PSY 184: Psychology of Gender - Beyond Two Boxes: Biological Sex, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering biological sex variations, gender identity and transition, multidimensional mapping models, demographic statistics, and sexual orientation theories from PSY 184: Psychology of Gender.

Sex / Biosex

The biological, genetic, and anatomical attributes of the body, including chromosomes ($XX$, $XY$), gonads, internal reproductive organs, external genitals, hormones, and reproductive capacity, labeled as female, male, or intersex (or assigned at birth as AFAB/AMAB).

Gender

The social self, encompassing social categories and cultural meanings, which includes an individual's internal psychological sense of self (gender identity) and outward presentation through clothing, voice, and behavior (gender expression).

Sexual Orientation

The sex and/or gender of the people to whom an individual is sexually and/or romantically attracted, encompassing identities such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, queer, and heterosexual.

Sex/Gender Binary

The conceptual framework asserting that only two biological sexes exist and that an individual's assigned biological sex reliably dictates their gender identity, expression, and social roles.

The Gender Bundle

An alternative framework to the binary positing that an individual's body, gender identity, gender expression, and social roles are not hierarchically ordered or tied together in a fixed, predetermined manner.

The Gender Unicorn

An educational model created by Trans Student Educational Resources (TSER) that delineates five distinct dimensions: gender identity, gender expression, sex assigned at birth, physical attraction, and emotional attraction.

Six Components of Biological Sex

The multi-tiered biological criteria consisting of chromosomes, gonads, internal reproductive organs, external genital appearance, prenatal hormones, and pubertal hormones, which do not always align in a binary fashion.

Intersex

A term describing an individual born with chromosomal patterns, gonadal tissue, internal reproductive organs, or external genitalia that do not fit typical medical definitions of male or female.

Ovotestes

Gonads that contain both ovarian and testicular tissue within the same organ, capable of producing both reproductive gametes or sex steroids like testosterone.

Bluehead Wrasse (Thalassoma bifasciatum)

A coral reef fish species displaying sequential hermaphroditism; when the social group's dominant male dies, the largest female transitions into a functional male, often within approximately $10\,\text{days}$.

Clownfish (Amphiprioninae)

A sequential hermaphroditic fish species in which all individuals start life as males; if the dominant female in a breeding pair dies, her male partner transitions into a female and a younger male matures.

Hamlets (Hypoplectrus)

Simultaneous hermaphroditic coral reef fish that produce both eggs and sperm at the same time, with mating partners taking turns spawning as male and female.

Narave Pigs

A sacred breed of pigs in Vanuatu selectively bred by villagers so that $10\text{–}20\%$ of males in herds exhibit intersex anatomy, compared to the baseline porcine rate of approximately $1\text{ in }20{,}000$.

Pseudopenis (Spotted Hyena)

An anatomical feature of female spotted hyenas consisting of an enlarged, elongated clitoris through which they urinate, mate, and give birth; female hyenas are physically larger and socially dominant over males.

Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS)

A condition in $XY$ individuals with functioning internal testes whose cells cannot respond to testosterone, causing the external body to develop typical female phenotypic characteristics without a uterus or ovaries.

Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH)

An inherited endocrine condition wherein the adrenal glands produce atypical levels of androgens, which can masculinize the external genitalia of genetically $XX$ fetuses.

5-Alpha Reductase Deficiency (5-ARD)

An $XY$ genetic condition marked by a deficiency in the enzyme that converts testosterone into dihydrotestosterone ($\text{DHT}$), resulting in female-typical external genitalia at birth that typically masculinize during puberty.

Klinefelter Syndrome

A chromosomal pattern ($XXY$) in individuals with a male appearance, typically characterized by smaller testes, reduced testosterone synthesis, and decreased fertility.

Turner Syndrome

A chromosomal pattern involving a single $X$ chromosome ($XO$), typically resulting in a female phenotype characterized by short stature and early loss of ovarian function.

Executive Order 14168

A federal policy enacted on January 20, 2025, defining sex strictly by reproductive cell size at conception (large gamete for female, small for male), barring gender identity from federal forms, and restricting federal document sex markers.

Phall-O-Meter

A satirical educational ruler created by the Intersex Society of North America (ISNA) critiquing arbitrary surgical standards that classify genital tissue under $0.9\,\text{cm}$ as female, over $2.5\,\text{cm}$ as male, and intermediary sizes as targets for cosmetic surgery.

Biological Continuum Theory (Fausto-Sterling)

Anne Fausto-Sterling's (2000) conceptualization that male and female biological attributes represent the extreme poles of a natural continuum, and that early cosmetic genital surgeries exist to socially uphold a binary framework.

