The Meaning of "Gender"

It is time again to visit the website of the Pontifical Council for the Laity to read the January-February updates to the Women’s Section: http://www.laici.va/content/laici/en/sezioni/donna.html.

The Editorial Theme is “Christian Experience and Women.” 

Be sure to read the article, “Don’t Say Gender When You Mean Sex,” by Dale O’Leary.  Whether or not you have pondered the use of the word “gender,” there are interesting and informative insights offered as well as a “Suggested Lexicon.” 

But concern about the evolving definition of “gender” is not new.  At the 1995 United Nations’ Fourth World Conference on Women, Professor Mary Ann Glendon, head of the Holy See's Delegation, stated the Holy See's reservations on a variety of topics related to sexuality and “reproductive health/reproductive rights” as well as interpreting the term "gender".

Statement of Interpretation of the Term “Gender” by the Holy See Delegation –

Beijing, 15 September 1995

 

In accepting that the word "gender" in this document is to be understood according to ordinary usage in the United Nations context, the Holy See associates itself with the common meaning of that word, in languages where it exists.

The term "gender" is understood by the Holy See as grounded in biological sexual identity, male or female. Furthermore, the Platform for Action itself (cf. N. 193, c) clearly uses the term "both genders".

The Holy See thus excludes dubious interpretations based on world - views which assert that sexual identity can be adapted indefinitely to suit new and different purposes.

It also dissociates itself from the biological determinist notion that all the roles and relations of the two sexes are fixed in a single, static pattern.

Pope John Paul insists on the distinctiveness and complementarity of women and men. At the same time, he has applauded the assumption of new roles by women, stressed the degree to which cultural conditioning has been an obstacle to women's progress, and exhorted men to assist in the "the great process of women's liberation" (Letter to Women, n. 6).

In his recent Letter to Women the Pope explained the Church's nuanced view in the following way: "One can also appreciate that the presence of a certain diversity of roles is in no way prejudicial to women, provided that this diversity is not the result of an arbitrary imposition, but is rather an expression of what is specific to being male and female" (n. 11).

 

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See also the Statement of the Holy See Delegation at the 63rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly on the Declaration on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/2008/documents/rc_seg-st_20081218_statement-sexual-orientation_en.html

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Another notable resource is the Pontifical Council for the Family’s Lexicon of Ambiguous and Debatable Terms regarding Family Life and Ethical Questions (Human Life International, 2006).

 

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