Gender is the socially constructed hierarchy of masculine & feminine, based (speciously) on biological sex, in order to maintain men's

access to women's bodies & labor Human born female

Parents expected to respond to babys biological female sex through display & enforcement of FEMININE GENDER. Signaling sex through language: feminine names, feminine pronouns (There are some unisex names. But we generally dont name girls John or David.) Feminine toysToys related to childcare, food preparation, fashion etc.

Human born male

Parents expected to respond to babys biological male sex through display & enforcement of MASCULINE GENDER. Signaling sex through language: masculine names, masculine pronouns (There are some unisex names. But we generally dont name boys Sarah or Rebecca.) Masculine toysToys related to sports, military, building things etc.

Notes
People dont know how to talk to or about babies unless they know what genitals the babies have. Sex-based pronouns mean we cant talk about anyone without knowing their genitalia. And because gender is a hierarchy with the masculine over the feminine, gendered language also carries social weight. And then there are the gender imbalances in family media. (Keep in mind that JK Rowling was asked to use her initials because boys would be biased against a book written by a woman.)

Signaling sex visually(actual genitalia hidden) Color: pink Traditional clothing: dress/skirt Other ways to signal sex: flowers, frills Long hair, makeup, jewelry Facial and body hair must be groomed/bleached/waxed etc. Acceptable feminine presentation has expanded to include more menswear style. However, women are still generally expected to groom intensely before presenting to the public. Visible cleavage and high heels are encouraged for sex appeal. Stereotypical Feminine Qualities: +quiet +obedient +empathetic +selfless [submissive]

Signaling sex visually(actual genitalia hidden) Color: blue Traditional clothing: pants Other ways to signal sex: sports or military themes, ties Short hair, no makeup, no or little jewelry Facial hair negotiable, body hair inoffensive/sign of virility Boys/men will be bullied, possibly attacked for feminine presentation Children of either sex may wear clothes with cute animal themes, as long as the animals on boys clothing do not have long eyelashes or red lips.

There is nothing inherently male or female (or indeed, historically & crossculturally speaking, consistent in re. gender) about any colors, patterns, fabrics, accessories or hair styles. (In fact, pink used to be for boys! High heels used to be for men!) Close proximity to the color pink will not cause gonads to shrivel, nor will camouflage trousers cause ovaries to shrivel. Putting a dress on a male body will not instantly render that man homosexual (NTTAWWT) nor female. Abhorrence of male bodies in feminine garb demonstrates the misogyny inherent in gender. A child of either sex may naturally embody any of these qualities. Gender = expecting/accepting/ encouraging/rewarding -or conversely ignoring/discouraging/punishingqualities, based on sex.

Stereotypical Masculine Qualities: +boisterous +active +confident +aggressive [dominant]

Stereotypical Feminine Interests: Fashion Romance Gossip (social networks) Language

Stereotypical Masculine Interests: Sports Guns Cars Math & Science

A child of either sex may naturally develop any of these interests. Gender = expecting/accepting/ encouraging/rewarding -or conversely ignoring/discouraging/punishinginterests, based on sex. A child of either sex may naturally develop/take pride in any of these traits. Gender = expecting/accepting/ encouraging/rewarding -or conversely ignoring/discouraging/punishing- traits, based on sex.

Stereotypical compliments for girls: Pretty. Sweet.

Stereotypical compliments for boys: Smart. Strong.

Stereotypical aspirations for girls: Physical beauty, desirability Relationships, babies

Stereotypical aspirations for boys: Independence, power Career, wealth

A child of either sex may naturally aspire to any of these things. Gender = expecting/accepting/ encouraging/rewarding -or conversely ignoring/discouraging/punishingaspirations, based on sex.

Stereotypical family role: Take care of children Take care of home Take care of husbands emotional, psychological and sexual needs

Stereotypical family role: Earn money to support family Defend safety of family

In reality most women with families have to work outside the home for wages while their work in the home is taken for granted. (Double Shift)