Intersex Society of North America (ISNA)

An organization founded in 1993 by Cheryl Chase to eliminate shame, secrecy, and unconsented cosmetic genital surgeries on infants, demanding that surgeries be delayed until the patient can provide informed consent.

Cisgender

A term describing individuals whose gender identity conforms to the cultural and social expectations associated with the sex they were assigned at birth.

Transgender

An umbrella term for individuals whose personal gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth based on external genitalia.

Nonbinary / Genderqueer

Identity terms encompassing individuals whose gender falls outside the binary categories of woman and man, including those who identify with both genders, a third gender, or no gender.

Agender

An identity characterized by having no internal gender, an ungendered sense of self, or identifying with a completely neutral gender position.

Genderfluid

A gender identity characterized by fluctuations over time or across different social and environmental contexts.

Two-Spirit

An umbrella term used by various Native American and Indigenous cultures to describe individuals who embody both masculine and feminine spirits and fulfill distinct traditional social and ceremonial roles.

Fa'afafine

A recognized gender category in Samoan society comprising individuals assigned male at birth who live and express themselves within feminine social and familial roles.

Kathoey

A culturally recognized gender identity in Thailand referring to individuals assigned male at birth who live, present, and function as women or as an acknowledged third gender.

Hijra

A legally recognized third-gender community in South Asia (including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal) composed of transgender, intersex, or gender-nonconforming individuals.

David Reimer Case (John Money)

A mid-twentieth-century medical case where psychologist John Money sought to prove gender was purely socialized by having a boy surgically reassigned and raised as a girl following a circumcision accident; Reimer later reclaimed a male identity, proving gender identity cannot be arbitrarily imposed.

Gender Dysphoria

A diagnostic label introduced in the DSM-5 (2013), replacing 'Gender Identity Disorder,' that diagnoses the severe clinical distress caused by a mismatch between an individual's gender identity and their assigned sex at birth.

Puberty Blockers

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone ($\text{GnRH}$) analogues that temporarily suppress pubertal hormone production to delay physical changes (e.g., voice changes, breast tissue development), allowing youth time before making permanent decisions.

Gender Affirmation Surgery

Surgical procedures that align secondary sex characteristics and anatomy with an individual's gender identity; meta-analytic data show satisfaction rates of $85\text{–}90\%$ and regret rates of approximately $1\%$.

Distal Stressors

External, objective prejudice events experienced in the physical world within minority stress theory, such as discrimination, harassment, interpersonal rejection, and acts of physical violence.

Proximal Stressors

Internalized psychological stress processes within minority stress theory, including the vigilant anticipation of rejection, identity concealment, and internalized transphobia or homophobia.

Sexual Configurations Theory (SCT)

A multidimensional theoretical framework proposed by Sari van Anders (2015) that conceptualizes gender/sex, sexual orientations, and partner numbers along continuous, nonbinary, and intersecting parameters.

Gender/Sex

A unified term used in feminist scholarship and Sexual Configurations Theory when biological sex characteristics and sociocultural gendered processes cannot be cleanly untangled.

Traditional Model of Sexual Orientation

A categorical four-box classification that sorts individuals into distinct quadrants (straight man, gay man, straight woman, lesbian) based strictly on their biological sex and the sex of their attraction target.

Kinsey Scale

A 7-point continuum introduced by Alfred Kinsey in 1948 measuring sexual responsiveness from $0$ (exclusively heterosexual) to $6$ (exclusively homosexual), with ratings $1\text{–}5$ capturing bisexual attractions.

Klein Sexual Orientation Grid (Klein Grid)

A multi-dimensional sexual orientation assessment introduced by Fritz Klein in 1978 that rates seven variables across three temporal states (past, present, and ideal future).

Sexual Fluidity

Lisa Diamond's concept describing situation-dependent flexibility and potential shifts in an individual's sexual attraction, behavior, or identity across time and differing social contexts.

Heterosexism

An ideological and systemic bias assuming that heterosexuality is the normal, default, and superior orientation, rendering sexual minority identities marginal or invisible.

Monosexual

A descriptive category for individuals who experience romantic or sexual attraction toward people of only one sex or gender (e.g., exclusively heterosexual or gay/lesbian).

Binegativity

Prejudice, stereotyping, and invalidation directed specifically toward bisexual individuals from both heterosexual society and gay/lesbian communities.

Asexuality

A sexual orientation characterized by experiencing little to no sexual attraction toward others, encompassing sub-identities such as demisexuality and gray-asexuality.

Fraternal Birth Order Effect

A documented biological phenomenon where each successive biological older brother increases the odds of a later-born male child being homosexual by approximately one-third ($\approx 33\%$).

Conversion Therapy

Discredited psychological and pastoral practices that attempt to forcibly change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity, widely condemned by medical associations due to documented links to severe depression and suicidality.