Sex Vs Gender : A person is their biological manifestation, with birth often identified with reproductive organs.
‘Sex’ is often referred to as the anatomy of one’s the reproductive system and the manifestation of their secondary reproductive characters. Simultaneously, ‘gender’ is the social role that a person adopts based on their sex or internal awareness that might differ from their sex. When a person’s sex and gender might not align, the person could be ‘transgender.’ A person is called an ‘intersex’ when their biological sex characteristics complicate sex assignment. On the other hand, when a person’s gender and personal identity correspond to their birth sex, they are called ‘cisgender.’
From birth, the manifestation of reproductive organs helps a person identify their sex, thus making ‘sex’ an inborn attribute. However, during life, a person slowly recognizes their identity through experiences, intuitive actions, and knowledge. The gender of a person is their personal choice and individuality. Historically people used the terms’ sex’ and ‘gender’ interchangeably, but with development, people made a clear distinction between the meaning and usage of both these terms. Sex is ‘the classification of people as male and female’ based on bodily characteristics but, gender is ‘internal, personal sense of being a man or a woman’ as quoted by GLAAD (formerly the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation).
The sexual orientation of a person links with their sex and gender. Sexual orientation refers to who a person finds romantically, emotionally and sexually attractive. According to low societal standards, it is often taken as default that it is natural for a person to be attracted to their opposite-sex, which is a myth. Every person is free to express their true identities.
Suppose we classify the sexes of humans biologically. In that case, they are ‘male,’‘ female,’ or ‘intersex.’ Still chromosomal anomalies can lead to genetic sequences like X, XXY, XXXY, and XYY, which results in the different external and internal manifestation of the person. When we classify gender, we mainly use terms like ‘nonbinary’, ‘transgender’, ‘agender’, ‘bigender,’ and ‘cisgender’. ‘Nonbinary’ is a term for people whose gender identities do not align with the man-woman binary, whereas ‘bigender’ indicates that a person identifies both as man and woman at varying points. As the name suggests, ‘agender’ refers to the people who do not identify with any gender.
When trying to analyze this basic concept of sex and gender, it’s often seen that people identified as cisgender are accepted by society, being the most common and stereotypical sexual identity. It is essential to treat everyone with respect, and that is done by taking every person for who they are and what they have chosen to be. The simple showcase of respect, which is using the right pronouns for a person, is known as self-awareness and depiction of good conscience. For example, nonbinary people usually prefer gender-neutral pronouns like ‘they/them.’
The gap between sex and gender continues to be more prominent as people become self-aware with time. It is up to an individual to choose their gender identity and sex, adding to other attributes that make a person unique. The responsibility of every person is to be aware of the ideas of sex and gender, respect other’s gender identity, and treat everyone with sensitivity and care.
