Since this is a hot topic in the LGBT+ Community, I wanted to discuss it here as well. The difference between sex and gender and how it became such a big talking point for transphobes, and why the transphobes are wrong.
Firstly, what is sex and what is gender.
Sex[ seks ]
noun
• the male, female, or intersex division of a species, especially as differentiated with reference to the reproductive functions.
• a male, female, or intersex label assigned to a person at birth.
• the sum of the structural and functional differences by which male, female, and intersex organisms are distinguished, or the phenomena or behavior dependent on these differences:
Gender[ jen-der ]
noun
either the male or female division of a species, especially as differentiated by social and cultural roles and behavior
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.
Intersex[en•tur•seks]
the condition (such as that occurring in congenital adrenal hyperplasia or androgen insensitivity syndrome) of either having both male and female gonadal tissue in one individual or of having the gonads of one sex and external genitalia that is of the other sex or is ambiguous • [to be both male and female or neither]
When talking about one's sex in terms of biology, we are speaking about the chromosomes, genitalia, and bodily hair that alligns with others of the same sex.
When talking about one's gender we are talking about a social construct human's forced upon themselves. Gender alligns with gender roles within a society.
Quote: "There is a difference between "sex" and "gender." Sex is "biological" while gender is "psychological," "social," or "cultural." A person's gender can be different from a person's sex. Gender is thus "socially constructed" in the sense that, unlike biological sex, gender is a product of society. If society determines what is masculine or feminine, then society can change what is considered masculine, feminine, or anything in between." • Psychology Today
Sources: Dictionary.com, The Meriam Webster, Psychology Today, Lumen: Introduction to Sociology
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