9.1 Sex, Gender, and Sexuality

The term sex refers to the biological categories of male and female (and potentially other categories, as discussed later in this chapter). The sex of a person is determined by an examination of biological and anatomical features, including (but not limited to): visible genitalia (e.g., penis, testes, vagina), internal sex organs (e.g., ovaries, uterus), secondary sex characteristics (e.g., breasts, facial hair), chromosomes (XX for females, XY for males, and other possibilities), reproductive capabilities (including menstruation), and the activities of growth hormones, particularly testosterone and estrogen. It may seem as though nature divides humans neatly into females and males, but such a long list of traits results in a great deal of ambiguity and diversity within categories. This is the byproduct of using numerous, individual traits to categorize bodies. As a result, many evolutionary biologists now view sex as a collection of traits, with the gametes (sperm and egg) being the only biological form that is fully binary – male or female. Because of this, we often talk about male-bodied or female-bodied people in anthropology.

While sex is based on biology, the term gender was developed by social scientists to refer to cultural roles based on these biological categories. The cultural roles of gender assign certain expected behaviors, relationships, responsibilities, and rights differently to people of different genders. As elements of culture, gender categories are learned rather than inherited or inborn, making childhood an important time for gender enculturation. As opposed to the seeming universality of sex categories, the specific content of gender categories is highly variable across cultures and subject to change over time. With gender, we use terms like masculine, feminine, or androgynous to identify the cultural defined category for certain behaviors, ways of speaking, choices of clothing, etc.

Associated with sex and gender, the concept of sexuality refers to erotic thoughts, desires, and practices and the sociocultural identities associated with them. Sexual orientation refers to these sociocultural identities. For instance, if a typical male-bodied person has romantic, emotional, or erotic feelings only toward individuals of the opposite sex (e.g., typical female-bodied person) they would be called heterosexual. Same if the roles are reversed (typical female-bodied person attracted solely to typical male-bodied people). Some people have romantic, emotional, or erotic feelings toward people of their own sex and another sex have adopted the identity of bisexual. Bisexuals may also prefer people of the same gender identity, beyond the biological body. People who have erotic desires about and relations with others without regard to their biological sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation may consider themselves to be pansexual. Even more recently, some people who do not engage in sexual thoughts, desires, or practices of any kind have embraced the identity of asexual.

Scholars who have studied sexuality in many cultures have also pointed out that a person’s gender identity, sexual orientation, and sexuality tend to change significantly over the life span, responding to different contexts and relationships. The term queer, originally a pejorative term in American culture for a person who did not conform to the rigid norms of heterosexuality, is now used by people who do not abide by those norms, particularly people who take a more situational and fluid approach to the expression of gender and sexuality. Rather than a set of fixed and durable identities, queer gender and sexuality are more fluid, constantly emerging, and contingent on multiple factors.

As complex as sex, gender, and sexuality can be, it is helpful to have a diagram illustrating the possible relationships among these factors. Activist Sam Killermann has developed a useful diagram known as “The Genderbread Person,” depicting the various aspects of identity, attraction, expression, and physical characteristics that combine in the gender/sexuality of whole persons. Notice the use of sliding scales. Gender and sexuality, like sex, exhibit the same variation we see in any other trait or suite of traits.

For the sake of this chapter, and since this is an evolutionarily anchored text, we will refer to the biological sex of humans for simplicity (male, female) unless gender is more appropriate. This will be identified at the beginning of relevant sections. As we do so, it is important to remember that this binary use of male and female is shorthand, predominantly because most of the research discussed in this chapter is based upon averages from large datasets.