Concept

Gender Identity

HE A LTH EDUC A TION H E A L T H 1 0 0 V E R S I O N 3 / Sex and Gender

"A person’s sex, as determined by biology, does not always correspond with their gender; therefore, the terms “sex” and “gender” are not interchangeable. “Gender” refers to social or cultural distinctions associated with being male, female, or intersex. Typically, babies born with male sex characteristics are assigned as boys, while babies born with female sex characteristics are assigned as girls. Because society operates in a binary system when it comes to gender, many children who are born intersex are forcibly assigned as either a boy or a girl and even surgically “corrected” to fit a particular gender. Scholars generally regard gender as a social construct, meaning that it is a concept created by cultural and societal norms. Gender identity is a person’s sense of self as a member of a particular gender. Individuals who identify with a role that corresponds to the sex assigned to them at birth are cisgender. Those who identify with a role that is different from their biological sex are often referred to as transgender. The term “transgender” encompasses a wide range of possible identities, including agender, genderfluid, genderqueer, two-spirit, androgynous, and many others. Modern scholars such as Anne Fausto-Sterling and Bonnie Spanier criticize the standard binaries of sex and gender, arguing that sex and gender are both fluid concepts that exist along a spectrum rather than as binaries."

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Gender Identity | HE A LTH EDUC A TION H E A L T H 1 0 0 V E R S I O N 3 | Bifalgorithm | Bifalgorithm