Sex is generally a term that denotes anatomy and other biological considerations like chromosomes and hormones. Gender is generally a term that denotes appearance, behavior, roles and identity. Many people consider there to be two sexes and two genders û male and female. However, the either/or perspective toward sex and gender is much more complex, something demonstrated when examining transgenderism, sexuality, and gender on a deeper level. As Nangeroni (1) argues, ôSimply put, sex is polarity of anatomy, gender is polarity of appearance and behavior,ö but when one gains familiarity with transgenderism ôthese definitions quickly break down.ö
Sexual orientation equates to which sex an individual is romantically or sexually attracted to, such as heterosexual (opposite sex), homosexual (same sex), or bisexual (both sexes). Gender identity is more of a social perception of the self by the individual, encompassing a view of the self as a male, a female, or a combination of the two. In some cases individuals may not view themselves as either male or female, thereby seeing themselves ôandrogynouslyö in their social relating (Nangeroni 1). Sexual identity is the physical view one maintains of the self, a view that encompasses males, females, and transsexual or transgender. According to Nichols (1) transgendered individuals are those individuals ôwhose gender identity or gender expression contrast with traditional social norms and expectations for their sex.ö
Individuals who are intersexed and people who are transsexual confound the notion of there being only two sexes, male and female. Likewise, gender is expressed in countless ways across a range of signals from dress and body language to conversational style and hairstyles. Quite often the either/or conception of sex and gender stems from long-established social norms that construct either a ômaleö or ôfemaleö notion of sex and gender. This is true even though ...