The View That Gender Is A Matter Of Choice

Question 1

Some people challenge the idea that there are “? and ? ?”, arguing that designating some qualities and behaviours is entirely artificial, determined by cultural norms of society rather than by nature. People are individuals with their own personalities.

Answer 1

Masculine.

Feminine qualities.

Question 2

Boys are taught from a young age not to cry when they’re hurt and are encouraged to be strong and adventurous. Girls are taught to take an interest in their own appearance (and society often dictates what should be considered attractive and unattractive about a woman’s appearance). They’re ? ? that are impressed on people from a young age through ?

Answer 2

Cultural norms.

Socialisation.

Question 3

Some people who challenge the notion of masculine and feminine qualities also challenge the idea of gender as ?, preferring to think of gender as a spectrum and as a matter of choice, where all individuals have the right to decide how they identify and express themselves, and have the right to change their minds about their gender.

Answer 3

Binary.

Question 4

It makes no sense to talk of “women’s experience” as if there’s something singular about it that can be defined. There’s too much diversity between women in terms of ?, ?, age and social class for there to be a single phenomenon of “women’s experience”.

Answer 4

Culture.

Ethnicity.