In the past few weeks, there has been a plethora of stories in the news associated with the topics of sex, anatomical variances between males and females, and gender, the socially learned expectations and behaviors associated with being male or female. Around the world, one can find examples of aspects of this subject being covered in the news and playing out in people’s lives. Let’s take a few minutes to consider these news stories from a sociological perspective and hopefully gain a better understanding of the breadth of topics that fall under the rubric of sex and gender.
Beginning in the world of sports, the National Collegiate Athletic Association found themselves in hot water recently over the abysmal weight room accommodations offered to women athletes playing in the March Madness basketball tournament. While the men received a room full of first-rate equipment, the women got a set of dumbbells and some yoga mats. This blatant sexism, prejudice, devaluation, and discrimination based on an individual’s sex, was called out on social media and quickly corrected. Still, members of the U.S. Congress have called for an investigation into whether the NCAA has violated Title IX, the federal civil rights legislation enacted in the 1970s to eliminate sex-based discrimination in education.
There have been several stories recently about the effort in the U.S. to limit the rights of people who are transgender, someone who identifies with a gender that is different from his or her biological sex. In Arkansas, an Anti-Trans bill approved by the state legislature would make it a crime for doctors to help minors seeking assistance with the transition process. This legislation specifically targets youth who are looking to undergo medical procedures to become the opposite sex or transgender.
In South Dakota, the governor signed an executive order prohibiting transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports. In Ohio, a Federal Appeals Court has ruled that a Shawnee State University professor who was reprimanded for refusing to use gender-neutral pronouns can sue the university for violation of his First Amendment rights. Specifically, philosophy professor Nicholas Meriwether refused to honor a student’s request to use the pronouns they/them/their. These are gender-neutral pronouns frequently used by members of the LGBTQ+ community as an alternative to the singular pronouns he/him/his or she/her/hers. These pronouns are a part of a person’s gender identity, an individual’s inner sense and identification of being a male or female.
Traveling further afield, two stories about honor killings have been in the news recently. Honor killing involves the killing of a female family member for the perceived shame she has brought on the family. In Karachi, Pakistan, three men killed their sister and a male cousin for visiting each other late at night. The more gruesome of the two stories took place in India, where a father beheaded his daughter for being in a relationship with a man the dad did not like. What makes this story particularly disturbing is that after committing the crime, the father walked down the street with his daughter’s head in his hands. Estimates are that 5,000 honor killings occur around the world each year. These killings highlight the extreme nature of violence against women, any act that results in the mental, physical and/or sexual harm of a girl, teen, or woman.
It is worth noting that the topic of sex and gender is not just about what some people choose to do to others or how some people try to limit the rights of others. It is also about finding your path and honoring yourself. An example in the news this week is of the singer Demi Lovato. In a podcast interview with Joe Rogan, Lovato self-identified as pansexual, a person who is attracted to all people regardless of their gender identity or sex. For individuals who are pansexual, their attraction to others can be emotional, romantic, and/or sexual. The category of pansexual highlights the fact that sexual orientation, an individual’s sexual interest toward the same, opposite, or both sexes, is not simply a binary concept.
As we have seen, sex and gender encompass a wide swath of the human experience. From basketball games to honor killings, sociology has the tools to help you understand it all.
Thompson is a co-owner of UITAC Publishing. UITAC’s mission is to provide high-quality, affordable, and socially responsible online course materials.
Images used in this blog:
- “Parada Równości Warszawa 2021” by Negowetti is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This image has not been altered.
- “Demi Lovato” by Neon Tommy is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. This image has not been altered.
