With ✨everything✨ going on in the world right now, I thought it was time I used my knowledge and my platform to help educate the public on the difference between sex and gender, and the diversity in each of these entities. [I’ll also be writing more blog posts regarding things like vaccines, and whatever else comes up in the news that I feel confident speaking on]

I often find that people’s fear or confusion regarding sex and gender comes down to a lack of understanding…and that is okay! The reality is, our education system does not really teach us these things, and so it makes sense why many people may not know or understand something like the differences between sex and gender, and how amazingly diverse each of these things truly are. Unfortunately, it is our own duty to educate ourselves. And that’s what this blogpost is for! To help educate the public and make this information more accessible and understandable. What is not okay is denying someone’s existence without even really understanding it yourself. The world needs a lot more kindness, a lot more empathy, and a lot more understanding. And so I kindly request you read this post with an open mind and an open heart and simply try to understand. And if you have questions, ask!!! I am more than happy to continue these discussions or direct you to resources that may help better answer your questions.

The overarching goal of this blogpost is to help you understand: Neither sex nor gender exists in a binary.

What is sex? And how is it different from gender? As someone who works in the reproductive field, discussions of the difference between sex and gender often occur at the start of seminar presentations, to ensure that everybody in the room is on the same page. And, I’ll be honest, it was not until I was in college that I even really began to understand the difference between sex and gender. And it was not until my 300-level (“upperclassmen”) genetics course that I even learned that “sex” is so much more complex than male vs. female or XY chromosomes vs. XX chromosomes. And so if this is your first time learning this…you are probably not alone!! Keep reading, I hope you do learn something from this 🙂

Generally, when we use the term “sex” we are referring to the biological attributes, including genetic chromosomes (XX, XY…spoiler: there are more combinations!!), external genitalia (penis, vagina), internal organs (testes, ovaries), hormone levels (testosterone, estradiol), and more. In contrast, when we use the term “gender” we are referring to the socially-constructed roles, behaviors, and expressions of how people perceive themselves and others – these are the terms woman, man, non-binary, gender-fluid, and transgender (and possibly more). Gender can be influenced by culture – while in the United States we have only recently begun to be more aware of more genders and transgender folks, they have always existed here. And, gender fluidity exists in many other cultures across the globe too! In Indigenous culture, there were people considered “two-spirit” who simultaneously contained a masculine spirit and a feminine spirit, and these people were often revered in their tribes and had ceremonial roles. Note, “two spirit” is the English interpretation, and thus likely lacks the deeper understanding and cultural context originally used by Native tribes (we could take a deep dive into the Western erasure of Indigenous culture…but that is for a different day!). Other Indigenous tribes recognized four to five gender identities, including one called, “nádleehi” which means changing one. In the Philippines, prior to colonization, the Tagalog language used gender-neutral pronouns, and their Spanish colonizers even noted the presence of “men who lived as women,” indicating gender fluidity and a diversity of gender expression. In South Asian culture there is a community of people called “Hijra,” some of whom identify as transgender, though many do not. There are many examples of the expression of more than just two genders in so many cultures across so many continents, countries, and tribes. The list, truly, goes on.

I am not a social scientist or anthropologist, and so while I have done a lot to educate myself on the diverse gender identities that exist, I am nowhere near an expert and so this will not be the focus of my blogpost. I will share that when I first knowingly met a transgender person, my first reaction was confusion – I had never heard of someone existing outside of the binary (man vs. woman), but I never denied the possibility or reality that that was what or who this person was. I stayed up really late that evening after meeting this person reading up on what it meant to be transgender. I’ve since read books, both fiction and non-fiction regarding gender (highly recommend “This Is How It Always Is” by Laurie Frankel and “Tomorrow Will Be Different” by Sarah McBride, found on my Reading List page). And in educating myself, I have learned of the beautiful diversity that exists, both in the United States and in so many other cultures too. I encourage anyone who is confused by gender identities to turn this confusion into action and education – the world is so much more beautiful than a bunch of 0s and 1s (that’s binary code, and a very nerdy joke, lol).

The focus of this blogpost will be on the diversity of sex, as this is where my expertise comes in (B.S. in Molecular Biology, currently working towards my Ph.D. in Toxicology conducting reproductive toxicology research, and avid reader of biology and reproduction – AKA huge nerd). Additionally, I feel like people are even less familiar with the diversity of sex than they are about the diversity of gender. And because some people argue that there can “only be two genders because there are only two sexes” – I am here to deny that claim by showing you there are more than two sexes. Sex is not binary. (And even if sex was binary – it’s not – that does not mean gender, a social construct, has to be too).

