Gender enlightenment

My granddaughter-in-law, a newly-minted doctor, was awarded a fellowship in adolescent medicine. Some of her patients are dealing with issues having to do with gender identity and sexual orientation, topics that have only recently received the attention they deserve. She shared with me a graphic that helps explain the wide range of possible variations. For example, for transgender people, the sex they are assigned at birth and their own sense of gender identity are not the same. Some people consider themselves gender neutral. (Use the pronoun "they," when referring to them.)

Here’s the graphic that shows all the ways you can mix and match these identities. Note that this graphic is filled-out example of how someone rated his or herself on the scales (look at the black spots on the arrows).

Female/Male/Other

Feminine/Masculine/Other

Female/Male/Other

Women/Men/Other

Women/Men/Other



Some definitions:
Gender Identity: Your internal sense of being male, female, neither of these, both, or another gender(s).

Gender Expression/Presentation: The physical manifestation of your gender identity through clothing, hairstyle, voice, body shape, etc.

Sex Assigned at Birth: The assignment of people as male, female, intersex, or another sex based on a combination of anatomy, hormones, chromosomes.

I identify as a female, but not as feminine. My gender expression is somewhat manly. I prefer pants to skirts and low heels to high. I have no interest in jewelry or makeup. I sometimes buy men's shoes because they're more comfortable. A boy I once dated in college told classmates, "she's the kind of girl you take bowling."

For an introduction to this blog, see I Just Say No; for a list of blog topics, click the Topics tab.