biological sex, gender, and gender identity... what?!?

How do you define gender? How do you define biological sex? What is gender identity? What are the differences?

It is okay if you do not know if there even is a difference. I wanted to write this post to shed some light on the topic. These topics can be complicated but it is important to remain respectful and kind. Biological sex and gender may be connected but it does not mean that they are the same thing.

Through a dictionary definition, gender is defined as either the male or female division of a species, especially as differentiated by social and cultural roles and behavior" and " a similar category of human beings that is outside the male/female binary classification and is based on the individual's personal awareness or identity. " The most important takeaway here is that gender is differentiated through social and cultural roles.

And for biological sex, it refers to everything biological. It is what you are assigned to at birth based on chromosomes and genitals you may have.

The definition of gender has meant different things in different cultures. Gender identity is what individuals choose to identify as. What they choose to identify has can fall on a spectrum. Respecting someone's gender identity can provide a much safer society for everyone and that includes children who are also exploring their gender identity.

From the scholarly article titled "Violence motivated by perception of sexual orientation and gender identity: a systematic review", gender identity is defined as " a person’s deeply felt internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at birth. It includes both the personal sense of the body – which may involve, if freely chosen, modification of bodily appearance or function by medical, surgical or other means – as well as other expressions of gender, including dress, speech and mannerisms". This is the best definition for gender identity as it addresses what occurs at birth and then the rest of an individual's life.

The image that goes along with this post is a graphic titled The Gender Unicorn. This graphic also defines what biological sex is and what gender identity is. It is also goes into sexual orientation which is a separate topic with a different definition. The graphic is easy to understand and does a good job at describing each tier.

Nothing about gender identity is rigid or fixed. Everyone should be allowed to express what the identity as without compromising their safety. Be kind and respect each other's pronouns and identities.

Graphic by Landyn Pan and Anna Moore