Abstract
“Sex” reflects biological attributes like chromosomes, hormones, and genitalia. “Sexual preference” indicates to whom the person is erotically attracted. “Gender” reflects sense of self, social expectations, and role behaviors (World Health Organization, n.d.). Historically, many societies subjected sexual preference and gender to be corollaries of sex, and endorsed only two patterns: men and women. Males (sex) slept with females (sexual preference) and behaved in masculine ways (gender). Same for females, women, and femininity. Separation of duties into “his” and “hers” organized agricultural — and by extension, urban — societies for millennia (Pedrero, 1999). These social norms were based on practical considerations of division of labor, reproduction, and security, not on how a person experienced one’s body or self.
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© 2016 Seana Moran and Sarah Parker
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Parker, S. (2016). Gender Fluidity. In: Ethical Ripples of Creativity and Innovation. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137505545_19
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