Editing Gender (section)

=== Non-human animals ===
In non-human animal research, ''gender'' is commonly used to refer to the biological sex of the animals.<ref name="haig" /> According to biologist [[Michael J Ryan (biologist)|Michael J. Ryan]], gender identity is a concept exclusively applied to humans.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ryan|first=Michael J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uc6MDwAAQBAJ&q=difference+in+gamete+size|title=A Taste for the Beautiful: The Evolution of Attraction|year=2019|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-691-19139-3|pages=9|language=en|access-date=28 July 2021|archive-date=17 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217115727/https://books.google.com/books?id=uc6MDwAAQBAJ&q=difference+in+gamete+size|url-status=live}}</ref> Also, in a letter [[Ellen Ketterson]] writes, "[w]hen asked, my colleagues in the Department of Gender Studies agreed that the term gender could be properly applied only to humans, because it involves one's self-concept as man or woman. Sex is a biological concept; gender is a human social and cultural concept."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ketterson|first=Ellen D.|author-link=Ellen Ketterson|date=2005|title=Evolution's Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People|journal=BioScience|volume=55|issue=2|pages=178|doi=10.1641/0006-3568(2005)055[0178:dahg]2.0.co;2|issn=0006-3568|doi-access=free}}</ref> However, {{Harvcoltxt|Poiani |2010}} notes that the question of whether behavioural similarities across species can be associated with gender identity or not is "an issue of no easy resolution",{{sfn|Poiani|2010|p=2}} and suggests that mental states, such as gender identity, are more accessible in humans than other species due to their capacity for language.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Poiani|first=Aldo|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/665835558|title=Animal homosexuality: a biosocial perspective|date=2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press|others=A. F. Dixson|isbn=978-0-511-78958-8|location=New York|pages=2|oclc=665835558|access-date=8 September 2021|archive-date=17 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217115729/https://www.worldcat.org/title/animal-homosexuality-a-biosocial-perspective/oclc/665835558|url-status=live}}</ref> Poiani suggests that the potential number of species with members possessing a gender identity must be limited due to the requirement for [[Self-awareness|self-consciousness]].{{sfn|Poiani|2010|p=36}}

[[Jacques Balthazart]] suggests that "there is no animal model for studying sexual identity. It is impossible to ask an animal, whatever its species, to what sex it belongs."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Balthazart|first=Jacques|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3fjGjlcVINkC&q=the+biology+of+gender+identity|title=The Biology of Homosexuality|date=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press, US|isbn=978-0-19-983882-0|pages=5|language=en|author-link=Jacques Balthazart|access-date=18 October 2021|archive-date=17 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217115728/https://books.google.com/books?id=3fjGjlcVINkC&q=the+biology+of+gender+identity|url-status=live}}</ref> He notes that "this would imply that the animal is aware of its own body and sex, which is far from proved", despite recent research demonstrating sophisticated cognitive skills among non-human primates and other species.{{sfn|Balthazart|2012}} {{Harvcoltxt|Hird|2006}} has also stated that whether or not non-human animals consider themselves to be feminine or masculine is a "difficult, if not impossible, question to answer", as this would require "judgements about what constitutes femininity or masculinity in any given species". Nonetheless, she asserts that "non-human animals do experience femininity and masculinity to the extent that any given species' behaviour is gender segregated."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hird|first=Myra J.|date=2006|title=Animal Transex|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08164640500470636|journal=Australian Feminist Studies|language=en|volume=21|issue=49|pages=35–50|doi=10.1080/08164640500470636|s2cid=214614711|issn=0816-4649|access-date=8 September 2021|archive-date=8 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908152207/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08164640500470636|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Despite this, Poiani and Dixson emphasise the applicability of the concept of gender ''role'' to non-human animals{{sfn|Poiani|2010|p=2}} such as [[rodents]]{{sfn|Poiani|2010|p=141,164}} throughout their book.{{sfn|Poiani|2010|p=20,105,110}} The concept of gender role has also been applied to non-human primates such as [[Rhesus macaque|rhesus monkeys]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/181029707|title=Sex and the brain|date=2007|publisher=MIT Press|editor-first1=Gillian |editor-last1=Einstein|isbn=978-0-262-27224-7|location=Cambridge, Mass.|pages=34 |quote=While the exact forms of play that characterize prepubertal male humans and prepubertal male rhesus may not be identical, both of these primates show a clear division of preadolescent activities into gender roles. |oclc=181029707|access-date=8 September 2021|archive-date=17 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217115729/https://www.worldcat.org/title/sex-and-the-brain/oclc/181029707|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last1=Goy|first1=Robert W.|title=Psychological and Anatomical Consequences of Prenatal Exposure to Androgens in Female Rhesus*|date=2020-04-14|url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1201/9780429283116-9|work=Toxicity of Hormones in Perinatal Life|pages=127–142|publisher=CRC Press|access-date=2021-09-08|last2=Uno|first2=Hideo|last3=Sholl|first3=Samuel A.|doi=10.1201/9780429283116-9|isbn=978-0429283116|s2cid=81167171|archive-date=17 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217115731/https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.1201/9780429283116-9/psychological-anatomical-consequences-prenatal-exposure-androgens-female-rhesus-robert-goy-hideo-uno-samuel-sholl|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In 2023, an investigation by Neves et al showed small but important details in communication, such as grammatical genders, in the construction of stereotypes and inherent emotions associated with four non-human animals ([[Giant panda]]; [[giraffe]]; [[polar bear]]; [[cheetah]]).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-25 |title=Can Gender Nouns Influence the Stereotypes of Animals? - PMC |url=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10451744/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250525004048/https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10451744/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2025-05-25 |access-date=2025-05-25 }}</ref>