Lumen Learning

When filling out a document such as a job application or school registration form, you are often asked to provide your name, address, phone number, birth date, and sex or gender. But have you ever been asked to provide your sex and your gender? Like most people, you may not have realized that sex and gender are not the same. However, sociologists and most other social scientists view them as conceptually distinct. Sex refers to physical or physiological differences between males and females, including both primary sex characteristics (the reproductive system) and secondary characteristics such as height and muscularity. Gender refers to socially constructed status characteristics (traditionally woman or man) which often correlate to being female or male. Gender roles refer to expected behaviors attributed to those labeled as women (feminine) or men (masculine).

A person’s sex, as determined by their biology, does not always correspond with their gender. Therefore, the terms sex and gender are not interchangeable. A baby who is born with male genitalia will most likely be identified as male. As a child or adult, however, they may identify with the feminine aspects of culture. Since the term sex refers to biological or physical distinctions, characteristics of sex will not vary significantly between different human societies. Generally, persons of the female sex, regardless of culture, will eventually menstruate and develop breasts that can lactate. Characteristics of gender, on the other hand, may vary greatly between different societies. For example, in U.S. culture, it is considered feminine to wear a dress or skirt. However, in many Middle Eastern, Asian, and African cultures, sarongs, robes, or gowns are considered masculine. The kilt worn by a Scottish man does not make him appear feminine in that culture.

Sex

A baby boy who is born with male genitalia will be identified as male. Since the term sex refers to biological or physical distinctions, characteristics of sex do not vary significantly between different human societies. Males have a penis, testes, and XY chromosomes. During puberty, most males will experience changes in testicle, scrotum, and penis size and color, as well as voice dropping, and underarm, leg, and facial hair growth. Generally, persons of the female sex have a vagina, ovaries, and XX chromosomes. During puberty, most females will menstruate, develop breasts that can lactate, and grow vaginal, underarm, and leg hair. Both sexes might experience increased sweating, acne, and mood changes, among other biological changes, during puberty.

Males typically have XY sex chromosomes, and females XX. These chromosomes trigger the development of the sex steroids, of which testosterone is found in higher levels in males and estradiol in higher levels in females.

Intersex refers to a combination of primary sex characteristics, an umbrella term that can describe any individual who doesn’t fit binary sexual distinctions. It can also be referred to as Differences of Sexual Development (DSD). Intersex or DSD individuals were once called hermaphrodites, a term that is no longer used. According to the Human Rights Watch, approximately 1.7 percent of babies are born with chromosomes, gonads, internal or external sex organs that are atypical. Some of these are apparent at birth and others do not show themselves until puberty, and irreversible surgeries can cause infertility, pain, loss of sensation, and, more importantly, can take away an individual’s choice when they are performed on children.^[1]

Gender

Gender is deeply cultural. Like race, it is a social construction with real consequences, particularly for those who do not conform to gender binaries. In order to describe gender as a concept, we need to expand the language we use to describe gender roles beyond “masculine” or “feminine.” Gender identity, or the way that one thinks about gender and self-identifies, can be woman, man, or genderqueer.

Those who identify with the sex they were assigned at birth are often referred to as cisgender, utilizing the Latin prefix “cis,” which means “on the same side.” (The prefix “trans” means “across.”) Because they are in the majority many cisgender people do not self-identify as such. As with transgender people, the term or usage of cisgender does not indicate a person’s sexual orientation, gender, or gender expression (TSER 2021). And as many societies are heteronormative, they are also cisnormative, which is the assumption or expectation that everyone is cisgender, and that anything other than cisgender is not normal.

Transgender is a term used to describe people whose sense of personal identity does not correspond with their birth sex. Gender expression, or how one demonstrates gender (based on traditional gender role norms related to clothing, behavior, and interactions) can be feminine, masculine, androgynous, or somewhere along a spectrum.

Gender Identity

Gender Expression

U.S. society allows for some level of flexibility when it comes to acting out gender roles or gender expression. To a certain extent, men can assume some feminine roles and women can assume some masculine roles without interfering with their gender identity. In most cases, the gender identity remains cisgender although the gender expression might be more fluid.