Basic information

What is gender? Concepts, definitions and the relationship to biological sex. Start here to get to know the core concepts.

Gender is a broad concept that has come to play a central role in public discussions, policy and care. Anyone who wants to follow the debate is well advised to first learn the basic concepts and to distinguish between biological sex (a demonstrable biological reality: two gamete systems, stable and binary) and gender (a theoretical concept that refers to social roles, expression and self-reported identity).

The pages below cover the fundamentals: what gender means, how it relates to biological sex, what is meant by "gender identity" and "gender expression", how gender norms arise and vary, and how gender has been understood historically and cross-culturally. This also includes attention to gender-neutral language, pronouns and the distinction between gender identity and sexual orientation — two things that are often conflated in the public debate.

For all common gender terms — identity labels, transition terms, cultural and international terms — see the terms page. Each term there has its own explanation including origin, meaning and critical context.

This section takes account of the current state of research, including critical perspectives. The claim that every person has an inner "gender identity" that is separate from the body is theoretical, not empirically proven — and is reasoned against by various scientists and feminists. Those who know the basics can better judge which statements in the debate are tenable and which rest on assumptions that are still under discussion.