Clarifications | Sex vs Gender
What is gender? While many experts and laymen alike have used the term as distinct from sex by specifying sex as “biological sexual identity” and gender as “psychological sexual identity,” the differences have been either mostly exaggerated or completely arbitrary. Indeed, sex versus gender only matters when it is the topic of discussion. In most cases, people use sex and gender interchangeably and only distinguish between the two if needed. Still, one should pause and consider why prefacing such a distinction is necessary in the first place. Why does there seem to be so much confusion surrounding the topic of sex versus gender?
In the past decade, there has been a surge of political activism among identity groups—specifically, trans-rights activists within the LGBTQ+ community. Gender became a primary talking point of these groups, and eventually, it became mainstream. Much of the debate centered around gay marriage and sexuality, but an eventual backlash would occur years later within American culture on the nature of sex itself, with questions like “What is a woman?” entering into public consciousness. It wasn’t long after that conversations about sex and gender sparked into heated debates. Now, in our current milieu, anyone who questions whether someone is a man or woman is labeled as either hateful or disingenuous, while anyone who refuses to answer is judged as intellectually dishonest. Clearly, this divide will continue to increase unless both parties can resolve the fundamental difference between sex and gender. My contention, which I will elaborate on in further detail throughout this piece, is that there is no distinction between sex and gender. There is only biological sex that influences sex-typical behaviors. While some may disagree with my views, my hope is not to convince anyone otherwise but to challenge conventional thinking by offering a reasonable counterpoint. All I ask is for one’s consideration, at least for clarification’s sake.
Sex vs Gender
Gender was a linguistic, psychosexual term that gained prominence during the 1960s. Its progenitors used it to argue for the socially constructed development of sexual identity, which remains a hotly debated topic. Gender, as distinct from sex, did not gain mainstream popularity until sexologist John Money first coined the concept of “gender roles” in 1955. Afterward, feminists adopted the term to distinguish biological from social differences between men and women. In the natural sciences, scholars continued to use the term sex. However, in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, the use of gender outgrew sex in most instances and, by the 1980s, became colloquialized by those unfamiliar with its origins.¹
Of course, this does not disprove gender theory or the social constructionist view of sexual identity. However, it does explain people's general confusion when discussing the distinction between sex and gender. Already, we have contemporary terms like cisgender (individuals who identify with their biological sex), non-binary (individuals who identify as neither male nor female), and transgender (individuals who identify as different from their biological sex), to name a few. No doubt, there is a tiny minority of people who are intersex or who have gender dysphoria. And while it would be disingenuous to dismiss their existence, it would be equally as misleading to regard them as the rule rather than the exception. To put in perspective, a study by Leonard Sax, in response to Anne Fausto-Sterling’s claim that 1.7% of births have “non-dimorphic sexual development,” determined that the actual percentage of intersex births is approximately 0.018%.² In addition, we have over half a century of empirical, scientific research that shows, without question, biological differences between human males and females. So, why does the distinction between sex and gender persist?
For starters, advocates of gender as distinct from sex hold a general bias toward a “blank slate” view of human nature, an extreme nurturist position in the long-held debate of Nature vs. Nurture. The “blank slate” term itself dates back centuries from philosopher John Locke. He believed that humans are not born with innate characteristics but are empty vessels devoid of any preconceived ideas about themselves or the world. In other words, human behavior is mostly learned, not inherited. If this notion is held true, it would suggest that masculine and feminine behaviors result from culture, not biology, supporting the feminist position that men and women are essentially the same and, thus, equal.
The second reason for using gender over sex was the ego investment of early gender theorists. John Money, specifically, touted the success of his now infamous twin experiment, the John/Joan case study, for decades until it was revealed to be a complete failure in 1997. David Reimer, the elder twin, was raised as a girl named Brenda after a botched circumcision via electrocauterization burned his penis. John Money recommended sex reassignment surgery for David, and at 22 months, both his testicles were surgically removed. However, David, after years of sessions with Money, still behaved more masculine than feminine despite early socialization and hormone treatment. According to John Colapinto's biography of David Reimer, As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl, David preferred playing with mechanical objects like cars and tinker toys rather than solitary figures like dolls. In addition, he would strut around like a boy, sit with his legs apart, and engage in predominantly masculine activities like building forts and snowball fights.³
Gender theorists would argue that these behaviors are due to early socialization, but if that were true, why did David continue to feel like a boy even though he was raised as a girl? If David’s gender identity was distinct from his biological sex, why did early attempts to prove this fail? The answer is that boys and girls are biologically different and thus will exhibit behaviors based on those differences. For example, David’s toy preference is not unlike most boys, who, on average, prefer playing with mechanical objects.⁴ Much of this preference is due to prenatal androgens. Those exposed to high levels of androgens during gestation are more interested in mechanical toys. Hence why girls with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), a syndrome that stimulates the overproduction of androgens during early fetal development, have an unusually high preference for male-typical toys.⁵ Moreover, brain differences between men and women directly correlate with differences in behavior.
Thirdly, as I mentioned earlier, gender identity as distinct from biological sex supports the feminist’s view of equality as sameness. Feminist writer Kate Millet specifically references John Money’s work in her groundbreaking novel Sexual Politics, stating that:
“I agree in general with Money…that gender role is determined by postnatal forces, regardless of the anatomy and physiology of the external genitalia…Psycho-sexually (e.g., in terms of masculine and feminine, and in contradistinction to male and female) there is no differentiation between the sexes at birth. Psycho-sexual personality is therefore postnatal and learned.” - Kate Millet ⁶
Her presupposition of sex sameness between men and women, like many feminists of the time, was a core tenet of the women’s liberation movement during the 1960s. The use of gender was thus beneficial for women by enacting social change in a period when women felt oppressed. By making gender identity the primary determiner for sex-typical behavior instead of biological sex, feminists were able to downplay what they believed to be men’s superiority while simultaneously highlighting women’s exceptionalism.
In sum, using gender over sex supports the blank slate, social constructionist view of human nature while minimizing observable, biological differences between men and women—a position I find untenable given the current scientific data. Therefore, I will only use gender in terms of its origins or applicability. For everything else, I will use sex to compare and contrast males and females.
Of course, whether you continue to use sex as distinct from gender is your choice. If you agree, hopefully, the information I’ve presented helps clarify any confusion you might have had. If you disagree, then perhaps I’ve at least challenged your thinking and brought more questions you may not have considered. In any case, the debate between sex versus gender will continue for the foreseeable future. As far as how long and which direction it will go is anybody’s guess.
