Nature or Nurture: Is Gender Biologically Determined or Culturally Constructed?

Thesis Statement

The nature vs. nurture discuss on if it is biological research or natural environment that causes human beings to choose positive roles and lifestyles is a enduring controversy in sociobiology, but since the seventies the argument has been expanded to if nurture, i.e. heritage, can override biological research and be a determinant of sex itself. 

Introduction

The “nature vs. nurture” contention is one that comes up constantly in discussions of gender identities. While it is routinely acknowledged that gender is constructed (as opposed to sex, which is biologically determined), how much of this construction is finished by society, and how much is finished by individuals themselves?where does the 'nature' in the environment vs. nurture contention fit into all this? According to Dull and West, “women's concerns for their look are essential to their environment as women” (64). It can be counter contended that this is, to some span, true.

When the phrase sexuality or gender are conveyed up in a conversation, there is always that one person in the assembly that all of a sudden gets that uncomfortable feeling, and begins to shy away to the corner (Dobson, 120-181). Why, manage we, as a society and a culture, let ourselves be so confused; and unsure when it comes to these subjects. Are we really that uncomfortable about who we are, and what and what not to manage to stay "cool," or "socially normal?"

Discussion

In the United States of America we as the people that govern this homeland have every, and almost all freedoms that anyone could ask for. Yet time in and time out we jumble so numerous different ways of life into our own that we forget that we need to live our lives the way that we desire, and not the way others desire us to (Taylor, 52-315). The social biases that influence gender construction begin in childhood, where boys and girls are often treated differently on the basis of sexual stereotypes. From a very early age, males and females are educated different linguistic practices. (Mulvaney, 1994). Girls are also given different types of toys than boys. For example, one study of children from one to six years of age found: "Boys had more vehicles, plaything animals, infantry toys, educational-art materials, sports equipment, and spatial-temporal objects. On the other hand, girls had more dolls, doll houses, and domestic objects." (Dobson, 120-181)) Young children are educated to "perform' their gender role according to the societal understanding of male and female as shown to them. (Wilson, 52-99).

The women were all given an experimental birth command pill. They were given the same tablet on the same date, and the prescription was terminated after three weeks to permit menstruation (Taylor, 52-315)."That meant, of course," he says, "that every mature individual female in the community was experiencing premenstrual tension at the same time. The men couldn't take it. They all headed for their boats each month and remained at sea until the crisis had passed at ...