilities, inclinations, beliefs, desires, hopes, aspirations and you soul, your a waste of my intellect.

Outofthegrey · Answer

I equate gender and sex as one and the same, therefor gender is biologically determined and free from the affects of society. That is to say, society defines what it means to be a man or a woman, but what you are is predetermined.

BrunetteNYC · Answer

No not at all and such a topic is so far out there it isn't even funny. The whole PC movement has gone too far. Most of the time, men are men, women are women. Simple.

Riggers · Answer

Gender is determined by your sex. Anyone who says otherwise is either a special snowflake or has been on Tumblr for too long.

UncagedAgent · Answer

From now on, I am going to call dogs "cats" and cats "dogs." Even though they are totally different physically and mentally, I don't think scientists know anything and I, a SJW millennial obviously know more than hundreds of years of studies.

Anpu23 · Answer

No, gender is biological, emotional and psychological. Any argument contrary falls flat in the face of many studies.

kavyareddy2 · Answer

The notion that gender is a social construct is quite honestly the most foolish thing I've ever heard. I don't take anyone who believes this seriously. Its just another silly belief like religion.

Pyrofox · Answer

At least int the use of legit gender roles ended when women were officially allowed formal military service. Now its a matter can they keep up?

skeptic007 · Answer

yes im a man your a women

it doesn't get more simple than that
now for the people that believe in there MIND
that there something else
than there stupid, or sick
one of the two options either will do

WeeGeeTheSecond · Answer

The roles/stereotypes are arbitrary social constructions, but gender most definitely isn't. Evidence? The differences in behaviour caused by the slightly different physiology between men and women.

Anonymous · Answer

the term label is something new, while the term gender is older. humanity is becoming dumber attempting to either create new categories or eliminate those that have existed for years.

cjmtherfcker · Answer

I think yes and no. The problem is gender is just as much mental as physical. Sometimes the two don't add up

Anonymous · Answer

gender is social construct however sex is binary. You either male or female as your chromosome count dictates. You make as many external changes as you want to underneath all of that you still physically the sex your born with.

orphan · Answer

someone asks this question every day... prompting the same people to respond w/ their long winded explanations.

clampfan101 · Answer

Both are human, and all humans should have equal rights and respect.

Noxifer626 · Answer

Woman and man are subjective definitions, so yes, they don't really exist.

SnowTIger3 · Answer

How is it "arbitrary"? Females and males have clear scientific physiological distinctions.

idkwtftoputhere · Answer

gender =/= biological sex.

apple24 · Answer

i don't know what that is!

TrustyGuide · Answer

There are these things called chromosomes...

girlinthemirror · Answer

it is just a label

Is Gender An Arbitrary Social Construct? Is It Just A Label?

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