Abstract
Webster’s defines gender as the classification of animate beings and inanimate things as masculine, feminine, or neuter. When used as a concept that guides how we perceive and study sexuality, gender becomes nebulous: To some, gender is defined in terms of behavior, whereas others regard gender as indicative of chromosome constitution. However, gender is an anthropocentric psychological construct that has little meaning when dealing with nonhuman organisms. In such investigations clarity and precision of definitions of sexuality are paramount. This essay demonstrates that sexuality is not a unitary phenomenon, but rather a multifaceted composite of different sexes that may or may not be concordant. The essay further suggests that the components of sexuality be considered in terms of complementary mechanisms and outcomes.
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This paper is dedicated to the memory of Frank A. Beach. The research reported here was supported in part by Grant MH41770 and by National Institutes of Mental Health Research Scientist Award 00135 to the author.
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Crews, D. The problem with gender. Psychobiology 16, 321–334 (1988). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03327330
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03327330