Page 158 - Cultures and Organizations

He, She, and (S)he 137

Genders and Gender Roles

All human societies consist of men and women, usually in approximately
equal numbers. They are biologically distinct, and their respect ive roles
in biological procreation are absolute. Other physical differences between
women and men, not directly related to the bearing and begetting of chil-
dren, are not absolute but statistical. Men are on average taller and stronger,
but many women are taller and stronger than quite a few men. Women

have on average greater finger dexterity and, for example, faster metabo-
lism, which enables them to recover faster from fatigue, but some men excel
in these respects.
The absolute and statistical biological differences between men and
women are the same the world over, but the social roles of men and women
in society are only partly determined by the biological constraints. Every
society recognizes many behaviors, not immediately related to procreation,
as more suitable to females or more suitable to males, but which behaviors
belong to either gender differs from one society to another. Anthropolo-
gists having studied nonliterate, relatively isolated societies stress the wide
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variety of social sex roles that seem to be possible. For the biological
distinction, this chapter will use the terms male and female; for the social,
culturally determined roles, the terms are masculine and feminine. The lat-
ter terms are relative, not absolute: a man can behave in a “feminine” way
and a woman in a “masculine” way; this means only that they deviate from
certain conventions in their society.
Which behaviors are considered feminine or masculine differs not only
among traditional societies but also among modern societies. This is most
evident in the distribution of men and women over certain professions.
Women dominate as doctors in Russia, as dentists in Belgium, and as shop-

keepers in parts of West Africa. Men dominate as typists in Pakistan and
form a sizable share of nurses in the Netherlands. Female managers are vir-
tually nonexistent in Japan but frequent in the Philippines and Thailand.
In spite of the variety found, there is a common trend among most
societies, both traditional and modern, as to the distribution of social sex
roles. From now on, this chapter will use the more politically correct term
gender roles. Men are supposed to be more concerned with achievements
outside the home—hunting and fighting in traditional societies, the same