Editing Gender (section)

{{Short description|Sociological constructs related to sex}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{for-multi|the grammatical concept|Grammatical gender|other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
[[File:Combotrans.svg|thumb|[[Gender symbols]] intertwined: the red [[Venus]] symbol (female) and the blue [[Mars]] symbol (male)]]
'''Gender'''<!-- NOTE: Before altering this definition, consider referring to past talk page discussions about defining gender, and/or looking at more than just the sources that only define it as a social construct, considering that defining gender is a complicated topic. Also, "Characteristics" is a disambiguation page; this means that it does not explain what we mean by sex/gender characteristics, which is why we do not link it. --> is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a [[man]] (or [[boy]]), [[woman]] (or [[girl]]), or [[third gender]].<ref name="haig">{{cite journal|date=April 2004 |title=The Inexorable Rise of Gender and the Decline of Sex: Social Change in Academic Titles, 1945–2001 |url=https://www.oeb.harvard.edu/faculty/haig/publications_files/04inexorablerise.pdf |journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=87–96 |doi=10.1023/B:ASEB.0000014323.56281.0d |pmid=15146141|first1=David |last1=Haig |author-link1=David Haig (biologist) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120615160110/https://www.oeb.harvard.edu/faculty/haig/Publications_files/04InexorableRise.pdf |archive-date=15 June 2012 |citeseerx=10.1.1.359.9143 |s2cid=7005542 }}</ref><ref name="www.who.int">{{Cite web|title=What do we mean by "sex" and "gender"? |publisher=[[World Health Organization]] |access-date=26 November 2015 |url=https://apps.who.int/gender/whatisgender/en/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170130022356/https://apps.who.int/gender/whatisgender/en/ |archive-date=30 January 2017|url-status=dead }}</ref> Although gender often corresponds to [[sex]], a [[transgender]] person may [[Gender identity|identify with a gender]] other than their [[sex assigned at birth]]. Most cultures use a [[gender binary]], in which gender is divided into two categories, and people are considered part of one or the other;<ref name=":2">{{cite book |last1=Sigelman |first1=Carol K. |last2=Rider |first2=Elizabeth A. |title=Life-Span Human Development |year= 2017 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-1-337-51606-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M2M1DgAAQBAJ&pg=PA385 |access-date=4 August 2021 |language=en |page=385 |archive-date=4 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210804065452/https://books.google.com/books?id=M2M1DgAAQBAJ&pg=PA385 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":3">{{cite book |last1=Maddux |first1=James E. |last2=Winstead |first2=Barbara A. |title=Psychopathology: Foundations for a Contemporary Understanding |year= 2019 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-64787-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q-ChDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT1028 |access-date=4 August 2021 |language=en |archive-date=4 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210804065451/https://books.google.com/books?id=Q-ChDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT1028 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Nadal-re-binary">Kevin L. Nadal, ''The Sage Encyclopedia of Psychology and Gender'' (2017, {{ISBN|1483384276}}), p. 401: "Most cultures currently construct their societies based on the understanding of gender binary—the two gender categorizations (male and female). Such societies divide their population based on biological sex assigned to individuals at birth to begin the process of gender socialization."