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:''This article is about sex, meaning the different biological sexes - male, female, etc. For alternate uses, see ]''

{{wiktionary}}The members of many ] of living things are divided into two or more categories called '''sexes''' (or loosely speaking, ]s). These refer to complementary groups that combine ] material in order to reproduce, a process called ]. Typically, a ] will have two sexes: '']'' and '']''. The female sex is defined as the one which produces the larger ] (i.e., reproductive cell) and which bears the offspring. The categories of sex are, therefore, reflective of the reproductive functions that an individual is capable of performing at some point during its life cycle, and not of the mating types, which genetically can be more than two.

== Sex in the plant kingdom ==
:''Main article: ]''
]s are generally ]s, but this terminology is quickly complicated by variations in the degree of sexuality. As with animals, there are only two types of gametes. These are generally called male and female based on their relative sizes and motility. In ]s, ]s bear the gametes. In some cases, flowers may contain only one type of gamete while in others they may contain both.

== Sex in the animal kingdom ==
Some species, such as ], ], and ], are capable of both sexual and ]. In the insect order ], which includes honeybees, the queen (i.e., fully functional female) can decide to fertilize an egg or to lay it without its being fertilized. Fertilized eggs will develop into females -- workers if given standard nutrition in their larval stages and queens if lavishly fed with ]. Unfertilized eggs, which have only half the number of ] as fertilized eggs, develop into ], i.e., male bees. In other species (e.g. earthworms), all individuals are ], that is, individuals that have male and female sex organs.

In ], ], and many other species, sex is determined by the sex chromosomes, called X and Y in mammals, and Z and W in birds. For mammals, males typically have one of each (XY), while females typically have two X chromosomes (XX). All individuals have at least one X chromosome, the Y chromosome is generally shorter than the X chromosome with which it is paired, and is absent in some species, this pattern admitting some considerable variation. One interesting variation is in the ], a rather unusual mammal in many other ways, where sex is determined by 10 chromosomes. Males are XYXYXYXYXY and females XXXXXXXXXX. In birds, males have two of the same kind of sex chromosome (ZZ) and females have one of each type (ZW). In other species, including ], and most ], sex may be determined by various other ], including those controlled by environmental factors such as temperature. Yet other species change sex during their lifetime.


== Sex among humans ==
In humans, ''sex'' is conventionally perceived as a dichotomous state or identity for most ] and ] purposes, such that a person can only be ''female'' or ''male''. However, when the criteria which are generally used to define ''femaleness'' or ''maleness'' are examined more closely, it becomes apparent that the assignment or determination of 'sex' occurs at multiple levels. Environmental, biological, social, psychological and other factors are all believed to have some role in this process, and the complex interaction of these factors is expressed in the diversity of biological and psychosocial 'states' or levels found amongst the human population. A significant fraction of the human population simply does not correspond exclusively to either 'female' or 'male' with regard to every level of definition expressed in the following table. This '''discordance''' is discussed in more detail below.

The table outlines the major levels at which we currently recognize a difference between human females and males. Some criteria are dichotomous and some, such as body size, exhibit ] (ie. characteristics which are ] more likely to be found in one sex than the other). Some of the levels are more amenable to ] study or measurement than others; some are "imputed" or assigned to individuals by the society of which they are members (eg. whether human males must wear trousers is a result of social ]s); and some seem to be generated within each individual as a subjective identity or drive.

{| cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 border=1 style="border-collapse:collapse"
|bgcolor="#cccccc"| '''Level of definition'''
|bgcolor="#cccccc"| '''Female'''
|bgcolor="#cccccc"| '''Male'''
|-
| '''''Biological levels''''' (Sex)
|
|
|-
| Usual ]s
| ] in humans
| ] in humans
|-
| Usual ]s
| ]
| ]
|-
| Usual level of ]s
| ], ]
| ]
|-
| Usual ] of internal ]
| ], ], ], ]s
| ], ], ], ]s
|-
| Usual ] of<br/> external ]
| ], ], ], ]<br/> ]
| ], ], ], ]<br/> fused ]
|-
| '''''Psychosocial levels''''' (])
|
|
|-
| Usual ]
| "It's a ]"
| "It's a ]"
|-
| Usual ]
| "You are a girl"
| "You are a boy"
|-
| Usual ]
| "I am a girl/woman"
| "I am a boy/man"
|-
| Usual ]
| "]" social behavior
| "]" social behavior
|-
| Usual ]
| ]
| ]
|-
| Usual sexual power
| ]
| ]
|}

The relationship between the various levels of biological sexual differentiation is fairly well understood. Many of the biological levels are said to ], or at least shape, the next level. For example, in most people the presence of a ] causes the gonads to become testes, which produce ]s that cause the internal and external ] to become male, which in turn lead parents to assign 'male' as the sex of their child (''assigned sex''), and raise the child as a boy (''gender of rearing''). However, the degree to which biological and environmental factors contribute to the psychosocial aspects of sexual differentiation, and even the interrelationships between the various psychosocial aspects of differentiation, are less well understood (see the ''] ''debate).

