What is the difference between sex and gender

[Lemonwoe]

I keep seeing reference to sex or gender online. And then someone gets annoyed that someone uses the word the wrong way... so... what’s the difference?

Sex = biological reality. 99.999% of the time either male or female. Coded in DNA. Cannot be changed.

Gender = made up. What society expects of each of the sexes. Eg women are caring, men are strong. Generally based on harmful stereotypes that further the opportunities of nobody.

So a “gender scan” is really a sex scan - you can’t see a baby’s gender, only their sex.

Sex - chromosomes, biology, fact and a fun activity for consenting adults

Gender - often used as a 'polite' way of saying sex, but increasingly a made up 'feeling' that anyone can choose irrespective of their sex.

Sex: chromosomes, genitalia, hormones, skeleton. How a scientist can look at a dead or alive body and tell what it was or is

Gender: the stereotypes societies assign to the sexes
Girls are girly, or else they are tomboys
Boys are strong, or else they are effeminate

Gender is make believe, it's what you say you are.
Sex is real and is what you actually are.

Sex = male female. Seen in mammals and many other animals and birds and plants.

Gender has multiple meanings which is confusing OP.

1. Lots of things got changed from gender to sex eg bank forms in the ?80s/ 90s presumably because the word sex was a bit 'rude'. So means the same as sex

1. Gender is the sex role that says girls are like this boys are like that. Gender (sex role) is the mechanism through which sex based oppression arises/ means people are not free to behave etc as they wish. It's men like football and women like pink. It's the tool that has been used and still is to oppress women (and men) around the world and through history. It's also the reason for homo/ bi phobia. Gender role says that men fancy women and women fancy men (or submit, depending on the time and place).

1. Gender identity. An internal feeling that you are male/ man or female/ women or somewhere in between or neither. Then there's gender expression which means the social expectations about what men dress like/ their hair is like, and what women wear etc

Yes it's confusing. All 3 meanings are currently in use.

Sex = what you are born. Biological. Male or female. You have no choice or say in this.

Gender = whatever you want to be. You decide. Pick from the list of the many genders that exist.

Sex - male or female
Gender - masculine or feminine

Sex: which reproductive class you. You're either the class capable of producing sperm, or the class capable of producing ova. You may have a condition that interferes with your production of gametes, but you're still of the reproductive class that produces sperm or ova. You may even have a difference of sexual development, which could mean your external genitalia are ambiguous or misleading, but you'll still be one class or the other. It just might be necessary to look more closely or internally to tell which one. Observable and clearly definable.

Gender: identity related but from what I can tell, usually defined by reductive and sexist stereotypes.

You might find this YouTube video helpful.

Today I did our work diversity training course and the definitions were: Gender - whether you identify as a male or female, Sex = your gender. A very circular explanation! I was tempted to email the training manager and ask where they got the content.

I do wonder if humans hadn't created gender whether we would have so many people feeling they were in the wrong body. If I had been born male and could have the same life except with a penis I don't think I would really mind (although I assume I would be gay, I feel much more attached to being attracted to men than I do about my own sex/gender). But I imagine it would be much harder as society says men don't generally become early years teachers or take time out to look after small children. And I would have to make my own clothes because I much prefer interesting stuff to what's generally available for men.

Gender is completely meaningless (well, except for the insidious stereotypes addicted with it), and can be changed from day to day, minute to minute.

Sex is immutable - male or female.

@NavigatingAdolescence

Sex = biological reality. 99.999% of the time either male or female. Coded in DNA. Cannot be changed.

Gender = made up. What society expects of each of the sexes. Eg women are caring, men are strong. Generally based on harmful stereotypes that further the opportunities of nobody.

First post pretty much nails it

I do wonder if humans hadn't created gender whether we would have so many people feeling they were in the wrong body.

I often talk about transgender being the most sexist thing of all. If no one gave a shit whether a man wears dresses or a woman doesn’t want children etc., then there would be no need to ‘change sex’. Be whoever you want to be, I don’t care but your biology is still the same. You can’t change sex.