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Gender vs. sex
Gender and sex connote two different characteristics that can be used to describe individuals. “Sex” refers to biological, physiological structures that differentiate males and females; this terms describes chromosomes, organs, and hormones. “Gender,” on the other hand, refers to the culturally conceived differences between people based on their sex. When discussing femininity and masculinity, womanly or manly characteristics, one refers to gender, not sex. Sex has very little variation; gender, between cultures, can vary widely in what it means. Jennifer Fluri defined gender in relation to how it manifests on one’s body based on one’s biological sex definition: “Gender is an expression of the social roles, norms, and expectations that are mapped onto one’s biological body…[but] differences between women and men are not firmly dichotomous” (Oberhauser et al. 2017, 26). Kimmel also argues that there is a power-relations dynamic inherent in current conceptualizations of gender, and these power relations place men as in power above women, and often above other men.

Gender formed by culture
Gender, by definition, is constructed based on cultural understandings and expectations of how men and women should behave. These behaviors become entrenched in individuals due to the influence of culture on daily lives, and the acceptance of gendered norms of behavior are reinforced through performance, or acting in accordance with mainstreamed expectations of one’s gender. Under the concept of performativity, gender becomes the act doing behaviors associated with a particular sex based on cultural norms, and repetition of this performativity results in gender roles becoming normalized social behaviors. Because gender reflects culture, gender norms can shift over time as society and cultures change.

Acts of performativity of gender both result from and reinforce dominant social and political concepts of gendered behaviors. Those who do not perform gender according to dominant gender concepts engage in code-switching. These concepts include how different people experience access to natural resources, space, and place. Feminist geographers recognize that gender roles and norms can include differences in how different genders have different experiences and associations with certain spaces and places: “places...are perceived and experienced differently by different groups of people” based on gender, race, class, and other forms of labels and categories. Patriarchal and heterosexual norms can mean that public places and private spaces can hold entrenched expectations of behavior based on gender and identity which can disadvantage people who enter those spaces while also not conforming to these expectations and norms. Gender can further inform how different groups of people move through such spaces, in a concept called mobility, both in terms of large-scale movements of large groups but also including movement in the patterns of everyday life and responsibilities.

Gender, the environment, and gender mainstreaming
Feminist political ecology (FPE) seeks to question and inform understanding regarding how gender, and other social labels and classifiers, influence how people relate to and interact with the natural environment. In particular, FPE examines how gender roles and power relations influence divisions of labor along gender lines in sectors closely tied to the environment, such as agriculture and subsistence farming, population studies, and family health. FPE research and literature views human-environmental relations as heavily influenced by gender, power relations, and divisions of labor. Recognizing this branch of scholarship and connections between gender roles and natural resource use, development-focused organizations often attempt integrate gender equality goals into development and sustainability projects by paying increased attention to women’s roles in community engagement with the environment. Gender becomes integrated into these environmentally-focused and development-oriented policies, projects, and programs through gender mainstreaming, which further encourages the convergence of women’s issues and gender equality with natural resource protection and development projects.

Cultural gender roles and water
Beginning in the 19th century, water management, access, and technology was considered a masculine domain. In contrast to this culturalized dimension of masculine technological control, water gathering and supply to family units remains primarily a woman’s task in most regions of the world where water gathering is a main chore. This water work is also largely unpaid household work based on patriarchal gender norms dictating that women are the main actors responsible for most tasks involving water, such as laundry, cooking, and child care. Gender norms can negatively affect how men and women access water through such behavior expectations along gender lines--for example, when water collection is a woman’s chore, men who collect water may face discrimination for code-switching and performing perceived women’s work. On the other hand, the same norms often result in women being pressured to collect and use water in an efficient and timely manner, without the advantages of modern technology.