Sex and Gender

Traditional sociologists say we are born with a completely “blank slate” and it is all nurture that determines our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Contemporary sociologists feel that it is a combination of biology and the environment, but of course we are sociologists, so we think that the environment plays a much bigger role. In terms of gender socialization we investigate the differences between boys and girls and men and women and through scientific research attempt to determine which characteristics are due to genes and which are due to the environment and our socialization. (Image courtesy of fotographic1980/FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

We are at the “mercy of

IS IT BIOLOGY OR ENVIRONMENT?
• Infant mortality: according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “boys die at a 23 percent higher rate than girls…more prone to congenital malformations, accidents, SIDS, and respiratory distress.”

• Labor is more difficult and there are more complications at delivery when a mother is delivering a boy. (British Medical Journal)

• Most premature babies are boys. (CDC)

• Boys are more likely to get ear infections. (CDC)

Note: it is interesting that most people think their baby girls are more fragile when in reality newborn girls are stronger than newborn boys and premature girls are much more likely to survive or leave the hospital sooner than their male counterparts. This is due to bone density and more fat…I knew that fat was good for something!

• “Dyslexia is more common in boys.” (Journal of American Medical Association)

• “Boys are four times more likely to develop autism.” (National Autistic Society)

SO ARE THE ABOVE DUE TO BIOLOGY OR THE ENVIRONMENT?

MORE DATA:
• “More than 80 percent of drownings occur among males.” (CDC)

• “The pedestrian death rate is twice as high for men than for women.” (CDC)

• “Boys ages 5-9 are at highest risk for dog-bite related injuries. (CDC)

• “Males are more likely to die of any type of injury.” (CDC)

• “Males are at least four times more likely to die of suicide.” (CDC)

• “Men have higher mortality rates in 12 out of the 15 leading causes of death, including heart disease, accidents, suicide, chronic liver disease and cancer.” (CDC)

• “Men’s life expectancy was 74.4 years, while women on average lived until 79.8 years.” (CDC, 2001 statistics)

SO ARE THE FOLLOWING DUE TO BIOLOGY OR SOCIAL FACTORS?

TRY TO ARGUE BOTH SIDES OF THE FOLLOWING RESEARCH FINDINGS: IS IT NATURE OR NURTURE?

• Girls who are raised in fatherless homes experience puberty earlier.

• Homosexual men are more likely to have older brothers than either homosexual women or heterosexual men. Studies are now looking at if the first male fetus generates an immune reaction in the mother which alters the key gender genes but can you think of possible environmental causes?

• When a fraternal twin gets a divorce there is a 30% chance that his or her twin will also get divorced. If the twins are identical twins the odds that the other twin would also get a divorce is 45%.

• “Biological children of criminal parents are more likely than their adopted children to break the law.” (Time Inc., 2003)

NOW WERE YOU ABLE TO ARGUE BOTH SIDES?

Related Posts

• 

  Global Stratification Assignment Guide
  Global Stratification Assignment Guide
• 

  Vitual Environments Assignment Guide
  Vitual Environments Assignment Guide
• 

  Cultural Relativism Assignment Guide
  Cultural Relativism Assignment Guide
• 

  Diversity Training Assignment Guide
  Diversity Training Assignment Guide