Gender is complex and can be thought of as a spectrum of possibilities, not as a binary or a choice. A person’s gender identity is their internal sense of being man or woman (boy or girl), fluid among genders or no genders regardless of their sex assigned at birth. Gender identity is a feeling that begins very early in life. Gender expression is how a person presents their inner sense of gender out into the world around them. This can include how we dress, our name, the pronoun we choose, and our social behaviours.
Sex is assigned at birth, and is based on a person’s internal and external reproductive organs, physical appearance, hormones and chromosomes. At birth, most people are assigned as male or female.
Intersex is when someone’s body doesn’t match what we traditionally think of as either male or female: they have some body characteristics of both. About 1.7% of people are intersex.