Sex, the

However, ones sex is not always clearly determinable. In some fields of human biology, sex is no longer understood as a dichotomous expression of either the male or female, but is classified as a spectrum. This also takes into account the wide physical variation within the group of people with XX or XY chromosomes.

Despite the conceptual distinction, sex and gender are not clearly separable. In everyday life, people still draw conclusions about a person's gender based on their sex, for example, when sex is attributed at birth. Furthermore, the term sex suggests that there is a naturally given, biological masculinity or femininity. However, a biologically grounded binary gender model did not emerge in Europe until the 17th century and is by no means cross-cultural. The division of bodies into specific anatomical sexes also has a history and is influenced by social factors as the gender relation lived in a society. Because sex cannot be clearly separated from social processes, it is sometimes understood as part of gender. Viewed in this way, gender is a complex interplay of socio-cultural and biological factors.

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