Sex versus Gender Categorization

This entry examines the relationship between the concepts of “sex” and “gender” as used in theory and research. When scholars initially distinguished these two concepts, sex represented “biological” differences, while gender represented “social” differences. Today, many gender scholars problematize this distinction and understand both sex and gender as socially constructed categories of difference. Gender is the preferred term to refer to masculine and feminine identities as well as average differences between men as a group and women as a group. Intersex, transgender, and non‐binary gender identities have been used to theorize the relationship between sex and gender.