XRDS • SUMMER 2014 • VOL. 20 • NO. 4 like gender, is rooted in physiology.

Human sexual biology may not seem diverse, but the reality is the human sexual karyotype and phenotype exhibit numerous variations. In addition to XX and XY chromosomes we find XXY, XXX, XYY, XXYY and X combinations. Phenotypical individuals may be typically female, male, or intersexed. Genetic expression, gestation, and environmental influences through adolescence, and maybe our lives, contribute to each of our idiosyncratic sexual biologies.

Gender is your personal under-
standing of who you are as a sexual
being. Our biology contributes to this
sense in ways we do not yet fully under-
stand. Like sexual orientation, gender
is not a choice; it is a reality of your lived
experience. We describe gender with
terms like male or female, although a
great diversity of genders exist and the
set of possibilities is not closed. I iden-
tify as transgender. Some even feel no
gender. In your lifetime, you may drift
in your gender identity as well. Your
gender is truly known only to you.
Through your gender expression
other people form an opinion of your
gender. People with naive understand-
ings of gender and its expression might
conflate gender with what they perceive
to be your sex. More and more, we refer
to individuals whose sex, gender, and
gender expression align to society’s
definitions of “male” or “female” as
cisgender. To be transgender implies
that your gender expression conflicts
with naive expectations that align sex,
gender, and gender expression within
sanctioned societal boundaries. Hu-
man beings have very strong opinions
about gender expression. Violating
these boundaries can risk reprisals:
from mild reproach, to dismissal from
a job, all the way to violence and death.

Gender expression is a function of gender. It manifests through your clothes, your actions, your words, and your style. The combinatorial possibilities of sex, gender, and gender expression comprise a very large set, perhaps boundless. A genetical male (XY) with androgen insensitivity may develop typically female secondary sexual characteristics, feel female, but express her style through typically masculine clothing and mannerisms. Generally people prefer to be referred

 

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