Gender: meaning, definitions and examples

Used in discussions about social and cultural roles, behaviors, and attributes that a society considers appropriate for men and women.

• The workshop focused on gender equality in the workplace.
• They are researching the effects of gender on academic performance.

Relates to a person's sexual orientation, preferences, and behaviors. Often discussed in contexts related to identity, relationships, and rights.

• They had an open conversation about their sexuality.
• Societal attitudes towards sexuality have shifted over the years.

Describes traits, behaviors, and roles that are culturally associated with being female. Often used in discussions about identity, appearance, and social roles.

• Her sense of femininity is expressed through her fashion choices.
• The movie explores traditional and modern views of femininity.

Describes traits, behaviors, and roles that are culturally associated with being male. Often used in discussions about identity, societal expectations, and stereotypes.

• The documentary examines the concept of toxic masculinity.
• His idea of masculinity includes being strong and independent.

Use this term to refer to the social, cultural, and psychological attributes and expectations associated with being male or female. It is often discussed in topics related to identity, roles, and equality.

• People of different genders may experience society in diverse ways
• The discussion about gender roles in the workplace is ongoing

Use this term when discussing languages where nouns have classifications that affect the form of other words, like adjectives or articles, within a sentence.

• In Spanish, grammatical gender affects how adjectives agree with nouns
• Learning French requires understanding its grammatical gender system

Applicable in a linguistic context when discussing languages where nouns are divided into various categories beyond just grammatical gender, sometimes based on the meaning or form of the noun.

• Swahili uses a noun class system that categorizes nouns into multiple groups
• Understanding the noun class system is essential for mastering Bantu languages

Commonly used when referring to the social and cultural differences between sexes or to describe someone's identity as female, male, or non-binary. The term is often used in discussions about equality, identity and social sciences.

• Her gender is listed as female on her birth certificate.
• Gender equality is a fundamental human right.

Often used in scientific and formal contexts to arrange items into groups based on shared characteristics. This term can also have a formal or official connotation.

• Scientists classify plants into different species.
• These documents are classified as top secret.

Used when sorting or arranging items, ideas, or people into different groups based on specific characteristics. Generally applied in educational, scientific, and organizational settings.

• The librarian will categorize the new books by genre.
• We need to categorize these reports by date.