Sex vs. Gender vs. Sexuality

Even though sex and gender identity are completely different things, there stills seems to be so much confusion with them.  I grew up very educated to diversity, and was always taught to be open and accepting to different races, classes, genders, etc.  I was introduced to the idea of gay and lesbian at a fairly young age, so have always had an open mind and been interested in learning more about different gender identities.  Last semester I took a trans and gender queer class, in which I learned in depth many different gender identities from all different cultures.  Because I have always been curious and interested in this subject, I feel that I know a fair amount about it and am constantly correcting people and answering questions.  Sometimes it is difficult, because I hear people say something completely incorrect, and often find myself correcting them. 

Back to my point, sex and gender are not the same.  Your sex is describing your biology; what you were born with as far as male or female genitalia and reproductive organs.  Your gender identity is what you chose to identify yourself as.  Gender is feeling masculine, or feminine, neither, or even a mix of both.  For many people, your sex and gender match up (male/masculine, female/feminine), and this is known as cisgender.  That means the way you feel and express yourself matches up with the biological sex you were born with.  Some people are born with Gender Identity Disorder, which means that their biological sex does not match up with the gender they identify with. 

Many people also get confused with sexuality.  Sexuality is a whole separate category on its own.  A person’s sexuality does not have to be determined by their sex or their gender.  Sexuality is who you are attracted to sexually.  That is where lesbian, gay, straight, and bisexual come from.  Many people get very confused, especially when it comes to transgender people and their partners.  If there is a person who was born biologically a man (sex), and feels and acts as a woman (gender identity), but is in a relationship with a man (sexuality), many would say that he is gay.  This however, may not be the case.  Because the individual feels and identifies as a woman, they would be considered heterosexual.  It can get very confusing, but once you understand the basics and realize that sex, gender and sexuality are not the same, you can better understand LGBTQ individuals and be able to and speak of them without sounding ignorant or offending them.