Other How many genders?

[cane suga]

To put it in the most basic way possible there are two sexes, but the number of genders will keep expanding until they just stop expanding. I, as a non-binary person, believe that anyone can be anything they want and I won't judge someone if they want to identify as an escalator or a toaster strudel.

 

[kevintheradioguy]

I don't really think cis or trans are a gender tho... don't trans people go through all of this to be just male or just female, instead of wearing a label of boy-who-used-to-be-a-girl and girl-who-used-to-be-a-boy?

I am a liberal person - do whatever you want until you don't hurt others, but I do think some sanity should be added to this. I'm ok to address a bigender or agender by 'they', or be warned by a non-binary that today hey feel like a 'he'. One of my bffs prefers 'it', and I'm cool. But when it comes to xe, ze, or whatever, this is where I draw the line. It sounds... fake, pretentious, and "look at me I'm twelve and I'm a special snowflake" thing. You cannot feel like a ze, because ze isn't even an entity, this isn't a word... that came out harsh, but, eh. I embrace my assishness.

I really don't believe there are 26 genders. In fact, now when I think of it, I guess I'm leaning to two. Male and female, whether it's trans or cis male, and trans or cis female (I'll never refer to a trans person as "trans-he", I'll just say "he"(. You can be neither, like agender, but the absence of gender does not mean there's a new one - it's the absence of one, it's like calling transpatent a colour. You can be both (at the same time or not), but again, that doesn't mean a new gender, for instance I like plums and apples - that doesn't mean I like plapples, that means I like plums and apples.

Honestly, making up new things to feel like (I'd start a monologue about human inability to make up nonexistent things, but I'm on phone and it's inconvenient) comes off as very childish to me. Of course it's hypocriticalto say as a roleplayer who likes to play pretend, but I do not pretend to be a monster or a Victorian duke in real life, so... yeah, something like that.

 

[The Mechanist]

The idea of a nonbinary gender has been around for a long time, plato once wrote about it

 

[kevintheradioguy]

The idea of a nonbinary gender has been around for a long time, plato once wrote about it

Might I inquire where exactly? Would love to read.

 

[Kylesar1]

I believe that there are probably 3, just like there are 4 sexualities

• Male
• Female
• Non-binary (even then this is questionable)

EVERYTHING falls here

While I believe in a sexuality spectrum, I don't believe in a gender spectrum. Either you identify as male or female. You can feel more or less masculine or feminine, but the thing about genderfluid seems like it thrives on stereotypes more than anything. If things didn't fall into a category of stereotypically masculine or stereotypically feminine, the concept of genderfluid wouldn't exist, at least in my opinion. That to me means that it doesn't really exist. You identify as what you have in your pants the overwhelming majority of the time. Even in non-binary, it just seems like the will to not conform to the binary, or the feeling of not being stereotypical in gendered traits, tendencies, and actions.

As for sex, that's biological. Pretty cut and dry. If you have both, you're intersex and an anomoly, not the rule. It's a mutation

Now to elaborate on nonbinary:

You have things like people saying you can be nonbinary and a woman. Like no, that doesn't make logical sense. If you identify as not in the binary, you can't also identify as in the binary. It's like saying you both won and lost a game of football. No, it's cut and dry. Like I said, you can feel less feminine or feel like you're not feminine enough to be a woman, but that goes into stereotypical feminine behavior, traits, and actions.

Spoiler: Example

 

[The Mechanist]

Might I inquire where exactly? Would love to read.

Plato’s Symposium

 

[Black Sun]

The gender hysteria comes from a certain ideology, and it's very deliberate. Admitting multiple genders plays right into its design.

 

[Hige]

Gender is a social construct (sex is different) so I don't see why there can't be more than two.

 

[erembore]

Okay, so... there are a lot of interesting opinions on here, but I've seen very few people involving biology in the discussion. I don't claim to know everything on the subject, but seeing as I love biology and am studying medicine, I have some (even if not professional) knowledge on the matter.

