\[ **BT: [[gender]] | [[sex (biology]]** ] --- # gender versus sex [[Although the terms sex and gender are frequently used interchangeably, these words do have different contexts and meanings.]][^1] ## gender is socially constructed [[Gender is a social and cultural construct. Different cultures have different understandings of what gender means and how many should be recognised.]][^2] ## sex is biologically constructed …in the strictest sense, sex is biologically constructed. [[Sex is a biological construct; it refers to the structural, functional, and behavioural characteristics of living beings determined by sex chromosomes.]][^3] ### that said, biological sex is *not* a neat and tidy binary > [[Despite the ingrained perception of a male-female biological binary, the scientific reality is a variation-rich spectrum.|’Although the sexual system is often described as a binary of male and female, in reality there is a spectrum of anatomical and chromosomal variation found in the human population including intersex as well as genitalia considered ambiguous at birth.’]][^4] [^1]: Lindsay M. Biga et al., *[[Biga, Anatomy and Physiology, 2019|Anatomy & Physiology]]* (Oregon State University, 2019), 27.0 Introduction, https://open.oregonstate.education/aandp/chapter/27-0-introduction/. [^2]: ‘Gender’, *[[sources/Homosaurus|Homosaurus: An International LGBTQ+ Linked Data Vocabulary]]*, last modified 23 February 2025, [https://homosaurus.org/v4/homoit0000560](https://homosaurus.org/v4/homoit0000560); Lindsay M. Biga et al., *[[Biga, Anatomy and Physiology, 2019|Anatomy & Physiology]]* (Oregon State University, 2019), 27.0 Introduction, https://open.oregonstate.education/aandp/chapter/27-0-introduction/. [^3]: Lindsay M. Biga et al., *[[Biga, Anatomy and Physiology, 2019|Anatomy & Physiology]]* (Oregon State University, 2019), 27.0 Introduction, https://open.oregonstate.education/aandp/chapter/27-0-introduction/. [^4]: Lindsay M. Biga et al., *[[Biga, Anatomy and Physiology, 2019|Anatomy & Physiology]]* (Oregon State University, 2019), 27.0 Introduction, https://open.oregonstate.education/aandp/chapter/27-0-introduction/.