What are Sex and Gender?

Sex and gender are two different terms that we often confuse. For most people, their gender and sex are the same but for others, they are very different.

For most living things ‘sex’ describes two categories; male and female, according to biological differences e.g. chromosomes, hormones and reproductive systems.

Our sex is observed at birth (sometimes even before that during pregnancy scans) when a baby is born and the doctor looks between the baby’s legs at their genitals.

A female baby will have a vagina (as well as ovaries and a womb internally) and a male baby will have a penis and testicles.

Each year, a very small number of babies are born with Differences of Sex Development (DSDs) and while these babies will still be either male or female, their external genitals may look slightly different.

Gender is a socially constructed term and is often more about how masculine or feminine people act and present themselves.

Gender is nothing to do with biology and reproductive organs, it is how you feel and express yourself as an individual, like the clothes you wear and the activities you take part in.

Some people feel that their sex and gender don’t match up and the general umbrella term for this is ‘transgender’.

When individuals or groups do not “fit” their expected gender norms they often face stigma and discrimination, which can adversely affect health. It is important to be sensitive to different identities that do not just fit into binary male or female sex categories.