The Gender Talk

Gender is an ongoing topic and debate in todays society. Some people might be too afraid of being offensive or controversial by talking about it. But today I will be giving some facts into what gender is and the importance of it, along with my opinion on it as well. 

Many argue that gender is a social construct and that it has absolutely nothing to do with our sex at birth. In my opinion I believe that gender is determined from our biological sex at birth. I believe that our Heavenly Father created us with purpose and intent, and that our genders were assigned to us for a reason. I agree with The Family: A Proclamation to the World, where it states, "Gender is an essential characteristic of individual pre-mortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose." I believe that our genders have a very great influence on the way that we act and interpret the world. Again, many people believe that gender is a social construct, and that it has nothing to do with the way of our instincts and the way that we act. I would like to share some facts and opinions on why I believe that is not the case though. 

When we look at brand new, newborn babies, we can already start to see some differences between male and female babies. Some examples of this is that female newborns stare long into people's faces, and when they do this they tend to move their mouths a lot, as if they were trying to communicate. When we look at male newborns, we notice that they are much more easier startled compared to female newborns. We also see that female children tend to be more social. An example of this is that when girls are playing, they tend to group together and include each other in their play. They tend to be more cooperative in the way that they play. Compared to boys, they tend to play more by themselves, and they play more in a competitive way, rather than working with one another. I find this really interesting because I am even able to see it in my adult life as well. I can see that women tend to group together, and we tend to be more socially inclined compared to men who are usually much less social and commutative with others. Another tendency in boys and men is that they are more aggressive than women are. We can see it in the way little boys play together, usually playing games with guns, war, or fighting each other. In men we see that they tend to be the protectors and provide security for the family. Compared to girls we see that they are much more gentle and nurturing. When girls play, they are more gentle in their play, and they tend to play things like dolls and house. This can be seen carried into adulthood as mothers tend to be the care and nurture their children. I believe that God provided us with these amazing qualities in each gender, to be able to take the qualities into our homes, to be able to raise our own children. The natural desire to protect from the male, and the natural desire to nurture can combine perfectly to be able to create an equal balance in the home. 

Although there are people who don't believe gender is the same as sex, and who don't see the importance of gender, it is hard to deny the study that has found major differences between the male and female brain.  I think it is so amazing to look at and see the different qualities in a male and a female, and to know that God put a lot of thought into it. I believe that God gave us our genders for a reason, and I am so grateful to have the knowledge of why He did as well.