Williams: The conflict over content
Christine Williams, LOCAL CONTRIBUTOR
Published: 8:19 p.m. Saturday, March 20, 2010
http://www.statesman.com/opinion/williams-the-conflict-over-content-409752.htmlIf you are a teenager reading this, you might want to reconsider. The content of this column was deemed "very very inappropriate for high school students" by Texas State Board of Education member Barbara Cargill. She is concerned that being exposed to this material will lead you into the world of "->-bleeped-<-s, transsexuals and who knows what else."
The dangerous idea is the difference between sex and gender. I am a sociologist at the University of Texas who specializes in the study of gender. To sociologists, "sex" refers to the primary and secondary reproductive characteristics that men and women are typically born with or develop—everything from hormones to chromosomes to body hair. "Gender" refers to the psychological traits, cultural norms, and social practices associated with those sex differences—basically, anything that society considers appropriate for men and women, including definitions of masculinity and femininity that change over time.
