What is the difference between sex and gender?
Most of today”s generation has grown up with particular principles, with partially simplified views of sex, gender, sexual relations in marriage and sexual relations in marriage as the most important rituals of family life. Today, some people”s views on tolerance may seem like the norm, but to foreigners they are sometimes outdated and offensive.
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In the minds of many people, there are two genders, male and female, which correspond to the two generally accepted sex characteristics — male and female. However, the development and rise in popularity of the transgender community has shown that understanding sexual and gender categories is much more complex than it might seem.
What is “gender” really?
It is generally accepted that there are two genders — male and female. However, we should not forget about the fact that some people represent the sexual community with impaired physical sexual development. Today, many biological studies explain that the concept of “gender” may be much more complex than what is described by the traditional binary system of male-female.
Genitals
Some people believe that a person”s genitals determine their gender. Men have a member (penis), and women have a vagina. However, this generally accepted fact excludes some intersex and transgender people who are reluctant to undergo genital surgery for fear of certain complications caused by such major surgery. Thus, a person who is assigned a female name in Trans Male Birth but chooses to identify as a man has a vagina but still identifies as a man.
Chromosomes
In biology classes at school, students were taught that those with the XX chromosome are women and those with the XY chromosome are men. However, this point does not affect people associated with the sexual community. Sexual communities may have different chromosome configurations and other differences in sex ratios and sexual characteristics.
The above scientific facts do not apply to transgender people, who may have chromosomes that are not “related” to their sex. Therefore, a transgender woman remains a woman even if she has an XY chromosome.
Primary sexual characteristics
There is a tendency to associate estrogen dominance with femaleness, and testosterone dominance with maleness (it is important to understand that each person has both of these hormones). However, in practice, estradiol (the primary form of estrogen) plays a decisive role in the development of sexual function. It plays a significant role in sexual arousal and desire, sperm production, and erectile function. And although hormone therapy is offered to many transgender people, trans men who do not rely on this medical treatment are still human.
Secondary sexual characteristics
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Many secondary sexual characteristics are easily identified because they are often used for quick gender classification. However, secondary sexual characteristics often vary greatly, regardless of whether someone identifies with the sex they were assigned at birth. Consider, for example, facial hair. Some people born female have facial hair, while others, born male, have no facial hair at all.
What is gender?
As mentioned earlier, in many people”s minds, there are only two genders: male and female. Those born male are male, and those born female are female. There is no such thing.
However, gender is not an “either one or the other” scenario. It is a vast array of knowledge, myths, scientific research, and exploration, complemented by social development, expanded thinking, and tolerance. Although most people in our society identify as men or women, some are beginning to identify as non-binary, transgender, bigender, intersex, and so on (the list is truly vast, and as the transgender community evolves, it only expands worldwide).
Gender personality characteristics
It is common to distinguish three main gender traits: femininity, masculinity, and bisexuality.
- Femininity is a set of internal and external traits, properties and characteristics that are objectively inherent in women.
- Masculinity is a set of internal and external traits, properties and characteristics that are objectively inherent in men.
- Hermaphroditism is a combination of both male and female characteristics. Modern society pays special attention to correct gender education, including the destruction of negative and harmful attitudes. For example, boys may cry and girls may use dominant and leading qualities.
What is gender identity?
Gender identity is your personal understanding of gender and how you want the world to perceive you.
When communicating with a man who is suspected of being cisgender, it is important to understand that he needs to be treated as a man. This means using the correct address and the correct pronouns (he, his). Such a respectful tone implies recognition of his freedom.
What is gender expression?
As with gender identity, there are many nuances of gender expression that require attention. Many people associate women with the normal understanding of character traits such as “femininity” and men with “masculinity.” For example, in Western culture, categories of female character traits include being unusually caring for others, emotional vulnerability, and “submissive” behavior. Secondly, masculine characteristics correspond to the generally accepted concept of the term “protective”. However, since most of us have both masculine and feminine traits, cisgender women can be identified as women with strong masculine traits.
Gender and sexual orientation
Sexual orientation has little to do with a person”s gender identity. Anyone can call themselves heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual.
The connection between sex and gender
As mentioned above, the concepts of “gender” and “sex” are very closely related, and many people believe that in theory they mean the same thing. However, this is not true.
People who are part of the transgender or intersex community may not identify with their gender at birth because, for whatever reason, they do not feel like they belong. Therefore, it can be said that sex and gender are completely socially constructed concepts, with the latter complementing and expanding the boundaries of the development and spread of the transgender community throughout the world. It is important to understand that each person determines his own gender. And the best decision that a person who does not understand such an important psychological factor can make is to treat it with respect, sensitivity and care.
