Women's Studies 1020E Lecture 18: Lec 18 Sex and Gender.docx

• School: Western University
• Department: Women's Studies
• Course: Women's Studies 1020E
• Professor: Jen Chrisholm

Document Summary

Emerging research suggests that there are more than two possibilities perhaps sex and gender exist on a continuum: over the last 25 years, greater attention has been paid to the existence of intersexed and/or transgender individuals (intersex refers specifically to biological sex organs, transgender has less to do with genitals, keeping in mind the difference between sex and gender, intersex and transgender refer to different experiences. The most striking difference being the choice involved for intersexed individuals, the choice was often made by physicians and parents immediately or closely following birth for transgender individuals, the choice is almost always reserved for the individual who must be the age of consent and typically must follow a detailed medical and psychotherapeutic regimen both choices rest on the notion that there is a correct or right way to be a male or a female, to be masculine or feminine.