“Gender”: One Word, A Maze of Definitions
This article was written by Margaret Wetzel, a WoLF volunteer.
Please note: Occasionally, our guest authors use language that WoLF does not officially endorse. However, we always appreciate the opportunity to feature guest authors when they share their scholarship with us.
WoLF defines “gender” as “sex role stereotypes” or “social roles assigned on the basis of sex that preserve sexism and undermine individual freedoms.” WoLF is a radical feminist, gender abolitionist agency that seeks to abolish all sex role stereotypes. Learn more about our work here.
‘Enter Here’
Have you ever felt like all the different uses of the word "gender" don't match up? It's not just you — they don't. The word “gender” is defined in a wide variety of ways, depending on the different goals and agendas of the people using this word.
This article explores some of the many different definitions of “gender,” illustrating that there is not an agreed-upon definition of this word. There are many different definitions used in activist communities, political groups, and academia. The lack of an agreed-upon definition for “gender” makes miscommunication easy.
In a book of interviews with LGBT+ autistics, one interviewee claimed, “People are pretty informed about sexualities, but woefully behind on gender. People use language like ‘born in the wrong body’ or ‘biologically male/female’ when these things are not used anymore for the most part,” and the following interviewee said, “And I do think that sometimes nature makes a mistake and puts a female brain and soul in a male body and vice versa …” (Mendes, 2019).
Similar inconsistencies were found in other sources where multiple people expressed their personal ideas of gender (Coleman-Smith, 2020; Jackson-Perry, 2020; Kourti, 2019; Pyne, 2021; Shrier, 2021; Strang, 2018). The implication that gender doesn’t have a shared meaning is furthered by academics explicitly mentioning competing and changing ways of defining gender (Haslanger, 2002; Jackson-Perry, 2020; Nicholson, 1994; Stock, 2021). These disputes over gender don’t represent people having different gender identities — the disputes are over what “gender” as a whole should mean. No wonder a textbook on imperfect language uses “gender” as an example of a word without an agreed-upon definition (Cappelen, 2019).
In modern contexts with medicalizing children, men in women’s sports, attempts to replace homosexuality with “homogenderality,” and men being placed into women’s prisons, there are tangible consequences to disagreements over what gender as a whole should mean. Some detransitioners have even claimed that changing conceptions about “male and female” was what made them comfortable enough to accept themselves as their birth sex, and this seems to imply that their conception of “gender” would have changed as well as they detransitioned (Littman, 2021).
Laying out the different conceptions isn’t a frivolous activity – it is essential that those discussing “gender” and the issues surrounding it are able to pinpoint where their miscommunications are coming from. While this article doesn’t cover every variation in how “gender” is defined or even every disagreement over its definition, it will use an assortment of sources to document differences in how “gender” is used over four domains: “gender’s” relation to sex, sex norms, timeline, and assignment of labels.
Gender’s Relation to Sex
In all of my readings, Brewer (2021) and Wild (2019) were the only ones who suggested that no one was transgender, although their reasoning differed. Brewer (2021) presented gender as a personality that exists in a sexed body; since any personality could exist in male or female bodies, her definition of the word “gender” made it fairly useless because we already have the words “sex” and “personality.” Wild (2019), a lesbian feminist in the Get The L Out movement, used gender to represent experiences of sex-based socialization. Sex and gender weren’t used as synonyms in Brewer (2021) or Wild (2019), but both sources positioned sex and gender in a way that meant someone’s sex would be.
Another set of extremes viewed sexed bodies as something that could be completely separated from gender, allowing for simpler changes between genders (Catgender, n.d.; Ehrensaft, 2016; Hawn, 2021; Truscum, 2015; Vincent, 2020). Attempts at severing “gender” from sexed bodies seem to fit well with observations of virtual “gender exploration” being favored amongst youths due to the feelings of distance from one’s body that came when they were online (McInroy, 2018; Shrier, 2021). However, at least for some who put forth this conception of “gender,” it is questionable how much they actually believe it, considering that the therapists somehow still knew that a female wishing to be a male might want testosterone injections and a double mastectomy despite “body parts not having a gender” (Ehrensaft, 2016; Hawn, 2021).
In between these two extremes were those who discussed “gender” as the sex one was meant to be in; the “sex that was meant to be” was discussed as a biological drive and not a social identity (Littman, 2018; Manning, 2018; Shrier, 2021; Soh, 2020). While these sources do argue that some individuals are trans and benefit from physical and social transitioning, they also argue that the vast majority of individuals are compatible with their natal sex (Littmann, 2018; Manning, 2018; Shrier, 2021; Soh, 2020).
