What does gender mean?
Gender is the name for the social and cultural framework through which people are identified, categorized, and understood. It includes identities, roles, expressions, and expectations associated with being regarded as a man, woman, nonbinary person, or belonging to another recognized category. In contemporary usage, gender is distinguished from sex, which primarily concerns biological characteristics, although the relationship between the two is complex and varies by discipline. The word also has a technical grammatical meaning: languages may classify nouns and pronouns as masculine, feminine, neuter, or according to other classes, and a grammatical class does not necessarily describe a real person's identity. This makes gender useful not only in discussion of society and identity but also in language studies, law, education, and public policy. Its broad range of uses reflects both the importance of social classification and the influence of grammatical convention.
The social and cultural identity, role, or expression associated with a person; in grammar, a class such as masculine, feminine, or neuter into which a noun or pronoun falls.
"The course examines how language reflects and shapes ideas about gender."
The grammatical sense is technical and should be distinguished from a person's social identity.
To assign a particular gender to someone or something, or to treat someone or something as belonging to a particular gender.
"The form gendered every applicant by requiring a choice between two options."
This use is relatively rare. In formal writing, a construction such as “classify by gender” may be more explicit and natural.
The plural is used when referring to multiple gender categories; in many contexts, “people of different genders” is more idiomatic.
"The study compares how different genders are represented in the media."
Gender originally meant “kind” or “class”; its modern social significance is the result of a much older word taking on new layers of meaning.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does gender come from?
Middle English borrowed the word through Old French genre, from Latin genus, meaning “kind” or “sort.” English developed biological and grammatical uses alongside the older sense of a kind or class. Its modern emphasis on social identity is comparatively recent, while the word's connection with classification is ancient.
Related word forms
How gender is actually used
The noun is neutral in register and is standard in general, academic, legal, and personal contexts. The verb is relatively uncommon and can sound awkward; “classify by gender” is often clearer.
Easily confused with gender
Sex generally refers to biological characteristics, whereas gender more commonly concerns social identity, roles, expression, and cultural categories.