Compassion and Contrast Essay

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Compassion and Contrast Essay

McDermott and Hatemi introduces the importance of distinguishing between sex and gender in terms of biological and cultural factors as a way to minimize discrimination and diffusion stereotypes, misconstructions, and imposed social roles. In their article Distinguishing Sex and Gender, McDermott and Hatemi understands that despite the importance of distinguishing this two concepts for the sake of public policy choices, many scholars do not adequately tell the difference be it by theory or methodology. Jennifer Tseng in her article Sex, Gender, and Why the Differences Matter states that the two terms are not synonyms and states that Gender sex is defined using physical characteristics while gender includes psychological self-perceptions, societal expectations, and attitudes. This paper does a comparative rhetorical analysis of the two articles introduced in this paragraph.

In their article, McDermott and Hatemi set the stage by referencing the words of Kristen Monroe from the committee of the Status of Women in Profession who reviews this particular article. She acknowledges the controversy surrounding the topic and like Jennifer Tseng implies that the discussion will go on for years with one group arguing that not all gender issues are socialized (McDermott & Hatemi). The authors are supported against criticism of attempting to be essentialists without respecting individuality by their use of empirical evidence to examine the difference as opposed to assuming concordance.

The article addresses these important matters with absolute integrity and serious scholarship and throughout the piece, the authors rely on credible sources to boost their credibility and appeal to ethos in the construction of their argument. One such source is Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of identity, a book by Judith Butler discussing the origin or foundation of this argument-feminism. Like profession and ethical scholars, the authors credibility is increased by citing these sources with incredible insight suggesting that they did their homework before embarking on making the assumptions and conclusions they do in this article.

The logical progression of ideas in this article represents a proper use of logos. The authors progressively review literature from various disciplines to discuss methods or ways scientists might benefit by considering both biological distinctions and cultural factors in regard to the distinction between gender and sex. They discuss the concept of gender a demographic construct, gender categorization that entails the idea of gender roles in relations to masculine and feminine traits before discussing the various ways of measuring gender. There is no statistical logical support of any of the claims because numbers are not applicable in this particular review.

Because of the professional construction of this article, they authors do not appeal to pathos much. They rely on facts and academic constructions throughout. One would expect the introduction of pathos when discussing gay people but the authors choose logic instead. About gay relationships and how they contribute to this narrative, the article suggests that many people are becoming open to the idea and redefining gender roles because of increased understanding of the innate sources of sexuality.

Compared to Distinguishing Sex and Gender, Jennifer Tseng does not use the same level of professionalism on her article Sex, Gender, and Why the Differences Matter. There is not much insistence on credible sources as the article relies only on two from accomplished figures in the field nevertheless. It appears that most of the information in the article appears to be the opinion of the author whose ethos in this case is supported by her level of education and a probable wealth of information on the topic.

The article, however, appeals to logos using real life scenarios that the reader can relate. A good example is when she mentions that an obvious representation of aspects of sex and gender is when a patient makes a request for a male physician or a female one (Tseng). She relies on Muhammad Waseem and Aaron Miller to explain the logic reasons behind this kind of behavior and the explanation for the preference of a certain gender to be their care provider in a hospital setting.

The two articles take different paths in distinguishing sex and gender. Jennifer Tseng discusses the importance of defining these concepts in the study and practice of medicine. McDermott and Hatemi on the other hand discuss this topic and its relevance to political science. Jennifer Tseng, however, acknowledges that sex and gender differences do not only play a role in the field of medicine but also extends to legal, philosophical, humanities, and political realms.

Works Cited

McDermott, Rose, and Peter K. Hatemi. “Distinguishing sex and gender.” PS: Political Science & Politics 44.1 (2011): 89-92.

Tseng, Jennifer. “Sex, Gender, and Why the Differences Matter.” AMA Journal of Ethics 10.7 (2008): 427-428.