Lecture 1: What is Sex & Gender

What is sex?

-human behavior
-biologic sex/gender body characteristics
-method of reproduction

Sex:a human behavior

-Intimate physical contact
-Intended to be pleasurable
-Many behaviors: intercourse, oral sex, outercourse, genital touching, kissing, other touching, masturbation, and much more

Sex: a biologic gender/body characteristics

Sex: a biologic gender/body characteristics

-differing physical or biological characteristics (some related to reproductive organs, some are not)
-often seen as binary, but actually on a continuum

Sex: a method of reproduction

-sexual reproduction combine genetic material from two organisms to form a new, unique individual
-used by most animals and plants
-allows for diversity of organisms

What is gender?

-biologic gender
-gender expression
-gender identity

Gender: biologic

-set of characteristics including physical features (anatomy), chromosomes, and hormones on overlapping scales of male to female

Gender: expression

-how you communicate your gender to the world
-dress and appearance; largely culturally constructed
-behavior, posture, and gender roles; culturally contracted to an extent

Gender: identity

-internal sense of who you are; male, female, in-between, or something other

What is sexuality?

What is sexuality?

-refers to our desires/what we want to do (libido, attraction, sexual orientation)
-refers to our behaviors/what we do (kissing, touching, intercourse)

Sexual Orientation

Sex, Gender, and Sexuality linked together