People identify in many ways-in between and outside of the categories of man/woman, male/female, masculine/feminine and gay/straight. Men are supposed to be dominant, rational and providers while women are expected to be submissive, emotional and nurturing.
Many people assume that the sex you were assigned at birth (e.g., male) will determine your gender identity (man), your gender expression (masculine) and your sexual orientation and behaviour (straight). If you were born with a penis*, society expects you to look, act and dress in one way, and if you were born with vulva*, society expects you to be the opposite. The gender binary is the way that society puts people into two distinct and opposite neatly packaged boxes based on the idea that sex, gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation should align in a certain way. E.g., Men who have sex with men, polyamory, BDSM. Who you have sex with, your relationship structures and what you’re doing sexually.E.g., straight, omnisexual, asexual, lesbian.How you identify based on your attractions and desires.E.g., butch, femme, masculine, feminine, androgynous.How you express your gender identity through hairstyle, clothing, etc.Examples: boy, girl, non-binary, transgender, cisgender, agender.Your internal sense of being a man, a woman, neither, both or another gender.Assigned by the doctor when you’re born and recorded on your birth certificate.Based on your biology such as chromosomes, genitals and hormone levels.Sex assigned at birth: What the doctor says you are. We use a lot of words to talk about our sex, gender expression, gender identity and sexual orientation.