Gender binary

Gender binary, also called gender binarism, is a social classification in which people believe that gender can only be identified as male or female. The system states that people are the biological sex they are assigned at birth and should follow gender-defined societal roles. Males are expected to possess masculine qualities, while women should be feminine. People who support the idea of gender binarism generally do not consider other genders, including transgender males and females and nonbinary/genderqueer individuals.

Overview

The concept of gender binary is based on the notion that a person's gender is determined at birth by the presence of male or female reproductive organs and sex anatomy. However, not all people are born with defined genitalia that can be classified as either male or female. Some people are born with both types, while others have ambiguous genitalia. These are known as intersex people. For intersex individuals, a sex is determined for them at birth that may or may not match their gender identity as they mature. This is one reason why some people believe that gender is not always just one sex or the other and oppose the idea of gender binary.

Some people believe that genders exist outside of the two traditionally defined roles. Transgender individuals do not identify with the sex they were assigned at birth. Nonbinary/genderqueer individuals identify with being a combination of both male and female, or they do not fully conform to either gender. In addition, gender identity can be fluid and change over time for some individuals.

Gender identity and gender expression differ from sexual orientation, which refers to a person's emotional, physical (sexual), and romantic attraction to another person. Gender identity is an individual's internal personal sense of who they are. With gender binary, gender identity is the sex assigned to a person at birth. This is also known as cisgender.

Gender expression is the way people present themselves as masculine, feminine, both, or neither to the outside world. They use dress, hairstyles, behavior, and more to show gender. People can also use the pronouns they call themselves as part of their gender expression. For example, some nonbinary/genderqueer individuals use the pronouns they or them instead of feminine or masculine pronouns such as she, her, he, or him.

Gender expression is typically ingrained in people from a young age, as they are taught accepted gender roles and social norms. For example, girls are told that they should wear pink and play with dolls, while boys should wear blue and play with trucks. However, not all girls want to play with dolls, and some boys may prefer to wear girls' clothes. This does not change a person's gender identity.

People usually express the gender with which they identify, even if this differs from the gender binary. For example, a person born a male at birth who identifies as a woman, also called a transgender individual, may dress, speak, and behave as a woman. Transgender people may also alter their physical appearance by taking hormones or undergoing gender affirming surgery or surgeries so they can express themselves more like the gender with which they identify.

Some societies have attempted to reject the idea of gender binary ideas by embracing gender neutrality. In these instances, social institutions use language and create policies that do not differentiate based on a person's gender in order to create an inclusive environment and avoid discrimination. On a smaller scale, some rejected gender binary views and instead chose to raise their child in a gender neutral environment that does not embrace stereotypes and instead gives the child the space to explore what gender they identify with.

In the United States in the early twenty-first century, the belief in gender binary came to the forefront of politics under President Donald Trump, who worked with Congress to roll back some of the protections designed for members of the LGBTQIA+ community, including those who identify as transgender or those who are intersex. One such change was to roll back previous policies for passports that allowed individuals to change their sex on their passport or to mark 'X' and not identify a gender. Trump signed an executive order in 2025 stating the federal government only recognized two sexes, male and female. The order aligns with gender binary beliefs. The Trump administration continued to attempt to enforce gender binary beliefs through its support of restrictions to gender affirming care and access to items such as chest binders, especially among minors and inmates within the Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

Bibliography

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