To put things simply, in nature there aren't just two genders. The reason is because gender is far more complex than what is in between your legs. It's 50% genitals, but also 50% hormones. I don't know why no one ever mentions it (maybe they don't teach this in high school in America and other countries???), but there are two "stages" involved in the initial "creation" of one's gender, if that makes any sense. The first one is "determination" of gender - that's defined by your chromosomes. XX is female while XY is male (at least when it comes down to most species). Everyone knows this. What I don't hear people talking about is "differentiation" of gender - that is defined by the amount of female and male hormones within a person's body. Every single human being has both types of hormones, but the ratio between them varies. That's why intersex people exist - they are born with a gender anomaly. Also why trans people exist - they have some type of hormonal discrepancy usually.

So, biologically, there are more than two genders.

However, then there's the question that, as humans, we have both a biological and a social evolution, and, arguably, the latter is more important. That's why agender and genderfluid - things technically impossible in nature - exist. Does that mean the concepts of them are wrong? No! They are a product of the times and a rebellion against the status quo, even if unintentionally so. That's completely normal of every era. Things become unhealthy only when someone decides to falsely identify as a specific gender. Unfortunately, many people like to label themselves as "voidgender" or some other stupid, unnecessary word because they have no personality and are trying to make up for that by being a special snowflake... Anyway, there's also the fact that someone's identity (including gender) is the highest expression of physical matter. The thing we call a "soul" is actually the utmost level of biological evolution, even though many like to separate the two. So, identify as whatever you please.

Basically, in my humble opinion, biologically and socially there are more than two genders. Regardless, everyone is entitled to their opinion, as long as it makes them happy and they aren't hurting anyone.

 

[Remembrance]

>LGBTQA7654321+19-HNDUE**
>Take the B out
>Ask yourself what it stands for
>Answer: Bisexual
>Take Bi
>Bi is two
>Bisexual is a sexual orientation
>Basically a thing that dictates what people are attracted to gender-wise
>take all this information and compile it together
>Bisexual means two and it’s a sexual orientation which means it dictates what certain genders people like
>Thus only two genders
>Better Dead than Red

 

[salty_ moustachio]

>LGBTQA7654321+19-HNDUE**
>Take the B out
>Ask yourself what it stands for
>Answer: Bisexual
>Take Bi
>Bi is two
>Bisexual is a sexual orientation
>Basically a thing that dictates what people are attracted to gender-wise
>take all this information and compile it together
>Bisexual means two and it’s a sexual orientation which means it dictates what certain genders people like
>Thus only two genders
>Better Dead than Red

Ohhh. Controversial.

I like it.

 

[Human__Ramen]

I'm just gonna leave this here, yeah? Okay

 

[memphis]

>LGBTQA7654321+19-HNDUE**
>Take the B out
>Ask yourself what it stands for
>Answer: Bisexual
>Take Bi
>Bi is two
>Bisexual is a sexual orientation
>Basically a thing that dictates what people are attracted to gender-wise
>take all this information and compile it together
>Bisexual means two and it’s a sexual orientation which means it dictates what certain genders people like
>Thus only two genders
>Better Dead than Red

That's one way to interpret it, I suppose. Personally I'm not here to share my thoughts gender and such, just because this is an arguably complex issue with a lot of gray-areas and exceptions, and to be honest I haven't fully developed my own opinions on the topic, but I will say that the way I interpret bisexual is different than you. I've never really thought of bisexuality as implying there are only two genders, but rather that bisexual people are attracted to people of any two genders. So although there are bisexual people are attracted to people who identify as male and female, there are other bisexual people who many be attracted to people who identify as female and nonbinary, et cetera, et cetera.

 

[Dr. Manhattan]

42

 

[Jules8008]

Well, personally?

- Cis people (So, cis male and cis female)
- Trans (Trans Ftm and Trans MtF)
- Agender (Which I identify as)
- Intersex/Intergender (I really dunno if that one counts. Will include it anyway)

 

[Remembrance]

Well, personally?

- Cis people (So, cis male and cis female)
- Trans (Trans Ftm and Trans MtF)
- Agender (Which I identify as)
- Intersex/Intergender (I really dunno if that one counts. Will include it anyway)

The last one is a birth defect, not really a gender.

 

[Gravitational Force]

Gender is a social construct, like race. It's not scientific.
There is no 'number' of genders, it's a spectrum and not binary.

The people claiming there's a binary are unqualified to do so and most are bigots.

