The first decade of this millennium witnessed a dramatic awakening regarding gender roles that had a marked impact on gender roles. As Wharton puts it, “the study of gender has become one of the most important trends in sociology in the 20th century” (1). This emergence gave rise to numerous theories on gender issues, which in turn "propelled the sociological study of gender from the margins to become one of the central elements of the discipline" (Wharton 2). Although each group is uniquely structured within a category-based societal whole, the colossal development of gender research makes it clear that all social interactions and institutions of human progress are biased in one way or another. 'another in the case of gender (Wharton 2). The Oxford Dictionary defines the word gender as "to be a man or a woman." He also explains the term as "members of either sex" ("gender"). However, both of the above-mentioned uses of the term gender seem too simple, as the word gender appears to have a deeper meaning than simply referring to the biological differences between male and female. The World Health Organization explains gender as “the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women.” In sociology, the term gender refers to the differences suggested by society while categorizing human beings as masculine. and feminine. Therefore, gender is not biological, but depends on how people perceive the roles of men and women. A role is an “overall pattern of socially recognized behavior, providing a means of identifying and placing an individual in a society” (“role”). Roles are performed along social lines... middle of paper ... then after writing Dance Like a Man, I was ready to tackle the issue of gender head on, and I think it was a powerful metaphor. Again, you know, the play is misinterpreted and, you know, people tend to focus on the medical details, but that's really not what the play is about. It is a metaphor for being born equal as man and woman and sharing so much more. Surgical separation also results in cultural distinction and prejudice, but on another level it could also relate to the individual having the male and female self... He also comments that "I see Tara as a play on the male self and the female self... female. The masculine self being preferred (if one wants to subscribe to the conventional categories of masculine traits and feminine traits) in all cultures. The play is about separation from the self and reluctant anguish (Subramanyam 129).