Activity #5 - Gender Aptitude Test

Kate Bornstein, the author of My Gender Workbook, questions the social association between gender and sex along with the possible realms of gender orientation. Bornstein separates gender from sex; gender is the categorization of people based on appearance, genitalia, psychology, and societal roles. Sex is purely the act. She further explains that there are four main aspects to gender: assignment, role, identity, and attribution. Assignment is the societal designation of male or female. This is usually determined by genitalia present at birth. Gender role is the cultural expectations for the gender assignment. Identity is what the individual feels they are at the moment or should be. Attribution is how we determine others to be based on preconceived ideas.

Based on the reading I wasn’t surprised by the aptitude test. The questions were designed to make the taker wonder about their assumptions, especially those that connect sex to gender. It also really called gender identity into focus and separated it from gender assignment. I was evaluated as a “gender novice”, basically new to the questioning of one’s own identity and the role of identities in society. I think the test is great at having people questions their beliefs and to have people think about the norm that has been established in their minds through culture. Having it be multiple choice limited the responses though. Often times I didn’t really relate to any of the options for a certain question. I wanted room to explain myself; if gender is really a spectrum or circle, then having us choose between only four possibilities doesn’t really correlate with that idea. With that being said I also agreed with my results. Through this class and especially the articles for this assignment, I have just started to question my gender identity in sense that I do not match the mythical feminine norm nor do I want to. I think the test was very interesting and thought provoking in the world of gender.