The term gender can roughly be translated as the social role relating to sex. Notions of what is typically masculine and feminine also depend in part on societal socialisation (see Social Construction). Most men behave in different ways masculinely; most women in different ways femininely. There is a certain variability that is separate from biological sex (e.g., “masculine woman”, “feminine men”).
The question of what shapes gender is controversial. The woke view of gender is largely based on the work of the queer theorist Judith Butler.176 In gender theory, classical binary gender roles are regarded as problematic constructions because they allegedly maintain social inequalities (see Cis-Normativity). All gender differences are viewed from a woke perspective as expressions of societal power structures (see Patriarchy and Inequality). All gender differences are to be eliminated for the ideological goal of equality (so-called “gender mainstreaming”).177
Evolutionary-psychological or hormonal explanations for different gender behaviour are strictly rejected by gender theorists. For Butler, gender is merely “performed”, i.e., imitated. The enemy image of gender theory is biological essentialism, which claims that gender roles are solely biologically grounded. In the biologically essentialist view, there is no meaningful distinction between biological sex and social behaviour.
In reality, the truth probably lies somewhere in between: gender is likely influenced by both biology and socialisation and other factors. While socialisation is crucial for the social handling of gender roles, these gender roles themselves may at least partly be the result of biological differences between men and women.