gender

/'dʤendə/
Học thuật
Thân thiện
gender

A child learns about gender in a health education class.

Definition
  1. Noun:
    • A classification system for nouns and pronouns: In grammar, "gender" refers to a category that affects word forms, particularly in languages with grammatical gender. It often influences agreement with adjectives, articles, and verbs.
    • The state of being male or female: More broadly, "gender" refers to the social, cultural, and psychological traits, roles, and identities associated with being male, female, or another identity, often distinguished from biological sex.
Examples of Usage
  • Noun (Grammatical):

    • In French, the word "table" is of feminine gender.
    • The adjective must agree with the noun in number and gender.
  • Noun (Social/Cultural):

    • The study explores the relationship between gender and leadership styles.
    • Society's expectations based on gender are evolving.
Advanced Usage
  • "Gender identity": A person's internal, deeply held sense of their own gender.

    • Respecting an individual's gender identity is fundamental.
  • "Gender roles": The behaviors, activities, and attributes that a society considers appropriate for men and women.

    • Traditional gender roles are being challenged in many cultures.
  • "Gender-neutral": Not specific to or biased towards a particular gender.

    • The company adopted a gender-neutral dress code.
Variants and Related Words
  • Gendered (adj): Characterized by or emphasizing distinctions associated with gender.

    • The advertisement was criticized for its gendered language.
  • Genderize (verb, less common): To assign or attribute gender to.

    • There is a tendency to genderize certain professions.
Synonyms
  • Sex (Note: Often used specifically for biological distinctions, whereas "gender" is more often used for sociocultural aspects).
  • Classification (in the grammatical sense).
Related Phrases
  • "Gender gap": A disparity between genders, often in areas like pay or representation.

    • The gender gap in STEM fields is a persistent issue.
  • "Gender equality": The state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender.

    • The organization is committed to promoting gender equality.
Related Idioms
  • "Gender bender" (informal): A person who dresses and behaves in a way characteristic of the opposite sex, or something that challenges traditional gender roles.
    • The performer was known as a gender bender in the 1980s music scene.
gender

A child learns about gender in a health education class.

Noun
  1. the properties that distinguish organisms on the basis of their reproductive roles
    • she didn't want to know the sex of the foetus
  2. a grammatical category in inflected languages governing the agreement between nouns and pronouns and adjectives; in some languages it is quite arbitrary but in Indo-European languages it is usually based on sex or animateness