Grade 12 Equity and Social Justice
GENDER EXPRESSION
Difference between sex and gender
 Sex is assigned at birth, refers to one’s biological status as either male or female, and is
associated primarily with physical attributes such as chromosomes, hormone prevalence, and
external and internal anatomy.
 Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities and attributes that a given
society considers appropriate for boys/men or girls/women. These influence the ways that
people act, interact and feel about themselves.
 While aspects of biological sex are similar across different cultures, aspects of gender may differ.
Gender Identity
This is one’s innermost concept of self as male or female or both or neither—how individuals perceive
themselves and what they call themselves. One’s gender identity can be the same or different than the
sex assigned at birth. Individuals are conscious of this between the ages 18 months and 3 years. Most
people develop a gender identity that matches their biological sex. In other instances, gender identity is
different from biological or assigned sex.
Gender Role
This is the set of roles, activities, expectations and behaviours assigned to females and males by society.
Our culture recognizes two basic gender roles: (1) masculine (having the qualities attributed to males)
and (2) feminine (having the qualities attributed to females). People who step out of their socially
assigned gender roles are sometimes referred to as transgender.
Gender Expression
According to the Gill Foundation (2015), “gender expression” refers to the ways in which we each
manifest masculinity or femininity. It is usually an extension of our “gender identity,” our innate sense
of being male or female. Each of us expresses a particular gender every day – by the way we style our
hair, select our clothing, or even the way we stand. Our appearance, speech, behavior, movement and
other factors signal that we feel – and wish to be understood – as masculine or feminine, or as a man or
a woman.For some of us, our gender expression may not match our biological sex. While other people
see us as being male or female, we may or may not fit their expectations of masculinity or femininity
because of the way we look, act or dress. People in this group represent many different backgrounds.
Their age, sex, race, ethnicity or sexual orientation has no bearing on their gender expression.
Transgender
 The American Psychological Association (2015) defines transgender is an umbrella term for
persons whose gender identity, gender expression or behavior does not conform to that
typically associated with the sex to which they were assigned at birth. Gender identity refers to
a person’s internal sense of being male, female or something else, while gender expression
refers to the way a person communicates gender identity to others through behavior, clothing,
hairstyles, voice or body characteristics.
 While transgender is generally a positive term, not everyone whose appearance or behavior is
gender-nonconforming will identify as a transgender person.
Many identities fall under the transgender umbrella.
The term transsexual refers to people whose gender identity is different from their assigned sex. In
some cases, transsexual people may alter (or wish to alter) their bodies to make their bodies as
congruent as possible with their gender identities. This process of transition through medical
intervention is often referred to as sex reassignment, gender reassignment or gender affirmation.
 People assigned female but identifying as male are known as transsexual men or transmen (also
known as female-to-male or FTM).
 People assigned male but identifying as female are called transsexual women or transwomen
(also known as male-to-female or MTF).
 People who cross-dress wear clothing that is traditionally or stereotypically worn by another
gender in their culture. Cross-dressers are usually comfortable with their assigned sex. Crossdressing is a form of gender expression and is not necessarily tied to erotic activity. Crossdressing is not indicative of sexual orientation
 The term drag queen generally refers to men who dress as women for the purpose of
entertaining others at bars, clubs, or other events. The term drag king refers to women who
dress as men for the purpose of entertaining others at bars, clubs, or other events.
 Genderqueer is a term that some people use to identify their gender as falling outside the
binary constructs of “male” and “female.” They may define their gender as falling somewhere
on a continuum between male and female, or they may define it as wholly different from these
terms. They may also request that pronouns be used to refer to them that are neither masculine
nor feminine, such as “zie” instead of “he” or “she,” or “hir” instead of “his” or “her.” Some
genderqueer people do not identify as transgender.
 Other categories of transgender people include androgynous, multi-gendered, gender nonconforming, third gender and two-spirit people. Exact definitions of these terms vary from
person to person and may change over time, but often include a sense of blending or alternating
genders. Traditional, binary concepts of gender are considered restrictive.

Gender Normative/Cisgender refers to people whose sex assignment at birth corresponds to
their gender identity and expression.

Gender fluidity conveys a wider, more flexible range of gender expression, with interests and
behaviours that may even change from day to day. Gender fluid children do not feel confined
by restrictive boundaries of stereotypical expectations of girls or boys. In other words, a child
may feel they are a girl some days and a boy on others, or possibly feel that neither term
describes them accurately.