www.genderspecLrum.org 310-788-4412 lnfo[genderspecLrum.

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lor many people, Lhe Lerms gender" and sex" are used lnLerchangeably, and Lhus lncorrecLly. 1hls ldea has
become so common, parLlcularly ln wesLern socleLles, LhaL lL ls rarely quesLloned. We are born, asslgned a sex, and
senL ouL lnLo Lhe world. lor many people, Lhls ls cause for llLLle, lf any dlssonance. ?eL blologlcal sex and gender are
dlfferenL, gender ls noL lnherenLly nor solely connecLed Lo one's physlcal anaLomy.

!"#$#%"&'$ )*+,*- ./*01 lncludes physlcal aLLrlbuLes such as exLernal genlLalla, sex chromosomes, gonads, sex
hormones, and lnLernal reproducLlve sLrucLures. AL blrLh, lL ls used Lo (&&)*" &$0, LhaL ls, Lo ldenLlfy lndlvlduals as
male or female. )*+,*- on Lhe oLher hand ls far more compllcaLed. lL ls Lhe complex lnLerrelaLlonshlp beLween an
lndlvldual's &$0 (gender blology), 1"$2& )"'$%"(3 &$"&$ of self as male, female, boLh or nelLher (gender ldenLlLy) as
well as one's 14'5(%# 6%$&$"'(')1"& and behavlors (gender expresslon) relaLed Lo LhaL percepLlon. 1ogeLher, Lhe
lnLersecLlon of Lhese Lhree dlmenslons produces one's auLhenLlc sense of gender, boLh ln how people experlence
Lhelr own gender as well as how oLhers percelve lL.

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WesLern culLure has come Lo vlew gender as a ;)"(%< concepL, wlLh Lwo rlgldly flxed opLlons: male or female, boLh
grounded ln a person's physlcal anaLomy. When a chlld ls born, a qulck glance beLween Lhe legs deLermlnes Lhe
gender label LhaL Lhe chlld wlll carry for llfe. 8uL even lf gender ls Lo be resLrlcLed Lo baslc blology, a blnary concepL
sLlll falls Lo capLure Lhe rlch varlaLlon LhaL exlsLs. 8aLher Lhan [usL Lwo dlsLlncL boxes, blologlcal gender occurs across
a conLlnuum of posslblllLles. 1hls &6$9'%4: of anaLomlcal varlaLlons by lLself should be enough Lo dlsregard Lhe
slmpllsLlc noLlons of a blnary gender sysLem.

8uL beyond anaLomy, Lhere are mulLlple domalns deflnlng gender. ln Lurn, Lhese domalns can be lndependenLly
characLerlzed across a range of posslblllLles. lnsLead of Lhe sLaLlc, blnary model produced Lhrough a solely physlcal
undersLandlng of gender, a far rlcher LapesLry of blology, gender expresslon, and gender ldenLlLy lnLersecL ln a
mulLldlmenslonal array of posslblllLles. CulLe slmply, Lhe *$"#$% &6$9'%4: represenLs a more nuanced, and
ulLlmaLely Lruly auLhenLlc model of human gender.

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Cender ls all around us. Llke waLer surroundlng creaLures ln Lhe sea, we are ofLen unaware of lLs ever-presenL
naLure. Cender ls acLually LaughL Lo us from Lhe momenL we are born. Cender expecLaLlons and messages bombard
us consLanLly. upbrlnglng, culLure, peers, schools, communlLy, medla, and rellglon are some of Lhe many lnfluences
LhaL shape our undersLandlng of Lhls core aspecL of self. Pow you learned and lnLeracLed wlLh gender as a young
chlld dlrecLly lnfluences how you vlew Lhe world Loday. Cendered lnLeracLlons beLween parenL and chlld begln as
soon as Lhe sex of Lhe baby ls known. ln shorL, many aspecLs of gender are soclally consLrucLed, parLlcularly wlLh
regard Lo gender expresslon.

Llke oLher soclal consLrucLs, gender ls closely monlLored and relnforced by socleLy. racLlcally everyLhlng ln socleLy
ls asslgned a gender-Loys, colors, cloLhes and behavlors are [usL some of Lhe more obvlous examples. 1hrough a
comblnaLlon of soclal condlLlonlng and personal preference, by age Lhree mosL chlldren prefer acLlvlLles and exhlblL
behavlors Lyplcally assoclaLed wlLh Lhelr sex. AccepLed soclal gender roles and expecLaLlons are so enLrenched ln
our culLure LhaL mosL people cannoL lmaglne any oLher way. As a resulL, lndlvlduals flLLlng neaLly lnLo Lhese
expecLaLlons rarely lf ever quesLlon whaL %*+,*- really means. 1hey have never had Lo, because Lhe sysLem has
worked for Lhem.


