ABSTRACT
In sociology people make an important distinction between sex and gender. Sex is considered a biological phenomenon; it refers to the physical characteristics that distinguish males from females. Gender is the socially and culturally determined set of traits and behaviors that are expected of men and women in a society. Sociologically, gender categories are held to be socially constructed categories of behavior. That is, in society males are socialized to be "masculine" and females are socialized to be "feminine". One wonders whether in all of New York City there exists such a woman. And if she does, surely some man has gathered her up in marriage already. Historian Joe Dubbert shows that current male stereotypes date back to the original Puritan ethic, which posited faith and work as the keys to salvation. However, by the late nineteenth century, work alone had become the dominant goal of American males and the source of their identity.
