Topic 2: Gender and sex
Watch this short movie: https://vimeo.com/25845008 (3:10). Be sure to watch it until the final credits are over!
Gender, Sex, Attraction and Expression
We already said “gender” is more than male or female. We could distinguish between:
1.Sex: the label that you get when you are born; like man, intersex, woman
2.Gender identity: how you feel and see yourself; like female, transgender, non-binary, male
3.Gender expression: what you show; like feminine, genderneutral, masculine
4.Sexual or romantic attraction: who you are attracted to; like gay or lesbian, bisexual, heterosexual
This figure is called the “genderbread” person.
It shows how “sex” is located in your genitals (although biological sex can also have markers in your not directly visible genes and hormones), how gender identity originates in your brain, how sexual attraction has to do with love, and how expression is your choice how you overall present yourself. There are no limits.
Activity 4. Sex variations
Intersex variations
People can vary in their biological sexual characteristic on four main spectrums:
- Chromosomes: (XX male; XY female)
- Hormones (women have more estrogen and progesterone; men have more testosterone)
- Genitals (sex organs: women have a clitoris and a vagina; men have a penis and scrotum)
- Gonads (sex glands; women have an ovary producing egg cells; men have testicles producing sperm)
The first two spectrums are not visible from the outside of the body. In most people, these divisions are rather clear. In intersex people, the “maleness” of “femaleness” may fully or gradually differ on each spectrum. This means there are many types of intersex people.
This list in reality more elaborate and detailed, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersex and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_related_male_and_female_reproductive_organs
“Hermaphrodites”
The Greek historian Diodorus Siculus wrote of the mythological Hermaphroditus in the first century BC, who was “born with a physical body which is a combination of that of a man and that of a woman”, and reputedly possessed supernatural properties.
Following Siculus, doctors in Europe used to call people with intersex conditions “hermaphrodites”. This is now considered offensive and incorrect (intersexed people do not always appear with external intersex characteristics).
Intersex activism
Participants at the third International Intersex Forum, Malta, 2013
Activity 5. Gender variations
Activity 6. Gender fluidity
Jiro Ghianni Jiro Ghianni is a gender-free and gender queer trans man who has been active as an activist for the bisexuality and trans movements since the late 1990s. Jiro – who likes to be addressed by the pronouns ‘he’ or ‘it’ – made a popular comics series “The Bosoms”, about two bosoms who lead their own lives after leaving Jiro’s body and reflecting on gender.
Tracking your gendered feelings
Kelsey: “While I considered myself to be an open-minded person and an advocate for other’s queer identities, for some reason I had a hard time fully accepting it when it was personal. Initially it turned into, “yea I’m genderfluid, but I’m going to force myself to be feminine because I need control”. As this inevitably started affecting my life negatively, I was urged by a therapist to start tracking my gender fluctuations so that I could understand them better. It was good advice, and because I am a data nerd, I ended up taking it to a whole other level.” What do you think: is Kelsey more masculine or feminine?
Activity 7: Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Source: De Graaf, Hanneke; van den Borne, Marieke; Nikkelen; Twisk, Denise; Meijer, Suzanne (2017). Seks onder je 25e (2017). Seksuele gezondheid van jongeren in Nederland anno 2017. Rutgers/SOA Aids Nederland. Utrecht: Uitgeverij Eburon
Activity 8: My gendered identity