In today’s society, many people use the terms “sex” and “gender” interchangeably. Under most circumstances, this can be forgiven as you won’t be losing very much as far as meaning goes, but there is an important fundamental difference between the two terms.
The word sex, in this context, refers to the biological characteristics of the individual. It is based primarily on the reproductive anatomy of the person (or animal, etc.), though secondary sex characteristics can also come into play. Males have one set of reproductive organs and females have a different set of reproductive organs. Secondary sex characteristics, which come into play around and after puberty, might involve more facial hair on men and larger breasts on women.
The word gender, on the other hand, refers more to the lifestyle and identity of the individual. This is oftentimes culturally-defined and culturally-specific, just like the concept of morality. There are all sorts of gender stereotypes in mainstream western culture, even if they don’t necessarily apply universally or have any concrete basis.
We usually associate the color blue with masculinity and the color pink with femininity, but this is both totally arbitrary and a relatively recent development. The same can be said about the so-called gender roles where the man goes out to earn a wage while the woman stays home to take care of the family. In this way, gender has far more to do with the social and cultural aspects of what it means to be male or female, whereas sex has to do with the physiological differences.
But why is this distinction important? You’ve likely heard stories (or know someone) who says they feel like a man trapped in a woman’s body (or vice versa). In this case, the sex of the individual may be best defined as female, as this person would have the biology of a woman. However, since they identify more with being a man, their gender could be male. This can be a touchy subject for many, which is why “they” is sometimes used in the context of mixed, complicated or indeterminate gender.
As you may have heard, my wife and I are expecting our first child this fall. Many people are asking us about the gender of the baby, and this has become common practice, but it would be more accurate to ask about the sex of the baby. From a psychological standpoint, it’s unlikely that the infant will have any real sense of “gender” until later on.
All this said, just as I mentioned at the top, most people use “sex” and “gender” almost interchangeably, so it’s not that big of a deal if you use one or the other. Indeed, there is still debate among the scientific and academic communities about whether there is a difference at all. What do you think?
Michael, it’s interesting that we have certain stereotypes, but raising 1 girl and 2 boys I have seen gender come into play.
When Camille was 1-4 she played with dolls, etc. while we gave her cars, trucks or boy toys too. She never really took to them, whereas both boys went right for the trucks, cars and such. They did not have time for the girl things. The only thing they did do was mimic their big sister and use her stroller to push a doll around while learning to walk.