Sex Identity

Sex identity refers to the social criteria by which men and women are defined within society. Although physical sex is biologically determined, sex identity, or gender, is defined culturally. There is thus variation in how women and men worldwide identify themselves with respect to each other.

The way in which a society defines sex identity is based on its cultural framework. Cultural definitions of sex identity are linked with a society's sex roles, which are in turn connected with the society's subsistence pattern, economic structure, kinship system, religious system, and so forth. Cultural ideas about sex identity therefore define ideal identities for women and for men and provide mechanisms by which individuals can live up to those ideals.

Identity and roles are related to the extent that specific roles are often a component of identity. Therefore, although sex identity is ascribed, meaning that it is given to an individual by society, it is also partly achieved by an individual through the fulfillment of the social roles that correspond to his or her identity. For example, primary sex roles include reproductive and productive roles. Where these sex roles are integral components of sex identity, failing to procreate or to perform the subsistence tasks associated with one's sex may lead to social stigma and doubts concerning an individual's true identity as male or female.

[Page 2073]Other aspects of identity include general disposition and behavior. It is often the case that particular personality traits and their expression in specific socially defined ways contribute to an individual's perceived sex identity. Since a major aspect of sex identity concerns one's relationship with the opposite sex, male and female sex identities are often constructed in opposition to each other. Therefore, the personality traits, behaviors, and dress code that are considered appropriate to each sex are frequently in binary opposition to each other.

While this opposition of male and female identities is a human universal, societies differ in the extent of overlap between the two identities. While some cultural schemes delineate strict divisions between female and male identities so that they symbolize discrete categories, others have a large number of roles and behavioral traits that are considered to be characteristic of both sexes, with a few traits that are used as barometers of masculinity and femininity.

The opposition between female and male is mediated by alternate genders in many societies, particularly in North America. Societies such as the Navajo and the Mohave recognize that it is possible to assume a sex identity that does not correspond to one's sex at birth. For example, a biological male may assume the sex identity of a woman by taking on female chores, behavior, and dress.

People learn their sex identity from their parents and other members of their society through enculturation, the process whereby cultural values, practices, and meanings are instilled in an individual. This is done through various means such as verbal instruction, observation, and imitation, and the use of corrective measures in cases of inappropriate behavior. These measures aim to encourage the individual to adhere as closely as possible to the cultural ideal of what is masculine or feminine.

...