Gender: Inherent or Man-made?

I was given the opportunity to teach a breakout session once a week for an Intro to Sociology (110) class at NDSU this Spring. Because I don't even have my bachelor's degree yet (3 days!), the subjects I taught were highly controlled. Recently I was supposed to teach a class on gender.

The definition of gender in my textbook, Sociology in Our Times by Diana Kendall, states "Gender is a human invention, like language, kinship, religion, and technology; like them, gender organizes human social life in culturally patterned ways (p 292)." True: gender organizes society in a specific way. False: gender is a human invention.

Because I do not agree that gender roles are man-made, I had a hard time figuring out how to teach this lecture and stick to the material. I ended up teaching the basic terms for the chapter in about five minutes, and then told them that the topic of "gender roles" is highly debated. I wanted them to know that not everyone thinks gender roles are man-made and that's why things such as homosexuality, same-sex marriages, and so on are such highly debated issues.

I presented the material in the form of an argument, explaining the implications it would have on our society if we "uncreate" gender roles or if we keep gender roles and understand them to be inherent and given to us by our Creator. We ended the class with a debate - whether gender roles are inherent or man-made.

The reason I am sharing this is because of a blog I read this morning by Al Mohler. It's titled "Worldview Test: Can We Do Without 'Male' and 'Female'?" I'd encourage you to read it and start thinking about the issue if you haven't already.

It's hard to maintain a Biblical perspective of gender when our entire culture is doing its best to destroy it. I find thoughts creeping through my own mind at times that are in every way rebellious to who God has called me to be as a woman and a wife. Please, spend some time in Scripture and decide which side of the argument you are going to fight for. If we don't make a conscious effort to live according to Scripture and recognize that God has already established our Gender, then we will find ourselves compromising and slowly we will accept and preach what the World has decided gender should be.