His twin brother who had the exact genetic make up grew up as a boy because he was treated like one. Since the mind is born with a tabula rasa, the person will learn from what others teach him and from experience. The boy was taught that he was a girl so hem came to believe it, just as we are taught the definitions of sex and gender by our parents, peers, teachers, etc. .
Because gender is a socially constructed ideal it must be taught to us and not innate. It seems pointless for one to argue that the definition of sex comes from what nature gave us. The definition is clearly related to the dimorphism in humans. Gender on the other hand is taught to one. In society we have preconceived ideas of what males and females should act like. This is what gender basically is. To take an example from the current world; in countries like Pakistan men are clearly more dominant than women. However, in countries like America men and women are seen as pretty close to equal. The men born into the cultures of countries like Pakistan are not born with a different gene than men in America that makes them dominate over women. The males in Pakistan are taught by their elders and see through their experiences that women are inferior to them. .
Society's predetermined ideas on the definitions of sex and gender also may be causing people to act certain ways. "He had long, blond hair, and a waitress came up to us and said, "Oh, she's so cute. What a sweetie,?and so on. And I said, "Well, he's actually a boy.The waitress without missing a beat, said, "Tough little guy, huh?"" (Baxter 52) The waitress immediately changed her tone of voice and the way she talked just because she found out that the child was actually a boy. Society's idea that boys must be tough was implanted in her and she is passing that idea on to the boy. A boy must be tough and a girl must be cute. This boy was cute so he must have been a girl. Soc .
