This text was adapted by The Saylor Foundation under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 0 License without attribution as requested by the work’s original creator or licensee. Preface

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• 
  Sex is a biological concept, while gender is a social concept and refers to the social and cultural differences a society assigns to people based on their sex.
  
• 
  Several biological explanations for gender roles exist, but sociologists think culture and socialization are more important sources of gender roles than biology.
  
• 
  Families, schools, peers, the mass media, and religion are agents of socialization for the development of gender identity and gender roles.
  

FOR YOUR REVIEW

1. 
   Write a short essay about one or two events you recall from your childhood that reflected or reinforced your gender socialization.
   
2. 
   Do you think gender roles are due more to biology or to culture and socialization? Explain your answer.
   

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[9] Card, N. A., Stucky, B. D., Sawalani, G. M., & Little, T. D. (2008). Direct and indirect aggression during childhood and adolescence: A meta-analytic review of gender differences, intercorrelations, and relations to maladjustment. Child Development, 79(5), 1185–1229.

[10] Begley, S. (2009, September 14). Pink brain, blue brain: Claims of sex differences fall apart. Newsweek, 28; Fine, C. (2011). Delusions of gender: The real science behind sex differences. New York, NY: W. W. Norton.

[11] Lindsey, L. L. (2011). Gender roles: A sociological perspective (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

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[17] Lindsey, L. L. (2011). Gender roles: A sociological perspective (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

[18] Lever, J. (1978). Sex differences in the complexity of children’s play and games.American Sociological Review, 43, 471–483.

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[23] Tanenbaum, L. (2009). Taking back God: American women rising up for religious equality. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

[24] Mayer, A. E. (2009). Review of “Women, the Koran and international human rights law: The experience of Pakistan.” Human Rights Quarterly, 31(4), 1155–1158.

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