Female and male humans must be differentiated, starting from birth, in a myriad of ways that are speciously linked to biology so that 1) they can begin training within their families for their unequal social positions and 2) humans outside the family will know their sex and thus be able to treat them accordingly. Female hormones (supposedly) make women "too emotional," so our *analyses* of this situation couldn't possibly be true BTW. </sarcasm> Read up on Irritable Male Syndrome. Male hormones (supposedly) make men naturally aggressive," which is meant (along with their larger size and greater upper body strength) to justify their social dominance, but testosterone is also used to frame male violence as not only excusable but inevitable. [A white supremacist culture, however, will hypocritically treat any violence committed by men of color as inexcusable, as it is a threat to dominance along color lines.] Of course, the role of testosterone in behavior is more complicated than mere cause-and-effect, and is mediated by social structures. Furthermore, the hunter-gatherer societies to whom armchair evolutionary psychiatrists love to refer were in reality peaceful and egalitarian. Also, (shockingly!) weve yet to hear anyone in a prominent position of power offer up mass castration as a cure for what is arguably our greatest social ill, which is male violence. Anyhoo. Because women are (supposedly) weak, emotional, submissive, incapable of figuring things out or building things, we (supposedly) must find men to 1) defend us (from other men, who are naturally aggressive - what a convenient protection racket) and 2) provide for our material needs. Of course, women are actually quite capable of taking care of ourselves. Women of the lower classes have always worked, including in physically demanding jobs. And there's nothing in our "nature" to prevent women from organizing ourselves, or

training with size-equalizing weaponry (not to mention simple crotch-punching). This is why we must be socialized into submissiveness and dependency from birth. Because we (supposedly) must find men to defend and provide for us, we must advertise ourselves for male attention, and then build a bond through emotional, domestic and sexual service, and not break that bond by being uppity. Because we (supposedly) must always maintain our value to men in order to be safe, we must always view ourselves through the "male gaze" instead of our own. And because we must remain appealing to men and because men are (supposedly) naturally aggressive we might well be raped and that will just be the way of the world. Because females already do the work of growing a fetus, birthing a baby, and breastfeeding an infant, we are ALSO (supposedly) responsible for all the other work associated with child-rearing (one might think it more sensible to DIVVY LABOR). In the face of this massive inequality of labor in keeping our species alive , of course, children are to bear the names of their fathers, or in the absence of a father, bear the label of "illegitimate." And women of fertile age are to be considered a burden on employers, who in fact require the continuation of our species for their future workforce. But nevermind that, women love this shit, don't you know we're born to wipe poo from asses not our own?!? Don't you know that the continuation of the human species is just silly women liking cute babies so of course they should do all the work of child-rearing FOR FREE? By the by, studies have shown that male mammals who are involved in parental care also experience hormonal changes. Does it occur to anyone else that these hormones are simply natures way of prepping parents for the sleepless nights full of crying, shitty diapers and vomit everywhere? That the bond these chemicals create is simply meant to stop us throwing infants out windows? Im not a scientist, but I strongly suspect this is the case. And, of course, in the face of the massive power to grow another human being inside ourselves, we are also supposed to swallow (har) the ludicrous idea of penis envy, perhaps the most brazen reversal in all of patriarchy. But again, because females are (supposedly) *naturally* empathetic and other-oriented, we're supposed to take all this on the chin and just revel in the challenge of it. Just rescue the hell out of everyone with our loooove. Because that is what we were born for.

Only by invisiblizing the emotional, domestic, sexual and reproductive labor performed by women for men - by deeming it "our nature" can men uphold their deluded self-image as "independent." In reality we have a world where women are kept dependent upon men and so must serve them; but we are sold a story in which women are delicate flowers whom men are kind enough to support, a falsehood sold to little girls as princess stories, showcased so intensely in the pink toy aisle, right next to all the miniaturized plasticized tools of household drudgery, the un-ironic juxtaposition of pampered royalty (how we will describe you) with servant class (how you will actually live). (This kind of blatant reversal is a common tool of white supremacist patriarchy, and can also be seen when women of color who, whether they cannot find work or else work their asses off for low wages, live in poverty but are described as "welfare queens.")
If this isnt clear from the above, gender isnt a binary of equals, it is a hierarchy. For millennia wom en were the legal property of men. Millions of female humans are still subject to female genital mutilation, child marriage, bride burning and trafficking, not to mention constant street harassment, online misogyny, daily reminders that males are people and females are other, unequal political representation, discrimination in families, schools and workplaces, a persistent wage gap, legislative attacks on bodily autonomy, impossible beauty standards, pornification masquerading as empowerment, sexist medical care, physical intimidation and physical violence -- all of which tend to worsen along other axes of oppression such as race and class and all of which are meant to keep us in our (supposed) place.