HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. — AdamEve.com asked more than 1,000 adults if they felt that the sex organs we’re born with determine our gender.
While 43 percent of the respondents (36 percent of the women and 51 percent of the men) said they believed that our sex organs determine our gender, 35 percent (42 percent of women and 26 percent of the men) said they did not. Twenty-two percent of those who were polled (21 percent of the women and 23 percent of the men) said they were not sure.
When asked if our sex organs determine our gender, Adam & Eve’s resident sexologist, Dr. Jenni Skyler answered yes and no.
She said that many people are born with a set of genitals that match how they feel as male or female.
“For a long time, our understanding of gender has been binary,” Skyler said. “We know male and female to have a particular gender description, along with certain roles and expressions. Yet, gender is not entirely about nature and sex organs. Transgender people often feel their sex organs do not reflect their gender. And intersex persons may have atypical sex organs and potentially feel more ambiguous about their gender and gender expression.”
“Because gender is a social construct, our society has evolved to allow for more people to sink into their body and feel the nuances of what their gender really feels like, even if it doesn't fit into a typical binary box of male and female,” Skyler said. “Because we have the social permission to expand gender into a spectrum of various descriptors, many people are able to break away from the typical male-female boxes and allow themselves to feel and express themselves in a more unique gendered manner.”
The web-based survey, conducted by an independent third-party survey company, of more than 1,000 American adults age 18 and up, was sponsored by Adam & Eve to study sexual preferences and practices.
