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Introduction
Articles under analysis address gender and sex issues that exist in modern Western society. According to Lorber (1992), it is gendered as constructed social categories on the basis of cultural and religious beliefs rather than biological differences that lead to physical and intellectual inequalities between women and men. The author states that the differentiation of both sex and gender ignores multiple aspects, as these categories are not regarded as combinations of various factors that define human beings. For instance, in sports, sex is determined by the results of physical and gynecological exams that do not consider strength (Lorber, 1992). In turn, it is socially assumed that all men are physically stronger in comparison with women, regardless of multiple pieces of evidence that undermines the validity of this dogma.
At the same time, social practices transform physical differences into socially meaningful ones that define the attitude towards women and men. Constructing gendered bodies, sports form different assumptions of people’s capacities and provide different opportunities to them. Thus, its ideological subtext is that “physical strength is men’s prerogative and justifies men’s physical and sexual domination of women” (Lorber, 1992, p. 574). In other words, organized sports were created for men – that is why men athletes are glorified in the mass media, receiving attention while women athletes are ignored (Lorber, 1992). Meanwhile, women athletes’ media images focus on sexuality, grace, and beauty rather than strength and endurance, which, at the same time, are regarded as unfeminine.
While sports create inequities on the basis of physical characteristics, technology refers to them from the perspective of intelligence. Computer work has become gendered as well – men are supposed to create and manage programs contributing to science, and women are expected to perform low-skilled job duties. In general, there are multiple activities associated with masculinity, regardless of the fact that women may have more skills and experience. Moreover, while biological differences are supposed to define gender, they are frequently ignored for social equality. However, human nature is highly incongruous as people aim to express their identity from the position of culture and social constructions rather than biology.
In contrast, the article of Fausto-Sterling (1993) addresses biological differences and the necessity of their consideration. The author doubts the expediency of a two-party sexual system that underlines the existence of only two sexes, male and female, and completely ignores hermaphrodites (Fausto-Sterling, 1993). Thus, she suggests the introduction of a new system that would acknowledge at least five sexes – males, females, true hermaphrodites (herms), male pseudohermaphrodites (merms), and female pseudohermaphrodites (ferms). The necessity of this system’s creation is determined by the fact that hermaphrodites have always existed throughout human history. However, their physical and psychological peculiarities were marginalized. Nevertheless, the author hopes that in the modern society where sexuality has started to attract attention, the issue of intersexuality will be considered as well, providing the opportunity for such people to socialize.
Analysis
At first, these articles may be regarded as different as they refer to different concepts – while Lorber (1992) focuses on gender inequities, Fausto-Sterling (1993) writes about sexes. However, on closer inspection, it becomes clear that these works have more similarities than differences. First of all, both of them address the connection between gender and sex. Both authors agree that cultural beliefs form attitudes toward sexes – for Lorber (1992), culture defines the attributes of men and women regardless of their biological peculiarities, and for Fausto-Sterling (1993), the culture created the two-sex system, as the perception of hermaphrodites has been changing throughout historical periods.
In addition, both authors underline that “two sexes are not enough.” Although Lorber (1992) accepts the existence of the two-sex system and its validity, she states that “neither sex nor gender is pure categories” as in sex categorization, the combinations of hormonal input, genitalia, and incongruous genes are ignored (p. 569). There are multiple varieties of bodies that cannot be classified on the basis of only several criteria. People have different genitalia, secondary sex characteristics, orgasmic experiences, contributions to procreation, and patterns of aging and illness. Individuals’ experience varies on the basis of their physical characteristics and may change with time.
The same statement is manifested in the article written by Fausto-Sterling (1993). The author does not agree with the tendency to refer to intersexual people as either males or females regarding their differences as the combination of these two sexes. In addition, an ignorant medical community sees surgery as an optimal solution to intersexuality, remaining unreflective of intersexual people’s needs and demands while a considerable number of them embrace their identity (Fausto-Sterling, 1993). She believes that the acceptance of three additional sexes would allow people who belong to them to live a more secure and happy life.
Conclusion
To conclude, while the two articles focus on different aspects of sex and gender and have different attitudes to the two-sex system, there are multiple similarities between them. First of all, both of them state that religious and cultural norms define people’s attitudes to sexes creating a particular paradigm that prescribes socially-accepted actions and perceptions in relation to sex and gender. In addition, both authors believe that all people are too different to classify them on the basis of the categories of sex and gender.
References
Fausto-Sterling, A. (1993). The five sexes: Why male and female are not enough. The Science, 20-25.
Lorber, J. (1992). Believing is seeing: Biology and ideology. Gender and Society, 7(4), 568-581.
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