Nick Robinson

EDL 318A
3/1/16
Reading Reflection 2; Gender vs. Sex by John Carl
My view of sex and gender is formed upon a scientific perspective; sex
is seemingly easy to define in biological terms. We are who we are because
of our DNA contained in our chromosomes. If we possess a XY chromosome
we develop as a male, and if we possess a XX chromosome we develop as a
female by biological default. However; things arent always this simple; many
different genetic abnormalities exist that would render an individual outside
of either of those standards, so in my eyes scientific thought supports the
notion of gender being an occasionally unclear classification. For example;
someone with Klinefelter syndrome possesses XXY sex chromosomes, which
can not be defined as a sex. However, this scientific understanding is
incomplete; the issue is more complex when examining gender.
I found Carls sociologist perspective on gender very interesting; he
thinks of it as a self-reinforcing social construct. In his view, people are
taught implicitly by their parents, friends, teachers, and others an
understanding of gender which is then retransmitted and thus a common set
of views forms.
I feel that I am well informed on the issue of gender and sex, but the
issue has rarely come up in my life and I lack perspective. In my upbringing,
no one I knew questioned what it meant to be a girl or a boy. My first

introduction to gender as a societal construct only occurred when I got to

college. Overall, I found that my understanding of gender has been
enhanced by previous class discussions and reflection after reading Carls
article. My role as a teacher will depend on me providing an environment in
which all students feel comfortable, first and foremost with themselves. I feel
that my perspective Ive outlined throughout this paper complements this
role well.