The Genderbread Person is a phenomenal resource for explaining and understanding the various ways we, as humans, express sexuality and gender. As per the infographic, each factor is separated and defined by how we, as individuals, might experience them. Gender identity, gender expression, biological sex and sexual orientation are all separate and distinct terms, but are often conflated or misrepresented. This can lead to a lot of confusion, especially if people aren’t well-versed on the topic. This infographic can aid both discussions with others, and how we explore our own feelings around gender and sexuality.
Gender Identity: How you think about yourself.
This can be identifying with being a male or female, or neither or both. It is how we internalize and identify ourselves in our mind. You may fit with one label, sit in the middle, multiple or not identify with the spectrum at all. The binary doesn’t always work for people, especially in a time where a number of ingrained societal preconceptions about gender are being discussed and deconstructed.
Gender Expression: How you express your gender, through your clothing, body, and behaviours.
This can move on a scale of feminine to masculine to androgynous (neither or a mix). This is all about what other people around you can perceive and interpret about your gender identity. Heavily influenced by traditional gender roles, this may change from day to day, or between settings and events. Most people slide around this scale on a regular basis, but it’s important to remember that your expression can relate to your gender identity, but does not have to.
Biological Sex and Sex Assigned at Birth: What sexual organs we are born with and what we were assigned at birth.
Biological sex refers to our hormones, organs, and our chromosomes. Additionally, they can be referred to as ‘sex characteristics’ which we are born with or which develop as we age. People are often either male or female, but some people can be intersex. Intersex is defined by Intersex Human Rights Australia as “having innate sex characteristics that don’t fit medical and social norms for female or male bodies”. It is an umbrella term and covers many varieties. When discussing people and their gender identities or expressions, you can often see the short hand AMAB (Assigned Male at Birth) or AFAB (Assigned Female at Birth). This is often used to be more inclusive of people with different gender identities than the one assigned to them at birth due to their biological sex.
Sexual Orientation: Who we are attracted to both romantically or sexually.
This scale includes all forms of sexuality on a spectrum, from heterosexuality to bisexuality, from homosexuality to asexuality, which is characterised by a lack of either sexual or romantic attraction. Sexual attraction and romantic attraction are also separate from each other. Individuals can sit in different positions on the scale for romantic and sexual attraction, because who we are sexually attracted to is not always the same type of person as who we love. There are many varieties and facets to sexual orientation, but these will be explored in more detail in another post.
These definitions are all related, but they are not the same. Separating these, and interacting with them and on individual basis, can allow us to view ourselves, and others, as more complete human beings.
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This aid was made by Sam Killermann, the author of the It’s pronounced Metrosexual blog. This is an excellent resource regarding gender and sexuality. The image of the Genderbread Person is free and uncopyrighted.
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