 

[Remembrance]

Gender is a social construct, like race. It's not scientific.
There is no 'number' of genders, it's a spectrum and not binary.

The people claiming there's a binary are unqualified to do so and most are bigots.

Of course, the medical scientist who has a doctorate and spent twice as much years in college than the Gender Studies graduate is unqualified... of course.

Who is qualified to make the judgement on gender than?

Sorry for reviving this thread but, I just can’t leave this alone.

 

[ApfelSeine]

Of course, the medical scientist who has a doctorate and spent twice as much years in college than the Gender Studies graduate is unqualified... of course.

Who is qualified to make the judgement on gender than?

Sorry for reviving this thread but, I just can’t leave this alone.

From my perspective, anyone is qualified to define gender as they please. It's one of many categories people use for their own purposes, and as such people are bound to use that category differently.

A medical scientist might look at gender on a binary or using a biological basis of some sort, defining gender as sex since that is the way it is useful to them. One who studies gender, or one who studies social science, would likely find it more useful to define gender on the basis of how an individual views themselves, or how their gender exists in the context of a society. To that end, they look to personal experiences or social phenomenon, in which context more nuance is useful. Beyond that, one might study gender on a neurological level, examining gender based upon the biology of the brain.

And even more commonly, the every day person chooses to define gender as it makes sense to them. You can find strict traditionalists who firmly believe in gender roles that they were taught and who think anyone who deviates in any way is unnatural. You can find people who don't really get the point of gender to begin with and don't really bother with lables at all. People will define gender however is convenient for them, which will generally be in a way that reaffirns their view of how things should be.

Just like with professionals, the category of gender is useful to regular folk for different reasons. For some, that means using a binary, while for others it means rejecting the binary because it is too generalizing. With any category, you lose the nuance that exists among humanity if you try to apply it cleanly to everyone, but it's also convenient to generalize, so it makes sense for people to rely on their own definition. It works for them after all, since the purpose of any given term is often unique to individuals or to certain fields of study.

 

[OTL]

I think that how people identify in terms of gender spectrum isn't really any business of anyone else.
My opinion is that gender is more binary than spectrum based, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to enforce my view on anyone else.

How people choose to express themselves and what makes them feel comfortable in their identity is their business.

I don't think it's the sort of topic where there can be one definitive answer, because it's not a didactic or quantitative subject.

It's also really, realy frustrating when people confuse biological sex with gender, or flat our refuse to acknowledge that they can be discrete from one another.

 

[starlessnight]

It's my opinion that whatever someone wants to identify as, let them identify as that. It's their life, they've got to live it how they want to, as long as they're not hurting anyone.

 

[Gravitational Force]

Of course, the medical scientist who has a doctorate and spent twice as much years in college than the Gender Studies graduate is unqualified... of course.

Who is qualified to make the judgement on gender than?

Sorry for reviving this thread but, I just can’t leave this alone.

And these scientists are...who?

 

[Clance]

I am a trans individual, who identifies on a classically binary spectrum, but I believe in the right to agency and self identification. Just because you think there are only two genders (which is a very essentialist, western interpretation of gender) doesn't make it so, especially as the definitions of gender and sex have changed dramatically in favour of humanistic categorization. Sad to see this topic (even if worded with minimal offense) in a roleplay group where people literally can be any gender, race, species or what-have-you through description of characters, which are almost always a representation of self somehow.

 

[Becca's Bliss]

Gender and sex are spectrums. I used to think only gender was a spectrum and there were 3 sexes, but new scientific research has proven me wrong on that account. Historically and scientifically-speaking, this spectrum undoubtedly exists. There have been many cases of third genders and such in various cultures, which were unfortunately not observed by the European nations that invaded those regions. Biologists have determined that not only are there anomalies regarding the number of each sex chromosome a certain person has, but these chromosomes interact with each other differently in every individual on Earth. While the gender labels of today's society were made up, so were terms like tomboy, hippie, and emo. Self-expressive terms are made to describe groups of individuals looking for a way to describe themselves. I was personally born 100% female, but I don't feel 100% attached to the gender. I relate to the term genderflux. Specifically, I fluctuate between androgynous and mildly feminine (demigirl?). It's new and confusing, but it describes me much better than strictly female ever did. My friend was also born female, but they have a hereditary condition that causes them to have a higher amount of testosterone in their body. They identify as agender. Their partner, who was born female but raised male (I don't know how that happened, but I've been too nervous to ask), also identifies as agender. The only thing restricting the gender spectrum is people who don't understand it and refuse to try.

