By Daniella Razzouk | Staff Writer
Over the past decade, discussions regarding gender have taken center-stage in many political and social circles. The concept of not asking for a person’s pronouns has become more commonplace, even if many treat it as a joke. However, when people attempt to deepen their understanding of gender, they are usually met with some iteration of the phrase “gender is a social construct” being repeated to them, but what does this mean?
What is essential to understand is the difference between biological sex and gender. According to the World Health Organization[1], biological sex is defined as the physical characteristics defined by one’s biology, such as reproductive organs, sex cells, chromosomes, etc. Conversely, gender is used to describe the characteristics defined and placed onto men and women that are socially constructed or taught. In other words, “People are born male or female, but learn to be girls and boys who grow into men and women.” Something important to keep in mind about social constructs is that they change with both time and culture. What it means to be a woman now is different than it was a hundred years ago, and what it means to be a man now will not be the same in fifty years.
A relatively simple example of this can be found in colours. We’ve all heard it, pink is for girls and blue is for boys – but this was not always the case. Originally, the colour blue was attributed to girls due to it being seen as “dainty”, and the colour pink was associated with boys because it was seen as “strong”[2]. Evidently, these rules were not really set in stone, as in the 1940s it switched to become as we know it today. This is a simple example, but the same shifts in people’s views of gender can be found in other aspects. Views on women’s education, women in the workplace, men’s mental health, etc. take different forms across different cultures – varying with time.
It’s important to point out that just because something is a social construct, that does not automatically make it a bad thing. A social construct is, by definition, something that humans created amongst themselves by mutual agreement. Money, for example, is a social construct – that does not mean that money is inherently immoral or useless. Money can be very helpful in most situations, it can make things a lot better and easier. This is why people would do anything for money, including hurt other people. That’s when it becomes immoral.
The same train of thought can be applied to gender. There is nothing wrong with identifying with the gender you were raised as, whether as a man or a woman. The problem arises when some standards are forced onto every person, and when they are used to hurt people. Phrases like “men don’t cry” or “man up” are extremely common, and can have destructive effects on young boys and men everywhere. Similarly, phrases like “act like a lady” or “that’s not for girls” can take countless opportunities away from women and girls – leaving them trapped in the box allowed to them.
It would be unrealistic to expect people to simply drop the concept of gender entirely, or that they should. Gender as a social construct exists because, at several different points in time, people decided that it was helpful. So, moving forward, it is important to keep in mind that gender identity is a complex matter that can differ markedly from one person to another. Life is already hard enough for everyone – without the added struggle and stress of not being alienated from society. Respecting people is, at the end of the day, what matters above all else. So even though gender identity can be confusing, all you need to do is respect people’s identities and use their preferred pronouns correctly.