Originally posted 2022-03-07 16:39:23.
Perhaps surprisingly, gender seems to still be a mystery to many, so let me try to explain.
First of all, let’s state what gender is not – it is not sex. Sex and gender are not synonymous. We might summarise it by saying ‘gender is what gets us into bed and sex is what we do once we’re there.’
Sex
Sex refers to a system of reproduction. In sexually dimorphic species, like us, there are two sexes. One has a system that produces a large, immotile gamete, or sex cell and the other a small, rapidly moving one. The former is called female and the latter male. The small gamete, called a sperm cell, carries an X or a Y chromosome. The larger one is called an ovum and, since these are produced in females, who only have X sex chromosomes, all ova are X. When the sperm and ovum come together, they produce a new individual with either XX (female) or XY (male) chromosomal sex or karotype. Thus, sex is fixed for life and cannot be changed.