Gender Construction

The Social Construction of Difference between Genders Gender refers to the cultural shaping of sexual identity; gender is the way in which one's biological sex is given shape and meaning within a culture. To quote Simone de Beauvoir: "you may be born a woman (sex), but you are also made into a woman for the rest of your life (gender)." In her book Gender Trouble, Judith Butler (60-75) tells us that gender itself is "never fixed, always fluid." Butler sees gender largely as a performative act, which has to be continuously repeated to anchor identity. Identity is a practice of ...