Biological Determinism is centred around the premise that biology is the sole determinant of who we are as a person, based on whether we are male or female and the characteristics that each of the sexes possess. The term biological determinism buys into the idea that certain behaviours are justified and there is little that we can do to change what biology has predestined for us.
Is natural biology intended to be our societal destiny? Biological Determinism certainly supports stereotypes and oversimplification of women and men as having their realms in both the private and public sphere that are best suited for them based on their sex. For example, occupations and career paths such as nursing and jobs that involve women embracing their "natural" abilities for nurturing and communication are seen as being the norm. Albeit, men are also placed into categories that are seen to employ their natural masculine capabilities, such as occupations in technology, mechanics, building and other "manly" career choices. .
What biological determinism seems to ignore is the fact that human behaviour is shaped by the environment in which we live. Although biological differences do exist, the importance is how culture in turn interprets these differences, as Ann Oakley, a proponent of the distinction, agrees that gender differences indeed have their source in culture, not nature. .
Social, cultural and psychological aspects of being either male or female is the essence of gender itself, and it is human nurturing rather than biological nature that is the key determinant of gender identities. This idea is certainly made evident in Simone de Beauvoir's famously declaration "Women are not born, but made" . This is where the significance of biological determinism relates so closely to the study of gender. It is gender-role socialisation that is more important in creating "masculine" men and "feminine" women than any genetic traits men and women might possess.