</ref> those who are outside these groups may fall under the umbrella term ''[[non-binary]]''. Some societies have ''third genders'' (and ''fourth genders'', etc.) such as the [[Hijra (South Asia)|hijras]] of [[South Asia]] and [[two-spirit]] [[Native Americans in North America|persons native to North America]]. Most scholars agree that gender is a central characteristic for [[social organization]];<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Heinemann|first=Isabel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tc4zYBvks38C&q=most+scholars+agree+gender+is&pg=PA36|title=Inventing the Modern American Family: Family Values and Social Change in 20th Century United States|year= 2012|publisher=Campus Verlag|isbn=978-3-593-39640-8|pages=36|language=en|access-date=28 July 2021|archive-date=27 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827192459/https://books.google.com/books?id=tc4zYBvks38C&q=most+scholars+agree+gender+is&pg=PA36|url-status=live}}</ref> this may include [[social construct]]s (i.e. [[gender role]]s) as well as [[gender expression]].<ref name="udry">{{cite journal |last1=Udry |first1=J. Richard |date=November 1994 |title=The Nature of Gender |url=https://watermark.silverchair.com/561udry.pdf?token=AQECAHi208BE49Ooan9kkhW_Ercy7Dm3ZL_9Cf3qfKAc485ysgAAAp4wggKaBgkqhkiG9w0BBwagggKLMIIChwIBADCCAoAGCSqGSIb3DQEHATAeBglghkgBZQMEAS4wEQQMRTrxiXHhWSQ4WHfCAgEQgIICUZJrxXQMXINNmJHIpoS2SHaHYM5-opFd5rA9yYFaQmDY56ezEdRcf8ezeKoW9zqQumO19rkxgEgvllbM3q-mRHjY9FgrVLcs3yUw5lV5r8NSMabieBW9EjEj1jlGa06YPOV6E1fYxythwwu5ZW1Nf3GBvg_19e7YvjEEpoM3_Q2SfHMmklxvEMWQGA4GhE8th_Z3ib9T7aoUOQ6EzSoO6jqe049zSu4AdKtpgL2v7WEE9sq1fHx3etaLQ-1C23cwZR9kv7be9W84iKj6lPN8zBxJJhKxwgIS9KoaaOTkx5sugkQvlLinrbdhKt--wyeXz0-27Xt7JJgwe7ik1ZXIHb1RWINx1jBSZiPSV5E3DMiExQxRpjcQjNDhdwp0PThx2auxUEZZEezlBil_yv9moAhS2qB7t8V6cSznBAsXxltyCPGf9YUcybM5sJJOEY0GxnOFCE18P7pQ46HdH_Ssf53Z3fGT57cdieTAzgfzjOqHpwBhwI62GzGPiblUCD3oiw7vPoVAkYX7JKei-VpiNi0CoNJCCesX5B_uB2yVFyGgbGj-FhUQXTipyA4yZJE46aFgJ3_e69vJFEtuJPQcoSPnarkxudKo5qgQOEE5AaekdpEzlQm_2a868ZAzg8epwKByHobQvQZ0Do2ohydI99gwvutquh1mBLcQ2Ctr3C_ndxkiLvtJ4QveNo5MRStq35xvLBUv56KqdukalSOhSuyYPEkwh2hzJM_n1NgnXsWftyDhQyH5Gd_2j9clNzfg6EF6xWfcBV0AyoXgf7QEYOgT |url-status=dead |journal=Demography |volume=31 |issue=4 |pages=561–573 |doi=10.2307/2061790 |jstor=2061790 |pmid=7890091 |s2cid=38476067 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629180731/https://watermark.silverchair.com/561udry.pdf?token=AQECAHi208BE49Ooan9kkhW_Ercy7Dm3ZL_9Cf3qfKAc485ysgAAAp4wggKaBgkqhkiG9w0BBwagggKLMIIChwIBADCCAoAGCSqGSIb3DQEHATAeBglghkgBZQMEAS4wEQQMRTrxiXHhWSQ4WHfCAgEQgIICUZJrxXQMXINNmJHIpoS2SHaHYM5-opFd5rA9yYFaQmDY56ezEdRcf8ezeKoW9zqQumO19rkxgEgvllbM3q-mRHjY9FgrVLcs3yUw5lV5r8NSMabieBW9EjEj1jlGa06YPOV6E1fYxythwwu5ZW1Nf3GBvg_19e7YvjEEpoM3_Q2SfHMmklxvEMWQGA4GhE8th_Z3ib9T7aoUOQ6EzSoO6jqe049zSu4AdKtpgL2v7WEE9sq1fHx3etaLQ-1C23cwZR9kv7be9W84iKj6lPN8zBxJJhKxwgIS9KoaaOTkx5sugkQvlLinrbdhKt--wyeXz0-27Xt7JJgwe7ik1ZXIHb1RWINx1jBSZiPSV5E3DMiExQxRpjcQjNDhdwp0PThx2auxUEZZEezlBil_yv9moAhS2qB7t8V6cSznBAsXxltyCPGf9YUcybM5sJJOEY0GxnOFCE18P7pQ46HdH_Ssf53Z3fGT57cdieTAzgfzjOqHpwBhwI62GzGPiblUCD3oiw7vPoVAkYX7JKei-VpiNi0CoNJCCesX5B_uB2yVFyGgbGj-FhUQXTipyA4yZJE46aFgJ3_e69vJFEtuJPQcoSPnarkxudKo5qgQOEE5AaekdpEzlQm_2a868ZAzg8epwKByHobQvQZ0Do2ohydI99gwvutquh1mBLcQ2Ctr3C_ndxkiLvtJ4QveNo5MRStq35xvLBUv56KqdukalSOhSuyYPEkwh2hzJM_n1NgnXsWftyDhQyH5Gd_2j9clNzfg6EF6xWfcBV0AyoXgf7QEYOgT |archive-date=Jun 29, 2021 |s2cid-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last1=Lindqvist |first1=Anna |last2=Sendén |first2=Marie Gustafsson |last3=Renström |first3=Emma