Glossary of Terms
Actor I use this term to refer to performers of any sex or gender identity. See also Sex and Gender Identity.
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Bechdel Test was coined by cartoonist Alison Bechdel way back in 1985 to test stories around gender representation. It asks if: (1) there are at least two women, (2) who speak to each other (3) about something other than a man.
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Binary refers to a category comprised of only two things, which are usually placed in opposition to one another. For example: man/woman, black/white, good/bad. See also Non-binary.
Cisgender refers to someone assigned a binary sex (male or female) at birth, and who identifies as this sex. That is to say, their embodied experience of their sex is one of connection. See also Sex, Gender, Gender Identity, Gender Personality, and Gender Expression.
I differentiate this from traditional gender personality (below) because I do not use the term cisgender to indicate a woman who necessarily has feminine-typed characteristics, but rather a woman who identifies as a woman, but whose gender presentation may fall anywhere on the gender personality or expression spectrum (see below). I identify as a cisgender woman, but I would describe my gender personality as androgynous. I choose to express my gender in modestly traditional ways, however, and on an average day would quantify my gender expression as a 3:4 on the graph below. However, this will likely change depending on my mood or the events of the day ahead of me.
Gender This term is used here to imply the social and cultural construction of an identity in relation to the stereotypes of masculinity and femininity, where the presentation of gender is balanced against the sex of the person in question. This refers to personality types as well as appearance.
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Gender Expression - see Gender Performativity
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Gender Identity refers to the extent to which you identify with the sex you were assigned at birth. It can also refer to a person's level of identification with the sex role stereotypes associated with their given sex, however, for the purposes of this project, I use only the former definition. See also sex and sex role.
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Cisgender and Transgender identities are more closely aligned with biological terminology than the gender personality categorisations I use in my project. Both terms are concerned with an individual's relationship with the body they inhabit, in particular, whether their embodied experience of their sex is one of connection or disconnection. See Cisgender and Transgender.
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Gender Performativity is a term coined by Judith Butler to articulate the phenomenon whereby the physical expression of a gender may be said to simultaneously produce and constitute that gender. I also use the colloquial term gender expression here.
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In the comic strip 'Feminine Wiles', the artist, A. Stiffler, is parodying the policing of gender expression while simultaneously demonstrating the concept of gender performativity.
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The character on the right of each frame is being made to conform to her gender role expression (her sex role stereotype). She appears in frame two wearing a pink dress and high heels, apparently acquiescing.
However, by the third frame she is performatively constructing a 'masculine' gender expression by sitting in a stereotypically masculine way, and in frame four, scratching her ear (how unlady-like!).
Although costumed as a woman, she is performatively
constructing a masculine gender expression through body language, posture, and gesture.
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This demonstrates the concept of gender performativity, as it is clear her gender is not female by the way she is choosing to express that gender. This, in turn, illustrates the instability of gender, the potential separation of gender identity from gender expression, and the fluidity of both concepts.
Gender expression does not necessarily mirror gender identity. A cisgender man with an instrumental ('masculine') gender personality, may express his gender as agender (F1), genderqueer (A6), or anywhere else on the gender expression spectrum (graph right). A non-binary gender expression is one that falls outside of the extremes, A1 and F6, but is usually conflated with genderqueer (A6). See Non-binary.
Gender Expression Graph
Jonanthan Van Ness pictured in a non-binary gender expression (A:6). Photo Credit: Emma McIntyre / Getty Images. Source: Insider.
Gender personality is a psychological term referring to a measure of a person's characteristics, such as empathy or assertiveness, in relation to the gender stereotypes associated with the given characteristics. I use this measure when compiling the character's gendered breakdown. Within this measure, I also include aptitude or ability, for example an aptitude for science is stereotyped as a masculine characteristic.
In this project, I use gender expression (or gender performativity) to refer to a person's outward appearance, or stylisation of their gender.
Gender personality and expression present as a diverse spectrum, with the peak points as:
traditional: gender identity is aligned with gender personality. For example, a male assigned person, who identifies as male, and has a high concentration of masculine-typed qualities. He may also style (express) his gender as masculine (A:1 below).
androgenous a person of any sex whose qualities are predominantly associated with both masculinity and femininity. Some people choose to express this gender in their appearance as well. This gender expression is known colloquially as genderqueer or nonbinary (A:6 below). Jonathan Van Ness, above, is a good example of this gender expression.
cross-typed a person of any sex whose qualities are associated strongly with the 'opposite' gender. For example, a cisgender woman whose personality and aptitude would be strongly comprised of masculine-typed qualities. They may choose to express their gender by embracing the 'opposite' gender stylisation as well.
undifferentiated a person of any sex whose qualities and abilities are not strongly associated with either masculinity or femininity. Their gender expression may then be agender (F:1).
Non-binary refers to the eroding of simplistic dualisms. In gender, it describes a person who doesn't subscribe to one of the binary gender options (male or female). It can be applied to gender identity or expression, or a conflation of the two (which is more usual colloquially).
Sex I use this term to indicate the biological categorisation assigned to each of us at birth, or which has been medically altered at the biological level. Within this umbrella term falls a spectrum of identities. The peak recognised points are: female, male, intersex, and transsexual. This project is focused on representation, however, as such when I use terms like female and male, I am referring to the perceived sex of the actor by the audience. That is to say, the sex of the actor (not character) intended to be perceived by an audience when watching a specific performer in a specific role.
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Sex Role refers to the social expectations of how a woman or a man should behave in accordance with their gender stereotypes. It is also referred to as gender role. This concept is parodied by Cyanide & Happiness in the comic strip at the close of this page. There 'roles' become 'rolls', and these 'traditional gender rolls' are pronounced 'pretty awful'. The comic concludes by upending the concept with the husband saying of his wife, the baker, that 'she should leave the cooking' to him.
Transgender refers to someone who feels disconnected from the sex they were assigned at birth and connected to the 'opposite' sex. This is often described as a feeling of being in the 'wrong' body. Should that person have the desire, means, and opportunity to surgically transition their sex identity as well, they will then be referred to as transsexual.
Paula Williams on her experience of being transgender.
Source: Tedx Talks
