gender

<hide> page type::article page type::disambiguation thing type::attribute thing type::definition </hide>

About

The idea of gender derives from reproductive role, sometimes referred to as "sex"<ref name=dictionary-com />. In this primary sense, it can refer to:

• reproductive role (aka "sex")
• physical sexual characteristics
• gender identity

For an overview of all the aspects of gender in this sense of the word, see Gender 101.

Other Uses

It also is used in the context of:

• connectors in electronics and plumbing
• pronouns in English
• nouns in many languages
• Less common uses include Gender of tonalities and Voice (grammar)

Pages

• /101: summary of current scientific understanding of gender
• /transfusions: evidence around the need to gender-match transfusion donor and recipient

Links

• Wikipedia
• Issuepedia

Footnotes

<references> <ref name=dictionary-com>Dictionary.com has a good explanation under "Usage note", starting with: "Although it is possible to define gender as “sex,” indicating that the term can be used when differentiating male creatures from female ones biologically, the concept of gender, a word primarily applied to human beings, has additional connotations—more rich and more amorphous—having to do with general behavior, social interactions, and most importantly, one's fundamental sense of self."</ref> </references>