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",$"#$% $06("&)B$" ls an umbrella Lerm used for lndlvlduals LhaL broaden commonly held deflnlLlons of gender,
lncludlng lLs expresslon, assoclaLed ldenLlLles, and/or oLher percelved gender norms, ln one or more aspecLs of Lhelr
llfe. 1hese lndlvlduals expand Lhe deflnlLlon of gender Lhrough Lhelr own ldenLlLy and/or expresslon. Some
lndlvlduals do noL ldenLlfy wlLh belng elLher male or female, oLhers ldenLlfy as a blend of boLh, whlle sLlll oLhers
ldenLlfy wlLh a gender, buL express Lhelr gender ln ways LhaL dlffer from sLereoLyplcal presenLaLlons. A gender
expanslve person's preferences and self-expresslon may fall ouLslde commonly undersLood gender norms wlLhln
Lhelr own culLure, or Lhey may be allgned wlLh Lhem even as one's lnLernal gender ldenLlLy doesn'L allgn wlLh Lhe
sex asslgned aL blrLh.

1hls dlverslLy of gender ls a normal parL of Lhe human experlence, across culLures and LhroughouL hlsLory. non-
blnary gender dlverslLy exlsLs all over Lhe world, documenLed by counLless hlsLorlans and anLhropologlsLs. Lxamples
of lndlvlduals llvlng comforLably ouLslde of Lyplcal male/female expecLaLlons and/or ldenLlLles are found ln every
reglon of Lhe globe. 1he &'$'2'", and &'$'$'" of lndonesla, Lwo-splrlL naLlve Amerlcans, and Lhe 3"4-' of lndla all
represenL more complex undersLandlngs of gender Lhan allowed for by a slmpllsLlc blnary model.

lurLher, whaL mlghL be consldered gender expanslve ln one perlod of hlsLory may become gender normaLlve ln
anoLher. Cne need only examlne Lrends relaLed Lo men wearlng earrlngs or women sporLlng LaLLoos Lo qulckly see
Lhe malleablllLy of soclal expecLaLlons abouL gender. Lven Lhe seemlngly lnLracLable plnk ls for glrls, blue ls for boys"
noLlons are relaLlvely new. Whlle Lhere ls some debaLe abouL Lhe reasons why Lhey reversed, whaL ls well
documenLed ls LhaL noL unLll Lhe mld-LwenLleLh cenLury were noLlons of plnk for glrls or blue for boys so flrmly
ensconced. ?ou can make Lhe case LhaL plnk ls Lhe new blue!"

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When someone ls Lyplcally gendered," Lhey beneflL from gender prlvllege. lor lndlvlduals whose blologlcal sex,
gender expresslon, and gender ldenLlLy neaLly allgn, ofLen referred Lo as clsgender," Lhere ls a level of congruence
as Lhey encounLer Lhe world around Lhem. Llke many forms of soclal prlvllege, Lhls ls frequenLly an unexamlned
aspecL of Lhelr llves. lorms Lhey flll ouL, Lhe cloLhlng sLores ln whlch Lhey shop, or ldenLlflcaLlon papers Lhey carry
brlng few lf any second LhoughLs. ?eL for a Lransgender or oLherwlse gender expanslve person, each of Lhese, and
many more examples, ls a consLanL remlnder LhaL Lhey move abouL ln a culLure LhaL really does noL accounL for
Lhelr own experlence. Soclal prlvllege comes from an assumpLlon LhaL one's own perspecLlve ls unlversal, wheLher
relaLed Lo race, or language, or gender, prlvllege comes from belng parL of Lhe norm." Cr, as uoroLhy Soelle apLly
descrlbed lL: 5-"6"$*%* "/ 2*"+% '2$* 7# &3##/* 83'7 9#: 8"$$ +#7 /**;

1o undersLand Lhls more lnLulLlvely, Lhlnk abouL Lhe lasL Llme you were ln a publlc seLLlng and needed Lo use a
resLroom. lor clsgender lndlvlduals, Lhls rarely presenLs a problem or quesLlon (lssues of cleanllness
noLwlLhsLandlng!). ?eL for an lndlvldual who does noL flL lnLo narrowly deflned expecLaLlons of gender presenLaLlon
or ldenLlLy, resLroom use can presenL a whole hosL of challenges, someLlmes even becomlng a maLLer of llfe and
deaLh. 1he dally need Lo make [udgmenLs abouL whaL one does, or wears, or says based on oLher people's
percepLlons of Lhelr gender ls a burden LhaL many people never encounLer. 1hese everyday remlnders of belng
dlfferenL are also consLanL relnforcemenL of belng oLher."

D1"934&)1"
erhaps Lhe mosL fundamenLal aspecL of a person's ldenLlLy, gender deeply lnfluences every parL of one's llfe. ln a
socleLy where Lhls cruclal aspecL of self has been so narrowly deflned and rlgldly enforced, lndlvlduals who exlsLs
ouLslde lLs norms face lnnumerable challenges. Lven Lhose who vary only sllghLly from Lhe norm can become
LargeLs of dlsapproval. ?eL Lhls does noL have Lo be Lhe case forever. 1hrough a LhoughLful conslderaLlon of Lhe
unlqueness and valldlLy of every person's experlences of self, we can develop greaLer accepLance for all. noL only
wlll Lhls creaLe greaLer lncluslon for lndlvlduals who challenge Lhe norms of gender, lL wlll acLually creaLe space for
all lndlvlduals Lo more fully explore and celebraLe who Lhey are.