The Difference between Sex & Gender

Do you know that there is a distinct difference between sex and gender? Most of us would hardly care what the difference is. We see them in many forms and our instinct would be to fill in either "male" or "female". Unless of course you're a certain individual by the name of Austin Powers filling in the part labelled "sex". Jokes aside however, there is a difference between the two.

Sex is biologically founded. It is based on your chromosomal pairing. So regardless of the number of times you've gone under the knife, you're either of the male or female sex. The only time you are identical in sex, is during the first 8 weeks of embryo formation when the male hormones are not yet produced. The absence of these hormones will eventually lead to a female newborn.

Gender on the other hand, is defined as 'a socially-constructed notion of what is feminine and what is masculine', which according to Simone de Beauvoir, “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman”. According to researchers at Indiana University, gender is a continuous category where one can be more masculine or more feminine in contrast to sex which is a binary category.

Therefore, you might be a transvestite where your gender would be along the lines of feminine (if you want to be a convincing one) but your sex would still be male. This should also not be confused with sexuality, as that is sexual preference. So the next time you fill out a form, now you know the difference!