Anth 569/HMSX 567

Cross-cultural Sex and Gender

Sheila R. Tully, Lecturer
Prepared by:
Diana Polyakov, SFSU Student

Reflective Essay

In the course of this semester I’ve shaped my understandings of sex and gender through

readings of diverse articles as well as movies and discussions presented in class. Moreover, the

cross cultural aspect of sex and gender allowed me to make connections to my previous beliefs

about gender and human sexuality. For the purpose of this essay I would like to explore how in

my understanding women and men in different cultures perceive their genders and sexuality and

how does this affect the division of labor and the making of marriages and families.

I was born and raised in Eastern Europe, in a traditional family where religious values

play a huge role in children’s education. Ever since I was a little girl, I was dressed up in pink

dresses, thought to be feminine, was asked to always help with cooking and housework. Even

though now I have a different understanding of gender roles and human sexuality, I still admire

some aspects of how my parents raised me. I came to the United States in my early twenties, as a

transfer student. Coming from a conservative society into the most liberal city on the planet, I

started to view the gender and human sexuality in more depth and detail. My previous

understandings that females are different from males only biologically have emerged. I was able

to understand that we are socialized into gendered roles and practices that shape our

understandings of who we are. A great example that will support the above statement is the

experiences of Marcus Arana, the guest speaker that was invited during one of the “Cross-

cultural Sex and Gender” class. After hearing his amazing life story, I was trying to make

connections about how he would be perceived by a different audience of students in the

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community where I was raised. I have to acknowledge that unfortunately he might have a

different experience among students in Eastern Europe. The reason why, is that socialized gender

roles as well as the perception of sexual identity in Eastern Europe is shaped differently by

family, community and government. So, gender roles and sexuality is classified by the society in

such a way, that it conforms to the traditional standards. Unfortunately, any deviation from the

standards is viewed as a problem, and is not welcomed by the society. Moreover, men and

women are imposed specific roles and duties that they should follow. For example, boys are

expected to complete the military training before they get married and girls are expected to have

good grades in school so, they could pursue their education and graduate as early as possible.

Indeed, in that society the females are expected to get married in their twenties with

someone of the opposite sex, have babies, take over the household duties and still keep up with

advancement of their professional careers. I saw a completely different picture of the family life,

gender roles and division of labor in the United States. Most of the females choose to get married

in their thirties, after they established their career and achieved financial independence and

stability. Females as well as males are free to choose their partner regardless of their sex

orientation without being judged by the community. This fact proves the idea that society has

different expectations from the women as well as men. The societal expectations may contribute

how it’s members shape their understandings of sex and gender.

Another observation that I would like to outline in this context is how previous

expectations imposed by family and society play a role in people’s life even if they no longer are

members of that society. For instance, I got married when I was twenty three years old. My

husband was born and raised in Russia, so we share similar values, even though now we both

live in a different society where strict standards of family relationship are no longer a stereotyped

requirement. Even though at the time we got married I was still in school, we decided to have a

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child, and graduate later from school. Maybe if we were to be raised in the United States, we still

wouldn’t be married, or at least we waited to get married after I would have graduated. I believe

that this example outlines the fact that parents and relatives still have enormous influence in our

life, no matter if they uphold the standards of a different society than we currently do. Some

could argue that people change, and once they are living in a different environment, they no

longer care what their parents thought them in childhood. Still, my experience along with

personal prospective on marriage and division of household duties didn’t suddenly change even

though I live in a society where there are different stereotype of a family image.

In my opinion, sex and gender are interpreted differently across the cultures, and the

expectations of the society vary. The body politic of different countries constructs the

interpretation of sex and gender through its socio-economic and legal systems. Moreover, the

perception of gender and sex in different cultures affects how people view the expectations of

marriage and gender roles.