Sex and Gender
In 1920 Sigmund Freud identified three distinct characteristics of sexuality: physical sex characteristics; mental sexual characteristics; and object choice. These three characteristics correspond with what we now refer to as sex; gender; and sexual orientation. Though the words “sex” and “gender” are still used seemingly interchangeably, they are two distinct terms with “sex” as more biological and “gender” as more psychological.
Sex is assigned at birth based on the appearance of the newborns external genitalia, whereas gender identity is affirmed by an individual based on a personal conception of oneself as male or female (or, both or neither) which develops during childhood. All individuals possess a gender identity. Most commonly, female sex corresponds with female gender, just as male sex and male gender are commonly linked, but sex does not always determine gender identity. Furthermore, though gender is conceptualized as binary it is actually a continuum.
Gender discrimination, gender stability, gender constancy
The process of becoming aware of one’s own gender identity is an important part of the psycho-social development of a child. Infants begin a process of gender discrimination between the ages of 10-24 months. By age two a child is able to correctly label its own sex. Between the ages of 2-4 a child develops gender stability and the realization that gender remains the same across time. Finally, between the ages of 4-6 a child achieves gender constancy and the ability to understand that gender is constant across situations, independent of external features such as hair and clothing.
Gender identity, gender expression, gender role
Just as it is important to understand the distinction between sex and gender, it is also important to understand the distinction between gender identity, gender expression, and gender role. Whereas gender identity is a private and internal sense of oneself as male or female (or, both or neither), gender expression is the outward and public way in which one signals or communicates their gender identity.
Gender role is simply the label given by society for certain attitudes, thoughts, feelings, behaviors, traits, likes, dislikes and activities which have been labelled as masculine (attributed to males) and feminine (attributed to females). A child learns that what is defined as masculine is attributed to men and what is feminine is attributed to women and is expected to adopt and express the gender role associated with their own sex. This happens both unconsciously and through direct instructions such as “act like a lady” and “boys don’t cry”.
If a person experiences himself as a male and identifies himself as such, then his gender identity is male. However, his gender role is masculine only to the extent that he has gender expression that his culture expects of men. In most individuals, congruity is present between gender identity and gender role, and being feminine is an expression of a identifying as a woman and being masculine is an expression of an identity as a man. However, not all individuals who express masculinity identify as men and not all individuals who express femininity identify as women.
Femininity and Masculinity
The two dimensions of gender role (femininity and masculinity) are conceptualized as independent dimensions rather than varying degrees or opposite expressions of one attribute. Possession of masculinity is not related to possession of femininity and vice versa. Most individuals have some masculine traits and some feminine traits. People can possess high or low amounts of either or both gender role attribute.
In general, a person who has more femininity than masculinity is seen as feminine and a person with more masculinity than femininity is seen as masculine. An androgynous individual has high amounts of both masculinity and femininity. The norms for what qualifies and femininity and masculinity may vary greatly across time and between groups.
Our society has different expectations for males and females regarding their possession and expression of masculinity and femininity. For instance, not only is it not acceptable for men to have little masculinity or an excess of femininity, the range of both femininity and masculinity is more constrained for men than it is for women.