1. Sex, Gender and Sexuality

2. Sex and Gender
Sex and Gender: what’s the difference?

3. Sex
Sex refers to the anatomical and physiological characteristics of maleness or femaleness.
Sex is determined by a combination of genetics and the presence or absence of hormones testosterone and estrogen.

4. Gender
Gender can be divided into a number of different components relating to ideas of masculinity and femininity: gender identity, gender presentation and gender role.

5. Gender Identity
Gender Identity: the sense of ourselves as men, women or other gendered beings.

6. Gender Presentation
Gender Presentation: The behaviors associated with masculinity and femininity: speech, dress, movement…etc.

7. Gender Roles
Gender Roles: the social roles expected of men and women in a particular society.

8. Gender: Biology and Culture
Gender is determined by a large variety of factors, both biological and cultural.
Gender socialization: the process of learning and internalizing the norms of our gender.

9. Transgender
Transgender: is a broad term used to describe individuals that identify with a gender that is NOT associated with their assigned birth sex…
i.e. Males that identify as women and females that identify as men.
or with a gender identity that is neither completely masculine nor feminine.

10. Third Genders
Some societies recognize there being more than two gender categories…something other than “man” and “woman”. These Third gendered people have different roles in the societies they occupy.

11. Sexuality
Sexuality can be broadly defined as how people experience and express themselves as sexual beings.
Sexual orientation refers to established patterns of sexual attraction, to the same, opposite or both sexes.

12. Sexuality
Thinking about sexuality in the form of sexual orientation: (i.e. heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual) is fairly recent concept…
Karl-Maria Kerthbeny is responsible for coining these terms in the late 19th century.

13. Heteronormativity
Normative is a term used to describe behaviors and actions considered to fit the “norm.”
Heteronormativity is the idea that being heterosexual is natural and normal…and that other sexualities are Abnormal and Unnatural.

14. Heteronormativity
Heteronormativity, then is something found in SOME, but not all societies.
For example, for men in Ancient Athenian society, it was considered normal for men to be attracted to teenaged males as well as women. This was a society that would not be described as heteronormative.

15. Sex, Gender, Sexuality
Just like the terms “race”, “ethnicity” and “nationality” refer to different (though related concepts, sex, gender and sexuality are three different things.
It’s important to understand that there are many combinations of these three concepts.