Sexual dimorphism: Innate or acquired? A reinterpretation of biological differences

Abstract

This text argues that the dimorphic interpretation of biological differences in the human species results from an androcentric reading of bodies that have characterized modern science. In contrast to this perspective, the article shows how social practices associated with gender roles can produce biological differences that “adjust” themselves to a dimorphic reading. Based on these facts, we propose that if correlations between genitality and biological differences exists, they are not caused by the processes of sexual differentiation, but by statistical links given by normative gender stereotypes. The behaviors implied in such stereotypes are expressed biologically, and gender roles create many of the biological differences currently assumed as innate and sexually dimorphic.