Pick three of the disciplines involved in the study of sex and gender. Briefly explain the perspectives and levels of analysis for the three you select and provide an example of the types of research people from this discipline may conduct.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Possible fields that students might identify include psychology, sociology, anthropology, biology, history, epidemiology, and gender studies. Psychologists examine how sex and gender norms shape individual thoughts, feelings, and behavior; sociologists examine how sex and gender are constructed within specific social and historical contexts; and anthropologists examine the roles of sex and gender in the development of human societies across cultures and time. Biologists might examine the genetic and physiological factors that contribute to sex-related outcomes at the level of cells and organisms, epidemiologists might study how the incidence of disease and health outcomes differs across sex or sexual orientation within a population, and historians might analyze how meanings of sex and gender have changed across eras. Gender studies are interdisciplinary by design, drawing on content and methods from multiple disciplines to understand the complexity of gendered identities and social systems.