Cross-Cultural Differences in Gender

[Page 401]In discussing gender classification across various cultures, it is important to pay particular attention to the socially and culturally constructed nature of gender. Gender classification is intertwined with other constructs such as sex assigned at birth, gender identity, and gender roles. Without understanding the cultural backdrop, it is difficult to understand how gender is defined, shaped, and experienced by the members of a specific society. Gender has served as a category in basing behavioral expectations on individuals within a cultural system. Certain cultures believe in gender binary, with two gender categorizations, whereas others may believe in gender plurality, where there are more than two gender categories in a particular society. Various constructs such as an individual’s sex assigned at birth, one’s self-identification (gender identity), ...