The Problems of Gender Inequality in the Period of Globalization

Introduction-Main Principles Of Gender

Gender (Latin genus - surname) - social gender, the difference between a man and a woman, which is determined not by biological but by social data (specific social functions in society, cultural stereotypes, etc.). Unlike biological sex, gender is a social dimension - a kind of sociocultural phenomenon that reflects the characteristics of being a man and a woman in this or that society (Maughan, 2003). For example, in some societies, a man may have a social role that is traditionally considered a woman's role (e.g., child care and housekeeping), but this behavior does not make him or her physically less “masculine.” The social roles of men and women are created by the society itself, with its characteristic cultural norms and values.

This term is used in the social sciences to refer to the socio-cultural aspect of human sexuality (Wood, 2005). Gender is a social organization of gender differences; That is, it is a cultural characteristic of behavior that is established in society and corresponds to a given gender in a particular cultural time and space. Taking into account, the English terminology “Sex”, together “sex”and “gender” - can be considered as “socio-sex”. Both concepts are used for the horizontal socio-sexual stratification of society and differ from the vertical - class, rank, etc. From stratification. “Sex” refers to biological sex and summarizes the biological differences between a woman and a man; Gender - a social construct that denotes behavioral characteristics and social strategy. Some researchers believe that “Sex” and gender are at different poles of human life.

Sex is the starting position in which a person is born; It is caused by biological factors. These are: hormonal system, peculiarities of biochemical processes, gynecological and anatomical differences, etc. Gender is a different construction - it is a kind of final construction of a person's socialization in society according to sexuality. It is gender and not gender that determines the psychological traits, abilities, spheres of activity, profession, activity and is based on the system of upbringing, traditions and customs, legal and aesthetic norms.

What Does It Mean Gender?

Gender (from Latin genus “genus”) - a spectrum of characteristics related to masculinity and femininity. Depending on the context, these characteristics may include social structures (particularly gender and other social roles) or gender identity. Gender identity is not related to sexual orientation (WHO, 2015).

Figure 1.

Shield and spear of Mars - a symbol of male gender

Source: https://www.alamy.com/the-spear-of-mars-which-represents-the-spear-and-shield-of-mars-is-also-the-symbol-for-the-planet-mars-and-male-gender-image225653641.html

Figure 2.

Mirror of Venus - a symbol of female gender

Source: https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/gender-sign-mirror-venus-female-monochrome-657998848

Figure 3.

The symbol of transgender identities combines the mirror of Venus and the shield and spear of Mars

Source: https://www.redbubble.com/shop/gender+symbol+posters

In some cases, the concept of “gender” is mistakenly used as a synonym for the concept of “gender”. In fact, the distinction between gender and sex is fundamental, since the multiple differences between women and men also have non-biological reasons. The concept of gender affects mental, cultural and social differences, while the concept of sex affects only physical (anatomical and physiological) differences.

Some people do not have a gender identity, they are agender. There are also supporters of the elimination of gender from humanity - postgenderism.

The concept of “gender” has become widespread due to the development of feminist theory and gender studies. It is based on the theory of social constructivism, a number of representatives of which (mostly feminist authors) question the natural origin of differences between people and explain them by social processes. Thus, the concept of “gender” is intended to criticize ordinary ideas about “biology as destiny” and refers to the ideology of gender equality.

Although many sources define gender as “social sex”, this understanding is considered outdated in contemporary feminist and gender studies. Criticizing the understanding of gender as a derivative of the biological sex, modern research considers both of these categories as social constructs that are in complex interaction with each other. However, there are differences in the interpretation of the term “gender” in different currents of feminist theory, post-feminism, gender psychology, gender sociology and lesbian philosophy.