FACT SHEET – SEX AND GENDER

• Sex describes the biological or physical differences between men and women. Men have a penis and testicles and produce sperms. Women have breasts and a vagina and produce eggs.
  
• Gender is the norms, roles and responsibilities given to males and females by society. Older people teach boys and girls how they should behave to become ideal men and women according to the culture.
  
• Sex is physical, while gender is social or cultural e.g. a woman can give birth to children but a man cannot (sex); women can raise children and so can men (gender). Sex is fixed or in-born, but gender can change, it is socially constructed.
  
• Girls and boys are raised differently in different regions of Botswana. The differences are called gender differences because they are based on society’s definition of the difference between men and women, not on the natural differences between female and male biology.
  
• Children learn about gender difference between being a girl and being a boy very early – usually between the ages of 5 and 10. Family members, peers, teachers, church leaders and community leaders are some of the most important people in children’s lives. It is these people who teach children about gender differences.
  
• From an early age, children are taught that boys and girls have different roles e.g. the kind of household chores that girls are expected to do compared to boys. Girls work in the home, e.g. cooking, washing dishes, cleaning, and washing clothes; boys are sent out on errands. Girls do things for boys such as serving food, cleaning up utensils and washing their clothes.
  
• Girls and boys are taught to behave differently. Girls are discouraged from playing rough games such as football, boys from playing with dolls or dressing in girls’ clothes. Boys who do not engage in rough physical games are said to be “sissies”.
  
• Gender difference means girls and boys are expected to respond differently to the same experience. For example, while it is acceptable for girls to cry, crying is seen as a weakness in boys.
• Girls are expected not to talk back or express their opinions but boys are encouraged to speak up. For example, teachers tend to pay more attention to boys in class because they expect more of boys.
  
• Children are often told not to play with the opposite sex, or not to get involved in any activity that will bring them into physical contact with the opposite sex.
  
• These different expectations of boys and girls, men and women, are expressed in slogans such as “Act like a real man”, “Boys should never cry”, and “Girls should behave properly” (e.g. girls should never initiate sex or talk about sex).
• Gender differences in the way girls and boys are raised can have a huge impact on their risk of getting HIV. Young women are at high risk of getting HIV because they are taught, as girls, to obey men. This often means they grow up lacking confidence to make their own decisions about their own lives. Also, young boys and men are sometimes taught it’s okay to abuse women physically or sexually, leaving women more vulnerable to HIV.