Gender refers to the attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with a person.
Gender is a social construct, humans made it up! Globally, there are hundreds of cultures with multiple gender identities. You can learn more with help from this Gender Unicorn
Here is a video that may increase your understanding – Expressing Myself, My Way
So what does sex mean in Biology?
Your textbook says a biological female is XX and a biological male is XY. In reality, there is a lot of biological variation! Remember, Biology also covers more than humans, these genes exist in many life forms.
Some factors we use to describe biological sex:
- Sex chromosomes
- Hormone production
- Sexual organs
- Production of eggs, sperm or variations of those
Here are some ways these genetic variations express. Looks more complex than just two options, right?
https://www.scientificamerican.com/store/books/the-new-science-of-sex-and-gender/
Here is a link to help your understanding of using pronouns:
Would you like to learn more?
Groups with support material
Definitional References
- http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/content/two-spirits_map-html/
- www.who.int/genomics/gender/en/index1.html
- newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/male-or-female
- www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/talking-apes/201611/when-sex-and-gender-don-t-match
- www.scientificamerican.com/article/beyond-xx-and-xy-the-extraordinary-complexity-of-sex-determination
- www.nature.com/news/sex-redefined-1.16943
Here is a Laney bathroom map so you can find one that you feel comfortable using and a link to our college’s working group, the Lavender Project.
Here is this information as PPT slides: Gender-Sex Slides
Need to change the name listed in Passport? Here’s how: Preferred Name Guidelines
