The Gender Continua
Key: AWL to Study, Low-frequency Vocabulary
What is gender? What is a continuum?
Cultural Norms and Expectations
• Prompt people to interpret gender as two discrete
polarities:
 male and female
• Nature’s rich diversity includes
a vast array of unique and
varied gender manifestations.
• A very small number of people can
claim to be entirely male or female.
If few people can claim to be 100% male or female, what
can they claim?
Gender: A Continuum
• Experts describe gender as a continuum with
individuals at every point between the two extremes
of male and female.
Do you agree that gender is a continuum? Explain.
Four Separate Scales
Describe the four scales included in the gender continua.
Biological Sex
• Traits are assessed objectively using modern medical
technology.
 hormone levels
 chromosome types
 internal and external reproductive
systems
 secondary-sex characteristics
Can you give examples of each of the four types of
biological sex characteristics?
Not an Either-Or Phenomenon
• Real-life examples exist at every point on the scale.
• Intersex Society of North America estimates
 one out of every 100 people differ from the “norm.”
In this context, what is meant by the term “norm”?
Gender Identity
• How people view themselves in terms of gender.
 continuum with more than two categories
• In an honest self-assessment, people will admit to
having some traits of the
opposite sex.
What traits are typically associated with each gender?
Societal and Familial Expectations
• May lead to discomfort or anxiety about an
“inappropriate” gender characteristic
 may lead to homophobic behavior.
What is homophobia?
Gender Expression
• Comprises the ways people communicate gender:
 dress
 hairstyles
 mannerisms
 interests
 speech
• Masculine and feminine expression are at either end
of the continuum.
 androgynous at the center
In what other ways do you think gender can be
communicated?
Sexual Orientation
• End points of the continuum:
 attracted to men
 attracted to women
• Mid-range
 bisexual and asexual people
• Presumed that people are at one end or the other.
 However, Alfred Kinsey’s classic studies illustrate that the
majority of people exhibit an attraction to both sexes.
Are you surprised by Kinsey’s findings? Why or why not?
The Gender-continua Model
• The full spectrum of naturally occurring gender
manifestations
 negates the culturally imposed, black-and-white view of
gender.
equates it with infinite possibilities.
What is meant by the phrase “black-and-white view”?