By Jeremiah Ancheta

Sex and Gender as Identical

Many people believe that ‘gender’ is simply another word for ‘sex.’ As such, to say that one is male is identical to saying that one is a man, and to say that one is female is identical to saying that one is a woman.

Additionally, it is believed that whether a person is a woman/man (and thus whether that person is female/male) is based on biological features. The main features that are said to determine whether one is a man/woman are typically one’s chromosomes and sex organs. Women are people with XX sex chromosomes and have vaginas; men are people with XY sex chromosomes and have penises.

These coupled beliefs are typically held by those who deny the existence and identity of transgender people. For instance, Maya Forstater, a researcher who worked for the Center for Global Development, has previously tweeted “… male people are not women. I dont think being a woman/female is a matter of identity or womanly feelings. It is biology.” For more on Forstater and her involvement in J.K. Rowling’s transphobia, see Cloud Dancer’s previous post on the matter.

Sex and Gender as Distinct

In contrast to the idea that gender is simply synonymous with sex, or that one’s gender is identical to one’s sex, many feminists believe that sex and gender are distinct. From the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy article ‘Feminist Perspectives on Sex and Gender,’ the distinction is characterized as follows:

Provisionally: ‘sex’ denotes human females and males depending on biological features (chromosomes, sex organs, hormones and other physical features); ‘gender’ denotes women and men depending on social factors (social role, position, behaviour or identity). 

The idea is that ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ refer to two different phenomena – the former referring to a biological phenomenon and the latter to a latter phenomenon. Since they refer to different phenomena, then it does not make sense to say that they are identical. 

Unlike the idea that sex and gender are identical, this distinction between sex and gender is able to explain and account for the existence and identity of transgender and non-binary people – those whose gender identity does not align with the sex they were assigned at birth. 

What exactly does it mean to say that one’s gender identity does not “align” with one’s sex assigned at birth? It’s helpful to understand this idea by first understanding what makes someone cisgender – when one’s gender identity does align with their sex at birth.

Typically, cisgender people are characterized as one of these two:

• People who identify as a woman and were assigned female from birth (Cis women)
• People who identify as a man and were assigned male from birth (Cis men)

People who do not find themselves under one of these two relationships are said to be transgender or non-binary.

• People who identify as a woman and were assigned male from birth (Transwomen)
• People who identify as a man and were assigned female from birth (Transmen)
• People who neither identify as a a man or a woman despite their assigned sex from birth (Non-binary people)