Sex, Gender, and Sexual Orientation

One of the main objectives of this course is for you to examine your ethnic heritage, cultural identity, values, and assumptions and analyze their impact on the provision of culturally competent services; therefore, in each module, you will focus on how a specific component of culture relates to this. In this module, you will focus on sex and gender and discuss the differences between the two.

As you work in the human services delivery sector, you will encounter males and females (both clients and colleagues) who may have different gender identities and different sexual orientations other than your own. In this discussion, you will want to critically think about how sex and gender differences can impact the work equation between a service delivery provider and a service delivery recipient and also between the agency staff members.

Tasks:

Given what you have learned in Module 3 regarding the relationship between sex and gender, post your responses to the following:

Illustrate the difference between the two.

Elaborate on how (or whether) sex and gender impact the work equation between a service delivery provider and a service delivery recipient.

Discuss how sex or gender impacts the work equation between agency staff members. Be specific in your responses and illustrate using examples. Make sure that you support your points using scholarly sources.