Being a Man

For many sociologists, the terms ‘man’ and ‘woman’ are biological terms to describe the sex of a person whilst the terms ‘male’ and ‘female’ are social constructions, i.e., they are concepts that have changed over time depending on the social and cultural context.

The sociology of gender focuses on the concepts highlighted above and also the construction and meaning applied to other terms such as ‘masculinity’ and ‘femininity’. Robert Webb, the star of the Channel 4 show ‘Peep Show’ explores the concept of masculinity further in his new book, ‘How Not to be a Man’ and the following Channel 4 News piece discusses the book and traditional views of being a man.

This could be a useful video to help introduce the distinctions between sex and gender for Year 1 students and as an extension activity to extend students learning about these concepts.   

• Peep Show star Robert Webb: don't say 'man up'