Sex Norms
Some feminists roughly defined “gender” as the sexism that is layered on top of the male and female sexes (Haslanger, 2002; Lorenzo, 2020; Wild, 2019). Due to sexism holding women back, some of these theorists even suggest that the female sex would be better off with no more “women”: females as a sex-based group would exist, but “women” as a group of females raised to uphold particular stereotypes would be no more (Haslanger, 2002; Lorenzo, 2020). The early idea of “gender as the sexism others place onto you” has been queered into “gender as sexism you can identify with” (Gratton, 2020; Kian, 2019; White, 2021).
For example, there was the girl in Shrier’s (2021) Irreversible Damage who initially identified as a transman but then took on a nonbinary identity after wearing nail polish. Then, there were those in Camburn (2019) expressing a nonbinary identity as the key to being able to wear-cross sex clothing; it seemed as though wanting to follow stereotypes from the other sex created a need for a new identity. In addition to “sexism you can identify with” being used to find someone’s “gender identity,” it also appears to be used to determine who is trans/cis (Gratton, 2020; Kian, 2019; White, 2021).
For example, there was an interview where Judith Butler stated, “I am interested in the fact that others decide who is cisgender and who is not. Someone can be cisgender in one cultural context and very much not. There is not one view on what gender conformity is since the norms of gender are not the same in all times and places;” whether or not someone is “cisgender” is determined by their “cultural context” would suggest that being “cis” depends upon the norms surrounding the individual rather than the individual’s acceptance of their sex (Kian, 2019).
For some, the idea of “gender as sexism you can identify with” seemed to be liberating, as following the norms that made sense to you just required changing your label (Camburn, 2019; Jack, 2012; Jack, 2014). Others were more concerned by this with the argument that “gender as sexism you can identify” would only deepen internalized sexism and make those wishing to stick with their sex’s label feel more limited (Brewer, 2021; Shrier, 2021; Soh, 2020). “Gender as sexism you can identify with” also seemed to encourage people to find the perfect label and pronouns to summarize their whole selves, which seemed like an unnecessarily stressful experience that would be avoidable if sex-based language was used again (Mardell, 2016).
The loss of distinction between gender and the whole self may seem similar to Brewer’s (2021) claims that gender is personality, but the implications are different. Brewer’s (2021) definition built two sexed boxes that can hold an infinite array of personalities, while the model of “gender as sexism you can identify with” attempts to build an infinite number of tiny boxes to transition between.
Those who viewed gender as a biologically wired sense of sex tended to stay out of this debate; with how strongly gender was connected to sex, there wasn’t room for “the sexism that gets layered onto one’s sex” or “sexism you can identify with.” An emphasis on desired physical sex over stereotypes can be found in some trans perspectives too; one “trans woman” described issues with [their] male “bits,” childhood of male-typical play, relief after physically transitioning, and [their] job in a physically demanding male-dominated trade (Mendes, 2019).
Timeline
For some, gender identity seemed to grow over time, although the reasoning behind the growth differed between sources (Fausto-Sterling, 2016; Fausto-Sterling, 2020; Haslanger, 2002; Lorenzo, 2020; Soh, 2020; Wild, 2019). In terms of biological development, Fausto-Sterling (2016) discussed body permanence as not developing until a child is around five, while Soh (2020) argued hormones released throughout puberty allow the brain to finish developing as male or female. Some feminists, including Haslanger (2002), Lorenzo (2020), and Wild (2019), discussed gender as sexist responses to a sexed body that added up over time, with Fausto-Sterling (2020) even discussing how differing responses to male and female bodies could potentially alter brain structure and function over time.
While Soh (2020) used past research on rates of desisting to suggest that gender was fluid during childhood, other sources suggested gender fluidity extended into adulthood (Catgender, n.d.; McInroy, 2018; Truscum, 2015). Shrier (2021) even described people who felt that their gender changed multiple times per day. There were also those who argued against the establishment of a timeline (MacKinnon, 2018; Mendes, 2019; Pyne, 2021; Truscum, 2015; Vincent, 2020). One reason against a timeline was that some trans individuals didn’t start identifying as trans until later in life; throwing out a timeline also seemed to help cover up the differences between autogynephilia, rapid onset gender dysphoria, and childhood-onset dysphoria (Coleman-Smith, 2020; Lawson, 2019; McInroy, 2018; Mendes, 2019). Another reason against a timeline came from MacKinnon (2018), arguing that a standard timeline for transgender identities pressured people seeking cross-sex hormones and surgeries to lie to healthcare workers. There does appear to be truth to MacKinnon’s (2018) concern with Littman (2018) and Shrier (2021) noting cases where kids lied to their doctors about their pasts, but they presented the argument that clinicians should involve parents to make sure the youths are being truthful rather than throwing out standards.
