Sex and Gender Sex = male and female Gender = masculine and feminine Sex refers to biological differences; chromosomes, hormonal profiles, internal and external sex organs. “Gender” refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women. Gender describes the characteristics that a society or culture delineates as masculine or feminine. So while your sex as male or female is a biological fact that is the same in any culture, what that sex means in terms of your gender role as a 'man' or a 'woman' in society can be quite different cross culturally. In sociological terms 'gender role' refers to the characteristics and behaviours that different cultures attribute to the sexes. What it means to be a 'real man' in any culture requires male sex plus what our various cultures define as masculine characteristics and behaviours, likewise a 'real woman' needs female sex and feminine characteristics. To summarise: 'man' = male sex+ masculine social role  (a 'real man', 'masculine' or 'manly') 'woman' = female sex + feminine social role (a 'real woman', 'feminine' or 'womanly')