A. |date=2 October 2021 |title=What is gender, anyway: a review of the options for operationalising gender |journal=Psychology & Sexuality |volume=12 |issue=4 |pages=332–344 |doi=10.1080/19419899.2020.1729844 |s2cid=213397968 |doi-access=free |s2cid-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite book |url=https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26424/measuring-sex-gender-identity-and-sexual-orientation |title=Measuring Sex, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation |date=2022 |publisher=The National Academies Press |isbn=978-0-309-27510-1 |editor-last1=Bates |editor-first1=Nancy |location=Washington, DC |doi=10.17226/26424 |pmid=35286054 |editor-last2=Chin |editor-first2=Marshall |editor-last3=Becker |editor-first3=Tara |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524050556/https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/26424/chapter/1#ii |archive-date=May 24, 2023 |url-status=live |doi-access=free |s2cid=247432505 |s2cid-access=free}}</ref>

The word has been used as a synonym for sex, and the balance between these usages has shifted over time.<ref name=OED /><ref name=CD /><ref name=AHD /> In the mid-20th century, a [[terminological]] distinction in [[modern English]] (known as the [[sex and gender distinction]]) between biological ''[[sex]]'' and ''gender'' began to develop in the academic areas of [[psychology]], [[sociology]], [[sexology]], and [[feminism]].<ref name=":6">{{cite book | last1=Hausman | first1=Bernice | date=1995 | title=Changing Sex: Transsexualism, Technology, and the Idea of Gender | publisher=Duke University Press | location=United Kingdom | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7jYcktA6RhEC&pg=PA95 | page=95| isbn=0822316927 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1=Germon | first1=J. | date=2009 | chapter=Money and the Production of Gender | title=Gender | pages=23–62 | publisher=Palgrave Macmillan | location=New York | doi=10.1057/9780230101814_2 | isbn=978-1-349-37508-0 |chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230101814_2}}</ref> Before the mid-20th century, it was uncommon to use the word ''gender'' to refer to anything but [[grammatical gender|grammatical categories]].<ref name=udry /><ref name="haig" /> In the West, in the 1970s, [[feminist theory]] embraced the concept of a distinction between biological sex and the [[Social construction of gender difference|social construct of gender]]. The distinction between gender and sex is made by most contemporary social scientists in Western countries,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kimmel|first=Michael S. |title=The gendered society|date=2017|isbn=978-0-19-026031-6|edition=Sixth |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=3|oclc=949553050}}</ref><ref name="socialsciencedictionary">{{cite web|url=https://www.socialsciencedictionary.com/GENDER|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110202125938/https://www.socialsciencedictionary.com/GENDER|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 February 2011|title=GENDER|publisher=Social Science Dictionary|access-date=20 March 2015}}</ref><ref name="pearsonhighered">{{cite book|title=Gender Roles: A Sociological Perspective|author=Lindsey, Linda L.|isbn=978-0-13-244830-7|year=2010|publisher=Pearson|chapter=Ch. 1. The Sociology of gender|chapter-url=https://www.pearsonhighered.com/assets/hip/us/hip_us_pearsonhighered/samplechapter/0132448300.