“Society determines the roles of male and female.” This statement articulates –

Concept: Sociology distinguishes between sex and gender. Sex is the set of biological, chromosomal, and anatomical characteristics a person is born with -- it is inherent and hereditary. Gender is the set of roles, behaviours, and expectations attached to being male or female; unlike sex, gender is not fixed by biology but is built and assigned by a society through its norms, upbringing, and institutions -- this is the idea of gender as a social construct.

Application: The statement "society determines the roles of male and female" names society -- not biology, heredity, or instinct -- as the source of these roles. That is exactly the claim that gender is socially constructed: the roles are learned and reinforced through family, education, and culture rather than existing as a built-in trait.

Contrast with the other options, by value:

• Gender as an inherent construct would mean the roles exist within the individual from birth, independent of any outside shaping -- the opposite of a role that society determines.

• Gender as a hereditary endowment would mean the roles are passed down genetically from parent to offspring -- but the statement names society, not genetic inheritance, as the source.

• Gender as an intuitive construct would mean the roles are grasped instinctively, without any external teaching -- but the statement points to society as an active, external determinant, not instinct.

Result: Because the statement attributes the origin of male and female roles to society rather than to biology, heredity, or instinct, it articulates gender as a social construct.