Sexuality vs. Gender: What's the Difference?

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Differences

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Sexuality

Effects of Discrimination

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Sexuality and gender are often assumed to be related concepts, but they are actually separate and distinct. Understanding the difference between sexuality vs. gender is important because, while both are important parts of an individual’s sense of self, if you don’t know what each one is, you may make incorrect assumptions.

For example, some people may assume that someone who istransgenderis gay. But a transgender person’sgender identityandsexual orientationaren’t connected.

At a Glance

Understanding Sexuality vs. Gender

To understand the difference between sexuality vs. gender, it’s helpful to know what each term means.

While the terms are often conflated, recognizing the differences between sexuality and gender is important. Sexuality and gender are essential aspects of a person’s identity and play a part in shaping a person’s experiences throughout life.

What Is Gender and Gender Identity?

The American Psychological Association (APA) defines gender identity as “a person’s deeply felt, inherent sense of being a boy, a man, or male; a girl, a woman, or female; or an alternative gender, which may or may not correspond to a person’s sex assigned at birth.”

Gender identity is personal and an inherent part of an individual’s sense of self. While gender is often presented as a binary that only includes men and women, in reality, gender is a spectrum. People can define their gender in a variety of waysinc! This includes a combination of woman and man, a completely separate gender, or no gender at all.

The four types of gender applied to living and nonliving things are masculine, feminine, neuter, and common.

Gender Identity vs. Gender Expression

Gender identity is internal and may not always be obvious to the outside world. That’s becausegender expression—the way one presents themselves through their external appearance and behavior with things like clothes, hairstyles, voice, and body language—may or may not conform to their gender identity.

Gender Identity vs. Sex

The terms sex and gender are often used interchangeably, and people often assume that the sex one is assigned at birth dictates the gender one is. In reality, though,gender identity and sexrefer to different things.

Just like gender identity, sex is a continuum that isn’t limited to male or female, as people can also be bornintersex, meaning their bodies aren’t biologically male or female.

What Is Sexuality?

Sexualityis another word for sexual orientation. The APA defines sexual orientation as “a component of identity that includes a person’s sexual or emotional attraction to another person and the behavior that may result from this attraction.

Sexual vs. Romantic AttractionIt’s important to recognize that sexual and emotional attraction may not always match forasexualandaromanticpeople. Someone may be sexually attracted to one gender but experience no romantic attraction, whereas they may be romantically attracted to another gender but not want to engage in sexual acts.

Sexual vs. Romantic Attraction

It’s important to recognize that sexual and emotional attraction may not always match forasexualandaromanticpeople. Someone may be sexually attracted to one gender but experience no romantic attraction, whereas they may be romantically attracted to another gender but not want to engage in sexual acts.

What Is the Split Attraction Model?

Sexual Fluidity

Sexual orientation can change at any point during one’s lifetime, which is known assexual fluidity. In particular, as people age and get to know themselves and their preferences better. This often gives them the opportunity to learn more about themselves and who they are attracted to, leading to the evolution of their sexuality. In fact, for some people, sexuality is fluid throughout their lives.

Effects of Sexuality and Gender Discrimination

Unfortunately, transgender people or those whose sexual orientation is something other than heterosexual often encounterdiscriminationandprejudice. In the past few decades, both gender identity and sexual orientation have become political flashpoints.

Social and Political Effects

A case revolving around whether people who were not heterosexual had the right to marry went all the way to the Supreme Court, and the judges' ruling led to marriage equality. Many states have passed or are debating laws about issues involving transgender people, such as whether to prevent transgender men and women from using the bathroom that matches their gender identity.

The fact that issues surrounding the rights of gender-diverse andsexual minoritypeople are up for debate contributes to a climate wherediscrimination is still commonagainst anyone who isn’t straight andcisgender. Research shows gender diverse and sexual minority individuals suffer from physical and psychological abuse, bullying, and persecution in a variety of contexts, including school, the workplace, and health care.

In fact, a 2019 report of the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth in American schools, found that over half of LGBTQ+ students were verbally harassed and that over one-fifth were physically harassed due to their sexual orientation or gender expression.

Mental Health Effects

This kind of prejudice and discrimination puts gender-diverse and sexual minority individuals at an increased risk of mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicide.On the other hand, an individual’s journey to determining their sexuality or gender identity is personal. Suppressing one’s true gender or sexual identity can lead to mental health issues as well.

