Editing Gender (section)

=== Religion ===
{{further|Gender and religion}}
This topic includes internal and external religious issues such as [[Gender of God|gender of God and deities]] creation myths about human gender, roles and rights (for instance, leadership roles especially [[ordination of women]], [[sex segregation]], [[gender equality]], marriage, abortion, [[Homosexuality and religion|homosexuality]]).

[[File:Yin yang.svg|thumb|100px|[[Yin and yang|''Yin'' and ''yang'']]]]
In [[Taoism]], [[yin and yang]] are considered feminine and masculine, respectively. The Taijitu and concept of the Zhou period reach into family and gender relations. Yin is female and yang is male. They fit together as two parts of a whole. The male principle was equated with the sun: active, bright, and shining; the female principle corresponds to the moon: passive, shaded, and reflective. Thus "male toughness was balanced by female gentleness, male action and initiative by female endurance and need for completion, and male leadership by female supportiveness."<ref>{{Cite web |title=New Civilizations in the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, 2000-250 BCE |url=https://www.mukilteoschools.org/cms/lib/WA01819447/Centricity/Domain/575/Summer-Reading-Packet-4--p--38-51.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231223235730/https://www.mukilteoschools.org/cms/lib/WA01819447/Centricity/Domain/575/Summer-Reading-Packet-4--p--38-51.pdf |archive-date=December 23, 2023 |access-date=December 23, 2023 |at=11}}</ref>

In [[Judaism]], [[God]] is traditionally described in the masculine, but in the mystical tradition of the [[Kabbalah]], the [[Shekhinah]] represents the feminine aspect of God's essence.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://stateofformation.org/2012/01/the-shekhinah-or-the-divine-presence-or-divine-feminine-in-judaism/ |title=The Shekhinah or The Divine Presence or Divine Feminine in Judaism |last=Tuchman |first=Lauren |author-link=Lauren Tuchman |date=January 18, 2012 |website=State of Formation |access-date=April 25, 2021 |archive-date=28 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428123738/https://stateofformation.org/2012/01/the-shekhinah-or-the-divine-presence-or-divine-feminine-in-judaism/ |url-status=live }}</ref> However, Judaism [[Jewish principles of faith|traditionally holds]] that God is completely non-corporeal, and thus neither male nor female. Conceptions of the gender of God notwithstanding, traditional Judaism places a strong emphasis on individuals following Judaism's traditional gender roles, though many modern [[Jewish religious movements|denominations of Judaism]] strive for greater egalitarianism. Moreover, traditional Jewish culture recognizes at least [[Gender and Judaism|six genders]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gender Diversity in Jewish Tradition {{!}} Reform Judaism |url=https://reformjudaism.org/gender-diversity-jewish-tradition |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=reformjudaism.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Eight Genders in the Talmud |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-eight-genders-in-the-talmud/ |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=My Jewish Learning |language=en-US}}</ref>

In [[Christianity]], God is traditionally described in masculine terms and the Church has historically been described in feminine terms. On the other hand, Christian [[theology]] in many churches distinguishes between the masculine images used of God (Father, King, God the Son) and the reality they signify, which transcends gender, embodies all the virtues of both men and women perfectly, which may be seen through the doctrine of [[Imago Dei]]. In the [[New Testament]], Jesus at several times mentions the Holy Spirit with the masculine pronoun i.e. John 15:26 among other verses. Hence, [[God the Father|the Father]], [[God the Son|the Son]] and [[the Holy Spirit]] (i.e. [[Trinity]]) are all mentioned with the masculine pronoun; though the exact meaning of the masculinity of the Christian triune God is contested.<ref name="Tompkins2015">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-32960507 |title=Why is God not female? |last=Tompkins |first=Stephan |publisher=[[BBC]] |date=2 June 2015 |access-date=4 November 2023}}</ref>

In [[Hinduism]], one of the several forms of the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] god [[Shiva]] is [[Ardhanarishvara]] (literally half-female god). In this composite form, the left half of the body represents [[shakti]] (energy, power) in the form of the goddess [[Parvati]] (otherwise his consort) while the right half represents Shiva. Whereas Parvati is regarded to be the cause of arousal of [[kama]] (desire), Shiva is the destroyer of the concept. Symbolically, Shiva is pervaded by the power of Parvati and Parvati is pervaded by the power of Shiva.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ardhanarishvara |title=Arhanarishvara: Hindu deity |website=Britannica |access-date=April 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815031629/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ardhanarishvara |archive-date=August 15, 2018}}</ref>

This myth projects an inherent view in ancient Hinduism, that each human carries within himself both female and male components, which are forces rather than sexes, and it is the harmony between the creative and the annihilative, the strong and the soft, the proactive and the passive, that makes a true person. Evidence of homosexuality, bisexuality, androgyny, [[multiple sex partners]], and open representation of sexual pleasures are found in artworks like the Khajuraho temples, believed to have been accepted within prevalent social frameworks.<ref name="vohra">Vohra, Ashok (8 March 2005), "The Male-Female Hologram," ''[[Times of India]]'', p. 9.</ref>