EXPERIENCE
Relationship Index WRITER: Angela Tam PHOTOGRAPER: Aaron Sanchez
GENDER: Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men and gender diverse people. It influences how people perceive themselves and each other, how they act and interact, and the distribution of power and resources in society. Gender identity is not confined to a binary (girl/woman, boy/man) nor is it static; it exists along a continuum and can change over time. There is considerable diversity in how individuals and groups understand, experience and express gender through the roles they take on, the expectations placed on them, relations with others and the complex ways that gender is institutionalized in society.
SEX: Sex refers to a set of biological attributes in humans and animals. It is primarily associated with physical and physiological features including chromosomes, gene expression, hormone levels and function, and reproductive/sexual anatomy. Sex is usually categorized as female or male but there is variation in the biological attributes that comprise sex and how those attributes are expressed. This binary way of categorizing biological sex is primarily rooted in Western cultures and may not apply to all cultures around the world.
GENDER IDENTITY: A person’s inner sense of their gender. For example, identifying as girl/woman/female, boy/man/male, something else, or having no gender.
SEXUAL ORIENTATION: How a person characterizes their emotional and sexual attraction to others.
AGENDER — A person who identifies as having no gender, or who does not experience gender as a primary identity component.
or no sexual attraction to others. Asexual people may still engage in sexual activity because libido does not equal attraction.
ALLY — A person who actively supports the rights of a marginalized community even though that person is not a member of that community; for example, a heterosexual person who campaigns for the rights of gay people.
BIGENDER — A person whose identity consists of two distinct genders.
AROMANTIC — A person who experiences little or no romantic attraction to others. Aromantic people may still choose to have intimate relationships.
BISEXUAL — A sexual orientation that describes a person who is emotionally and physically attracted to those of the same or different gender.
ASEXUAL — A person who experiences little
CISGENDER — A person whose
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