Taking steps to combat discrimination based on sexuality and gender can be beneficial. LGBTQ students in schools with gay-straight alliances, LGBTQ-inclusive curriculums, and supportive educators felt safer and experienced a greater sense of belonging at school.

Takeaways

Both gender identity and sexual orientation are important to parts of a person’s overall identity. But it’s important to recognize they are not the same thing and knowing the differences between sexuality vs. gender is critical.

In each case, social constructs surrounding sexuality and gender continue to result in prejudices that negatively impact gender-diverse and sexual minority individuals. This may be one reason why many people continue to conflate these constructs.

People must recognize that for individuals, sexuality and gender are not inherently linked. Never make assumptions about a person’s sexual orientation based on gender or vice versa. Instead, people need to feel free to explore and define their gender identity and sexual orientation in the way that feels best to them. In doing so, they can be the truest version of themselves.

What Is Gender Essentialism Theory?

7 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Psychological Association Divisions 16 and 44.Key Terms And Concepts In Understanding Gender Diversity And Sexual Orientation Among Students. 2015.Human Rights Campaign.Glossary of Terms.National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education; Committee on National Statistics; Committee on Measuring Sex, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation.Measuring Sex, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation. (Becker T, Chin M, Bates N, eds.). National Academies Press (US); 2022.Morris BJ.History of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender social movements. American Psychological Association.Adams C.The difference between sexual orientation and gender identity. CBS News. 2017.GLSEN.The 2019 National School Climate Survey: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Youth in Our Nation’s School: Executive Summary. 2020.Moleiro C, Pinto N.Sexual orientation and gender identity: Review of concepts, controversies and their relation to psychopathology classification systems.Front Psychol. 2015;6. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01511

7 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Psychological Association Divisions 16 and 44.Key Terms And Concepts In Understanding Gender Diversity And Sexual Orientation Among Students. 2015.Human Rights Campaign.Glossary of Terms.National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education; Committee on National Statistics; Committee on Measuring Sex, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation.Measuring Sex, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation. (Becker T, Chin M, Bates N, eds.). National Academies Press (US); 2022.Morris BJ.History of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender social movements. American Psychological Association.Adams C.The difference between sexual orientation and gender identity. CBS News. 2017.GLSEN.The 2019 National School Climate Survey: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Youth in Our Nation’s School: Executive Summary. 2020.Moleiro C, Pinto N.Sexual orientation and gender identity: Review of concepts, controversies and their relation to psychopathology classification systems.Front Psychol. 2015;6. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01511

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

American Psychological Association Divisions 16 and 44.Key Terms And Concepts In Understanding Gender Diversity And Sexual Orientation Among Students. 2015.Human Rights Campaign.Glossary of Terms.National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education; Committee on National Statistics; Committee on Measuring Sex, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation.Measuring Sex, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation. (Becker T, Chin M, Bates N, eds.). National Academies Press (US); 2022.Morris BJ.History of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender social movements. American Psychological Association.Adams C.The difference between sexual orientation and gender identity. CBS News. 2017.GLSEN.The 2019 National School Climate Survey: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Youth in Our Nation’s School: Executive Summary. 2020.Moleiro C, Pinto N.Sexual orientation and gender identity: Review of concepts, controversies and their relation to psychopathology classification systems.Front Psychol. 2015;6. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01511

American Psychological Association Divisions 16 and 44.Key Terms And Concepts In Understanding Gender Diversity And Sexual Orientation Among Students. 2015.

Human Rights Campaign.Glossary of Terms.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education; Committee on National Statistics; Committee on Measuring Sex, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation.Measuring Sex, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation. (Becker T, Chin M, Bates N, eds.). National Academies Press (US); 2022.

Morris BJ.History of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender social movements. American Psychological Association.

Adams C.The difference between sexual orientation and gender identity. CBS News. 2017.

GLSEN.The 2019 National School Climate Survey: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Youth in Our Nation’s School: Executive Summary. 2020.

Moleiro C, Pinto N.Sexual orientation and gender identity: Review of concepts, controversies and their relation to psychopathology classification systems.Front Psychol. 2015;6. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01511

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