Positive Space Network

Sex, gender identity and sexual orientation are three separate aspects of a person’s identity. These concepts are often conflated and it is important to understand the meaning of each.

Sex

The classification of people as male or female. It is a social status at birth, infants are assigned a sex based on a combination of bodily characteristics including: chromosomes, hormones, internal reproductive organs, and genitals. Persons may be male, female, or intersex.

Gender Identity

Personal self-identification of one’s gender as being male, female, neither or neutral, or both (bi-gender). Some experience gender as binary – either male or female, while others experience it as a spectrum ranging from full femininity to full masculinity, with other possible identities in between. One’s gender is demonstrated to others through such external indicators as appearance, clothing and behaviour.

Sexual Orientation

Sexual orientation is a socially constructed pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual fantasies, desires, behaviours, and/or attractions to women, men, multiple genders, neither gender, or another gender. One’s sexual orientation may be constant and unchanging, or it may be fluid and change in different circumstances or over time.

Transgender Basics – Gender Identity Project

Transgender Basics is a 20 minute educational film on the concepts of gender and transgender people. Two providers from the Center’s Gender Identity Project (GIP) discuss basic concepts of gender, sexual orientation, identity and gender roles. Three transgender community members share their personal experiences of being trans and genderqueer.