Intro to Sociology Essays

Intro to Sociology Essays Intro to Sociology Essay Intro to Sociology Essay Name: Course: Instructor: Date: Introduction to Sociology According to sociologists like Judith Lorber what is the relationship between sex and gender? Judith Lorber was essentially a well-known feminist and the author of the Paradoxes of Gender. She is of the opinion that gender has become a familiar part of the society leading to a disruption of the societal view on the roles of men and women. Hence, she defines that sex amounts to mere genitalia possessed by individuals, which gives definition to an individual at birth. In addition, she gives emphasis to the aspect of gender by providing an elaborate example of how transgender individuals define their gender through their behavior, dressing and speech pattern commonly associated to a gender. Thus, from such a perspective she illustrates of the presence of differences in terms of sex and gender. She states that there are three types of sexes: male, female and transgender. She adds that gender is made up of man, woman and transvestite. Thus, she is of the view that the aspect of assignment of a gender to an individual is given definition during birth when an individual is determined as either man or woman or transvestite. The aspect of gender gives an individual character in terms of the treatment received from the society, as well as the feeling of belonging to a specific gender. She notes of the presence of transsexuals who have altered genitalia to change from one sex to the other. The aim of such according to Lorber is the need to belong and live in the light of another gender. For instance, some women change their sexes to be termed as men and men change their sexes to be termed as women. In essence, gender and sex are diverse elements, but they are mutual in that they rely on each other for relevance. Hence, she is of the view that the boundaries in the society could be easily breached. In essence, she emphasizes that individuals are born with a definite sex but lack a definite gender that they essentially learn from the society. People learn about processes of becoming either masculine or feminine in their daily lives and thus they are able to decide which gender they prefer.