On Gender and Sex
As I ponder on the construction of sex and gender, I cannot help but get confused.
What is the difference between sex and gender?
At first glance they appear to be binary subjects.
On one hand, sex is natural, biological, physical..something that is already given.
On the other hand, gender is culture, artificial, invented.
This view however simplistic and ostensibly coherent, has been continuously challenged by
various discourses on the subject of sex and gender.
And as I try to problematize the historicity of the concepts of sex and gender, all the more I get befuddled!
Where did the concept of sex and gender emerge?
Were they produced to promote particular political, social, economic and cultural agenda?
Do sex and gender, as two separate notions, have history or histories?
How are sex and gender contested and questioned through time/geographic areas?
If gender is not attached to a specific sex, if it is free and open to interpretation,
then sex can also be exposed to discussion.
What if sex, similar to gender, is not all the while given?
What if our perception of male and female are also grounded on artificially and underwent a process of fabrication?
Perhaps, the anatomical disparity between "sexes" (uy...isang anagram!) determined the binary relation of the two while culture also determined the construction of binary concepts on "sexes".
Who is a female?
Who is a male?
Who or what are those that are in between?
Are we restricted to direct our desire to the opposite sex?
Obviously not!
How can we transcend the dichotomy between sex and gender?
What is sex in the context of Philippine society?
How is gender unremittingly construed by "Filipinos" as they generate meanings from their historical experiences?
I'll posit several assumptions when I get to have enough time and after thorough reading.
What is the difference between sex and gender?
At first glance they appear to be binary subjects.
On one hand, sex is natural, biological, physical..something that is already given.
On the other hand, gender is culture, artificial, invented.
This view however simplistic and ostensibly coherent, has been continuously challenged by
various discourses on the subject of sex and gender.
And as I try to problematize the historicity of the concepts of sex and gender, all the more I get befuddled!
Where did the concept of sex and gender emerge?
Were they produced to promote particular political, social, economic and cultural agenda?
Do sex and gender, as two separate notions, have history or histories?
How are sex and gender contested and questioned through time/geographic areas?
If gender is not attached to a specific sex, if it is free and open to interpretation,
then sex can also be exposed to discussion.
What if sex, similar to gender, is not all the while given?
What if our perception of male and female are also grounded on artificially and underwent a process of fabrication?
Perhaps, the anatomical disparity between "sexes" (uy...isang anagram!) determined the binary relation of the two while culture also determined the construction of binary concepts on "sexes".
Who is a female?
Who is a male?
Who or what are those that are in between?
Are we restricted to direct our desire to the opposite sex?
Obviously not!
How can we transcend the dichotomy between sex and gender?
What is sex in the context of Philippine society?
How is gender unremittingly construed by "Filipinos" as they generate meanings from their historical experiences?
I'll posit several assumptions when I get to have enough time and after thorough reading.
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