ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses that how gender is constructed and presents the forms and extent of gender inequality and addresses how these inequalities are maintained. It considers the state of gender inequality in the United States and draws some comparisons with other countries. The chapter discusses wealth and income, symbolic and cultural resources, and gender-based violence. Transgender people experience incongruency between the gender they were assigned at birth and that with which they identify. In the case of gender, an essentialist would say that men and women are different from birth, not only physically but also in terms of temperament. Social constructionists point to the fact that there are a number of countries around the world that recognize more than two sexes and/or genders. One important part of the transition from one gender to another is gaining legal recognition for the new status. Genderqueer people bend the rules associated with masculinity and femininity, refusing to conform to the gender binary.