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405145514/https://www.pearsonhighered.com/assets/hip/us/hip_us_pearsonhighered/samplechapter/0132448300.pdf|archive-date=5 April 2015}}</ref> behavioral scientists and biologists,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Paludi|first=Michele Antoinette|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rf9rAy1yCHkC&q=Both+physiologists+and+biologists+agree+that+gender+is+distinct+from+sex.&pg=PA153|title=The Psychology of Women at Work: Challenges and Solutions for Our Female Workforce|date=2008|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-275-99677-2|pages=153|language=en|access-date=30 August 2021|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020191850/https://books.google.com/books?id=rf9rAy1yCHkC&q=Both+physiologists+and+biologists+agree+that+gender+is+distinct+from+sex.&pg=PA153|url-status=live}}</ref> many legal systems and government bodies,<ref>{{Cite book|last=O'Halloran|first=Kerry |title=Sexual orientation, gender identity and international human rights law: common law perspectives|date=2020|isbn=978-0-429-44265-0|location=London |publisher=Routledge |pages=22–28, 328–329|oclc=1110674742}}</ref> and intergovernmental agencies such as the [[WHO]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Gender: definitions|url=https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-determinants/gender/gender-definitions|access-date=2021-08-22|website=www.euro.who.int|language=en|archive-date=25 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925234052/https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-determinants/gender/gender-definitions|url-status=live}}</ref> The experiences of [[intersex people]] also testify to the complexity of sex and gender; female,  male, and other gender identities are experienced across the many divergences of sexual difference.<ref name="Schweizer-et-al-2014">{{cite journal |last1=Schweizer |first1=Katinka |last2=Brunner |first2=Franziska |last3=Handford |first3=Christina |last4=Richter-Appelt |first4=Hertha |title=Gender experience and satisfaction with gender allocation in adults with diverse intersex conditions (divergences of sex development, DSD) |journal=Psychology & Sexuality |date=2 January 2014 |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=56–82 |doi=10.1080/19419899.2013.831216}}</ref>

The [[social science]]s have a branch devoted to [[gender studies]]. Other sciences, such as [[psychology]], [[sociology]], [[sexology]], and [[neuroscience]], are interested in the subject. The social sciences sometimes approach gender as a [[social construct]], and gender studies particularly does, while research in the [[natural science]]s investigates whether [[sex differences in humans|biological differences]] in females and males influence the development of gender in humans; both inform the debate about how far biological differences influence the formation of gender identity and gendered behavior. [[Biopsychosocial]] approaches to gender include biological, psychological, and social/cultural aspects.<ref name="Iantaffi 2017">{{Cite book |last=Iantaffi |first=Alex |title=How to Understand Your Gender: A Practical Guide for Exploring Who You Are |publisher=Jessica Kingsley Publishers |year=2017 |isbn=978-1785927461 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Knudson-Martin |first1=Carmen |last2=Mahoney |first2=Anne Rankin |date=March 2009 |title=Introduction to the Special Section-Gendered Power in Cultural Contexts: Capturing the Lived Experience of Couples |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1545-5300.2009.01263.x |journal=Family Process |language=en |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=5–8 |doi=10.1111/j.1545-5300.2009.01263.x|pmid=19378641 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
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