 

[salt shaker]

To answer the whole thing about sex and gender being synonymous terms, I’m going to bring up something I read somewhere that perfectly summarises it.

People think that your gender has something to do with your genitalia, when it is in fact, not true. If a cis-male who identifies as, like I said, a male, suddenly loses his genitalia in a freak accident, does that mean he’s no longer able to identify as a man because he doesn’t have dangly bits between his legs? No, it doesn’t. To claim that sex and gender are the same thing... It completely disregards those who do not have these reproductive organs. Some people aren’t even born with any, or both sets, or a mix, but that doesn’t mean we can start calling them weird aliens who identify as floating purple cows. A good chunk of society believes what is between your legs determines your gender, yes, but that’s due to societal standards being pushed onto people and the “anomalies” being snuffed out.

Gender is what you perceive yourself to be mentally, who you feel you are. Your sex refers to your reproductive organs, and no, it is not a recent distinction between the two. Teachers and the educational system have repeatedly used the terms sex and gender synonymously because of their predecessors’ refusal to accept that not everyone is black or white, male or female, and thus have taught their kids that, and so on. Their ignorance is then handed down to the kids of each generation and eventually it gets to where we are now, a society that vehemently refuses to acknowledge that everyone is different and thay you can’t put a label on everyone nor explain everything. This is just how society is. If it’s complex, we simplify it for mass understanding, thus completely disregarding the “complex” people who can’t be defined by such simple terms.

We humans have been shoving people into simplistic, easy to manage categories and labeling them since the dawn of time. It’s never going to stop if everyone remains so close minded, just as world peace will never exist if we can’t get over our differences.

TLDR. Sex and gender have always been different, it’s just that nobody’s ever taught you that they are. Otherwise, why have two words that refer to the same thing? It wouldn’t make sense now would it?

I’m also going to address something in here too that seems to keep coming up: the spectrum of masculinity and femininity. Your gender identity, sexual organs and how feminine/masculine you are are all completely different things and have no correlation beyond society’s attempts to set standards on how men and women are supposed to be. You can be agender and masculine leaning. You can be a transman and feminine. You can be an alien that sits smack bang in the middle. Your femininity and masculinity are just how you represent yourself and are a part of your personality, which has nothing to do with your sex and gender. A lot of people may assume that gender and masculinity/femininity (I’m gonna say M&F for short because I can’t be assed typing it constantly) are correlated because of the typical “girls like pretty things and are feminine and boys aren’t allowed to cry and have to be strong!!!” shtick the media still tries to force feed us, but it’s bullsh*t. It’s a social construct. That’s all.

And now, my turn. When I was a lot younger I always felt off. My body didn’t line up with who I felt I was, so there was always a noticeable disconnection there for me which I couldn’t describe nor understand. The kind of hate I feel toward my body wasn’t anything like your typical “I don’t like my appearance”, or “I’m fat,” self confidence issues, it was just, simply put, wrong. You know those gut feelings you get sometimes when you answer a question and you know you gave the wrong answer? That’s how I felt. Constantly, and about myself.

When I discovered that LGBTQA+ exists, it hit me like a truck that people beyond the societal norm existed. I started to question what I knew, poked around and educated myself about the myriad of people out there that aren’t all strictly male or female, feminine or masculine. Move forward a few years and I finally made the connections to myself and began questioning about my gender. I quickly delved into believing I was trans, but when I finally put my foot down and came out to my friends, asked them to refer to me as my preferred pronouns and name, it still didn’t feel right. So I kept questioning and poking around. Eventually I realised that no, I’m not trans. And then, not male or female either. I didn’t feel right with anything, nor did I even like the terms in the first place. It always made me cringe slightly whenever someone said “good boy/girl” to me. When it finally hit me that no, while I don’t like labels I identify closest with being agender, I started calling myself that and it felt like I’d just found the last missing piece of a puzzle that’s been sitting on my desk incomplete for my entire life.

Granted, I still do have that hatred for my body and the disconnection, but I’m more happy with myself now.