Logical Reasoning

PT21 · S3 · Q10 The term “sex” and “gender” are

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The term “sex” and “gender” are often used interchangeably.

Conclusion (implicit)

"Sex" and "Gender" should not be used interchangeably.

Evidence

Sex = biological differences between male/female Gender = society's construction of what qualities are masculine / feminine.

Sex sorts people into two nonoverlapping groups (those with a Y-chromosome, and those without), whereas gender doesn't sort cleanly into groups. You could have some combo of masculine and feminine traits.

Evaluate

The question stem here is not a typical "Find the Conclusion". It curiously says to find "a" main point.

In general, when LSAT has used the term main point rather than main conclusion, it has meant that we can / should think a little more holistically.

It has sometimes meant that they're testing an implied conclusion. It has sometimes provided us with a correct answer that actually summarizes the Conclusion and Premise.

Since the conclusion on normal Main Conclusion questions is typically found in the first sentence or as part of a rebuttal, it makes sense to slow down and place a lot of emphasis on the "But" that begins the second sentence.

Is there a point of view before the "But" that the author could be rebutting?

Yes, it seems. The behavior of using "sex" and "gender" interchangeably seems to be something the author is pushing back against, so we can write our own implied conclusion that the author is saying "don't do that".

Goal

Even though I would consider the main conclusion, I would stay very flexible in thinking about these answers since the question stem asked "what's a main point", not "what's the main point".

10.

Which one of the following statements best expresses a main point of the argument?

  1. Distinctions based on gender are

    Overstretch: arbitrary

    The author identifies that gender is a societal construction (not a natural, biological one). We might add our own thinking that, "If it's just something society made up, then surely it's pretty arbitrary". But the author never used any terms like that, so we should avoid inserting new wording into this conversation.

    10% picked this

  2. Gender traits are not determined

    Not a Main Point

    It would be very weird for the main point to only be talking about gender, since the argument was about sex vs. gender. The author has never said or implied that gender traits are not determined at birth. Society determines what is masculine and feminine, and some of those traits that society has defined by gender might already be present in someone from birth.

    5% picked this

  3. Masculine gender traits are highly

    Too Narrow / Opposite

    It would be strange for a main point to not be about gender and sex, since the paragraph deals with both. And given that the author is trying to show us the difference between the two, it would be weird for a main point to emphasize a case in which gender and sex are highly aligned / correlated.

    1% picked this

  4. Correct

    The terms “sex” and “gender”

    Why this is right

    This is the implied Rebuttal conclusion. When an LSAT author presents a point of view and then pivots with a "But / yet / however", they frequently do so by saying something explicit, like - but they're wrong - however, they have overlooked something important But even when they don't, we still hear that pivot word as creating an implicit "I disagree" sentiment. And in this case, disagreeing with the first sentence seemed to be the purpose of everything that followed. So even though the author never explicitly said, "Thus, they're not interchangeable", that is the logical force of all her premises.

    Skill tested: Main Conclusion · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

    83% picked this

  5. Society rather than the individual

    Out of Scope: proper behavior

    This seems miles off, as it doesn't reference sex or gender, which is the main focus of the paragraph. We never talked about what society deems "proper". If this were saying, "What society deems proper for a boy or for a girl" then it would start to become somewhat more relevant, but it doesn't say anything relating to sex, gender, male, female, masculine, feminine.

    1% picked this

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