Reflective Essay On Human Sexuality

Anth 569/HMSX 567
Cross-cultural Sex and Gender

Sheila R. Tully, Lecturer
Prepared by:
Diana Polyakov, SFSU Student
Reflective Essay
In the course of this semester I’ve shaped my understandings of sex and gender through
readings of diverse articles as well as movies and discussions presented in class. Moreover, the
cross cultural aspect of sex and gender allowed me to make connections to my previous beliefs
about gender and human sexuality. For the purpose of this essay I would like to explore how in
my understanding women and men in different cultures perceive their genders and sexuality and
how does this affect the division of labor and the making of marriages and families.
I was born and raised in Eastern Europe, in a traditional family where religious values
play a huge role in children’s education. Ever since I was a little girl, I was dressed up in pink
dresses, thought to be feminine, was asked to always help with cooking and housework. Even
though now I have a different understanding of gender roles and human sexuality, I still admire
some aspects of how my parents raised me. I came to the United States in my early twenties, as a
transfer student. Coming from a conservative society into the most liberal city on the planet, I
started to view the gender and human sexuality in more depth and detail. My previous
understandings that females are different from males only biologically have emerged. I was able
to understand that we are socialized into gendered roles and practices that shape our
understandings of who we are. A great example that will support the above statement is the
experiences of Marcus Arana, the guest speaker that was invited during one of the “Cross-
cultural Sex and Gender” class. After hearing his amazing life story, I was trying to make
connections about how he would be perceived by a different audience of students in the
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community where I was raised. I have to acknowledge that unfortunately he might have a
different experience among students in Eastern Europe. The reason why, is that socialized gender
roles as well as the perception of sexual identity in Eastern Europe is shaped differently by
family, community and government. So, gender roles and sexuality is classified by the society in
such a way, that it conforms to the traditional standards. Unfortunately, any deviation from the
standards is viewed as a problem, and is not welcomed by the society. Moreover, men and
women are imposed specific roles and duties that they should follow. For example, boys are
expected to complete the military training before they get married and girls are expected to have
good grades in school so, they could pursue their education and graduate as early as possible.
Indeed, in that society the females are expected to get married in their twenties with
someone of the opposite sex, have babies, take over the household duties and still keep up with
advancement of their professional careers. I saw a completely different picture of the family life,
gender roles and division of labor in the United States. Most of the females choose to get married
in their thirties, after they established their career and achieved financial independence and
stability. Females as well as males are free to choose their partner regardless of their sex
orientation without being judged by the community. This fact proves the idea that society has
different expectations from the women as well as men. The societal expectations may contribute
how it’s members shape their understandings of sex and gender.
Another observation that I would like to outline in this context is how previous
expectations imposed by family and society play a role in people’s life even if they no longer are
members of that society. For instance, I got married when I was twenty three years old. My
husband was born and raised in Russia, so we share similar values, even though now we both
live in a different society where strict standards of family relationship are no longer a stereotyped
requirement. Even though at the time we got married I was still in school, we decided to have a
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child, and graduate later from school. Maybe if we were to be raised in the United States, we still
wouldn’t be married, or at least we waited to get married after I would have graduated. I believe
that this example outlines the fact that parents and relatives still have enormous influence in our
life, no matter if they uphold the standards of a different society than we currently do. Some
could argue that people change, and once they are living in a different environment, they no
longer care what their parents thought them in childhood. Still, my experience along with
personal prospective on marriage and division of household duties didn’t suddenly change even
though I live in a society where there are different stereotype of a family image.
In my opinion, sex and gender are interpreted differently across the cultures, and the
expectations of the society vary. The body politic of different countries constructs the
interpretation of sex and gender through its socio-economic and legal systems. Moreover, the
perception of gender and sex in different cultures affects how people view the expectations of
marriage and gender roles.

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Anth 569/HMSX 567

Cross-cultural Sex and Gender

connections about how he would be perceived by a different audience of students in the

how it’s members shape their understandings of sex and gender.

marriage and gender roles.

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