While sources arguing against a standard time could be described as “fluid,” sources calling for a standard time shouldn’t be considered “stiff.” Some of those who depicted “gender” as a constant would also argue that external and internal pressures could cause other, arguably incorrect gender identities to form (Adams, 2019; Brewer, 2021; Keck, 2019; Littman, 2018; Manning, 2018; Shrier, 2021; Soh, 2020). In this way, gender was “springy” under stress rather than “fluid” or “stiff.” Social pressures causing identity to be sprung off course could be seen in desisters, detransitioners, and adult descriptions of ROGD, with those who desisted/detransitioned offering some evidence that the original equilibrium can be returned to even after the spring is pulled (Brewer, 2021; Keck, 2019; Littman, 2018; Littman, 2021; Lockwood, 2019; Manning, 2018; Shrier, 2021; Soh, 2020).
Assigning Labels
Some argued that self-identification is enough to determine gender (Catgender, n.d.; MacKinnon, 2018; McInroy, 2018; Mendes, 2019; Truscum, 2015; Vincent, 2020). This group was pretty homogeneous because they all put the individual as the sole source of their gender. With granting self-identification this power, a disconnect from biology and physical bodies was observed in Catgender (n.d.), McInroy (2018), Truscum (2015), and Vincent (2020), but how directly or strongly this view was expressed differed between sources.
For others, self-identification was not the ultimate factor in determining gender (Adams, 2019; Brewer, 2021; Haslanger, 2002; Keck, 2019; Littman, 2018; Lockwood, 2018; Lorenzo, 2020; Manning, 2018; Nicholson, 1994; Shrier, 2021; Soh, 2020; Wild, 2019). However, despite agreeing gender wasn’t ultimately determined by the individual, there wasn’t an agreement on who actually determines gender. For example, Brewer (2021) makes suggestions that our sex determines our gender, while Soh (2020) points to brain structure and function. In terms of social dynamics that force an identity onto others, some feminists charged that gender is a system enforced by the patriarchy, making gender into something other members of society put onto us (Haslanger, 2002; Lorenzo, 2020; Nicholson, 1994; Wild, 2019).
The above cases look at wide views on predetermining gender on a society-wide scale, but others become focused on knowing gender in individual cases. In interviews and writing, some parents whose children suddenly adopted a trans identity express doubts about their child’s new gender; the years of knowing their child and external observations carry meaning beyond the child’s self-identification (Keck, 2019; Levinstein, 2016; Littman, 2018; Shrier, 2021). Others expressed doubts about a specific individual's self-identification, including psychologists and teachers (Adams, 2019; Keck, 2019; Manning, 2018).
An Exit
Despite being used on an almost daily basis, “gender” lacks an agreed-upon definition. Considering the controversies surrounding “gender,” a debate over what “gender” means is unlikely to result in an agreement.
Personally, I try to avoid using the word. “Sex,” “comfort with my sex,” “sexism,” “sex stereotypes,” and “personality” allow me to express anything that “gender” could while maintaining a higher level of clarity. “Gender” is a word with so many contradicting definitions that it has essentially become meaningless.
However, if one wants to engage with others, the word “gender” isn’t avoidable. Running away from conversations that use “gender” leaves too many issues unaddressed. It would seem as though Stock’s (2021) Material Girls have found the best approach to this issue: avoid using “gender” as much as you can while also taking the time to investigate what others mean when saying “gender.” Sometimes it even helps to directly ask the other person what they’re trying to communicate with “gender” with a brief explanation that you’ve heard the word so many ways and don’t want to misinterpret what they’re saying.
Be warned though, even if “gender” isn’t fluid, those using it will shift their definitions when it’s convenient; when chatting with a member of my honors college’s faculty who was concerned about my “harmful” and “not inclusive enough” language (I used the term women in reference to pregnancy instead of “people with ovaries”), she told me that she roughly defined “gender” as “the sexism used to hold girls down,” repeatedly used the word “gender” in a way that was consistent with her definition, and then later in that same conversation affirmed the male/nonbinary gender identities of girls who were raised as girls and act like stereotypical girls.
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