Introduction

Gender is a variety of individualities used to distinguish between males and females. Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women. Gender differences appear to exist in communicating. Gender identity is how you feel about and express your gender.

Some examples of gender characteristics are women earn less money than men for similar work. Many more men than women smoke, as female smoking has not traditionally been considered appropriate. Men are allowed to drive cars while women are not. In most of the world, women do more housework than men.

Culture determines gender roles and what is masculine and feminine. Gender includes beliefs, behaviors, and characteristics. How do you act, talk, and behave like a woman or man? Gender refers to society's expectations about how we should think and act as girls and boys, and women and men. Gender identity is how we feel about and express our gender and gender roles — clothing, behavior, and personal appearance.

Gender roles are the way people act, what they do and say, to express being a girl or a boy, a woman or a man. These characteristics are shaped by society. Gender roles vary greatly from one culture to the next, from one ethnic group to the next, and from one social class to another. But every culture has gender roles — they all have expectations for the way women and men, girls and boys, should dress, behave, and look.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender