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a visual representation of gender spectrum

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a visual representation of gender spectrum

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gender exists on a spectrum, which means a person's gender identity could be female, male, transgender, nonbinary, or an infinite number of other possibilities.

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an article that describes gender spectrum and other aspects of expression which we use to help identify and present ourselves to the world

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When we meet a newborn baby, most of us ask the same question: boy or girl? Often, the answer is easy. Often, but not always.

Meet Alex, a fourth-grader in Madison, Wis., with long, blond hair, a lanky build and a broad smile. When you meet Alex, you see a clever, confident kid who can move a mile a minute. You see what is obvious.

Boy or girl?

When we meet people for the first time, we look for gender cues in a way so automated we don't even know we're doing it. Long hair? Dress? Makeup? Female. Buzz cut? Broad shoulders? Ball cap? Male. We make these categorizations in a split second dozens of times every day.

Then someone like Alex (we used a pseudonym to protect Alex's privacy) walks into the room, and everything we thought we knew about gender flies out the window.

Gender may seem simple, but the myths surrounding this concept mask its true complexity. Experts who work with youth and gender issues tell us the two most common myths are these: First, gender is binary, offering only two options; second, gender and sex are the same thing. Summed up, the myth goes like this: Every person is either male or female, and the distinction is based on that person's anatomy.

In the parlance of gender development, sex exists between your legs-it's your biology, your chromosomes, your anatomy. Gender exists between your ears-it's how you feel about yourself. Kids develop a sense of gender identity by age two or three, says Diane Ehrensaft, author of Gender Born, Gender Made.

For most kids, birth sex and gender identity match. This population is referred to as being cisgender. In some cases, though, children's gender identity-how they feel about themselves-differs from their biology. Some kids know their gender identities and birth sexes don't match almost as soon as they begin to talk. For some it is as simple as wishing to swap one gender for another-"I was born a girl, but I'm really a boy." For others, their sense of gender exists somewhere between male and female, at various points along what is known as the gender spectrum.

The terminology used to describe these identities is vast and evolving. Gender nonconforming and transgender (the "T" in LGBT) are common terms. Increasingly popular are such phrases as gender independent, gender creative, gender expansive and gender diverse.

The common meaning of these terms: The rigid expectations of my birth sex do not match my understanding of who I am.

Alex has adamantly shirked gender boxes since the age of three, refusing to be called boy or girl. Alex doesn't mind alternating between gendered pronouns, "he" or "she," though Alex feels most comfortable chucking pronouns altogether. Alex's preferred gender descriptor is gender fluid.

Gender-diverse kids like Alex face a plethora of binary gender expectations in school: girl/boy lines, seating charts, bathrooms, locker rooms and dress codes. There are rules about who can play "Annie" in the school play, wear a tuxedo to the prom, try out for the football team or be voted homecoming queen.

Then there is the conflation of gender identity-how we feel on the inside-and gender expression-how we present our gender to the world through hairstyle, clothing and behaviors.

Gender expression is often curtailed by our society's gender norms-the expectations and assumptions that govern how a girl or boy is supposed to look, act, dress and play. These arbitrary norms are ubiquitous: Children's toothbrushes come in pink or blue; the toy aisles in big box stores are labeled girl (full of dolls and kitchen sets) and boy (full of trucks, LEGO sets and toy tools).

Miriam Hall, a contributor to the anthology Trans-Kin: A Guide for Family and Friends of Transgender People, shares the story of a friend's 11-year-old son who dresses in pink and loves sparkles and dolls. "He is very clear at all times that he is a boy," says Hall.

When people mistake him for a girl, he says, "Boys get to be like this. Anyone can be like this. Don't limit me to what you think boys are."

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Move beyond the pink/blue binary to support students who don't conform to narrow gender norms.

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"while gender and sexuality is not as simple as we thought it was and can be a little confusing, its a lot more interesting and honest"
- bill nye

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Bill Nye On Sexuality and Gender Spectrum

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another visual representation of gender spectrum

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another visual representation of gender spectrum

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i always felt like my left arm was kinda gay.

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i have decided that the two ends of my gender expression is potato and forg

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i think i've decided that the two ends of my gender expression spectrum is drag queen and soft e-boy
— certified lover boy™️🇵🇸 (@soyboy_17) November 21, 2021

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this has the same energy as the tt with the transformer...

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the internal struggles of changing your gender more than once and trying to explain it to your close friends/family all while dealing with the occasional backlash of social treatments... big mood

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when starting the game, professor oak asks for your name and gender: boy or girl. 2 years from now and yeah, they were right about that.

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The classic question "Are you a boy or a girl?" asked by professor oak will become a lot more popular in the future.

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236 votes, 57 comments. 23.4m members in the Showerthoughts community. A subreddit for sharing those miniature epiphanies you have that highlight ...

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gender spectrum but add a lil bit of spice

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gender spectrum but add a lil bit of spice

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in this tt, @kidcorvidcos used different forms of gender expression in a comedic way to describe their gender spectrum

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#stitch with @uh...al good morning this is my gender spectrum <3

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@kidcorvidcos
#stitch with @uh...al good morning this is my gender spectrum <3
♬ original sound - alpha dave factkin

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rarely have we seen any coverage from the textbooks and media but this tweet brings up the topic that gender spectrum is something that has always been around