Difference Between Sex and Gender

The key difference between sex and gender is that sex is what your body is and gender is what your mind thinks what your body is. Moreover, the basis for determining sex is biological and physiological factors whereas the basis for determining gender is one’s mindset about himself or herself and social and cultural factors.

Sex and gender, for most people, mean the same. However, there are various intricacies between these two terms that might indicate a very big difference between sex and gender.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Sex
3. What is Gender
4. Side by Side Comparison – Sex vs Gender in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What is Sex?

Sex is basically how a man is different from a woman physically. The major feature that determines the sex of a particular individual is their sex organs. The man has a penis, the woman a vagina.

Other physical features like bone structure, facial hair, and, muscular build, also would come into play when considering the difference between men and women. However, it pretty much boils down to what nature has decided when it was picking out your chromosomes.

What is Gender?

Gender, on the other hand, is a more complicated topic. Although your sex typically  defines or determines your gender, it also takes into account the social and cultural norms and their impact on you as an individual.

In a nutshell, a person’s gender is what his or her mind chooses to express itself sexually. Moreover, it is not only limited by biological aspects, but also by socio-cultural and environmental factors.

What is the difference between Sex and Gender?

Although, for the most part, sex and gender are interchangeable, they are not exactly seen as the same. In brief, sex is what your body is and gender is what your mind thinks what your body is. This is the key difference between sex and gender. Moreover, the basis for determining sex is biological and physiological factors whereas the basis for determining gender is one’s mindset about himself or herself and social and cultural factors. In other words, while a person’s sex is male because of his physical make-up, his gender might be completely different because of how and where he grew up.

Moreover, it is safe to assume then that gender is what the mind chooses to express itself sexually. Identifying the difference between sex and gender is important as it can help a person realize his or her identity and not be constrained by the norms that would be detrimental to one’s growth.

Summary – Sex vs Gender

Sex is the physical manifestation of the body that is primarily defined by the sex organs. Gender is the manifestation of what the mind thinks what the body is. Not only by the physical body but also socio-cultural and environmental factors affect gender. This is the key difference between sex and gender.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Reproductive system” by Siyavula Education (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr
2. “884043” (CCo) via Pixabay