5.2: Dimensions of Gender

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 male, female, and intersex bodies, including both primary sex characteristics (the reproductive system) and secondary sex characteristics (such as breasts and facial hair).                  

Gender is a term that refers to social or cultural distinctions associated with a given sex; it is generally considered to be a socially constructed concept. Sex and gender are important aspects of a person’s identity; however, they do not inform us about a person’s sexual orientation (Rule & Ambady, 2008). Sexual orientation refers to a person’s sexual attraction (or lack thereof) to others and is the topic of the next chapter. Within the context of sexual orientation, sexual attraction refers to a person’s capacity to arouse the sexual interest of another, or, conversely, the sexual interest one person feels toward another.

Sex, gender, and sexual orientation have always been a source of religious and political debate. As such, they have been policed in various ways. Some nations have laws against homosexuality, and enforce choosing from binary gender options  on legal forms of identification, while others have laws protecting same-sex marriages. At a time when there seems to be little agreement among religious and political groups, one must wonder, what is acceptable and who decides?      

The international scientific and medical communities (e.g., World Health Organization, World Medical Association, World Psychiatric Association, Association for Psychological Science) view variations of sex, gender, and sexual orientation as normal. Furthermore, variations of sex and the orientation of sexual behavior occur naturally throughout the animal kingdom. More than 65,000 animal species have intersex individuals, born with either an absence or some combination of male and female reproductive organs, sex hormones, or sex chromosomes (Jarne & Auld, 2006). More than 500 animal species engage in homosexual or bisexual behaviors (Lehrer, 2006). "The standard model of sexual and gender identification states that an individual's sex is solely determined by biological characteristics, as discussed above. Furthermore, gender is determined by the same model, existing on the same male-female binary. This leaves no room for gendered intersex people, instead viewing sex and gender as either male or female. The standard model is largely criticized for being dimorphic. The term intersex, which we first discussed in the chapter 3, defines those with a variation in sex characteristics, including chromosomes, gonads, or genitals that preclude an individual as distinctly assigned as male or female. Being intersex is also more common than most people realize. Anywhere from 1.0 to 1.7% of children are born intersex, providing further evidence that assigned sex falls along a spectrum rather than a binary. Intersex can occur in a variety of ways. “We know today that not just the X and Y chromosomes, but at least 12 others across the human genome govern sex differentiation, and at least 30 genes are involved in sex development" (Giordano, n.d.).

A person may have both ovarian and testicular tissues, unique chromosomal combinations such as XXY, and some intersex individuals may outwardly present with a specific gender’s genitals but their internal hormones and organs do not match (What is intersex?: Definition of Intersexual, n.d.). Due to our culture’s engrained binary system, it is common practice that when intersex babies are born, the doctor and parents will determine the child’s gender, sometimes requiring a surgical procedure, and the possibility of future surgeries as they grow and develop further. There are occasions, however, when a person finds out they’re intersex at the onset of  puberty. Others may go their whole life without realizing they are intersex (What is intersex?: Definition of Intersexual, n.d.). Our need to categorize and make “normal” in regard to the gender binary has been a cause of great harm to those intersexed individuals who were subjected to unnecessary medical intervention and forced gender assignment.

In a majority of societies worldwide, gender is categorized into two separate sides, being either masculine or feminine, is known as the gender binary.  This inaccurate understanding  completely excluding those who are intersex, transgender, androgynous, and so on. Modern scholars such as Anne Fausto-Sterling and Bonnie Spanier criticize the standard binaries of sex and gender, arguing that sex and gender are both fluid concepts that exist along a spectrum, rather than as binaries.

The gender binary, while specific to certain cultures,  is not universal, but rather, a social construction. In some cultures, gender is viewed as fluid. In the past, some anthropologists used the term berdache [also known as, two-spirit] to refer to individuals who occasionally or permanently dressed and lived as a different gender. The practice has been noted among certain Native American tribes (Jacobs, Thomas, and Lang 1997). Samoan culture accepts what Samoans refer to as a “third gender.” Fa’afafine, which translates as “the way of the woman,” is a term used to describe individuals who are born biologically male but embody both masculine and feminine traits. Fa’afafines are considered an important part of Samoan culture. Individuals from other cultures may mislabel them as homosexuals because fa’afafines have a varied sexual life that may include men and women (Poasa 1992). Among the Zapotec peoples of Oaxaca, Mexico, is a recognized third gender called The Muxes (Beyond gender: Indigenous perspectives, Muxe, n.d.). These cultures and many others acknowledge and accept the reality of a third gender; “the gender classification is not based on sexual identity [as in Western societies], but rather on gender identity and spirituality” (Beyond Gender: Indigenous perspectives, Muxe, n.d.).

Gender identity is a person’s internal sense of self as a member of a particular gender. "Individuals who identify with a role that corresponds to the sex assigned to them at birth are cisgender. For example, someone who was born with assigned male sex characteristics, was assigned as a boy, and identify today as a boy or man are classified as cisgender, (or cis for short). Individuals who identify with a role that corresponds with a role that is different from their biological sex are often referred to as transgender. For example, they were born with assigned male characteristics, were assigned as a boy, but today identify as a girl, woman, or another gender are classified as transgender. Transgender people have a gender identity or expression that differs from what they are assigned at birth. The Latin prefix “cis” means “on the same side;” the prefix “trans”" means “across.” The term “transgender” encompasses a wide range of possible identities (see glossary for definitions), including agender, genderfluid, genderqueer, two-spirit (for many indigenous people), androgynous, and many others. Some transgender individuals may undertake a process to change their outward, physical, or sexual characteristics in order for their physical being to better align with their gender identity. Not all transgender individuals choose to alter their bodies;: many will maintain their original anatomy, but may present themselves to society as another gender that aligns with who they are.

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