From an early age, children are taught the basics: letters of the alphabet, standard colors on the color wheel, happy from sad, and girl from boy. As a result of this distinction between boy and girl, there are often numerous socialization events that occur throughout a child's life. Whether consciously or not, the interactions a child has with other individuals, and even with their environment, pose new and reinforcing indications of the idea that their sex is culturally linked to specific gender characteristics. That said, it's important to realize that many cannot come to terms with the idea that biological sex is completely independent of gender identity. A multitude of gender roles are socialized into thousands of cultures around the world, often without establishing an open dialogue for members of the population. One point that remains true is the fact that differences exist between an individual's sex and gender, and often these dynamics can manifest in social issues, such as female genital mutilation. Without a doubt, many truly believe that one's biological identity is sex is invariably linked to specific gender characteristics, as if these qualities were encoded in the X and Y chromosomes. The failure to consider gender characteristics as distinct from biological sex is rooted in the fact that from birth a child is socialized into the gender role matched to his or her biological sex. Of course, these gender roles may differ from culture to culture, but what remains constant is the initial process of socializing a child into a restrictive gender role depending on whether they are male or female. Crespi (2014) delves into this phenomenon by explaining that gender polarization has segmented men and women...... half of the document...... Having said this, it is important to note that, although there are clear social benefits to FGM, there are no health benefits associated with the practice. In fact, there are serious health complications associated with FGM. Shock, hemorrhage, and even death are frequent consequences of cutting. Even if a girl's genital scars heal and the procedure is successful, FGM can still cause serious psychological harm to the girl once she grows up. Unfortunately, female genital mutilation has become ingrained in the lives of millions of women as part of their cultural gender identity. FGM is a problem in thousands of societies today, forcing women to mutilate their bodies in order to be accepted into a society that strictly regulates their cultural gender. As for their male colleagues, they do not have the same expectations.