I started teaching the Multiculturalism and Gender (or “Sociocultural Diversity” or “Culture and Gender”) unit last week, so I've been thinking hard about how to improve my coverage of these topics lately. This is a unit that's already evolved heavily over my years of teaching psychology, probably more than any other. I know many psych teachers avoid it because it's daunting and can lead to uncomfortable conversations, but that's also what makes it one of my favorites. And students seem to really enjoy it!
I tend to teach it as two mini units: culture, then gender. Even though there's tons of overlap and acknowledging intersectionality is important, these are big topics and each need their own space.
When it comes to starting the gender portion, I like to start with the title of this email: What's the difference between sex and gender?
Colloquially, we often use the words interchangeably. For one example, parents-to-be throw gender reveal parties when they're actually sharing the sex of the baby…probably because throwing a sex reveal party sounds like a whole different thing! But in all seriousness, these two words mean very different things and sometimes broaching difficult topics can be made easier by starting with simple definitions and distinctions.
Specifically, the distinction that sex is biological and gender is psychological.
Sex: biological categories that are typically distinguished by genes, chromosomes, and hormones
Gender: socially constructed ideas about behavior, actions, and roles of a particular sex
Try starting your first gender lesson by asking your students this question (What's the difference between sex and gender?) and see what comes up. How knowledgable are they about gender? Do any misconceptions reveal themselves? What are they curious about in terms of sex and gender?
Then share the definitions above (these are also in my Sociocultural Diversity and Gender presentation slides). This simple distinction can help students grasp the psychological complexity of gender and spark deeper questions and discussions that can make this unit one of their favorites (and yours!).
Find resources and lots more to help with teaching this unit under the Sociocultural Diversity and Gender category in The Adventurous Classroom store.
How do you help students understand gender? Share in the comments!
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