So, just to reiterate, sex is often thought of as: male vs. female, XX vs. XY, penis vs. vagina, ovaries vs. testes. But it’s actually not this simple. 

See, what I love about science, biology, and physiology is that the more you learn, the more you realize, nothing is really that simple. And that, I think, is what makes it so cool to study.

Little aside, in undergraduate I was part of a Christian women’s organization (I now identify as “spiritual”) and there was a vote by the organization to say who was a woman, and thus who could be a part of this organization…already some red flags for me, because shouldn’t we want to be an open and loving organization? Anyway, it was ultimately decided that someone with “XX” chromosomes was a woman and could be in this organization.

…as a biologist, I hated this decision and decided to leave the organization because I thought not only was this a hateful and exclusive decision, but also, inaccurate. I am a cis-woman. I have a vagina, I have my period so I have to assume I have ovaries, eggs, fallopian tubes and all those other internal organs associated with growing a fetus, but…I don’t actually know for sure that I have XX chromosomes. I’ve never been karyotyped; a process by which your chromosomes, which carry your genetic information, are visualized. And I knew the organization was not going to pay for every person to be karyotyped…so I just thought it was a ridiculous ruling to make.

Ok, back to sex. Generally, a person with XX chromosomes is considered female and a person with XY chromosomes is considered male. But, as I mentioned earlier, there are more combinations than just these two. People can also be XXY, XYY, X0 (meaning only one X chromosome), XXX, and I’m sure there are even more than this!! These are from your nuclear DNA (meaning the DNA stored in the nucleus of your cells), but there is also mitochondrial DNA (meaning DNA stored in the mitochondria of your cells…it is different, less understood, and I’m not going to discuss it because TBH I am still learning about it). XXY karyotype is often referred to as “Klinefelter syndrome,” a relatively common chromosomal disorder affecting about 1 in 500 to 1 in 1000 “male” births. Symptoms can be subtle, and many people do not realize they are affected. However, symptoms may include small testes, infertility, low testosterone, breast development, increased risk of osteoporosis, and more. XXY is more rare, and is often called “Jacobs syndrome.” Similarly, the symptoms can vary among individuals and be as subtle as being slightly taller than average or having acne during adolescence, to more severe things like learning disabilities, motor tics, seizures, or asthma. People with Jacobs syndrome do not have issues with fertility or reduced lifespan. X0, where a person has only one X chromosome, is often referred to as “Turner syndrome” occurring in 1 in 2,000 to 1 in 2,500 “female” births. People with Turner syndrome are often shorter than average, have delayed puberty and may not develop secondary sex characteristics (i.e. breasts), and may have underdeveloped or entirely absent ovaries leading to infertility. In reading to write this blogpost, I learned about Swyer syndrome, in which a person has XY karyotype, but their testes do not develop properly – the person often presents “female” with female external genitalia (i.e. vagina) but does not go through puberty. Similarly, though still different, there is androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS), in which a person is unable to respond to androgens (often referred to as “male hormones” – though we all have them). A person with AIS will exhibit “female”-like physical characteristics (vagina, breasts, etc.), but does not have a uterus or cervix, and rather has testes. A person with AIS is also XY. There is also “XX male syndrome” where a person is XX, but develops “male” genitalia (penis, testes). This is a small list of many, and we continue to learn more.

All this to say, sex is so much more complicated than male vs. female or vagina vs. penis. What would you call a person who is XY, appears female, has a vagina, and testes?

May I state, perhaps it doesn’t matter what you would call them? But rather, what they would call themselves (we will allow input from a health professional that is highly knowledgeable in the field and empathetic and open to other peoples’ existence too).

Nothing in this world is black and white. We exist in the grey. Life is complex, and that is what makes life so beautiful. Everything I’ve learned in my science classes has made me even more amazed that life exists. 

It can be scary to not understand something, especially when you’ve lived a majority of your life thinking things were one way, and then learning later that it’s not so simple after all. Humans love to categorize things, and it’s okay if those categories change over time! I encourage everyone to not be scared – ask questions!! There is so much out there to be learned. And our diversity is what makes us so beautiful and unique. It would be so boring if we were all the same.

And, simply, don’t deny someone’s existence – listen to them. Have empathy. And treat people with kindness. You might learn something you didn’t know.

Some Resources:
https://outrightinternational.org/gender-diversity
https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/genetic-mechanisms-of-sex-determination-314/
https://www.chop.edu/conditions-diseases/klinefelter-syndrome#:~:text=Klinefelter%20syndrome%20affects%201%20in,the%20most%20common%20chromosomal%20disorders.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/16324-intersex
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/gender-identity/sex-gender-identity/whats-intersex