Gender is a fundamental aspect of personal and social identity and a biological, psychological, and cultural category of paramount importance for people everywhere. In addition, gender is often a criterion for social stratification and different political treatment, as well as a favored symbol for expressing values and beliefs. Gender studies offers students an opportunity for focused study of such varied issues, in both contemporary and past societies, as human reproduction, gender roles in the family and society, the psychology of identity, sexual orientation, and representations of women and men in literature, music, and art.