GENDER IS NOT THE

SAME AS SEX
By Lesly Gordillo Santoyo
Arizona State University
 ABSTRACT
This presentation will provide a more accurate
view of what the term ‘gender’ means. It is often
confused with the word ‘sex,’ but the
presentation will indicate that gender is not as
simple as choosing between two options. Rather,
it will display the complexity of the definition and
how, as a society, we have come to change the
meaning of the term. Showing examples on a
governmental, entertainment, and educational
standpoint will prove how easily exchanged
gender is used instead of sex and the society’s
perspective of gender roles has shaped the
word ‘gender.’
 BACK IN TIME James
Bond, left,
and Pussy
Galore,
• Universally, men have been culturally given a right, on
set.
set of tasks for his ‘role’ and women have been
culturally given their set of duties to enact her
‘role.’
• In the United States, Goldfinger came out in
1964, setting a clear representation of how
society shaped two prominent gender
identities to what one is accustomed now.
• Like James Bond in the movie, men “turned
[women] into objects of pleasure that can
never be imagined as a whole person because
it would be too scary.” Like Pussy Galore,
women were to be viewed as anything “less
than full human beings.”
 CHANGES IN THE ENTERTAINMENT
INDUSTRY
• Half a century ago, The Boys in the Band was a play in which a group of gay
men performed on stage. This was odd to see at the time with the set-in-
stone stereotypes of men and women.

• Fifty years later, the play will have a return with nine different award winning
actors, displaying that the gender identities revealed in The Boys in the Band
will not be disappearing. Commented by Danez Smith, involved in the
actors’ queer poem recitation, he discusses the confusion he went through
as a child to determine which gender category he fit in. Seeing the different
types of genders now, he believes he fits in more than five classes, showing
the change through time in gender identification.
 DRIVER LICENSES
• States like California and Washington have
placed a third gender option, the non-binary
gender, on their state driver’s license.
• Arizona wants to implement the same on the
Arizona driver’s license but it is not certain that it
will happen.
• Apart from driver licenses, lawmakers are
advocating for more gender options on other
legal documents as well, such as health records
and death certificates.
• This gives people that do not identify with male
or female more voice to specify their identity.
 THE DIFFERENCES
• Sex is determined by our biological features,
such as reproductive body parts and the
chromosomes within our DNA.
• Sexual orientation is what sex or sexes a person
is attracted to.
• Gender expression and identity differ in that
one is based on the physical aspect exhibited
that one can see with their eyes and the other
based on what is mentally recognized of an
individual, respectively.
GENDER IS LIKE PERSONALITY
• Sam Killerman, comedian from It’s
Pronounced Metrosexual and guest speaker in
a TEDXTalk, describes gender to be like a
personality.
• For example, a girl may dress what we
associate with boys and she may have more
boy-like expressions but she may be attracted
to boys. She may think she is still a girl.
• Another example can be a boy who dresses
like a girl and expresses girl-like gestures and is
attracted to boys. He may want to identify
with being a girl.
• As many unique personalities that exist,
gender can exist in a variety of ways.
 SO, WHAT IS GENDER?

• Gender is the self identification of

being male or female. This is a mental
process of the individual that is not
physically seen.
• Usually associated with the societal
connotations of the norms of male
activities and physical attributes as well
as those of a female.
• There are more than just two genders.
 CONCLUSION
• Gender is not straightforward as it is a complex idea that each
individual can identify themselves with through their feelings and
thoughts.
• It is often used interchangeably with the term ‘sex’ but this is not
correct.
• Society has influenced the idea of two genders.
• Each person is unique and each person can have multiple gender
classifications.
 REFERENCES
• Chee, A. (2018, February 26). ‘The Boys in the Band’ cast reads queer poetry. The New York Times.
Retrieved March 3, 2018 from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/26/t-magazine/matt-bomer-zachary-
quinto-boys-in-the-band-queer-poetry.html
• Polleta, M. (2018, February 15). Third gender option sought for Arizona driver licenses. Azcentral. Retrieved
February 5, 2018 from https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/legislature/2018/02/15/third-gender-
option-sought-arizona-drivers-licenses/333681002/
• [TEDx Talks]. (2013, May 3). Understanding the Complexities of Gender: Sam Killermann at
TEDxUofIChicago. [Video File]. Retrieved March 2, 2018 from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRcPXtqdKjE
• Yancy, G. (2018, February 26). James Bond is a wimp. The New York Times. Retrieved March 3, 2018 from
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/26/opinion/drucilla-cornell-misogyny-sex-
gender.html?module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=Opinion&action=keypress&region=FixedLeft&pgtyp
e=article