Sex

Gender is the attribute of being either male or female, or in some cases other categories.

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.

Norms of social conduct

For a more detailed treatment, see Gender roles.

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.