SGO: Sex and Gender

Sex is the biological definition of whether a person is male, female, or somewhere in between.

Gender is a culture's idea of what a person should act like depending on their sex.

In a continuation school, the cultural ideas of gender solidify themselves more than ever. Since it is such a small school, anyone found in the minority is usually alone. Thus, the majority of students choose to align themselves with the social construct.
For the boys, it is important to dress in a masculine fashion, but also in a way that appeals to girls. It is also important to demonstrate one's ability to fight or at least one's ability to hold onto one's pride. Lastly, it is important to establish a sense of daring, or one's willingness to break the rules, no matter how minor.
Failure to fulfill these roles results in a loss of masculinity. In some cases the students may go as far as to tease the student, calling them a "poser" or even worse (their words, not mine) a "pussy".
For girls, the situation is similar when it comes to clothing. It is important that girls dress femininely, and stylishly, in a way that appeals to boys. Girls also need to demonstrate a sense of daring or a willingness to break the rules. In some circles it is important for a girl to demonstrate her ability to fight, but in all circles it is important that a girl hold on to her pride even through bouts of high school drama.
Failure to fulfill these roles results in a loss of friendship, and status.

In some cases, such a dichotomy can prove to be very useful. It allows the students a clear template for fitting in, which is one of the most important goals for a high school student. On the other hand, this dichotomy can simply prove stressful and restrain a person to one narrow set of roles.

Sex does not influence as much as gender. Cultural influence, particularly the influence of peers can dictate a person's actions far more easily then biological influence. In some cases our actions are carried out under cultural pressures, regardless of what our natural impulse might be. The same tends to hold true when it comes to sex and gender. In the end, biology, in this case sex, tends to win over, but, at least temporarily, we are capable of lying to ourselves and others in order to fit easily into a social construct.