=== Discordance ===
As indicated above, the levels of this paradigm imply a certain level of 'discordance' amongst the human population as a result of ].

Some discordances are purely biological, such as when the sex of the chromosomes (''genetic sex'') does not match the sex of the external genitalia (''anatomic sex''). This type of discordance is fairly well understood and is described briefly in the next section and more fully in the article on ].

Discordances between the biological and psychosocial levels, such as when the ] does not match the anatomic sex, or between the various psychosocial levels, such as when the ] does not match the ], are even more common but less well understood. These levels of definition and discordance are described below and in individual articles.

Understanding discordance is important for several reasons. We can learn much about the processes of sexual differentiation, both biological and psychosocial, from people with biological discordances. Some of the levels of discordance have enormous significance to the lives of those affected and their relationships with society. In some cases, the causes of the discordances have acquired controversial political significance. Societies vary on the values placed on some discordances. In the last several decades the public consensus of many Western societies has come to view some discordances as less undesirable and more tolerable than much of the rest of the world, although this view may itself exhibit a certain level of ].

=== Biological varieties of discordance ===
Human variability occurs in all the levels by which sex and gender are defined. Discordance at the biological levels is often referred to as an ] condition. For example, some women may have an XY ] (chromosomal constellation). Some boys may have a rudimentary ], or an extra X chromosome. In a small subset of boys or girls with intersex conditions, the external genitalia may be undervirilized or overvirilized. If the degree of ] is "in-between", the genitalia are described as "]". Many people with intersex conditions do not have ambiguous genitalia. However, for these people the relationships between biological factors (such as hormones) and environmental factors and the psychosocial levels of sexual identity such as ] and ] have proven to be complex, with plenty of exceptions to proposed theoretical systems. For example, there have been cases of male genetic/chromosomal sex, with female external genitalia, assigned and raised as female, but discovering or deciding upon a male gender identity by adolescence. The degree to which a person's gender identity is affected by hormones, by genetic factors distinct from ], by early education, by social factors, and by "existential choice" remains imperfectly understood and a subject of contention.

===Psychological, behavioral, and cultural varieties of discordance===
In contrast to the small percentage of people with biological discordances of sex, a fairly large proportion of human beings may be "discordant" in one or more behavioral or psychological dimensions. The vast majority of these people who are discordant in some aspect of psyche or behavior do not have any detectable biological intersex condition (although some recent studies point towards biological factors in at least some of those conditions). Human societies respond to, or accommodate, these behavioral and psychological discordances in many different ways, ranging from suppression and denial of difference to acknowledging various forms of "third sex".

It is interesting, and perhaps significant, that some societies identify youths with atypical behavioral characteristics and, instead of giving them corrective therapy or punishing them, socialize them in such a way that their individual characteristics let them provide a needed and/or useful function for the society in a recognized and respected role (eg. individuals who take on the role or customs of ], ] or ]).

See the article ] for an example of a pictogram of a man and a woman, to indicate the respective ]s. It shows the man with broader shoulders (sex dimorphism) and the woman in ] that is in the western world rarely worn by men, a ] (which functions as a gender signal). (Presumably these "male human" and "female human" pictograms are not used in countries where men wear dress-like clothing.) In most societies, it is considered improper for a person of one sex to misrepresent himself or herself as a member of the opposite sex by donning inappropriate clothing (thereby practicing ] or ]). Such behavior receives severe social and/or legal sanctions in some cultures.

See also ], ], ] and ].

Such complex situations have led some scientists to argue that the two sexes are cultural constructions. Some people have sought to define their sexuality and sexual identity in non-polar terms in the belief that the simple division of all humans into "males" and "females" does not fit their individual conditions. A proponent of this movement away from polar oppositions, ], once suggested we recognize five sexes: male, female, merm, ferm and herm. Although quickly rejected as a bizarre flouting of human nature and social reality, and inimical to the interests of those whom she was attempting to champion, it expresses the difficulty and imperfection of the current social responses to these variations.

===Social and legal considerations===
Forms of legal or social distinction or ] based on sex include ] and ]. Notably, some businesses, public institutions, and laws may provide privileges and services for one sex and not another, or they may require different sexes to be physically separated.

==See also==
* ]
* ]

== External links and further reading==
{{wikiquote}}
* ] (ed.),
* Raymond J. Noonan, Robert T. Francoeur, and Martha Cornog, "''Continuum Complete International Encyclopedia of Sexuality''". Continuum, August 2003, ISBN 0826414885
* by P. C. Sizonenko
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Revision as of 04:08, 26 May 2005

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