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An organism's sex category reflects its biological reproductive function rather than its sexuality or other behavior (see [[gender role]]). The female sex is defined as the one which produces the larger [[gamete]] (the egg) and which typically bears the offspring. In contrast, the male sex has a smaller gamete (sperm) and rarely bears offspring. In some animals, sex may be assigned to specific structures rather than the entire organism. Earthworms, for example, are normally [[hermaphrodites]].

An organism's sex category reflects its biological reproductive function rather than its sexuality or other behavior (see [[gender role]]). The female sex is defined as the one which produces the larger [[gamete]] (the egg) and which typically bears the offspring. In contrast, the male sex has a smaller gamete (sperm) and rarely bears offspring. In some animals, sex may be assigned to specific structures rather than the entire organism. Earthworms, for example, are normally [[hermaphrodites]].

Alternatively, "gender" may be defined to be the norm of social conduct, based on sex.  That is, "sex" defines what is biologically present, whereas "gender" defines what society expects of persons of different sexes.  The distinction is important in law, as it tends to forbid discrimination on the basis of either, e.g. effeminate men cannot be fired for not acting according to their "gender". In other areas the distinction is primarily important for more abstracted social and legal arguments, rather than everyday use.

Alternatively, "gender" may be defined to be the norm of social conduct, based on sex.  That is, "sex" defines what is biologically present, whereas "gender" defines what society expects of persons of different sexes.  The distinction is important in law, as it tends to forbid discrimination on the basis of either, e.g. effeminate men cannot be fired for not acting according to their "gender". In other areas the distinction is primarily important for more abstracted social and legal arguments, rather than everyday use.

'''Gender''' may also mean [[grammar|grammatical]] gender, an attribute of [[noun]]s, [[pronoun]]s, and [[adjective]]s in some [[language]]s.  A word's grammatical gender may or may not correspond to the gender of what the word describes. Grammatical genders need not be limited to masculine and feminine, depending on the language; typical gender distinctions include masculine/feminine, masculine/feminine/neuter, and animate/inanimate.  Not all languages have grammatical gender; for example, some languages have a single pronoun corresponding to the English "he," "she," and "it."

'''Gender''' may also mean [[grammar|grammatical]] gender, an attribute of [[noun]]s, [[pronoun]]s, and [[adjective]]s in some [[language]]s.  A word's grammatical gender may or may not correspond to the gender of what the word describes. Grammatical genders need not be limited to masculine and feminine, depending on the language; typical gender distinctions include masculine/feminine, masculine/feminine/neuter, and animate/inanimate.  Not all languages have grammatical gender; for example, some languages have a single pronoun corresponding to the English "he," "she," and "it."