Man, Woman, and Other: The Fluidity of Sex and Gender

The symbolic interactionist perspective has held that identity is fluid and in part based on how individuals or groups believe that they are perceived by others. We frequently discuss the creation of identity when considering race, ethnicity, nationality, etc; however, we seem to have only recently confronted the fluidity of sex and gender head on.

The discussion of sex and gender continues across the globe and in virtually every community, with different perspectives, attitudes, requirements, and levels of acceptance and practice created. In reviewing Allah Made Us: Sexual Outlaws in an Islamic African City, Sheilah F. Clarke-Ekong notes:

So we move 6,000 miles and find additional support, according to Gaudio, for the argument "that gender, sexuality, and other identities should be seen as practices rather than essences, as things people do (doing the deed) rather than things people are. The idea that identity is practiced, or performed encourages us to think about identities as fluid and variable, neither static nor fixed" (p. 65).

What does it mean to be a "real man" if your behaviors signal feminine to others?

As the preeminent behavioral discipline, have we as psychologists held the discussions and developed the evidence that allows us to speak on these issues with confidence? What is our role in assisting the public in understanding and accepting the fluidity of these constructs, as well as other constructed identities of the societies in which we live?

Read the Review

The Dynamics of Identity and Maleness in an African City
By Sheilah F. Clarke-Ekong
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2010 Vol 55(3)